Mushoku Tensei II: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu

Despite the whole beating around the bush simulator thing I did like the course this first cour of Mushoko Tensei season 2 took, and although everyone's arms are sore and can't lift up anymore I'm at least happy with the outcome of the most painful and wince educing teenage romantic comedy someone can watch in the 21st century. If that all sounds somewhat bitter-suit that's because it is.
First things first, I have to give credit where credit is due, this is not the first time Mushoku Tensei decided to take an unpredictable path when compared to its counterparts. There is a true commitment ... to make the most realistic portrayal of a used-to-be-loser who has to reconcile his previous and current lives problems, even if at the cost of the patience and good will of some viewers, I know a lot of anime fans can't help but feel annoyed when issues that seem solved previously resurface again, but that's just how life is. Here things are even worse, after our boy Rude had just lost his virginity on the previous season I expected a slight more confident slight less awkward protagonist going for the big leagues and doing some crazy magic vfx, but nothing could be farther from the truth, being unable to maintain even his sense of humor we get a few years of slump. I had only pity and contempt for the guy.
At this point we get on all that was not great about Mushoku Tensei, the first few episodes feel extremely dry and hard to warm up to, yes it is winter, but our monotone directionless protagonist seems to be accompanied by a likewise direction which makes the few emotional highs and battles climax which could remedy some of that fall flat on their feet. A good direction can save a lackluster animation: emphasis on facial expressions and va on emotional moments, a variety of interesting angles on battle scenes with lower budget and dialogue-heavy scenes, all of this was lacking in this cour.
So, would I recommend you watch it? I can only speak for myself when I say yes, but I'm also someone that don't mind the tone of the humor used here, if that's something that might throw you off I would say do not watch it and save the world the possible creation of dozen of topics complaining about it.

Even though this anime is highly controversial, I am actually happy it isn't as popular as could be, because it feels more special.

Previous season, well 2 parts, was interesting, however I personally didn't like some ecchi aspects and part of the storytelling. I thought this will be another generic ecchi focused mainly around ecchi genre and 2nd season will be bad. Well, it's not the case.

Despite this anime being labeled as isekai ecchi as one of the main flags, 2nd season went very well ahead and was, at least for me, more enjoyable than the first season. Anime got rid of annoying parts I didn't ... like, stopped overusing some aspects and story is projecting Rudeus somehow more realistically with his thoughts and behavior.

At the end of the day this kind of anime is supposed to make your day better and create a smile on your face. There wasn't a single episode where I wouldn't laugh. It's more funny, with that "healthy" level of cringe and it will definitely make your day better.

I've seen some complains from LN readers about some parts being too slow this season. I've been watching it after full release, so I didn't quite catch this but it's true that some parts were slower and maybe a bit boring if you were watching it during release time span. And even after it there are moments that didn't get enough care and anime in some parts is telling consequences to the previous story as if you watched it day before, so it can be a bit confusing if it's been a while since you finished first season. Thus I would recommend you to watch some recap of the first season before jumping into this one, otherwise you may find yourself confused in a few parts, not fully understanding the context.

When I'll put everything together, pros, cons and a general feeling and enjoyement, I have to say that this season did a much much better job than I've been expecting from such anime and I have no regrets trying it. And as I already said, if you want something to make your day better, because at the end of the day that's what matters, this anime is right choice. Also I didn't read the LN yet but so far what I saw, some LN readers' complains are on the spot, so it's possible you would enjoy LN more than anime, hard to say.

The second season of Mushoku Tensei continues to make the case of being one of the best isekai anime right now, and the first cour of this season helps build this case. There's less action and adventuring in this season but is done so in order to spend more time with Rudeus' development. The side characters aren't as prevalent in the plot of this time as they were in Season 1, however the trade-off with this by focusing more on Rudeus' personal and internal struggles is worth it. Yes, Rudeus is still a very weird character and there were some moments in this cour that ... did take me out of the show, the story is actively developing his character in order to continuously grow out of his social shell from his previous life. The last few episodes were very satisfying and once again make me want more from this series.

I have been acquainted with Mushoku Tensei since 2015 when it still exists as a web novel. The thing about Mushoku Tensei is its story doesn't really have a pre-defined genre in a sense of word, meaning it can be adventure, action, Slice of Life, Drama, Psychological, and Romance unlike most other anime which always get slapped with one of the labels above as a way to categorically defined them. The narrative or the genre always follow the core of its story which is Rudeus and as if "real life" itself, there were not always going to be adventuring or migrating to certain places, and ... fighting everyone or monsters, and the same goes to Rudeus. This season is more grounded and more towards slice of life, a little bit of drama and romance which change the pace to a slower but gradual school life progression but as meaningful as his adventuring episodes. This season is by no mean as cinematic or "peaked" as previous season, it has less adventuring and more slice of life, interpersonal, and mental health drama. This is himself underwent a traumatic experience as for what happened in last season, which resulting a medical/physical "condition" whichever your angle in seeing it. Thus, this cour in particular is a journey to find a way to solve this particular conditions while also eventually resolved his trauma.

Does this slow arc lessen my enjoyment? Nope, not at all, probably because I'm a sucker for this particular genre. Excel in characters as previous season or probably even more so this season because it take a step back and explore Rudeus and other characters. The build up and the payoff of the arc was also satisfying. Plus, the OP and ED was a banger of a song.

Overall: 9/10

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation has certainly caught a lot of eyes lately, and for good reason. The first season was fantastic, with wonderful characters, a strong basis to the story, and a fast paced plot that moved us from place to place. Season 2 changes a few things up and while the base is still there, there are some minor bumps along the way.

Story & Characters: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 sets us up with Rudeus, heading to the northern towns where he hopes to get some leads on his missing mother, Zenith. It's here that he decides to set up ... shop by taking on quests, and hoping to grow his reputation enough that it'll lead to his name getting out. I liked this setup, and was very cautiously optimistic with it, because many series have a habit of our characters taking quests, only to have no 'real' progression in the story after each one. This is not quite the case here, as eventually, Rudeus eventually joins up with two parties to further his reputation.

The first party is a pretty straight forward group of adventurers, keen on making sure they get their daily pay, though don't over any long-term ambitions as of this season. It's a good group, though not one I found myself getting terribly attached to. Sara is the one that might be the most interesting of the crew, and even though her personality levels out a bit, she's not on the same level as some of our characters in season 1. The story felt like it was just kind of moving along at times during this time, slowing down the quicker pace that the first season held for so long. It wasn't so slow that it became a real problem, but it's a minor adjustment here. Rudeus eventually finds another party that ultimately leads to some clues on Zenith, and it's here that we start to see some characters flaws with our lead. We've always known to Rudeus' other self to be kind of a jerk at times, but the transition between parties amplifies this. The leader of the new party has personalities that are a little all over the place, but his insistence on stereotypical "manliness" matches some of the tones of this series. While this is fine in theory, it made me somewhat pessimistic about the direction of the story.

After finding a lead on Zenith, Rudeus relocates to a school of magic where he hopes to take advantage of their resources for his own purposes. So while he is going there to learn about different fields of magic, he clearly has other plans. One of those "other plans" is unfortunately a sticking point for the rest of the season and kind of reminds you why this series is also an Ecchi series. The fan service and Ecchi elements really do get in the way and makes what has otherwise been strong writing up until now, sour a little. Some people obviously welcome this, but it really didn't jive for me. That being said, everything else around this new setting was fantastic. We start to learn about the mana disaster, as well as some outside knowledge what students at the school learn about - not just offensive magic, but also healing, curses, summoning, and the like. They don't overload you with information, but give you enough that you get what's going on in the story.

We also see some old faces, including Zanoba, Elinalise and Cliff, and I was a huge fan of all of them. I wasn't sure what to think of any of them after the initial meetings with all of them, but the "getting to know you" phase clearly works wonders for our characters. Pursena and Rinia are two other characters that join our cast and have brief appearances. I gotta be honest, I don't think they were meant to be much of anything, but they're charming enough that they're welcome cast members here, even if their storyline feels somewhat crude. Badigadi makes a very brief appearance and I'm not even sure why I loved him - this was a hilarious part of an episode! Finally, second daughter princess Ariel Anemoi Asura makes an appearance at the school, and I love what she stands for. I'm curious where they take her character in future installments because, at least for now, she doesn't do a ton to change the story. Her bodyguards are Fitz and Luke, and they become much more relevant as the story progresses - for the better!

Overall, the story does feel somewhat uneven, with a slower start than usual, but manages to finish quite well - the last two episodes in particular were pure magic, and a solid reason why viewers should be optimistic about what is to come next year. Parts of Jobless Reincarnation's story obviously isn't for everyone, but I'm hoping they tone it down just a little for future installments. (Story: 7/10, Characters: 8/10)

Art: I'm not entirely sure if it's just me, but the animation really struggled at times, and even during some of the scenes with less movement, it really didn't look up to it's usual par. Character details didn't look nearly as refined and action scenes didn't remain crisp. Backgrounds remain roughly the same, which seems fine. Fan service is obviously a sticking point, but even if what we see on the screen is problematic, they at least kept what they showed to a minimum. (6/10)

Sound: Everything in the sound department remains the same as before, which is always good to see (hear?). The OP is a mostly gentle tune that matches previous songs, though this time there's pre-set animation. VO cast all return from previous seasons, and they're all solid. Ian Sinclair (Zanoba) might be my favourite here. I didn't even know Giovannie Cruz (Suzanne) is did VO work since I last heard her a few years ago. Other welcome additions include Sarah Wiedenheft (Ariel), Suzie Yeung (Shizuka), Alejandro Saab (Soldat), Ray Hurd (Badigadi) and Alexis Tipton (Rinia). Oh, and Brandon McInnis (Man God) still rules in those type of roles. (9/10)

Overall: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 is still a strong entry in the Isekai genre, even if this one had some growing pains along the way. It manages to us to a fantastic destination, and even if the Ecchi elements overstay their welcome, you can mostly ignore it in favour of the the strong characters. Where they go from here, I'm not sure, but I'll definitely be checking it out. (8/10)

Season two of Mushoku Tensei slows the story down and takes more of a slice of life approach.

Story 7/10
Although the slice of life is fun, I wouldn't exactly call it a great story. The whole season basically focuses on teen romance and emotions filled with slice of life to stretch out the story.

Characters 6/10
The characters are the same as before. Rudy is still a pervert, but seems to be taking a turn for the better, hopefully. New characters are rather meaningless.

Art 9/10
Pretty much the same as before, maybe slightly worse overall. The first few episodes were filled with inconsistencies and messiness, but once we entered ... the school setting, all of these problems seemed to disappear.

Sound 9/10
Same quality as before. I miss the way the earlier seasons had the opening playing on top of the episode. Current opening fits the slice of life aspect quite well. Would've preferred if they changed Rudy's voice actor now that he's older. Feels weird that his voice doesn't change as he grows.

Enjoyment 8/10
Enjoyable slice of life is really all you can say. All excitement and tension is gone, but I still had fun with it.

Overall 8/10
Overall a welcome change. We basically see Rudy finally taking a break from all the adventuring and focusing more on himself.

Mushoku Tensei’s second season was the anime I’d been patiently waiting for ever since part two of the first season finished airing. This show is one of my favorite isekai of all time as well as being the best Isekai of Summer 2023. This is due to the fact it doesn’t abandon who the main character was before being isekai’d and found a balance between having a strong protagonist and obstacles that are difficult to overcome. The second season wasn’t the insane follow up to where we’d left off in the story some might’ve wanted, but was an important opportunity for Rudeus to look inward ... and address some of his thoughts and feelings.

The main obstacle of the season being his lack of libido came off as ridiculous, however when unpacked is a legitimate premise. Being abandoned by someone you’ve become so close with is bound to have negative psychological effects. The downward spiral that left Rudeus unconfident and fearful of getting close to someone ending up the same way was on full display. Time and time again, Mushoku Tensei has shown its willingness to ask difficult questions and distance itself from the plethora of mind numbing power fantasy isekai. I look forward to whatever is next in store for us.