I've been thinking about getting into review writing for some time now, and I think Jobless Reincarnation (the Japanese name is a mouthful, sorry) is a good place to start because oh boy, I have things to say about this show. I know that a lot of you might be thinking why review a show with only four episodes out. Well, I wouldn't really call this a review to be honest. Think of this as me documenting my thoughts on the show so far, and speculating where it will go from here - because I think I have a fairly good idea judging from the
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quality of the content so far. So without further ado, let's begin.
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I first heard of this series late last year when the PV dropped, and saw some big words thrown around it. "Peak isekai!" O-kaay. I'm usually wary when source readers hype a franchise with such extravagance, but this time the PV seemed to corroborate these claims. The breath-taking visuals, the promise of a grand setting, of worthwhile characters and adventure potential. I was mesmerized! I am a sucker for fantasy epics, and this looked as close to one as I have seen in anime.
If only I had known what I was in store for.
The show opens with us inserted into the protagonist by default. He seems to have gotten into a fatal accident, but that has no bearing on his attitude as he keeps up with the degenerate quips even as he breathes his last. Tactless but fine. Surely, he'll act more normal once we get into the isekai. Wrong! The first thing he does when he comes out of the womb is leer at the woman who just birthed him in her dishevelled, vulnerable state. Oblivious to the fact that her new-born son is in reality a 34-year-old degenerate, she proceeds to wean him just as he makes a sexual remark about her oppais. Yikes!
For the next ten minutes as waves of cringe wash over me seeing the adventures of the pervert baby unfold - complete with running commentary in MC's ugly bastard voice - one thing was clear: I had been bamboozled. For all its production value, this was as trash as the isekai before it. Maybe even more. What's even more appalling is that all of this is presented as fanservice. A dream come true for anyone who fantasizes about impostering as an innocent child to peep on people's intimate moments. Oh, and by the way, this show is not tagged ecchi so go ahead and recommend it to family and friends. That'll make for some fun reactions.
But enough about the fanservice, what about the plot? Well, if it is possible, that's actually even worse. The characterization is bad; seems like the author's idea of writing an interesting character is to just make them a pervert. In terms of plot-progression and worldbuilding, the first episode doesn't give us anything. They spend half the episode on what looks like an exposition but is essentially just main character droning about how he assumes (wrongly, as we later learn) magic works. If you weren't already repulsed by the fanservice, the tedious start might drive you away.
The story finally starts progressing in the second episode but its badly executed. Main character is given the standard "bullied in the past" sob story to justify him being a shut-in, as well as garner some sympathy from the audience. But all it takes is the waifu character to accompany him outside and, just like that, years’ worth of trauma goes away in a poof! For being a failure in his past life, this was the only baggage our main character brought along (him being a pervert is never acknowledged as a flaw). And now that it’s gone, the show is free to exalt his standing to the ultimate wish fulfilment protagonist. Every plot development from here on out has just one purpose: to make the main character look good.
Within the next two episodes, Rudy literally goes from a shut-in loser with zero social skills to someone who makes people swoon just by existing. When he gets scolded by a parent, they end up getting schooled by him. When he coerces a child to undress, she ends up falling for him. When his family seems on the verge of falling apart from a drama forced upon them, he simply utters the magic words and it's all forgotten like it never happened. His maid who thought he was a devil now worships him, even going as far as to pledge her unborn child's future to serving him.
This is fanfiction level of writing. It's hard to take this shit seriously.
So, what next? I know we're only 4 episodes in but those are more than enough to deduce that this show isn't getting any better (after all, what are the chances the author will become competent overnight?). If anything, things will only get worse from here as more drama is contrived and characters are created solely to idolize the main character without justification.
I want to end this by saying that I may have been bamboozled at the start but now I am fully invested in this with a new objective: witness the heights of trashiness isekai can achieve.
Cheers!
Feb 6, 2021
I've been thinking about getting into review writing for some time now, and I think Jobless Reincarnation (the Japanese name is a mouthful, sorry) is a good place to start because oh boy, I have things to say about this show. I know that a lot of you might be thinking why review a show with only four episodes out. Well, I wouldn't really call this a review to be honest. Think of this as me documenting my thoughts on the show so far, and speculating where it will go from here - because I think I have a fairly good idea judging from the
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