Mushoku Tensei is not for everybody, I guess. Some people think that it's too slow, or too formulaic, or that its protagonist is too unlikable.
I'm not one of those people.
See, I think that the discourse around Re:Zero's Subaru is kind of funny. Many say that viewers are supposed to feel uncomfortable watching him because he's supposed to be a deconstruction, some kind of harsh reflection if you will, of the kind of loser who seeks to evade from reality by watching losers like him become Gary Stus in other worlds. In other words: a good chunk of the isekai genre target audience. But here's the thing: I've watched Re:Zero's first season and I don't see myself reflected in Subaru. But I do see myself reflected in Rudeus Greyrat.
That sounds almost crazy, doesn't it? Nobody seems to do that. No no, Rudeus is just a disgusting pig. Sure, he undergoes Character Development and eventually redeems himself, but at the beginning he's just human scum, right? So much so that some people even think that he's beyond the Moral Event Horizon, that he can't really redeem himself. Surely you are better than him, SorPepita!
No. No, I'm not.
I know what it's like to see yourself as a hopeless loser. I know what it's like to think that your life has no meaning. I know what it's like to not have friends. I know what it's like to indulge in sexual fantasies, even dark ones, because fantasies are the only thing you have, the only thing you believe you'll ever have. I know all of that despite having, like Rudeus had in his first life, a loving mother. The kind of mother who believes that you'll get over it because "all my children are strong!". But he didn't get over it. He never exited his room, and she died, and he didn't even attend her funeral. And it breaks my ****ing heart. It's so sad, so unfair. For her, but also for Rudeus.
Mushoku Tensei is not a power fantasy. Rudeus may be technically powerful, but a freak magical phenomenon shook his entire new life and he couldn't do anything to prevent it. The Dragon God almost killed him, and he couldn't do anything to save himself. He starts the season finale alone and depressed, without the mental energy to get out of bed and exit his tent. History repeating itself. Until...
Until he remembers his new mother, and how much she loves him, and how she's still missing. She needs her son to find her. She needs him to be strong. And this time... this time he is.
In the final scene of the season, his childhood friend talks about him as her savior, her mentor and the person she respects the most. She is talking about the same loser who died alone and unloved, but it's all true. He could be all of those things for someone, all along. And I think I could be them too.
You don't have to understand my tears, I guess. Mushoku Tensei is not for everybody.
Mushoku Tensei Season 1: All my children are strong!
Mushoku Tensei is not for everybody, I guess. Some people think that it's too slow, or too formulaic, or that its protagonist is too unlikable.
I'm not one of those people.
See, I think that the discourse around Re:Zero's Subaru is kind of funny. Many say that viewers are supposed to feel uncomfortable watching him because he's supposed to be a deconstruction, some kind of harsh reflection if you will, of the kind of loser who seeks to evade from reality by watching losers like him become Gary Stus in other worlds. In other words: a good chunk of the isekai genre target audience. But here's the thing: I've watched Re:Zero's first season and I don't see myself reflected in Subaru. But I do see myself reflected in Rudeus Greyrat.
That sounds almost crazy, doesn't it? Nobody seems to do that. No no, Rudeus is just a disgusting pig. Sure, he undergoes Character Development and eventually redeems himself, but at the beginning he's just human scum, right? So much so that some people even think that he's beyond the Moral Event Horizon, that he can't really redeem himself. Surely you are better than him, SorPepita!
No. No, I'm not.
I know what it's like to see yourself as a hopeless loser. I know what it's like to think that your life has no meaning. I know what it's like to not have friends. I know what it's like to indulge in sexual fantasies, even dark ones, because fantasies are the only thing you have, the only thing you believe you'll ever have. I know all of that despite having, like Rudeus had in his first life, a loving mother. The kind of mother who believes that you'll get over it because "all my children are strong!". But he didn't get over it. He never exited his room, and she died, and he didn't even attend her funeral. And it breaks my ****ing heart. It's so sad, so unfair. For her, but also for Rudeus.
Mushoku Tensei is not a power fantasy. Rudeus may be technically powerful, but a freak magical phenomenon shook his entire new life and he couldn't do anything to prevent it. The Dragon God almost killed him, and he couldn't do anything to save himself. He starts the season finale alone and depressed, without the mental energy to get out of bed and exit his tent. History repeating itself. Until...
Until he remembers his new mother, and how much she loves him, and how she's still missing. She needs her son to find her. She needs him to be strong. And this time... this time he is.
In the final scene of the season, his childhood friend talks about him as her savior, her mentor and the person she respects the most. She is talking about the same loser who died alone and unloved, but it's all true. He could be all of those things for someone, all along. And I think I could be them too.
You don't have to understand my tears, I guess. Mushoku Tensei is not for everybody.