The Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 release date is on July 2, 2023, the Summer 2023 anime season.
The Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 Part 2 release date has been confirmed for April 2024, the Spring 2024 anime season.
The Mushoku Tensei Season 2 OP “spiral” will be performed by LONGMAN while the ED “Musubime” is by Yuiko Ohara.
Here is the new cast:
- Sara: Haruka Shiraishi
- Suzanne: Yu Kobayashi
- Timothy: Wataru Hatano
- Mimir: Chiharu Sawashiro
- Patrice: Itaru Yamamoto
- Soldat Heckler: Kosuke Toriumi
The anime TV series was confirmed to be in production on March 6, 2022.
On March 25, 2023, during Anime Japan 2023, the main staff announced the time frame with a Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu Season 2 trailer PV.
The exact release date was announced by a new trailer PV on May 26, 2023:
Anime Geek successfully predicted that the exact Mushoku Tensei Season 2 release date would be in Summer 2023. (Please see the release date predictions section for more details.)
The second Mushoku Tensei Season 2 teaser trailer PV was released at 3 PM PST on July 3, 2022 (or 7 AM JST in Japan on July 4, 2022).
“The production of the [Mushoku Tensei Season 2] TV anime is decided. What kind of drama will Rudeus have in the second season?” tweeted the Twitter account. “What kind of adventure will develop! Details such as the broadcast time and follow-up information will be announced at a later date.”
Before the official confirmation was announced, anime news leakers were already claiming that not only was the second season already in production, but the Mushoku Tensei Season 3 anime was also already in the works!
There’s also the possibility of a Mushoku Tensei movie adapting a standalone story arc since the anime director has discussed the idea of a film in the past.
When the finale was released, the original creator only had this to say.
“It’s the best anime adaptation I’ve ever seen, and as for me, I’m just chewing on my good fortune,” Rifujin na Magonote tweeted on December 19, 2021. “To everyone involved, thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to the production of the Mushoku Tensei anime.”
The general animator director, PR people, and manga artist also released tweets celebrating the finale.
As the final after-credits scene in Mushoku Tensei Episode 23 teased, Mushoku Tensei Season 2 will have Rudy (Rudeus Greyrat) finally attending school at the Ranoa University of Magic at the behest of Rudeus’ unknown friend. But who will voice the teenage Rudeus?
It seems that Mushoku Tensei Season 2 will not require a new voice actor for teenage Rudeus Greyrat as originally reported, but this is actually a surprise. On December 12, 2021, Rudeus voice actress Yumi Uchiyama tweeted that she was leaving the anime series after the ending of Season 1 Part 2.
“Thank you to everyone who watched the episode [22]. I have been absent-minded for a while after watching this episode,” she tweeted. “The next episode will be the last. I would be grateful if you could watch it until the end.”
This original announcement was not a surprise since there will be a time skip going into the second season. Female actresses will often play the roles of young boys, but Rudeus’ age at this point in the story is a major turning point in his growth from a child to an adult.
However, on December 10, 2022, the official website announced that the voice actress will continue to play the main character Rudeus, who will grow into a young man in the 2nd season.
“I am very happy to announce that I will be playing the role of Rudeus in the second season of the show,” the voice actress said at the time. “The growth of Rudeus is a very important element in the work, so I am very proud that I was chosen after a thorough audition. I will take these feelings to heart and cherish them as I face the role of Rudeus.”
The official website relates that Ms. Uchiyama gave such a brilliant performance as Rudeus in the first season that she was given the opportunity to audition for the role of Rudeus a second time. As a result, the production team unanimously decided to continue casting Ms. Uchiyama as Rudeus.
While Ms. Uchiyama will continue to voice teenage Rudeus in Mushoku Tensei Season 2, the anime production committee hasn’t announced whether the pivotal role will require a new voice actor once Rudeus becomes an adult in future seasons.
If there is a chance, it’s possible it could be Hiro Shimono since he voiced Rudeus in the CD drama that was bundled with light novel Volume 12. The voice actor is known for voicing Zenitsu in Demon Slayer, Dabi in My Hero Academia, and Connie in Attack On Titan.
The Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 release date may be on the horizon, but the wait for the second season wasn’t too bad since a new Mushoku Tensei OVA episode came out on March 16, 2022.
The unaired side story was released as an OVA episode along with the anime TV show’s Blu-Ray Volume 4. Crunchyroll is streaming the OVA episode but it’s listed as Mushoku Tensei Episode 24.
Despite that label, the OVA side story “Eris The Goblin Slayer” takes place in the same timeframe as Episode 16, which adapted the reunion of Rudeus and his father Paul Greyrat. In that episode, Eris mentioned getting rid of goblins so the OVA episode will show what happened to Eris and Ruijerd during that time.
According to the official website’s Blu-Ray/DVD page, the first season was a total of 23 episodes released as four volumes. The first season was considered a split-cour anime.
What’s a “cour,” you might ask? For those unfamiliar with the lingo, a “cour” is a three-month block of TV broadcasting based on the physical seasons usually composed of 10 to 13 episodes.
A “split-cour” is where a single anime season takes a multi-month break before resuming TV broadcasting.
Mushoku Tensei Episode 11 finished the first part or cour on March 22, 2021. The Mushoku Tensei Episode 12 release date was on October 3, 2021, the Fall 2021 anime season.
Mushoku Tensei Part 2 was officially delayed since it was originally announced that Episode 12 would come out in July 2021. That meant the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Part 2 finale, Mushoku Tensei Episode 23, would be pushed back, as well.
This article provides everything that is known about Mushoku Tensei Season 2 (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2/Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu Season 2) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu Season 2 anime spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
Note: These spoilers assume that Mushoku Tensei Season 2 will pick up the story again in light novel Volume 7.
After the events of the Mana Calamity, Rudeus and Eris traveled together through the Demon and Milis Continent. After surviving many dangers, including an encounter with the Dragon God Orsted, they managed to come back to Rudeus’s home in Fittoa.
There, Eris seduced Rudy with the magical word “nyan” and they had their first night together. All seems well in the world, but the next morning Rudy awakens to discover that Erise has left him without saying a word! Instead, she left him a message saying they were not well-suited for each other.
Brokenhearted, Rudeus entered a state of depression where even his pride as a man was harmed and he’s rendered impotent with ED (erectile dysfunction). Traveling alone to the northern part of the Central Continent, the depressed magician travels to the city of Rosenburg in search of his mother, Zenith.
To help his search, Rudy decides to become famous as the adventurer Rudeus of Quagmire in hopes that his missing mother might hear the name. In order to pull this off, he gambles everything by accepting an A-rank job all by himself.
Two years pass and Rudy finally gets a clue for Zenith’s location from Elinalise Dragonroad, a friend of his old magic tutor Roxy. Then a letter comes out of the blue offering an unexpected invitation to enroll at the Ranoa University of Magic.
At the school, Rudy must deal with his eccentric classmates Rinia Dedorudia, Pursena Adorudia, Cliff Grimoire, and Silent Fitts. He even has a duel with a demon lord!
Unfortunately, anime fans will have to wait until the Mushoku Tensei Season 2 release date to watch what happens next. Stay tuned!
Crunchyroll’s Mushoku Tensei Season 2 English dub release date
The Mushoku Tensei anime is streaming on FUNimation, Hulu, and Netflix Japan (not Netflix U.S.) with English subtitles. FUNimation’s Mushoku Tensei English dubbing was announced in February 2021.
Here is the FUNimation Mushoku Tensei dub cast:
- Madeleine Morris as Rudeus Greyrat
- Ben Phillips as Old Japanese Rudeus
- Dani Chambers as Lilia
- Jared Smith as Paul Greyrat
- Michelle Rojas as Roxy Migurdia
- Bryn Apprill as Zenith Greyrat
The FUNimation Mushoku Tensei English dub release date was on February 14, 2021. Part 2 (Episodes 12 through 23) were also dubbed in Fall 2021.
Presumably, Crunchyroll’s Mushoku Tensei Season 2 English dub release date will be announced in the future after the TV show premieres with the original Japanese audio.
In early March 2022, Sony announced that Funimation was being merged into the Crunchyroll streaming app. As such, any previously dubbed episodes should be shifted over. Future projects should also be moved over there.
Why the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 release date was in Summer 2023
As of the last update, Kadokawa, EGG FIRM, Studio Bind, or any company related to the production of the anime has officially confirmed that the exact Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 release date is on July 2, 2023.
The chances of a Mushoku Tensei Season 2 announcement taking place in 2022 were always very high. Reviews from both critics and anime fans have been good. The anime has often topped the charts in Japanese TV rankings.
The Mushoku Tensei Blu-Ray/DVD sales number in Japan also gave us a better idea of the popularity. In its first week, Volume 1 of the BD sold 4,385 copies, which is considered healthy but not amazing. In June 2021, Volume 2 sold 4,053 copies, which was only a slight reduction.
Another factor is light novel sales in Japan. As of early June 2021, the Mushoku Tensei light novel series had 7.7 million copies in circulation. The anime’s premiere boosted the book sales by about 2 million copies in half a year. By February 1, 2022, the light novel series finally exceeded 10 million copies in circulation.
But it’s the streaming revenue that’s the deciding factor. And on that front, the anime TV show was popular.
In regards to any potential studio change rumors, it stands to reason that Studio Bind would also create Mushoku Tensei Season 2. One huge factor is that Studio Bind’s schedule is (apparently) wide open when it comes to projects where they are the lead animation studio although, like most studios, they’ll take on side work in addition to other projects.
As previously mentioned, the company was formed to create Mushoku Tensei, but that’s not its sole purpose for existing. In an official document released in October 2019 by production company EGG FIRM, it is stated that “Studio Bind will use this work [Mushoku Tensei] as a launchpad for its full-scale animation production business.”
Based on this document’s wording, at one time EGG FIRM may have considered having the Mushoku Tensei anime created by Studio White Fox, which is best known for producing Goblin Slayer, Re:ZERO, Steins;Gate, The Devil Is A Part-Timer! (The Devil Is A Part-Timer Season 2 confirmed!), and Akame ga Kill!
But White Fox will be busy working on the Goblin Slayer Season 2 anime TV series (and Re:ZERO Season 3 has already been teased by its Kadokawa producer) so EGG FIRM decided to create a separate studio.
“In order to make this work into an anime, we decided that we needed a system that would allow us to move forward with the project in a continuous, long-term, and systematic manner. By setting up a separate studio from the existing WHITE FOX studio, we will be able to concentrate more on the production of Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu,” the document stated. “Studio Bind will be able to deliver superior works to the world by combining the know-how cultivated by the companies involved. Studio Bind will continue to contribute to the animation field.”
What jumps out is that they specifically state that the overall anime project is intended to be produced in a “continuous, long-term, and systematic manner.” While that’s hardly a confirmation of Mushoku Tensei Season 2, it would make sense for the company to be prepared for that eventuality based on their history.
It’s possible that EGG FIRM is looking at Kadokawa’s experience with Re:ZERO as an example of how to handle Mushoku Tensei Season 2. The reason that Re:ZERO Season 2 took so long to come out was that the first season’s huge success was a surprise even to the producers and thus a quick turnaround wasn’t planned out in advance. Although early pre-production began years before the Re:ZERO sequel was publicly announced it still took years of planning to bring all the necessary animation staff and voice actors back together.
Another factor to consider is that the main staff are all contractors who will jump from studio to studio for each project. Anime productions are scheduled years in advance and the first season took about four years to produce from early production to the end.
That means anime studios, the contractors, and all the voice actors know well in advance that another season is secretly greenlit before the actual production is announced to the public. But oftentimes those internal decisions will be leaked to the public as rumors.
On May 5, 2021, anime news leaker Sugoi LITE claimed that the second season was in production already. What’s more, it was claimed that Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 was also in the works!
“TV anime ‘Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’ Seasons 2 & 3 are currently in production,” Sugoi LITE tweeted.
On March 6, 2022, Sugoi LITE referred to this earlier leak by stating, “One down, one pending to be announced,” in reference to Mushoku Tensei Season 3.
However, it turns out the earlier tweet from May 2021 wasn’t entirely accurate. A key animator for Mushoku Tensei Episode 21 responded, “[Mushoku Tensei Season 3] is not in production. … Greenlight and being in production are different statements. … It’s not in production. Nothing about greenlit. ‘The rumors’ are saying it’s in production. It could be greenlit but not in production. … It was not in production back in May [2021] and it’s still not in production right now. Production means [the] start of [the] preproduction phase. Greenlit means that [the] project exists on [the] pipeline and they will start it someday.”
In response to this issue, Sugoi LITE clarified, “I don’t usually distinguish [the] two terms often in the leak. ‘Greenlit’ as I meant back in May last year. … I used the two terms interchangeably, a mistake. I really should have used ‘greenlit’ back then.” In other words, the third season wasn’t “currently in production” as originally stated.
Regardless of terminology issues, this info was not corroborated by a leaked image or a source. As such, this info should be treated as a rumor. However, Sugoi LITE has a history of tweeting accurate news leaks.
But how does this clarification affect Mushoku Tensei Season 2? Was it also not in the early pre-production phase back in May 2021?
Unless Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 was planned out in advance, which would be highly unusual in addition to a second cour, the wait time needed to be years.
Therefore, in the best-case scenario where pre-production began in 2021, the Mushoku Tensei Season 2 release date will be in 2023 at the earliest. And since that time frame was confirmed in July 2022 that means pre-production began fairly early.
Additionally, considering that the March 2022 official announcement specifically stated that they will announce the “broadcast time” at a later date it seemed reasonable to predict that the premiere time frame will be sooner rather than later.
As such, Anime Geek predicted that the Mushoku Tensei Season 2 release date could be Summer 2023.
Mushoku Tensei producer Nobuhiro Osawa reveals how the anime made a studio in an interview
Japanese company EGG FIRM is responsible for the production. Nobuhiro Osawa is EGG FIRM’s CEO and the Chief Producer for the Mushoku Tensei anime series. He’s best known for being the Chief Producer for popular anime TV series like DanMachi: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Sword Art Online, High School DxD, and No Guns Life.
Some of these anime have been long-running in comparison to the average anime. For example, the DanMachi Season 4 release date is confirmed for 2022, the SAO: Progressive series is being turned into a movie series, and Sword Art Online Season 4: Unital Ring will likely happen in the future once the book series is completed.
In a Mantan Web interview, Nobuhiro says he had never heard about the Mushoku Tensei book series until about four years ago when Ken Kaneda, the editor in chief of Japanese publisher MF Books, gave him a copy. He immediately read up all the way to Volume 12 and then decided he wanted to make it an anime.
“It was very interesting. I thought this was a great drama in a fantasy world,” Nobuhiro said. “The original story is a very solid story, and it is as long as a major TV drama. So as a producer, I started by creating a production system that would allow me to visualize it as an animation. After much deliberation, I ended up building a new production studio for this work (laughs). I knew it would be a tough road, but actually, it was very difficult. Studio Bind producer Hisaya Otomo and director Manabu Okamoto assembled a solid staff, and the quality of the direction, drawing, art, and photography is a testament to the dedication of the staff.”
Creating the anime project was “very difficult” due to the “slapdash establishment of the new studio and the influence of COVID-19”. Originally, the anime was supposed to premiere in 2020 and at times Nobuhiro felt the “first episode would never be completed”.
It should be noted that some on social media have claimed this interview reveals that Mushoku Tensei is already planned to be a long-running anime adaptation of the light novel series like SAO or DanMachi. Nobuhiro never directly states anything to this effect.
Mushoku Tensei light novels’ ending in 2022 merely finishes… the intro to the Six-Sided Universe?!
Like many isekai anime, the story began life as a Mushoku Tensei web novel series that was self-published on Shosetsuka ni Naro (Let’s Become a Novelist) by author Rifujin na Magonote from November 2012 through April 2015. The 264 chapters were divided by the creator into 25 volumes (24 if you exclude the Volume 20.5 intermission).
The Japanese title can be literally translated into English as Jobless Reincarnation: I Will Seriously Try If I Go to Another World.
Mushoku Tensei: Redundancy is a series of 9 side stories that take place after web novel Volume 23 in the timeline. One of the Redundancy chapters, The Moment Aisha Greyrat Stopped Being a Maid, was deleted by the author due to its highly controversial themes, but it’s still considered memorable since the story events caused Rudy to tell his family about his reincarnation for the first time.
The second set of 5 side stories called Jobless Oblige was released in 2016. Chronologically, Jobless Oblige takes place in between the final two volumes of Redundancy and focuses on a character named Sieghart Saladin Greyrat.
Starting in April 2014, Kadokawa began publishing the Mushoku Tensei light novel adaptation under Media Factory’s MF Books imprint. The book art illustrator is Pixiv user ShiroTaka.
The light novel series ended with Mushoku Tensei Volume 26 on November 25, 2022. Mushoku Tensei Volumes 24 and 25 adapted web novel Volume 23, while Mushoku Tensei Volume 26 adapted the ending in web novel Volume 23 and 24.
In May 2014, Magonote began working with illustrator Yuka Fujikawa to serialize the Mushoku Tensei manga adaptation in Monthly Comic Flapper. As of June 22, 2022, the manga was up to Mushoku Tensei Volume 17.
(It should be noted that manga Volume 16: Chapter 76 corresponds to the ending of light novel Volume 9.)
Even as a web novel, the work was often the most popular on Syosetu’s rankings. By October 2019 the light novel/manga series was a huge hit, selling over 4 million copies in total.
The anime definitely had an impact on book sales. In late January 2021, there were over 5.6 million copies in circulation, but by the end of November 2021, Japanese newspapers reported that there were over 9.6 million copies in circulation. By February 2022, the series had reached the major milestone of 10 million copies in circulation.
Seven Seas Entertainment is publishing the official English translation of the light novel and manga. As of August 15, 2023, the English books will be up to light novel Volume 23 (the ending of the adaptation of web novel Volume 22), while the English manga was up to Volume 16 by March 7, 2023.
Mushoku Tensei ‘sequel’ waits on Orc Eroica (Orc Hero Story) light novel, author’s health problems, and the anime
If the Vinland Saga anime surprised audiences by having an entire first season be considered merely a prologue, then Mushoku Tensei’s author essentially said, “Hold my beer.” In fact, all 26 light novels of the entire Mushoku Tensei book series is considered to be an introductory story in the overall Six-Sided Universe franchise.
Without getting into major spoilers, Rudeus’s story is like a prologue to a different character whose narrative point of view occurs near the ending of the series. The current story hasn’t even shown off God/Divine tier magic yet.
On January 15, 2021, Magonote wrote about his plans for the future of the Six-Sided Universe series. While the web novel’s ending foreshadowed a sequel years ago, Magonote has not started on the Mushoku Tensei sequel. Unfortunately, his progress has been held up by health problems.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, but while I’ve been working hard on the anime,” Magonote wrote. “My shoulders and neck have been in a bad way, and it’s affecting my eyes, as well. It’s becoming difficult to continue writing. I’ve been going to the hospital. I’m on medication and compresses.”
The prolific writer has also been busy working on unrelated projects. Since January 2019 he’s been working on the Orc Hero Story web novel, which is officially titled Orc Eroica.
In April 2021, Yen Press announced that the web novel was being adapted into the Orc Eroica light novel series with illustrator Asanagi providing the character art. The Orc Eroica release date was in October 2021.
Orc Eroica is a story about a virgin orc hero named Bash going on an adventure to find a wife:
“Bash is well-respected among orcs. But he has a dark secret: His success on the battlefield doesn’t match up to his success in the bedroom. Bash sets out on a quest…all for the explicit purpose of getting laid!”
Once Magonote wraps up work on the Mushoku Tensei light novel series in addition to working on the anime, he plans on finishing Orc Hero Story, and then he’ll focus on healing his shoulders, neck, and eyes.
Only once that checklist is completed will he turn his attention to writing the Mushoku Tensei “sequel” set in the Six-Side Universe. He also laments that his workload could double if an Orc Hero Story anime project happens. In the meantime, at least anime fans can feel assured that there is plenty of source material for creating Mushoku Tensei Season 2, 3, and 4.
It should also be noted that Maganote doesn’t even consider his plans for the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation sequel to be an actual sequel. On September 16, 2022, Maganote explained to fans on Twitter that the new story will be based in the Six-Sided Universe 80 years after the story events focused on Rudeus Greyrat and his family.
Lara Greyrat will be involved somehow, and the new book series wont’ be considered a spin-off but the author hasn’t even come up with a title for the new series yet. What’s more, Maganote only intends on starting work on the new Six-Sided Universe project “after the anime and the orcs are done. It depends on how long the anime lasts, so maybe 3-8 years later.”
It’s interesting how Maganote phrased that. As previously noted, the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 release date is officially confirmed for 2023. So by saying the anime could end in 3 to 8 years he may have accidentally indirectly confirmed that Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 is already in the pre-production stage.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation manga/light novels compared to the anime
Many light novel fans are happy when an anime adaptation stays true to the story rather than diverting into anime original territory. In this case, the original creator Maganote is personally involved in creating the anime episodes.
“I provided some help with the script, and to be honest, I don’t know if it turned out to be a good thing or if it would have been better if I hadn’t interfered at all. But at least for episodes 1 and 2, I think it turned out to be perfect for fans of the original story,” Maganote wrote.
Studio Bind’s director, who is also the writer, made the wise decision to make the anime a character-driven story where the past-life trauma of Rudy is juxtaposed against his new fantasy life.
The original creator noted on Twitter that “[o]ne of the concepts of the original work is that even though you’ve been reincarnated into another world, you’ll end up suffering from the same problems as in the previous world (mainly when it comes to human relationships). I want people who are thinking, ‘He’s going to start life over when he reincarnates, right? Ouch, that’s too harsh,’ to keep watching the anime.”
Such a focus evokes emotions from the audiences, even if they do find Rudy currently hard to like based on his perverted mindset. The author reminds everyone that it’s the same in the books.
Speaking to people who can’t accept how the protagonist remains a pervert even after reincarnating, the author points out that Rudy did not have loads of regrets about being a pervert in his previous life. That’s why Rudy doesn’t have a moment of self-realization and declare, “I’m going to live life seriously! That also means stop being a perv!”
Maganote says that Rudy was reborn as a baby he was 100 percent perv and 0 percent serious. Even when Rudy decides to “live life seriously” he’s only 80 percent serious and still 20 percent perv. Since the anime doesn’t depict that exact moment of change, the author believes that perv ratio feels bigger compared to the original work.
Over the course of the first several episodes, Rudy’s appreciation of the world also changes. At first, he almost regarded other living beings as if they were video game characters, but as he lived his new life he became aware of people as living their own lives so he began to take into account their feelings with his actions.
“However, his fundamental nature as a perv won’t change,” Maganote tweeted. “So if you’re one of those people who think that being a pervert in and of itself is bad, I hope you don’t sweat it too much!”
The context of Rudy being a creepy kid toward his master Roxy Migurdia should also be explained, especially in the hallway scene. Although Roxy appears to be a teen she is technically 41 years old as of Episode 4 due to being part of a magical race called the Migurd, who age slowly in comparison to humans. The anime does reveal her demon heritage but doesn’t explain that the Migurd’s do not lose their childish features until after age 150 (although that detail can be inferred in Episode 9 by how even Roxy’s parents in Migurdia village appear super young).
In regards to Paul cheating on his wife Zenith with the maid Lilia in Episode 4, Maganote provided context that explained the situation more clearly. It turns out Paul didn’t have the same religious beliefs as his wife in regards to monogamy, but he also broke his promise made when marrying her.
“Monogamy is a system that is revered only in the religion of Millis in this world. Otherwise, it is rather permissible to have multiple wives. Some races practice polygamy, while others don’t. Zenith is a devout believer in that religion, not Paul. … But Paul had an understanding of her religion, and I think he said many times, ‘I love you only.’ In other words, Zenith was a broken promise to Paul. That’s unforgivable, isn’t it? … The background of a world with different ethics and common sense, the remorse of the people involved and their willingness to leave the decision to Zenith, and Rudy’s words all combined to create a place for Zenith’s emotions. That’s why Zenith was able to make that choice. If this had been a modern society, I’m sure Zenith would have made a different choice.”
Spoilers: And, as might be guessed, Mushoku Tensei will turn into an isekai harem story.
But Paul’s problems run deeper in the light novels. When Lilia described how Paul snuck into her bedroom for sex, she described it as “forced”. Worse, when Lilia explained Paula’s history of adultery to young Rudeus, he mentally noted that his father committed r*pe.
It should be noted that the English translation by Seven Seas altered the context of these events. The official English version removed the reference to “forced” and “r*pe”. Instead, Rudeus referred to Paul as a womanizer and a cheater.
The Seven Seas translation of Volume 2: Chapter 3 even altered a scene that was adapted by Mushoku Tensei Episode 6. In both the Japanese light novel and now the anime, Rudeus gropes Eris and attempts to pull off Eris’ panties while she’s sleeping. In the English light novel, he’s actually somewhat nice and tries to cover her bare stomach to prevent her from catching a cold.
Regardless of Rudy’s likability, or lack thereof, the studio’s directorial approach is a welcome relief from the isekai tropes that have been hashed out by the many, many isekai anime released in recent years. Many of the character’s actions and motivations may be deplorable, but it’s the well-constructed characterization that moves the story forward.
Now the overall pacing of the adaptation is similar to other anime. This isn’t the Cautious Hero anime, which created an entire first season out of only two light novel books. (Arguably, Cautious Hero was an exception to the rule since the best stopping in the story just happened to be the ending of Volume 2. Cautious Hero Season 2 would likely adapt more books.)
The fact that the original author felt compelled to provide context for the anime on Twitter just highlights how the anime studio was forced to condense content at the expense of worldbuilding. This is inevitable considering the time constraints of the episodic TV format, but the studio attempted to give moments the proper weight by skipping the usual OP and ED for extra time.
In stark contrast to many other anime, the OP music sequences were seamlessly interwoven with story events where Rudy wandered through wonderfully animated scenery.
Still, there were many important details that were skipped entirely. For example, Lilia was once a guards-maid for Asura’s concubines. When her leg was permanently damaged in a battle against an assassin the kingdom sacked her without hesitation. Fearing that she would become a political target, Lilia sought work in an extremely rural village and that’s when fate reunited her with Paul Greyrat, a man whom she originally met while learning swordsmanship in her youth.
Choosing which backstory and worldbuilding to keep in an anime is a balancing act. Animating Lilia’s history would have taken an episode at the expense of other important scenes. Still, at least you have an idea of what you’re missing by only watching the anime.
The pacing of Part 1 started off by adapting Volume 1 with 4 episodes. Mushoku Tensei Episodes 5 through 8 then covered Volume 2.
Mushoku Tensei Episode 11 finished off Volume 3, which had Rudy and Eris facing off against the supposedly murderous demon race the Superd after being teleported to an unfamiliar land by the Mana Calamity. They quickly realize that the black-and-white Ruijerd Superdia may have issues when it comes to intellectualizing morality, but it appears the Superd were duped in the war.
In Fall 2021, Mushoku Tensei Episodes 12 through 16 resumed with light novel Volume 4 (manga Volume 6). The new ED video for Part 2 introduced some great foreshadowing by having Rudeus replaced with a cutout of the sky. This was a reference to how Rudeus isn’t supposed to exist in that world, which also connected to Orsted not knowing about the existence of Rudeus.
Part 2 had big moments like the childish demon empress Kishirika Kishirisu, their family squabbles in Millishion, capital of the Holy Country of Millis, Rudeus’ capture by the beast-men of the forest, and the big reunion with Rudeus’ father Paul and his little sister Aisha.
But the adaptation did not cover everything. For example, in relation to Rudeus rescuing the beast children from slavers there was a side story about Roxy. Due to her youthful appearance, Roxy had been used in a sting operation against nobles to uncover a massive child sex trafficking ring that was even connected to house Boreas. Yes, the very house that Eris belongs to, although she’s part of a side branch.
The horny elf Elinalise may have gotten some screen time, but the anime didn’t bother to explain how her condition caused her to be driven out of her home. She was also concerned that her future children might be unfairly judged as being like her even if they didn’t have the same condition.
Similarly, the dwarf Talhand was barely given any character development at all. It turns out he was gay and when his childhood crush later became the leader of the dwarves he was laughed at since he studied magic rather than blacksmithing. Disgraced, the dwarf left his hometown and never returned.
Adult Ghislaine didn’t show up until the ending of Part 2. While her backstory as a savage child was revealed, and how she was sold to a traveling swordsman, the anime neglected to show the unbridled fury of adult Ghislaine in the Conflict Zone standing on top of a mountain of corpses holding the severed head of a king. Her actions were so epic that she created a new religion as the God of War!
The anime also failed to explain what happened to Paul and Zenith in the past in order to explain how they went from being a party of misfits and outcasts to becoming parents. There’s also Shierra and Vierra’s point of view from when Paul saved them from being sex slaves after the teleportation event (the anime did show the sisters but it’s a blink and you miss it scene). In fact, the bikini outfit was worn precisely to attract gazes to her body in order to protect her sister who was horribly sexually abused.
There’s a myriad of other details that were skipped. The scene at the restaurant with Death God Randolph Marianne was only important since it was one of the earliest vague hints to what’s really going on in the universe at large. (Hint: Rudeus isn’t the only Japanese on an isekai adventure and they’re eager to find any Japanese-style food.)
Still, the anime did great at adapting the most important plot beats. When Rudeus was captured a second time, the anime didn’t cut the second “Welcome to my rent-free life” monologue like the manga. The anime even managed to wedge in Prince Zanoba’s full speech where he waxed eloquent over the Roxy statue (gotta push those real-life Roxy figurine sales!).
The most memorable episode was Rudeus’ fateful confrontation with the Dragon God Orsted and the parting of ways with Ruijerd… never mind when Eris and Rudeus finally did the deed!
Episode 22 (Part 2 Episode 11) enhanced Rudeus’ trauma in the aftermath of Orsted by adding an anime original what-if scene that depicts his fear that he’ll lose everyone in his life. The emotion of the homecoming was similarly heightened by showing Rudeus visit his house and remember his past through ghost-like flashbacks.
Episode 23 finished from Eris’ point of view so audiences understand why she left… even if Rudeus does not. The final scene after the ED credits also provided a nice teaser of the second season by using Volume 7: Bonus Chapter – Ruler of Ronoa Magic Academy.
All in all, the finale, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Episode 23, found a stopping point that corresponds to the ending of light novel/web novel Volume 6. For manga readers, that’s the ending of manga Volume 10: Chapter 51.
For anime fans who want to read ahead of the anime, you should start with light novel Volume 7. Keep in mind that light novel Volume 7 is a light novel-only story that fills in the time skip between web novel Volumes 6 and 7.
For web novel readers, the anime’s ending corresponds to web novel Volume 6. So, it’s best to read light novel Volume 7 before resuming the web novel.
It’s predicted that the second season could adapt Volumes 7 through 9 as a single-cour season. However, a good alternative would be to adapt Volume 7 with a Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation movie, and then the second season would cover Volumes 8 through 10.
Mushoku Tensei Season 2 studio, staff, and theme song music
The first season of the Mushoku Tensei anime series set a new high bar for animations in an isekai series, arguably beating its competitors like TenSura: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and So I’m a Spider, So What? (which used 2D/3D hybrid animation). Even more impressive, the Mushoku Tensei anime is the debut project of a new animation company called Studio Bind.
In fact, the new studio was literally formed in order to create this anime. That’s not to say they haven’t worked on other anime at all. Studio Bind also helped Studio VOLN with episodes 22 and 31 of the Karakuri Circus anime.
On April 22, 2022, it was announced that Studio Bind’s second big project (besides Mushoku Tensei Season 2) would be the adaptation of the ONIMAI: I’m Now Your Sister! manga series.
The staff for the Mushoku Tensei Season 2 anime was announced during Anime Japan 2023.
For the first season, director Manabu Okamoto helmed the project. It was his second time being a lead director after the 2017 Gamers! anime. He’s also been an episode director for Akame ga Kill!, Darling in the FranXX, and Re:ZERO: Starting Life in Another World (see our story on Re:ZERO Season 3). The director is also credited for writing the series composition.
Mushoku Tensei Season 2 will be directed by Hiroki Hirano. He was the assistant director for the first season and his background includes popular anime such as Re:ZERO.
The original creator Rifujin na Magonote is also personally involved in the production. On his personal blog, he mentioned that he’s involved in writing the script, which explains why the anime adaptation has been so faithful to the original story. But writer Toshiya Ono will also be involved in creating the series composition.
Season 1 character designer Kazutaka Sugiyama is notable for having been the animation director on Darling in the FranXX. He’s being replaced by Sanae Shimada (Bleach, Blue Exorcist).
Composer Yoshiaki Fujisawa (Cautious Hero, GATE, Land of the Lustrous, Isekai Cheat Magician, No Game No Life: Zero) is returning to make the music for the 2nd season.
The Mushoku Tensei OP (opening) theme song music “The Traveler’s Song (Tabibito no Uta)” and ED (ending) “Only (Onri)” was written, produced, and sung by Yuiko Oohara. The Mushoku Tensei Part 2 OPs “Mezame no Uta”, “Keishou no Uta”, “inori no Uta”, and “Tooku no Komori no Uta”, and the ED “Kaze to Iku Michi”, were all performed by Yuiko Ohara.
The Mushoku Tensei Season 2 OP “spiral” will be performed by LONGMAN while the ED “Musubime” is by Yuiko Ohara.
The first season’s finale, Mushoku Tensei Episode 23, was released on December 19, 2021. The first season was released as four Blu-Ray volumes in Japan.
BD Volume 1 (Episodes 1 – 5) went on sale on April 21, 2021, and Volume 2 (Episodes 6 – 11) on June 23, 2021.
The Blu-Ray/DVD schedule was also impacted by delays. Volume 3 (Episodes 12 – 17) was delayed from October 20 to January 19, 2022. Volume 4 (Episodes 18 – 23) was delayed from December 22 to March 16, 2022.
- Updated May 30, 2023: Added OP/ED info and exact release date.
- Updated April 6, 2023: Release time frame confirmed.
- Updated January 30, 2023: Added Anime Japan 2023 info.
- Updated December 10, 2022: Added teaser visual of Teen Rudeus. Yumi Uchiyama to continue voicing Rudeus in 2nd season.
- Updated September 19, 2022: Creator Maganote discusses how the Mushoku Tensei “sequel” is not really a sequel.
- Updated September 4, 2022: Mushoku Tensei Volume 26 ending the light novel series.
- Updated July 3, 2022: Mushoku Tensei Season 2 in 2023.
- Updated March 6, 2022: Mushoku Tensei Season 2 production confirmed!
- Updated March 2, 2022: Added the trailer for the Eris Greyrate unaired episode.
- Updated February 2, 2022: Light novel series reaches 10 million copies in circulation.
- Updated December 15, 2021: Added departure of Rudeus VA for Mushoku Tensei Season 2. Restructured article with many new details.
- Updated November 15, 2021: Added Mushoku Tensei OVA episode info.
- Updated September 19, 2021: Added Mushoku Tensei Part 2 OP info and 2nd trailer.
- Updated August 31, 2021: Added Mushoku Tensei Part 2 preview trailer.
- Updated August 16, 2021: Added exact Mushoku Tensei Part 2 release date.
- Updated June 5, 2021: Added Mushoku Tensei light novel sales in Japan. Added Volume 1 Blu-Ray sales.
- Updated May 19, 2021: Mushoku Tensei Part 2 release date officially delayed. Added new key visual.
- Updated May 6, 2021: Added rumors of the second season, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 production.
- Updated April 26, 2021: Orc Eroica (Orc Hero Story) light novel release date confirmed.