Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

Episode 4

Content warning: this episode review includes discussion of sexual assault.

Ready for Isekai: The Soap Opera? Because that's practically what we get this episode. Nothing here will likely change the mind of anyone who has disliked Rudy so far, as anything he does in a good sense is counterbalanced by the aspects of his personality that people find most disagreeable. However, he is hardly the worst-behaved person in this episode. Adults can have their own issues, and those are fully in play this time around.

Last episode provided the first suggestions that Paul was a “player” prior to settling down with Zenith, and this episode confirms that. In fact, his comments to Rudy mid-episode indicate that his desires were darker than previously thought as it's revealed he raped Lilia in her sleep. Yeah, Rudy calling him "scum" seems understated. The way he describes his experiences with women at school is stereotypical guy talk, and he certainly has the look, attitude, and physical presence necessary to make his claims credible. Based on this, I reiterate a comment I made last episode: Rudy doesn't need the background from his previous life to be scummy here, as he could have just learned it naturally from Paul.

Much of this was not a surprise, but I did not expect the revelation that he was fooling around on Zenith and got Lilia pregnant at about the same time that he got Zenith pregnant with her second child. Lilia thinks that she's to blame, as she seduced Paul after hearing him and Zenith go at it, but at worst she's only equally to blame for their latest affair. She knew what Paul was like and may have either given him an opportunity or went along with it (or both), but Paul was the one who cheated on his wife by seizing on that opportunity. Hence I agree with Rudy that Paul dug his own hole here, and I cannot feel sorry for him that Rudy manipulated the narrative to make Paul exclusively seem like the bad guy in order to protect Lilia. Though having Lilia and her child around will be hard on Zenith, Rudy is right both that Lilia leaving could be a death sentence both for her and the child and that both children will be better off having someone their own age around as they grow up. Still, Paul deserves whatever ongoing grief he gets here. That we don't see more of it is only because Rudy's perspective is the guiding one.

And speaking of Lilia knowing what Paul was like from their school days, that she ended up as his and Zenith's maid is all kinds of screwed up. Zenith presumably did not know about what happened between them, as I cannot imagine their household would have carried on as it did if she knew what happened. On another note, this whole situation also explains why the series has been emphasizing overhearing Paul and Zenith having sex so far: to more credibly set up this mess.

The mess isn't only in the Greyrat household, either. Roxy is apparently dealing with a new student who's even more openly lascivious than Rudy. Unsurprisingly, she knew about the panty theft (how could she not?) and Paul isn't fazed in the slightest by learning about it. And am I the only one who finds the way Paul regards Sylphie as much more squicky than the way Rudy is currently treating her? In fact, Rudy scores a point in his favor with his commitment to finding a way to take Sylphie with him to go to magic school after admitting that she could eventually be more talented than him, though he loses that much or more by implying that he wants to groom her to be an ideal future wife. Yeah, Rudy is not going to win over more people until he gets past crap thoughts like that.

The end of the episode seems to be kicking the story into the next gear. Rudy integrating magic use into his fighting style looks promising for the future even if he was totally outclassed in the end. (That fight also gave a better sense than previous training sessions about just how skillful Paul is.) But what kind of situation is Rudy being thrown into? The implication here is that Paul and Zenith are having Rudy work with a former adventuring companion and that it's not a permanent situation, but why force Rudy into it?

One final thought about Rudy: whatever else his flaws may be, he at least thinks through his situation and usually makes a concerted effort to do things in a way that could pass for normal behavior for a child his age. That puts him starkly at odds with, say, Ascendance of a Bookworm's Main. She may be a much more universally likable and appreciable character, but she does not have half the common sense that Rudy does.

Oh, and just to clarify on the ratings: I am rating this series mostly on how well-constructed it is, not how savory I find the characters or content. For as deplorable as some characters are, the series is still well-made.

Rating:

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is currently streaming on FUNimation Entertainment.