Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

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Moderator Edit: This review may contain spoilers.

Hi there, you want to know if this novel is worth it? Then let me tell you the reasons why this novel is overrated and why the MC is one of the worst that exist.

First of all, i read many volumes, at least 200+ chapters. I thought that i should give it a chance, maybe the story and the MC will improve. But that was unfortunately not the case.

The MC: Rudeus Greyart - A NEET, who masturbates on the funeral of his parents. Ok. This is how the novel starts. I think, wait what??!?! Why?! Did his parents do ... something? Maybe he isn't a bad person, just a wrong education, bad influence etc. But this was not the case.
He spent his life lying, leeching, doing nothing. Just watching loli-porn all day and masturbating.
His siblings see him and throw him out of the flat, which he really deserved.

After he gets a new life granted, he decides to do everything better. To become a better person. To respect his family, which he did not in his previous life. I believed in him, i thought he seriously tried to change and become a better person.

So i continued to read, until chapter 200. And NOPE, he is still the same person he was before. Still a coward, still having malicious thoughts, why did the author invent such a bad person?

One example, his parents get abducted. What does he do? He does nothing, he totally forgets the people that gave him as much love as possible. The people that tried to raise him to a good, honorable man. The people that would die for him. He travels for some years, makes some wives, goes to school, enjoys his daily life not thinking one moment if his parents are fine. Not a single second he thinks of his parents, just leaving them. He KNEW that his mother was kidnapped, that she might be a slave by now. But he does not care a single bit.

After his father asks him why he did not search for his mother he gets angry and beats him up. Ok?! Not even feeling shame for what he did, he gets aggressive. He beats him up in front of his 4 year old sister that gets traumalized after that. Good job mate

Another example, he sees slaves, naked, in a prison cell. They were previously raped and tortured. What does Rudues Greyart, the MC, think? Of course how nice it would be to have one of them in his bed. SERIOUSLY?! They were fucking raped and he thinks with his ****.

A third reason: He is a pedophile. Thats not my conclusion, he himself says and knows it. He, a 50 year old guy lusts after 7 year old girls. So lets sum it up.

A MC, that does not give a single shit about his family. Someone who constantly thinks bad about people, having one of the worst personalities ever. Lusting after little girls. Has 3 wives but earns 0 money, still leeching off other people.

Fucking Japan, producing this shit and still getting good sales.

Should you read this? That's sorta the big question here and for those of you who only want to know that it should be covered in the first part very rapidly. If you want more in depth this will be getting rather long as I explain each point a little more. For a story such as this I don’t think a number scale really shows a good representation of whether or not to read the series, this story is incredibly long and a wish fulfillment to the extreme, as such I would say it is more important to be the target audience than an objective ... critic. So, here we go.

Should I read this? This is a list of the most important to least important aspects to who you are as a reader.
Most Important – Least Important
1. Are you between the ages of 12-17?
2. Can you stop reading stories halfway through?
3. Do you read very little or have little familiarity with Japanese story tropes?

At this point if you have answered “yes” to 2/3 of these first questions I would highly suggest you go read this, don’t even bother reading the more in depth reasoning’s given later until you’ve finished the first few volumes of the story.

4. I love the “trapped in a video game” genre. (Or I have no idea what this point means)
5. Do you enjoy turning your brain off to read?
6. I rarely analyse stories.
7. I don’t mind characters acting strange for the sake of the plot.

I could go on with this list but you get the point, I will speak about each of these points more in depth below but if you haven’t started reading yet then I would suggest starting right after this paragraph and ignoring everything else I say. The only point that needs some light explanation before you go is number 2. I read up to volume 13 and I can say that the story goes from amazing to steadily worse, so don’t hold on if you feel yourself getting bored, at that point come back here to complain / praise the story and see if it matches up with the rest of this review.

1. Are you between the ages of 12-17?
Now there are a few generic reasons I think this is important, first off you are closer to the protagonist for the parts of the story that are the most entertaining. Being closer to the main characters age is always nice in a wish fulfillment since you relate so much better to them, also, as far as I can tell that age is the target demographic as the Main Character (I’ll be calling him Rudi) seems to have the disposition of a teenage boy the entire story. Another rather generic one is that you have less life experience to compare to an actual story, for instance the younger you are the more you’ll enjoy your first stories, and the older you get it seems you become more critical comparing the story to other stories as well as your own life. Since this story relies quite a bit on suspension of disbelief (more so than a normal wish fulfillment) the less you think the better it seems to be. Now generic stuff out of the way the story just seems less weird if you’re younger. When I was reading I was generally able to look over lots of the perverted stuff, since I’m more or less used to the fan servicy stuff (nudity) and a rather quick reader I just skimmed over it. However the sheer amount of incredibly detailed perversion in this story is rather absurd, so much so I would say it’s impossible to avoid. A lot of it is generic panties, boobs, and buts sort of stuff and some of it is done in an ok manner, so while not being a strong point of the story it doesn’t really drag it down. The problem comes up when you get back to the perspective of the story. Two characters banging for no real reason without any romantic buildup? Well I guess that’s ok. Oh it happens fairly often you say? Well still ok. Oh, they’re younger than 14? Well sorta weird but not a deal breaker. And one of those “kids” is actually a 40 year old in a kid’s body? Well, fuck, that’s really messed up then isn’t it? So you sorta see what I’m getting at, it’s weird, and more than that it’s unavoidably in your face about it as well, it’s not something that is addressed as being weird either, it’s more just “perverted people gonna do perverted things” and everyone’s sorta ok with it. But back to how this relates to being a teenager who’s reading this. If you’re 14 say, you get to avoid all the weird stuff about the random sex scenes being between kids, cuz hey, that’s your age! Lucky you! All you have to get over is the fact that one of them is actually 40 but hey, that’s way less of a barrier than someone over 18 will have. In all seriousness this is a large factor in me dropping the books, the ridiculous perversion is just too over the top, I don’t know if it’s a culture thing with the younger characters banging or what but it got to a point that I became aware of it too much, and then it bothered me forever.

2. Can you stop reading stories halfway through? (Or, where’d all that cool shit I was promised go!)
This story dives harder than a base jumper. If I were to have stopped reading after volume 2 I’d give the series an 8/10. Actually up till volume 4 it would be an arguable 8/10 still, but it can’t keep it up. This story abandons its good points, and it doesn't really explain why. The 2 big ones are the change in themes / tones, and ideas never really being expanded on despite being really interesting. The main theme in this story is rebirth and new chances, and that’s an awesome theme to have with this type of story. However Rudi doesn’t keep changing, he sorta just ends up as complicated as he’s gonna get around volume 4 and then almost loses development slipping backwards to who he was in his previous life. It’s almost as if Rudi just becomes the same as his past self except with determination, like that’s really it. When I stopped reading Rudi’s past self was basically a generic NEET, and by basically I mean exactly. The problem here is that NEET’s are pretty much people without determination, so just add determination and you’ll get a relatively standard human being. Rudi’s first life had the traits of, shut in, pervert, and selfish. Seeing Rudi overcome his shut in self was great, and to a degree the selfishness is gone as well, but the perversion is almost grandiose, it goes against the message of the story. Rudi is essentially the same person as his past life just with more confidence and power. But this isn’t a bad thing. If you wanted to delve into this it would be amazing to see the contrast of how people treat you based off appearance and success despite still being a normal bordering on lousy human being. This doesn’t happen. Rather everyone just sorta treats Rudi like a god, and well, he pretty much is in terms of power, but he’s not a good guy. He still struggles with his relationships with people as he did in his past life and still has his perversion to a hyperbolic degree, but you’re supposed to believe he’s truly changed. The disconnect between the Rudi the reader sees and how other characters treat Rudi is absurd, and that’s an issue. There’s really no conflict surrounding Rudi’s personality, he’s never forced to change so he never does, and that’s fine, but it’s not fine in a story where the main theme is changing oneself with new opportunities. Another thing that gets thrown away is the whole melding of worlds which would allow Rudi to use magic and science combined to beat up everyone. Sounds awesome. Is awesome. But no, scrap that idea, we need more school life and panty stealing. The ideas just sorta pitter out and it’s rather annoying. Since the story is so long I gave it a ton of leeway in its buildup, I kept reading thinking things would improve, things were looking good as well, and characters were seeing development and it was more a slice of life genre getting to know more about the world. A tad boring but it seemed like a great set up, but no. The shift in tones is almost unavoidable in a series of this length, and since I’d thoroughly enjoyed the start so much I kept on reading. Personally what ended up driving me away was this really weird love / harem / relationship? Stuff that was going on. I really don’t mind the harem genre, it’s sort of always just below average quality but usually entertaining, however this story seemed to do things differently. We had important family values presented early on, we also had a whole subplot about what it means to be faithful. Alright, this is good. I expected standard harem from the cover but this is nice, and for a long time it is. Then we get a random sex scene, well ok, little weird but sure makes enough sense I guess. Wait now we have a misunderstanding between the 2? Well ok, little generic but ok. Now we don’t see that other character at all? WTF, (Like legit when I stopped this character was still off on their own doing random adventure things.) But still it’s largely ok. Wait another random sex scene? Well I guess not that random... But far from logical. And that’s the problem, the relationships surrounding Rudi are pretty good, even the female characters are pretty good on their own, but at some point Rudi just bangs em then they become super generic and boring. It makes no sense. For instance Rudi gets married, really weird tonal shift I thought, we’ve got this pervert getting married? Why? Seems like a bad mix for someone who wants to bang everyone. But it sorta worked, like in a creepy “my wife is a sex doll” sorta way, but it worked, 6/10. Rudi seems hella serious about it and is seeming to be a good guy about the whole thing. O no! A succubus! But wait, that wasn’t the reason for Rudi to break his marriage vows, really impressive honestly that it was written that way, points for not taking the easy way out Mr. Writer. But later Rudi breaks his vows anyways, in a super illogical dumb way, so I had to stop reading because it was getting too dumb and all the female characters I liked became sex objects. The drop in character quality is annoying, the lack of continuation of ideas is annoying, the pacing is annoying, the tonal shifts are annoying, all of these combined resulted in my dropping the series. If you are someone who has to finish a series once started be wary of this one.

3. Do you read very little or have little familiarity with Japanese story tropes?
This story has been done before, and it’s generic to boot. The main appeals that stood out to me was some solid characters and humour. If you’ve never been exposed to these types of characters before you’ll immensely enjoy the story. If you’ve read a lot of these types of stories and enjoyed them then still give it a go, but if you’ve seen it all before maybe let this one slide.

4. I love the “trapped in a video game” genre. (Or I have no idea what this point means)
Like I said earlier, if this is your niche type of story you’ll find everything you’re looking for here.


5. Do you enjoy turning your brain off to read?
This is not an in depth deep thought “I am so edgy kind of story”, it’s largely an upbeat adventure where you go around beating the crap out of everything. It has some good mental parts but if you think about the story too much it becomes worse, this is a pure good time kill the baddies bang the ladies video game type plot.

6. I rarely analyse stories.
So I do this very little, and I try to do it even less, but even I got caught up in the flaws that come up throughout the story. Basically the plot is really bad as the story goes on. If you want to test this ask yourself “Why are the characters acting the way they do,” now that’s the next part of the review, but it also applies here. Rudi is pretty powerful, but he’s no god. Well fuck. Now how will he know everything and anything and decide what to do to save the day? “Why don’t we just have a vague character who calls himself god tell him exactly what to do?” Brilliant! This is a weak point in the plot, it’s the equivalent of “go here” “Do this,” well a little better. At the start it was interesting to know if the advice was malicious or not, and I see this being a major plot point in the story past where I stopped reading, but it’s so slow and not explained. So the result is just super strong Rudi being told to do things by an even stronger character who is apparently on his side for some reason. A second issue is the pure randomness that happens and lack of knowledge the reader gets. Like are we being real when the strongest fighter in the ENTIRE world just sort of shows up, beats the shit out of everyone, and then goes and fucks off having almost no impact on the story? Like that was crazy? Why did that happen? We’ve got OP Rudi being guided by even more OP random character and the hardest fight they have is just randomly wrong place wrong time? Like c’mon. And there’s no answers! It makes no sense, why are we having this random panty bullshit when I still don’t know what’s happening? Like we get Rudi’s perspective, but we also get that Rudi’s a small part in a big world, but we know shit about shit about this world’s politics. Strong enemies show up all but unexplained and Rudi just sort of beats them..? What? Rudi is strong, we get it, but how he gets stronger is really random, like having a power level for the opponents could help a lot. Like Oh, this guy is 5000, Rudi is 5250, that was a close fight. Like I had no idea who was strong or not when I finished, it just seems that Rudi beats everyone except like 4 people, only one of which he’s ever actually fought. Rudi just sorta gets stronger, and it's ok I guess but really poorly represented. Also what the fuck happened to caring about the giant explosion teleportation thing? We just accept it as a natural disaster and that’s it? It was one of the most random plot points I’ve ever seen and it still didn’t make any sense as to who made it happen. This book focuses on the wrong things, ideas that should be flushed out aren’t, why Rudi only uses a rock bullet every fucking fight but still wins is also a mystery, too many inconsistencies and point A to point B plot lines. Its fine for a journey but having what basically amounts to a narrator telling Rudi what to do all the time is ridiculous without any context. Also some of these may seem bordering on spoilers, but fear not, you get about a paragraph of buildup or knowledge that these events could happen, yeah, it’s that sudden.

7. I don’t mind characters acting strange for the sake of the plot.
These characters do the dumbest things for the sake of entertainment. Overall it’s pretty straightforward characters act how they are represented throughout the story, but you need a little better than “most of the time act reasonably” to convince me these are real people. While a lot of this can be attributed to forcing the plot along and characters we don’t know just sorta doing their own things that we may or may not find out about later on, some of the things just get ridiculous. There’s 2 main parts to this that I really noticed, first off is that everyone’s relationships are bullshit. Like bring sex into the equation and it’s used almost as a magical tool to fix things. Characters never build into liking each other, well maybe they sorta do if you wanna argue it, but relationships go from friends to sex in a paragraph. And some of the characters make a lot of sense when this happens, it suits them to go have random sex and fall in love, but that’s not how relationships work as a rule, that’s more the exception. For instance characters it makes no sense for them to seek out sex, like it’s been built up that they’re innocent and the like, then they just go for it no holds barred style. And the issue with this is Rudi. Female characters act so dumb around him it’s unbelievable at times. But that’s spoiler talk so let’s stop that. An easy spoiler free example is Rudi’s reaction, have sex = marriage. What? Well I guess a plot twist on his personality..? Have sex = ignore the person and leave them alone. But last time you didn’t do that… Have sex = yeah that was great, (O that’s normal, you can fit that in anywhere), but my wife is gonna be pissed. GOD DAMMIT. The inconsistency is so bad it hurts. Another part of Rudi is that he’s portrayed as super rational and not emotional, then like 10 pages later he’s all depressed. Well ok I guess that makes sense, big events, character development, a weird tonal shift but we’ll bounce back. O, what? We’re not bouncing back? Well shit, this is not really in line with the rest of your character, let’s see this new and developed Rudi. O you had sex and now you feel better and are back to the exact way you were before? O right, this is the second time this has happened now that I think about it. You have to suspend a lot of belief to grow attached to some of these characters, almost all of the complicated characters seem to fall apart somewhere in the story whether it be for the sake of the plot or the sake of sexy times.
My Enjoyment
Story: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyment: 5
Overall 4
I had so much fun with this at the start, but the drag on and on just killed it for me. I would highly recommend the first 2 volumes and say if you liked them continue reading until your interest fades out. I’m not sure why this work is as popular as it is but to hazard a guess since the intro was so good people stayed with it as it came out and kept it in high regard, overall a slightly below average story for me. But it is rather niche so even as I say it’s a 4/10 it can easily be your 9/10.
Random Thoughts
Why is any of this happening? Why are characters acting this way? Why is rock bullet the most overpowered spell in the universe? Is this the plot of an MMO? How is “pervert” a character trait?

Spoiler-free review.

First I'll do my review without spoilers, and below I'll put one with spoilers. At first, this light novel/manga was all right, but the more you read the worse it gets. A lot of people really like this story and praise it as "the only isekai with actual character development" and things like that, and while that's true for the first few volumes, but after volume 7 or so, the author throws out any more character development in favor of other things. The story is mediocre, and the characters, which were good at first, turn really flat and 1 dimensional later. I was incredibly ... disappointed and dropped it after forcing myself to read up until Volume 17.

It's also very uncomfortable sexual at times, and the MC is very perverted. Rather than getting less perverted as time goes on (character development), his perversion only increases.

MEGA SPOILERS AHEAD

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
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I WARNED YOU
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The thing that pisses me off the most about this novel wasn't the fact that the author stopped developing the characters. It's what he did with the characters after he stopped developing them. It would have been fine if he stopped with the character development so that the story could progress more quickly, but instead he just gives Rudeus a harem.

When he rescued Roxy, there could have been a great moment where Rudeus is tempted by her and then rejects her, remaining faithful to Sylphy, and letting Roxy struggle with her feelings before moving on.

Eris could have had a great arc later, where she realizes that her poor communication skills lead her to lose Rudeus, and she could have either turned into a villain, or reflected on her actions, improved herself, and found another man, but instead, there are no consequences. She still gets to become his wife, and she never learns her lesson about communication.

Rudeus could have gotten in trouble for some of his perverted actions, but instead, everyone else is fine with it, and many of them actually encourage it, so he only gets worse. Rudeus literally worships Roxy's panties, and somehow everyone thinks that's ok.

The women in these novels are all weak-willed, and for some reason Eris, who is supposed to be super stubborn and strong-willed, is okay with being Rudeus' third wife.

This story was pretty good at first, but by the time I dropped it, it made me angrier more than anything else.

This review is intended for those who have finished the Anime adaptation and are looking to read the Light Novel

tl;dr This series is fucking trash, the fact that 'Rudy gets a boner' is a fucking spoiler says it all. Also, don’t believe that this series is disgusting? See for yourself: https://imgur.com/a/PG6pOaT. The worst part is that the series could have been good if it was written by a normal human being.

If you watch Mushoku Tensei 1 of 2 things will happen. You will either be so disgusted by Rudy that you deem the show problematic, or you will recognize Rudy has flaws and tries to ... grow to become a better person. If you do not find yourself in either of these camps, please stop reading and I wish you the best of luck in life.

Personally, I was in the 1st camp but nevertheless, I watched the 2nd part of Mushoku Tensei and I ended up giving it an 8/10. Despite having some serious issues with the show, Mushoku Tensei does something incredibly unique. Almost like watching a child grow-up, you become invested in Rudy’s life and want to follow his journey through life. On top of that, Mushoku has incredible world building and set-up. For this reason, I decided to read the Light Novels after watching the series starting with LN 7 up to the latest officially released novel. (At this time LN 15)

I cannot understate it enough just how much LN 7 baited me into sunk-costing this god awful series.

Before I continue, I will rate each volume. It’s impossible to rank the series as a whole because of its high-highs and low-lows. Also this will give you a good idea of the suffering I went through while reading this.

(Out of 10)
LN 7 - 8
LN 8 - 2
LN 9 - 3.5
LN 10 - 2
LN 11 - 4
LN 12 - 8.5
LN 13 - 1
LN 14 - 5
LN 15 - 7
AVG - 4.5

The biggest problem is that Rudy DOESN'T CHANGE. He’s still the same gropey, perverted, sexual deviant from the beginning. Don’t believe me? Take a look yourself: https://imgur.com/a/PG6pOaT (A personal favorite of mine https://i.imgur.com/e5ym4uP.png)

Maybe it’s a problem that will be fixed from the anime adaption, but in the LN you hear EVERY. SINGLE. FUCKING. THOUGHT in Rudy’s mind, which 90% of the time is him being a fucking pervert. Not only that, but the primary drive for 2 full novels is Rudy trying to get his dick wet. It’s actually fucking insane. I wish I was making this shit up.

At a certain point, I realized that every single female character in this series is sexualized. A lot of people argue that Rudy isn’t meant to be a self-insert, but he is. Instead of growing past his disgusting behavior, he just ends up with a harem that he can perform all his perverted fantasies on.

If there is a redeeming point, it’s that the plot and worldbuilding of Mushoku is what kept me trudging through this god awful series. I honestly wish I could tune out the hypersexualization like some people can, because then this would actually be great. The pay off for some of the set-up is amazing, especially LN 15. It really is the only thing that kept me going through this god awful series.

What is really sad is that Mushoku is capable of doing deep dives into Rudy’s character and his growth. That’s what made LN 7 and 12 so good, and why I got roped into reading the series in the first place. It actually makes so so so so so SO FUCKING SAD. I cried like a baby from how deep and touching LN 12 was. LN 7 felt so unique because it felt like it utilized the whole ‘following Rudy’s life’ to the fullest extent in terms of making and losing friends/lovers.

If the series was written in 3rd person, it would be an 8/10. If the series actually followed through with exploring Rudy’s character and his growth it would be a 10/10.

Hopefully, the anime adaptation will be in 3rd person, but the series has already been ruined for me because I read the LNs.

The 2010s. The era where the question of whether something should exist seemed to lose its relevance, as practically anything thrown at the wall seemed to stick.

This particular story falls into the category of "should not exist," as it lacks purpose and depth, offering little more than wish fulfillment since the idea that escaping to another world is a solution to the challenges of the present one is both simplistic and flawed.

And The decline from cinematic quality to mere H-animation in the anime & multiple directors quitting reflects that even people working on this can perceive the shallowness of the storytelling. Who else can see ... that better than the people working MONTHS on bringing this story to the animation medium and deciding to LEAVE?

This story simply epitomizes lazy writing, where minimal effort is evident, allowing for countless clones to flood the market. The absence of genuine effort means ANYONE, including the people who read this, could replicate it effortlessly, as has been seen in the abundance of similar narratives saturating the Japanese market.

Story or Plot? Non existent. His journey is as pointless as this entire series. Its all set up from start to finish to string you along until the author runs out of ideas and quietly laughs at all the suckers that bought it. This isn't a story. This is an exercise of checking out all the boxes that certain types of people would enjoy and lie that it helped them. This written exercise only offers temporary escapism for certain people and will leave them more damaged in the long run because one cannot yell the MC name and expect for life to go a certain way in the modern world. Its Flawed logic since people won't get things in life on minimal effort. Something that happens to the MC regularly: learning magic with ease, getting the girls with no effort, getting financial security throughout with minimal effort etc. This is just how a lot people think life should be going for them and after they read this they think they can get something similar. The road to self-improvement doesn't work like this. And I bet most fans praising this realized this after a while of putting it down and its whats causing the inevitable downfall of this story. So please to all the die-hard fans. Stop. This doesn't offer anything real about self-improvement. Bocchi The Rock has a coherent narrative about self improvement and that's why it became a top IP with a fraction of the time and volumes published.


Characters? Forgettable. They only exist to make the MC not seem so bad which is laughable to see people say: this is realism. Yeah. I bet you won't hang out with the characters in this dreck if you met someone similar because they would be those people who end up alone once they hit a certain age but this is why this story exists. For those type of people that think this is how realism works because the internet is filled with people talking the exact way these characters are but you wont see them talking like this in the real world. So what realism are they talking about? I do not know.

I think this story gained traction because the pandemic put the entire world in a bad mental state and part of the world still doesn't realized the general population is over that. So many people calling this peak are back to their senses and are leaving social media apps in droves realizing they've have been hijacked by those who choose to keep praising these things. Heck, companies that were racking money off clicks are closing because they're realizing how small that group of people truly are and don't speak on general taste. Yup. And for the love of god, please, MT fans stop comparing Frieren to this dreck. Yall look desperate by trying to ride Frieren's hype.

There's a reason why Frieren took the world by storm like it did and this one is being talked up solely by failing YT channels and irrelevant anime sites. Its simply what this thing and many isekai promised to be and never delivered. Its been a decade of isekais and one fantasy story with depth has more impact on the manga culture than Slime itself.


And Honestly, For those seeking substance and genuine fantasy that has been missing in the fantasy genre for what seems to be a DECADE OR MORE, "Frieren" stands as a stark contrast. Its depth and quality serve as a reminder of the shortcomings of such lazy wish-fulfillment narratives created by the isekai genre.

— PREMISE —
Mushoku Tensei, the beloved 'crème de la crème' of light novels, written by Rifujin na Magonote. The story revolves around a 34-year-old Japanese ugly fat paedophile NEET pathetic loser who was run over by a speeding truck and dies. He then embarks on a second chance in a fantastical world replete with magic and swords. You can't get more generic isekai than this.

— IMPACT —
Undoubtedly, Mushoku Tensei bears a significant influence on the trope of reincarnation into another world, emblematic of the isekai subgenre. The novel even contributes to the proliferation of the well-worn 'reincarnation via truck-kun' cliché, thereby augmenting the saturation of ... this trope within the medium. And when I say 'isekai subgenre', I don't mean 'isekai anime' or 'isekai novel' was a thing in the past. While the trope had indeed existed in past works, it wasn't recognised as a subgenre by itself.

— INITIAL SETUP FAIL —
The premise of a 34-year-old ugly fat paedophile NEET pathetic loser's reincarnation into a fantasy world offers potential for exploring personal growth and transformation. Yet, the transition between his former life and the new realm suffers from abruptness and a lack of seamless integration. His demise, sparked by a contrived act of saving strangers, raises questions, as does the rushed shift from despair to newfound determination. This alone suggests the author have not invested in or cared for this potential aspect of the story.

— PACING AND AUTHENTICITY —
The pacing of character progression stands as a detraction, as the rapid advancements in magic and swordsmanship occur at a pace that undermines authenticity. The early chapters of the first volume hurriedly portray Rudeus's swift ascension to Advanced-ranked mage within a short timeframe, eroding the authenticity of his achievements, diminishing the sense of earned growth and neglecting the crucial element of struggle that should accompany the potential character development for a failed NEET, who should have to strive and labour to seize a second chance. This detracts from the essence of the redemption narrative the fans acclaim the work for.

— INCOHESIVE —
Despite introducing an array of characters, events, and subplots, the narrative falters in weaving them into a meaningful tapestry. For instance, the abrupt introduction of the mana calamity and the disappearance of the Fittoa region further underscores the narrative's tendency to introduce major events without proper buildup or integration, the subplot involving Pax, the seventh prince of Shirone, strays from the overarching themes. This subplot could have been an opportunity to delve into political intrigue or power dynamics; however, it introduces unnecessary complexity without substantially contributing to the main story.

While these side stories may enhance world-building, they ultimately distract rather than enrich the narrative. A subplot involving Aisha's brother and Rudeus' concealed stash of Roxy's panties does not advance the main plot or offer meaningful insights—it's random nonsense.

— PROBLEMATIC —
Mushoku Tensei, as generic as contemporary isekai light novels, exemplifies the observed trend of reducing female cast to submissive satellite characters, or rather, sex objects. Lacking autonomy, they are portrayed as weak and dependent on men and in need of protection from other one-dimensional evil rapists.

Another concerning aspect lies in how the novel deal with its shameful horny and sexist content. The novel contains several instances of double-standard portrayals of sexual assault, paedophilia, and slavery, which are played for laughs or used as plot devices. Rudeus frequently engages in sexual fantasies involving underage girls, and there are several instances of sexual assault throughout the novel. The dramedy itself stoops as low as small-penis shaming, ridiculing the protagonist for having a small penis and erectile dysfunction, which can be uncomfortable or potentially offensive to those suffering from penile dysmorphic disorder.

— SUPERFICIAL WORLD-BUILDING —
While gesturing toward intriguing elements such as the convergence of worlds and the human-demon conflict, the narrative merely presents these concepts in an expository manner, lacking in-depth exploration. Infodumps abound, exemplified by the fleeting mention of Dragon God Orsted and other powerful entities, which were disconnected from the main narrative, as mentioned in the 2nd volume, and the endeavor to depict the Demon Continent as a harsh and perilous environment. Unfortunately, it remains expository, resulting in vital information such as character backgrounds and the history of the Superd being conveyed through lengthy monologues—it was boring!

— AIMLESS AND INCOHERENT —
Starting from volume 3, the narrative structure switches to episodic chapters, each presenting a new encounter, challenge, or revelation. While this approach offers variety, it also leads to a lack of a strong overarching plot. Rudeus encounters diverse characters and situations, each with its distinct focus, yet the overall direction remains unclear. For instance, the sudden revelation of Zenith's consciousness and her joyful life lacks proper setup. This twist diminishes the emotional resonance of Zenith's prior struggles and Rudeus' journey to save her. Crucial events like battles and revelations often unfold abruptly, lacking necessary buildup and thus feeling rushed and impactless. For example, Rudeus' encounter with Orsted serves as a pivotal turning point, yet the narrative fails to offer context to comprehend the event's significance or its implications for narrative. The absence of a clear central conflict or goal for Rudeus turns the story into a collection of episodes rather than a cohesive broader narrative. Some chapters can even be read out of order without feeling a significant difference. That doesn't align with the grand fantasy epic fans claim it to be, because that's not how one is written.

— SHALLOW RESOLUTION —
The story's conclusion, while offering closure to the protagonist's journey, disappointingly leaves narrative threads untied. Promised confrontations remain unrealised, leaving a sense of unfulfilled promise. If anything, it undermined the significance of the fantasy adventure aspect in favour of the harem element.

— OTAKU'S WISH-FULFILLMENT —
In light of the aforementioned pitfalls and narrative weaknesses, a pertinent question arises: How can a light novel with so many writing flaws manage to be a top-selling and highly-rated novel? It's a valid and significant inquiry, and the answer lies in the realm of Otaku's Wish-Fulfillment, a concept this novel adeptly capitalises upon.

Rudeus embodies traits that deeply resonate with the otaku audience. Plunging into a fantasy realm, he carries an intimate understanding of the tropes and mechanics inherent to such worlds. This mirrors the way genre-savvy otakus immerse themselves in fictional universes. What did you think the rushed pacing and swift development of Rudeus's ascension to an Advanced-ranked mage in the first volume for? Was it because slow-pacing is boring? No. Rather, they were calculated choices designed to cater to readers who shared that wish. It served as effective foreshadowing for the narrative's direction, successfully hooking numerous otakus. They found not only a relatable protagonist but also a vessel through which their desires could be fulfilled. Rudeus' journey serves as a testament to the 'loser to hero' transformation. His evolution from a underachieving recluse in his former life to a powerful and respected figure in the new world actualises the aspirations of the otaku demographic, thereby fulfilling the otaku's wish.

The narrative frequently revolves around Rudeus building his own harem of female characters. These relationships often follow a pattern of admiration, dependency, and protection, aligning with the wish fulfillment of having attractive and devoted female companions. The development of these relationships frequently involves Rudeus aiding the characters, which reinforces the idea of the protagonist's exceptionalism and the fulfillment of a hero role.

The inclusion of elements like magic, adventure, and world-saving quests further caters to otaku interests, as these are common themes in LitRPG fantasy anime, manga, and role-playing video games. Rudeus' encounters with powerful villains, such as Orsted, resonate with the trope of 'the everyman' being chosen for extraordinary destinies.

Compound that with the fact it's an ecchi light novel filled with horny fan-service, catering to readers desiring romantic and physical connections with attractive fictional waifus. The sex and harem present in the story serves as an outlet for otaku fantasies and desires that revolve around forming bonds with multiple partners.

— CONCLUSION —
Mushoku Tensei is plagued by a multitude of issues, encompassing thematic content, character depth, plot direction, tonal balance, double-standard depiction of problematic content, shallow characters, a meandering and aimless plot, LitRPG jargon overusage, an edgy tone, and immature presentation, detracting from what could have been a meaningful and engaging grand epic fantasy story.