Unlike the 1st season which was filled with twists and surprises where Rudeus is thrown into a situation, let it be disturbing, challenging, annoying, or even sometimes amusing to watch, the 2nd season starts off subtly (or easy to say, pretty slow), not with Rudy magically knowing what to do or has a lofty goal to pursue after the end of Season 1. The character is lost, left with no purpose, and easily described, as just a dead man walking, waiting for change. This not only is in effect for the plot, but the comedy, drama, and ecchi have been a lot less obvious and more subtle. There are still moments of ecchi that happen here and there throughout this course. Still, even then, it's usually either censored or less visibly shown unlike the previous season's ridiculous amount of fanservice that were present in here. I'm not promising the anime has less fanservice, if you were already grossed out by it in the 1st season, you won't like this one either.
If there was a demerit this season had, the production value has seen itself a downgrade from its previous season. This means characters are less expressive and don't move much with the exception of its action sequences, which only last long enough to fuel dramatic tension. There are still moments of incredible animation, but not enough to make any action memorable that happened in this season. However, even with the downgrade, we still have characters that receive development and get meaningful moments without being forced or convoluted.
The divided attention between support and pure hatred for Rudeus continues to this day, thanks to the inner dark voice lying deep inside his head. I mean, it's hard to empathize with a man in a growing body to have such lewd thoughts, but the story, at the end of the day, has always been Rudeus' redemption for becoming a better person. We've seen countless proofs of how he's a disgusting human with excruciatingly low self-esteem and confidence, but even then, he still has the conscience to know he needs to be better, even if he's chasing the most stupid goals. And he still acts on it to improve himself, even if he needs others to back him up.
One thing that has remained consistent throughout the series has been the characters, even for characters you never see in this season, you still get mentions or see some implication of other characters (or love interests), it showcases the impacts these characters have on the narrative. The dialogues along with Rudeus' darker monologues to back with his choice of words have always been my favorite part of Mushoku Tensei. I realize how its well-written characters make a story good along with incredible voice acting from the cast. It may not have the brilliant visuals or fantastic fighting sequences to be gazed upon, but it still proves to be a good sequel for my favorite anime.
Thank you for reading.
