Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation: Season 1/ Episode 21 “Turning Point 2” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

As you might remember, the last turning point preceded the Mana Disaster utterly changing the world. So what will follow this turning point which follows Rudy meeting the Dragon God?

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Aired	12/5/2021
Network	Hulu
Directed By	Hiroyuki Takashima
Written By	Shigekazu Kondō, Manabu Okamoto
Introduced This Episode
Orsted	Kenjiro Tsuda
Nanahoshi	TBD

Recap

My Little Warrior – Eris, Ruijerd, Rudy

As to be expected after years of training, paired with her tenacity, Eris is more than capable of keeping up with Ruijerd. She can’t defeat him, but she can make him work up a sweat, thus earning her the warrior title.

This does come with caveats, however. Mainly that now Ruijerd will no longer see Eris as a child but considering all she does as part of Dead End, yes, she is a child by age, but she has shown she isn’t the child she was when Ruijerd met her, nor Rudy.

The Consequences Of Talking Too Much – Rudy, Ruijerd, Eris, Orsted, Nanahoshi

While traveling through the mountains, Eris sees red dragons which, of course, she wants to fight. However, as Ruijerd explains, they travel in packs, and even the lower echelon of the Seven Great Powers would have trouble with them with only the stronger among them being able to fight an entire flock. So, unfortunately, that dream is deferred.

However, one dream probably not wanted or thought of is encountering Orsted and his companion Nanahoshi. Why? Well, Orsted is the second most powerful being known to mankind, aka the Dragon God, second only to the Technique God. Eris and Ruijerd freeze in place when he walks by, but then he speaks to them and Rudy, for reasons explained later, is the only one who seems able and willing to have a conversation.

Now, at first, the conversation is pleasant, even though Orsted knows Ruijerd and Eris, and Rudy is an utter mystery to him. However, things go left when Rudy speaks of his conversations with Man-God, who, correct me if I’m wrong, is someone he previously said he wasn’t going to talk about openly. But, foolishly, he did, and this resulted in Orsted desiring to kill Rudy.

Now, naturally, Ruijerd and Eris try to stop him, but while Ruijerd holds him off, Rudy doesn’t run, so when Ruijerd is defeated, Eris is next, and this all ends with Rudy being killed, Ruijerd knocked out, and Eris coughing up blood.

This Isn’t The End Friend – Rudy, Eris, Ruijerd, Man-God, Orsted, Nanahoshi

Upon dying, Man-God and Rudy come face to face, and they have perhaps their most pleasant conversation yet. He explains that Orsted is a cursed child, with three curses on his head currently. What are the three? One deals with people naturally fearing him, another limits his power, and it isn’t clear what the third is. Also, it isn’t clear why Nanahoshi is an exception to this fear thing. However, all of this is behind Rudy, and while he wishes more could have been done, he has made peace with what he did, including make progress on Superd’s reputation.

But, we come to find out this isn’t the end. According to Eris, Nanahoshi says something to Orsted, leading him to bring Rudy back to life after impaling him through the chest. Now, what is it, she says, or they say? Well, Eris is unable to say. All we know is that Man-God didn’t bring him back to life, and Eris is quite mad at Rudy for not listening to Ruijerd when he was warned not to speak.

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Who cursed Orsted, and how did these different Gods come to be?
2. Is the thing Rudy is waiting for, in two years, having relations with Eris?

What Could Happen Next

1. I feel like with Rudy brushing up against death, either he may focus on getting stronger or achieving all the goals he has had in mind
2. Us finally getting to Fittoa to see what life is like there after Eris’ grandfather was murdered

Review

Highlights

That Battle Was EPIC!

While Jobless Reincarnation is very much an adventure show, action is far and few between. That is despite taking on goblins, among other things, formerly to keep money in their coffers. But, every now and then, we’re reminded adventure is usually paired with action and even if it was a losing effort, Orsted taking down Dead End was EPIC. Whether it eas Ruijerd trying to go head to head but ultimately failing, Eris showing promise, but still being too inexperienced to take on someone noted as a God, or even Rudy.

While Rudy lacks physical strength, magic remains a notable skill, and like Roxy, Orsted is amazed by Rudy’s ability to use magic without incantations. And you can see from a spell he does, despite a near-fatal injury, while Eris may get more opportunities to show her strength, Rudy is no slouch! He damn near breaks whatever counter/ magic absorber spell Orsted uses, and Orsted even notes he could be on par with Laplace, who is a wolrdly known menace.

For A Second Wondering, Is This The End?

With being partly aware of the manga, I know we have barely made it halfway through the story. But, with not a whole lot of anime not getting to cover their entire manga storylines, you are always left wondering if this is the end.

Now, killing off a character with two episodes left wouldn’t make sense, but it isn’t like Jobless Reincarnation has really followed the same tracks as its peers. It may contain ecchi, which included Rudy pinching Eris’ nipple this episode, yet it also has you tearing up as Eris cries over thinking Rudy was murdered. Never mind us getting world-building as usual. So with him being brutalized like that, it makes you wish anime got announcements of more seasons before the finale.

21 Episodes In, And There Still Being So Much To Learn

We have yet to cover an anime that could potentially go on past two cours. We started Black Clover but quickly lost interest, and while we did watch Sailor Moon, and before this site was created, Dragon Ball Z, I wouldn’t say we stayed committed after a certain point. But, if there is one thing we know about the three aforementioned shows is that filler was a big thing, and I don’t think Jobless Reincarnation has really had a filler episode or at least multiple ones. Rather, even on its more tame episodes, we learn something, and even 21 episodes in, we’re learning more about the Cursed Children, Man-God having beef with Dragon God, that curses can be passed onto items and then people, and so much more.

It almost makes me wonder, how long may this show go on for and could it maintain this quality?

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