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If I had to point out one single anime of 2021 which was one of the most controversial yet highly acclaimed in equal balance, it would undeniably be Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. For better or worse, if you’ve been keeping your ears unplugged, you surely must have seen or heard a discourse on this particular show where the participants are always either of the two: love it for what it is, or hate it with every fibre of their being. So, you might ask what part of the love-hate spectrum do I fall here that I’m bringing in this review? That, read on to find ... out, I’ve done my best to keep it spoiler-free.

Mushoku Tensei, in essence, is your typical Narou-kei isekai-fantasy where it follows the most monotonous sequence of setting up the narrative: the protagonist (a total loser in life) hits rock bottom > gets involved in a traffic accident > dies > wakes up in a Medieval world of swords and sorcery > he’s now blessed a second chance while physiologically and potentially gifted, hurray! Three cheers for the Gods... or not, for the viewers. From the top of my head, I can count the number of isekai shows/novels that follow the same type of premise on two hands. But despite this humdrum chain of events, what does it do differently from the run-of-the-mill isekai while starting out with, more or less, the exact same motif?

[The Narrative Aspects]

~ Protagonist: The Conflict and Resolution ~

Rudeus Greyrat, though by no means a good (otherwise, “morally correct”) person, his character, to me, feels like a bona fide human. Despite being gifted with otherworldly strengths, his flaws as a character keep him grounded as a believable scum of society and a human being with very serious problems. He is not a hero with boundless courage that punishes evildoers; he is not the knight in shining armour who descends to pick up a damsel from distress; needless to say, he has very questionable tendencies and as such he is far from perfect. Rudeus is barely a likeable character, a detestable character to say the least. With all that being said, it is especially worth noting that he is, as a matter of fact, improving; to most it would seem he is still, and nothing more, than a revolting creep. His intrusive perverse instances emphasized every now and then, however, should not let you sidetrack from the fact that he is genuinely trying to live a life he would not regret again. He has been living his life all for himself and nothing more for decades and continued for another ten years in his new life, but by the end of the cour, he has finally built real bonds he would treasure and people who would cherish back that bond. It is to say, he is not on the path to redemption yet, but he has unmistakably set foot on the starting line of it. It would have been, evidently, an impossible road for him to traverse alone but he now has the people who’ll push him forward when he stops walking, and people who’ll help him stand when he stumbles. The end of this cour marks the beginning of Rudeus’ new walk of life and it will be worth seeing how far and how long he’d be able to continue this path.

~ Cast Ensemble: The Pivotal Key ~

The cast is one collective element that firmly consolidates itself as one of the most crucial aspects of this show. It is no stretch to say, Mushoku would not be even a quarter of what it is without the contribution of characters that lie outside the main-cast domain for this is a heavily character-driven story. There are always a set of characters who will be of the utmost focus in each arc; it is quite refreshing, for once, to see an isekai-fantasy utilize its cast to the fullest to provide varying sorts of impact on the protagonist and the plot instead of them revolving around him. However, that being said, it does not imply that the characters in question will be someone you will adore as a matter of fact. It is not just one or two characters one would find morally repulsive, but quite a few who’d make the viewer don a worried face in an abundant amount of scenes. The characters are one of the tools the author has mastered the employment of, but the issue lies in the exhibit nature the character has been implanted with that would create an issue if you are one who cares for moral and ethical subjects.

~ Storyline: The Background Force ~

Unlike your typical fantasy show where the plots thrown into are what influences the characters, Mushoku Tensei, for the most part, is the character driving the plot instead. The story plot is always a reactionary chain of events that are governed by characters who are seeking change in themselves or for others. But that is not to say the events are unimportant. In fact, they are forces that bind the characters, an unseeable chemical bond, or rather a backdrop provided for the characters on stage. As a result of this nature of the plot events serving as merely a secondary facet of the narrative, many believe that the show does not have a good plotline. In my perspective, Mushoku Tensei’s subtle plotline is in its charm. It does not have adrenaline-rushed high-stake scenarios; nor does it have the epic storytelling nature of high fantasies. But it does have a crucial ingredient that provides a unique flavour despite missing a lot of the conventional fantasy idiosyncrasies - a down-to-earth cast, constituting the kernel of the plotline, who you can come to fully understand their behaviours and motives if you actually try to connect to them. The plotline is merely a backdrop that changes behind the stage; the characters’ reactionary stances and decisions they make for themselves in front of it as to carry the ad lib play and subsequently maneuvering the backdrop to exciting new places for the audience is the true distinction of Mushoku Tensei’s storytelling.

[The Production Aspect]

Moving on from the narrative aspects we now arrive at the production side of things. What do I even need to prove the superlative production value of the show? I could bellow “goat, raw, kino, swag” like an Anime-Twitter madman would and that wouldn’t, even ironically, sum up the care and passion that was poured from the staff.

~ Creators: Mise en Scène ~

The leading creation team behind Mushoku Tensei is Studio Bind, a brand-new studio with a close-to-zero track record. Despite being skeptical at the announcement, this new studio, a joint venture of Egg Firm and Studio White Fox, has managed to stun the viewers by their display of absolute expertise at their craft. Manabu Okamoto (composition, script, storyboard, director) (ReZero, Akame, Idolmaster) and Hiroki Hirano (composition, script, storyboard) (ReZero, Akame, SAO) have proved themselves a seasoned duo with a great passion for the show. Mushoku Tensei is one with great lengths of monologue and large expository content here and there, and incorporating those content with animation is no easy feat. To be able to continuously find ways to entertain the viewers as much as possible during those scenes proves the show is blessed to have such competent project leaders.

~ Visuals: A Unity of Virtuosity ~

The animation led by Kazutaka Sugiyama (Franxx, Occultic Nine, Idolmaster) and Yochiko Saito (ReZero, Fire Force, Index III) features veteran animators like Hiroyuki Takashima, Ryo Imamura, Akira Hamaguchi, and many more, inevitably the animation is nothing short of breathtaking. The subtlety of a human (or Demon, in some context) in motion and realistic movement of animals are quite the presentation in this show, not to mention the almost non-existent CGI for monsters and background movements left me in a daze. In the truest sense, every episode of Mushoku Tensei is a treat from the animators and getting bored with the presentation is the last thing one would have in mind. While we’re on the topic of visual presentations, let me also take the time to appreciate the beauty of the background art. The background art, directed by Masakazu Miyake (Steins Gate, KonoSuba, Fate/Zero), is tremendously alluring. Whether it be the village, the forest, the city, the barren lands, his attention to details is intricate and his pieces impart atmospheric ideas. Miyake, of course, is not the sole genius behind the art - Makiko Doi (colour designs) (Initial D, Gundam, Fate/Apocrypha) has exceptional eyes for captivating and eye-catching colours. The palette and toning of huge extended backgrounds, panorama, aerial views, are vibrant and full of life. These joint efforts of various talents have coordinated and produced the staggering visuals of Mushoku Tensei.

Sounds: An Element in Anticipation

The sounds are also worth mentioning. The musical composition is brought to us by the phenomenal Yoshiaki Fujisawa (Houseki, Yorimoi, Gate). Though we were not able to hear the full magic of Yoshiaki’s talent, of the few instances we were able to hear it was not bad at all. Yoshiaki, as usual, knows how to compose truly Medieval and mystical-sounding pieces that amalgamate with the mood and setting of the show so well. It is still too soon to judge critical aspects of the music because the narrative has not allowed for the majority of the first cour to add much music due to the calmness of everything. But I expect we will be able to hear more in the next cour as there are exciting action and adventure awaiting us ahead. Will we experience a “Houseki no Kuni” level of ear stimulation? I am, and we should all be, very eager to find out what Yoshiaki will offer this time.

Adaptation Aspect

With all that out of the way, I’m finally here to actually gauge the adaptation quality of the show. Now, whether it was a good adaptation or a bad one this did not hinder my enjoyment to large extents. Even as a stand-alone show, it does fare quite well and one can totally delve into it without needing extra context from the novels (though having knowledge of them would only serve to improve your experience during the show).

To start off, it should already be widespread knowledge that not all novel content can be translated into animation, consequently we should be as lenient as possible on that note. In the show, the writers have taken the liberty to remove a large amount of exposition in order to fit key moments into an episode as they have to cram two and half volumes in just 11 episodes. Normally, that would leave viewers at a loss with the new developments within the story because a big fraction of the exposition are basically unknown to them. That, however, doesn’t seem to pose a problem in the case of Mushoku. The writers have ingeniously inserted all sorts of exposition at different scenes, even just visually they even went out of their way to isolate those scenes in order to shoot the information into the viewers’ hippocampus by creating emphasis.

Needless to say, quite an amount of screentime for the support cast was also omitted, and being completely honest, it is disappointing. To cut down the support cast’s characterization, especially, would prove to be ineffectual considering a lot of plot points that bring those support characters into the limelight will occur in the future of the series. When the anime reaches those parts of the content it is inevitable that the normal viewer would be alienated by the development of those said characters because, in the first place, the anime never offered enough characterization for us to connect. I do understand that the writers are working on this season with an episode limit, therefore not being blessed with a lot of creative freedom, however that does not mask my disappointment. Because one of the novel’s strongest points I wholeheartedly love, that is taking the time to explore the huge cast by their perspectives, was rubbed out of existence. That being said, I am curious as to how Manabu Okamoto and Hiroki Hirano will handle this in the future; apart from this criticism of mine, they’ve aced in almost all the other parts. Will they disappoint once more by letting it all flow as is, or will they pull something (positively) unbelievable feat to pull in the characters? Only time will us

[Conclusion]

In the culmination of all the things I’ve laid out, it is now time to pull the curtain on this long review of mine. Mushoku Tensei is a brilliant show that brought us a fresh flavor to the oversaturated menu known disappointingly to many as “isekai”. It, by no means, pioneers new tropes to take the viewers on a never-trodden-before trail. Rather, the show is a synthesis of all the existing overused tropes which (by context of this release period) recycles them into something savoury and worthwhile. Served with a brilliant cast, and seasoned with an ever-expanding immersive world of swords and sorcery, with a side dish of production worth filled to the brim with passion - an exciting course that would possibly, in the coming future, become Studio Bind’s plat du jour.