Back to Tyranidor's Profile Tyranidor's Profile

The first season of Mushoku Tensei took a bunch of overused tropes and made something interesting, new and heartfelt out of them. It's always been a mixed bag with some iffy stuff, and at least half the time this show would explore the problems within those tropes and make something refreshing. This season the scale tipped too far into just using the cliches uncritically, unchanged. A lot of this cour is romcom rubbish in the form of ongoing miscommunication that doesn't have any thematic point beyond just delaying the romance and not really developing it. Where is the show that could make a reunion between ... a father and son the most moving and enthralling part of an isekai show full of magic? That delicate hand is still sometimes there, just not enough.

The intros in the first season being different each episode, with characters exploring their locations, is sorely missed here because that sense of a really lived in world that the first season was jam-packed with is really lacking this season so far. It could be due to a change in staff inbetween seasons.

Oh and the handling of slavery was pretty gross--I know Rudy is a very flawed character but, dude. Same with the kidnapping and assault stuff that is just played for laughs--it's jarring in a show that at least takes Rudy's traumas seriously.

Overall the writing felt more rushed and in general the quality was a bit worse. I'm hoping things improve next cour so the show can live up to the high expectations that were set with the uncommonly good first season.

Kind of a let down.
What worked for this show was the spectacle, having genuinely entertaining twists and it seeming like it would have something insightful to say eventually--ultimately it didn’t. In some ways maybe it tried to have elements of something like Evangelion’s avant-garde ending, and again lacked the actual emotional insight that had.

The fighting lacked stakes and just felt empty like a bland blockbuster's climactic battle where more enemies supposedly makes it better. The addition of the political conspiracy stuff in season two did end up working by season three, but it’s gotta have the dark fantasy tragedy action to go with ... it–this was just action, and not even that well-choreographed (though there were some cool moments of course) and just felt like padding. Also Mikasa and Eren’s love story is barely developed so I don’t know why so much time is spent on it.

The best stuff this show had was the simple humanity barely surviving while looking cool as steampunk spidermen-people fighting flesh-mech titans in well-choreographed fights. That stuff rules and when this show is leaning into that and firing on all cyclinders it's phenomenal.

Ultimately it never beat its first season, had a major dip in quality in the second season, took too long to get good again (not until some time in the third season), and then didn't stick the landing in the end.

This is a short and sweet manga all about understanding and helping people. Machida is the sort of Jesus archetype, alien yet enhances the lives of everyone around him. He has an interesting mix of incredible people-reading skills and emotional literacy, and yet is also distant from them. This manga showed me how rare kindness is in media because seeing it depicted and valued here is so uplifting. I appreciated how specific and granular the exploration of feelings could get.

Most chapters follow the satisfying formula (so very minor non-specific plot details ahead) of Machida meets someone who is struggling with an emotional/social problem and then ... helps them. A recurring one that seems so simple yet is surprisingly powerful is characters disliking people because of multiple unpleasant social experiences and a lack of support and kindness. Machida showing them that kindness and bringing them back into the social world, happy to join in once more, makes him an unexpected role model.

If you want a cozy wholesome manga about people becoming closer this is good one.

=Brief Spoiler-free Section=
This is a fantasy-action-adventure-drama about a small prince with an intriguing mystery and appealing characters and at times jaw-dropping animation, with the writing unfortunately becoming worse as it goes on.
---
---
=Longer Spoiler-filled Section=
One problem I can have with a lot of anime that are amazing visuallyis that I don't care about the characters at all and I can't become immmersed and it's just boring spectacle to me (I wish I could be entranced by the visuals and symbolism alone). This is one of the rare anime that both looks amazing and has lovable and intriguing characters. Bojji is fantastic and so lovable, as are ... Kage and Despa and Queen Hiling (like healing because she heals haha).

The gradual introduction of different fantasy rules and just information about the characters in this show's world are done so pretty masterfully so you're kept guessing and it makes enough sense and I wanted more. Unfortunately the mysteries that were so intriguing became less so as the show goes on. Miranjo's arc felt contrived and I just didn't care about it as much as the show did. I didn't get why she wanted so badly to be with her surrogate father forever and ever, why I should care about her being redeemed, why Daida would want to marry her--lots of weird stuff happens. Kage's backstory in the second episode was much better, and heartbreaking. Yet its bleakness always had the underlying sweetness of Kage yearning for connection and that being framed by the show as not a weakness--this isn't some hypermasculine individualist fantasy. Also the Ouken stuff, also initially fascinating, was unresolved and felt a bit unnecessary and increasingly rushed in general.

Plot-wise things became more contrived about halfway through, with an increase in the frequency of close calls to the point where it seems like Bojji or another beloved character is about to die and then of course they are saved just in time. The plot armour became too visible, after in the first several episodes it had seemed like anything could have happened. Of course I would have hated if Bojji had died--I just wished he'd avoided death all those times in less contrived ways. Speaking of contrived--Kage leaving in the final episode and then him and Bojji reuniting--yet it still tugged my heartstrings effectively because their friendship is so beautiful.
More generally, the action can be fun, and is often beautifully realised with dynamic angles and fluid movement. When the show wants to be funny it's actually funny, unlike Demon Slayer (and I like Demon Slayer).

I really wish this show had somehow managed to maintain the incredible quality of the first half or so, and in the end only the animation remained fantastic.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7/10.