Anime: Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu

Review
Here we go again. Another damn isekai. Why am I still doing this? Really, why?

Well, the anime industry seems to be in a really long and seemingly perpetuous muddy realm. The hyped fighting shounens are damn boring and unexpressive, offering tiresome jokes, annoying characters, and rarely even being able to put some decent action. The mecha genre has been officially dead for a decade. The high-school love-coms have been plagued by the dick protagonist and ruined from the very beginning. Oh, and the high fantasy shows continue to be as pathetic as they've always been.

So, here we are, once again resorting to a generic isekai, which seems to be the only place where RARELY something new and interesting comes to play. Yet, the formula is long past its due. It's a decomposing corpse, but it seems it is the best-looking one in the pile of death that has become the anime industry.

Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu, which seems like a short title for these days standards, is the new hype of the sub-genre that has eaten every other genre alive. It got hyped for some form of redeeming arc for a disgusting protagonist as well as being a well-produced effort from the guys behind Studio Bind. These are both valid, but only to a point.

The tale surrounds yet another failed japanese citizen, the typical person who never had a social life, was a shut-in that hated people, and so on. This guy is a notch above the failed japanese people from other isekais though, he is seemingly a porn-addicted virgin whose only non-selfish act was trying to save a few students from a runaway truck, which is what prompts his death and resurrection in another world.

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1. We've seen it before
   In a way, Mushoku Tensei traces back to an earlier isekai that was... really good, which is Tanya. In that tale, the revived japanese retained part of his intellect when he reincarnated in the little evil loli that would rise in the ranks of nazi-inspired Germany to prove that god was a dick. Here, the failed citizen reincarnates as Rudeus with all his memory of his previous life. Yeah, a forty-years old man in the body of a baby.
   
   From here on starts a few threads where the protagonist tries to understand if this is some sort of redemption run for him or not. His older mind makes him a creepy child, for sure, and one that seems to grasp concepts such as magic much earlier than what is typically normal, thus making him rise in the ranks of society before even getting into his teens.
   
   He is a ridiculous dick though
   No surprises here. The pervert he was in his previous life remains no matter how much the show tries to push this superficial "redemption arc", blooming even as pedophilia as he nows interact with young girls too. He assaults women, he steals underwear, he stares at boobs, he is the same pedo guy, just in the body of a child this time around.
   
   That would be ok if he slowly learned to behave himself or if he was punished for those awful behaviors, but nope. Cheer creepy otakus around, Rudeus is immune to any form of punishment for being a dick, a pervert, and a rapist. He gets a tsundere slap here and there, asks for forgiveness a minute later and gets out with it, or simply continues his behavior because the victim seems to... enjoy it? Heck.
   
   What is even worse is that his behavior is normalized across this fantasy world. Basically every male adult he meets is a sexual predator, like his father is, and gets away with being a dick, a cheater, and a pervert by simple excuses such as "oh, he is charming". It's quite disturbing at many points, which completely derails the original premise of having our protagonist seek redemption in his new life. It seems assaulting women is as normal or even more accepted in this new world than in ours.
   
   It gets almost everything else right though
   Well, despite the dick-protagonist template being a massive issue for the show, almost every other aspect tackled by Mushoku Tensei is quite... great. It starts with this high fantasy world that is smoothly introduced to us by exploring the details of daily life instead of trying to give us a broad view of everything. There's no save the world shit, no immediate villain introduced, no gods, demon lords, or other trash that typically spoil the fun of high fantasy tales and similar isekais.
   
   Mushoku Tensei approaches things with a decent care, restricting its narrative to the surroundings of Rudeus and making us learn more about the world along with the protagonist, something that seems basic, but is incredibly rare in this kind of work. This exploration aspect is further enhanced by the show's great artwork quality, animation, and sound direction. It's a solid package that manages to beat any issue stemming from the dere's templates that dominate the girls that surround our little ravisher protagonist.
   
   And it gets interesting
   Well, I cannot say that Rudeus never really learns, because there is a somewhat reduced amount of dick moves as the episodes go on. It's good for that to happen, although his behavior changes for random reasons instead of being a reaction to reproval or punishment. By the end of this season, the young Rudeus seems a more vivid character than at the start, and his quest shifts quite drastically from the daily life typicalities to an adventure that borders the annoying MMO-inspired quests. From there on it can either get really good or become just another generic isekai to the bones.
   

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Comments
Mushoku Tensei is a... good isekai. Especially considering the male protagonist, which is typically something that completely ruins any experience of this genre. It gets close here, with these absurd actions never suffering real consequences and the failed japanese citizen template breaking the limits of what I can tolerate.

The presentation of this medieval fantasy world, however, is what made me stay. It's charming, low-profile, and surprisingly detailed. You get this point of view of a typical family from the start and it sticks true to this idea for a solid amount of time, and even when it veers towards the high-profile important people, it does so by keeping us in the dark, as is the protagonist.

If typical high fantasy shows become eye-rolling from the start when they present their godly beings, evil demon lords, and bland warfare, Mushoku Tensei does the smart thing and gives us a much more tangible and charming medieval world. It's still plagued by lolis, nekomimis, and the protagonist nearly ruins everything, but it gets above the traditionally shitty bar that has been set by other isekais.

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If I want to summarize this anime in one word, it would be: amazing! Definitely a 10/10 in my book. There is so much to talk about that I don't know where to start. The animation is a bit different from what you would expect and has a more of a mature/adult feel to it and it's amazing, there is so much detail in it and it's well thought out. The story is very unique (so far) there is just so many things happening, all at the same time which makes it exciting and you never know what comes next, but everything is connected and everything is explained with no loose ends anywhere and the amount of details of keeping it together is so well done that I'm at a loss for words. All the characters have something to them and something for everyone (which I guess is debatable but still) they are filled with life and it feels real they are all so likable. I guess some people will argue that this show is a bit tragic and dramatic however this series is aimed at mature people so keep that in mind when watching. So, yes this series has its dark moments, lewd moments and "real" (hardship) moments but that just add to the charm.The writing is a very high step above the quote on quote "normal" anime's you get, very elegant and intelligent.If you think: "I bet it's filled with cliche material" you would be dead wrong, I also want to point out that it may start a bit slow and seem very goofy at first but I can promise that it ramps up and will hook you in.The voice acting in this anime is absolutely superb and really adds to the deliverance of said character(s).This series is truly a breath of fresh air and is second to none.

One of the best anime I've seen ... Apart from deep dramas or strong tragedies, in its comedy and adventure genre, in my opinion, this is the best anime.

1) A very rare case when a tsundere character is not a stupid and aggressive animal portrayed in an anime as a "Cute Funny Nya Nya Girl"(sorry for this comparison, but with my experience of watching anime, I'm corny tired of this flat and idiotic cliché).

2) Good and not flat humor. Even those cases when the protagonist showed his vulgar habits, it was presented in the right situations and in the right angle, so as not to affect the "toilet humor".

3) There are so few normal erotic anime in this World. Either this is a primitive fan service, or flat jokes, or this is another cliché about "a virgin boy who runs away from intimity". This anime was a breath of fresh air for me. A serious story interspersed with normal erotic scenes that spice up this anime.

4) A good representative of an Isekai anime. Not fixated on some one location/town or one character/his ability. Moreover, the local protagonist is a little bit better than the rest of the inhabitants of his level, but the author does not make from him a one-punch-man or isekai-genius, which also adds interest to watching.

5) Pleasant smooth animation. Good-looking environment and towns... About towns, they are detailed and have normal real colors, not some pretentious-bright-clown colors like in some fantasy anime. This is suitable for certain stories, yes, but unfortunately it also occurs where it does not fit in meaning and atmosphere. For which special thanks to the creators of this anime.

6) As a separate point, I want to note the well-developed characters and behavior of the characters. And especially the protagonist. For me, a separate pleasure was the scene when his father scolded for another child, and as a protagonist answered him.

...Update...

I want to make a small correction about point (1). And yes, it is a spoiler. Maybe a strong emotional spoiler:

• “They’re running out of ideas” is what I first thought when watching the first episode of Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu, or “Jobless Reincarnation: I Will Seriously Try If I Go To Another World” in Donald Trump’s language. Indeed, the premise of this show is something seen hundreds of times in recent anime and manga. It is an isekai anime focusing on a friendless and socially anxious otaku who is hit a by a truck and reincarnated in a fantasy world as a newborn baby. I had also read some of the manga version before and it didn’t come to me as particularly good, and I got bored of it pretty quickly, so needless to say, I expected nothing of this anime adaptation.
  I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the animation
  It looks very good. You rarely see something as beautiful as this in an anime series, let alone in an isekai. The animation is stunning and the backgrounds are really awesome, their quality is that of a movie. Rather than having the generic MMORPG starting town and generic landscapes with always the same terrain, we get to see various backgrounds and landscapes like deserts, mountains, middle-eastern looking cities and European-looking cities, all of which are very well drawn. Though the character designs are not that original, they’re well-drawn and easy to recognize. The fight scenes are very well done too. Contrary to most modern anime, isekai in particular, the big monsters in this series are not in ugly and jerky CGI like in the train wreck that is Kumo Desu ga, Nani Ka?, but in well-drawn 2D animation.
  Sound-wise, the background music is pretty alright, though very forgettable. The opening is very meh, and sadly it can’t be skipped as it merges with the start of the episodes. The voice-acting is good, no problem with it.
  A pretty standard beginning
  As I said earlier, the premise is very unoriginal. Our protagonist dies after being hit by a truck, and is reincarnated in a fantasy world as a newborn baby named Rudeus Greyrat, in a family consisting of his “dad” Paul, his “mother” Zenith, and a maid. We see him growing up and learning about the new world he’s in. Since this is an isekai, the protagonist is, of course, overpowered: Rudeus is a child prodigy who learns magic at a very young age and makes tremendous progress, surpassing his teacher in a relatively short time. For the first third of the series, it’s basically a “feel-good” anime with very few conflicts, as Rudeus learns magic easily, gets along well with his family, and even makes some friends, like his teacher Roxy and a girl named Sylphiette.
  I can understand the appeal of the “restart your life from zero but keep all your current knowledge and experience” thing, and I have to admit that watching Rudeus slowly growing, learning stuff and getting stronger is nice, but it doesn’t happen that much, as he is overpowered and learns too quickly.
  Cool story though
  Contrary to most isekai and isekai-like shows, Mushoku Tensei has actual world-building that makes you want to learn more about its world’s history, mythology, countries and such. I also liked the fact that, FOR ONCE, the fictional languages and the names don’t sound too ridiculous. There are also no video game mechanics, and few MMORPG elements (adventurers’ guild and quests).
  The characters are alright
  … except from Eris who is pretty much your average tsundere. Ah no, she also looks like a dog when she gets angry. The bad-ass demon dude that accompanies Rudeus and Eris towards the end of the series is pretty cool. Coming back to Rudeus, he is not the average isekai protagonist. Firstly, he’s not just some high school student with a pretty face, but a 34-year old and regular-looking fat dude – obviously his reincarnated body doesn’t look like that. Secondly, he keeps most of his personality after his reincarnation, but he slowly evolves. The new world he’s in allows him to change and become better – except from one flaw that I will talk about next, so there’s actual character evolution. Thirdly, he’s actually not that overpowered, at least not as much as in the standard power fantasy isekai. He can’t be completely on his own and has to rely on others to a certain extent.
  PURE DEGENERACY
  This is the part that really fucks up the show.
  What I mean by “degeneracy” is that this is anime has a significant amount of pervy elements. Sure, this is a pretty common thing in anime, but the problem here is that it is either borderline or straight-up pedophilia, as it involves children younger than 12. Rudeus kept his personality from his past life, meaning he is still a virgin otaku with a porn addiction, and as such, he will take every opportunity to do perverted things, which includes: sniffing his “mom”’s pants because she’s hot, looking at her teacher’s pants and stealing them, touching a female child’s body and trying to remove her panties while she’s asleep, groping her, and even buying an aphrodisiac like a goddamn rapist. At some point, his inner voice even says that one character, who is clearly a child, is “gorgeous”, so its pretty clear that he is a pedophile. Yet he isn’t portrayed as a degenerate, and isn’t punished for his actions. On the contrary, he is even encouraged by other characters such as his “dad”, and the father of the young girl he’s trying to sexually assault, who is apparently alright with this. Not only this, but characters in general are super fucking horny for no reason, with stuff like Roxy and the maid fingering themselves while listening to Rudeus’ “parents” having sex, or the dad having a bastard child with the maid. At some point you even have Rudeus and his ���dad” Paul casually talking about fucking a woman, when Rudeus is supposed to be a 7-year old child. At this point, I think the show should’ve been named “That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Pedophile In A Fantasy World Where Everyone Is Horny As Hell”. The worst thing is that the anime attempts to portray this type of event as wholesome or funny, which makes it even more creepy.
  Verdict
  Mushoku Tensei had awesome graphics, alright characters, a decent story and could easily have been the best isekai show to be ever created. Sadly, the fact that the protagonist is an unrepentant pedophile who attempts to rape a child and that he isn’t punished for his behavior really brings down the overall quality of the anime. Since it has stunning animation and a pretty cool story, it is enjoyable, and can be watched.
  NOTE

  Even if I said that the characters and the story are alright, I had to give them low sub-scores because of the pedophilia.

  Show Spoiler

Mushoku Tensei is defined by three things, and depending on which one you want to focus on and which one to ignore will greatly affect your enjoyment of the series.

-The first aspect is the game-like fantasy adventure, which is by far the most mundane and passable part of the show. There is no shortage of anime that have magic and levels and adventurer guilds, and monster continents. Going in for that will only make you think it’s just another isekai.

-The second aspect is the coming-of-age part of the plot, which is by far the most interesting and the one most people praise the show for. There is a lot of time spent on showing the main character growing up and slowly learning his skills, while at the same time showing how the people of the world spend their everyday lives. It’s a fairly mundane medieval type of society with basic-world building and lore, but the attention to detail helps in immersing you in the show instead of making you feel it’s just another dull videogame-inspired country.

-The third aspect is the perverted side of the characters and easily the biggest detractor for most people to get into it. The protagonist was a major creep and a pedo in his previous life, and many of these aspects carried over to this world. Many other men are also sexual predators who never miss the chance to assault women. The women being horny and easily forgiving them for all the terrible things they keep on doing doesn’t help.

This third aspect is what attracted the most buzz and what defined the whole show. No matter how many apologists try to excuse the males’ terrible behavior as normal and expected, there will always be many who will not accept such things and who will forever see them as the author pandering the creepy otakus so that his light novels will sell more. The show would be much better received if it didn’t have such elements in general.

The parts where the main character wants to live his life in the fullest and to redeem for his past mistakes are great. The parts where he reverts to his old ways and the show either frames it as comedy or as easily forgivable in that world is plain normalization of immoral behavior and damages the good parts. It’s not like we, the audience, are supposed to give him another chance, as much as we are supposed to keep forgiving him again and again, because we are supposed to identify as creepy pedos like him, who wish we could be forgiven no matter how many times we do creepy pedo stuff. When there is no actual punishment for the protagonist’s awful behavior (that is, something more than a scolding and a tsundere slap) then there is no reward for not acting like that, or even a reason for wanting to change. He is not a child who doesn’t know any better; he is a self-aware 40 year old pedo who was reincarnated and despite being given another chance, he keeps repeating the same crap and he never gets actually punished for it. Not only that, many other men are perverts as well and despite being older than the supposed protagonist, they never get punished either. So it’s not like the protagonist gets away with it because he looks like a child. Everyone gets away with it and the show keeps framing it like a misunderstanding or a joke or this society allows it and therefore it’s okay. Although it isn’t. It’s deliberate and it keeps happening, as if it’s telling you ‘everyone does it so it’s okay’.

This is what eventually keeps the show as just another sleazy power fantasy for otakus, instead of being an actually good example of how isekai and redemption stories should be like. If there is no actual fear of punishment because the protagonist looks like a child, or it’s always framed as a joke, or the society has no problem with it, then what value is there in the redemption? He’s not risking anything, nobody around him minds it much, and the society allows it to keep happening, so what exactly are we supposed to be looking forward to? Therefore the show as a whole is a failure, since it has a completely passable videogame-like setting and a good attempt at a coming of age that is ruined by the way it celebrates creepy otaku behavior. Watching it for a hollow redemption that might happen down the line is not worth your time. Especially when said redemption is just about the protagonist becoming another overpowered harem lead in a videogame fantasy setting with a collection of pretty ladies that want his D. You know, like yet another isekai aimed at otakus.