A Mushoku Tensei movie was teased by the anime TV series director Manabu Okamoto.
The Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation movie was discussed during a Niconico live stream event that occurred on November 12, 2021.
The live broadcast was posted on YouTube, but those with a Niconico subscription were treated to some additional questions and answers from the cast and main staff at Japanese animation Studio Bind.
Director Okamoto was asked during the Niconico live stream about the possibility of a Mushoku Tensei movie being made. He said the possibility of a film depended on the fans supporting the anime TV series.
Some anime fans are confused about whether the anime season that ended in December 2021 was the second season. The first season had two parts, so technically Mushoku Tensei Episode 23 was the ending of the first season.
The Mushoku Tensei Season 2 anime TV series hasn’t been confirmed to be in production yet. However, anime news leakers are claiming that both the second season and Mushoku Tensei Season 3 are already secretly in production.
But there are good reasons to believe that a Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation movie could be released before the TV show’s second season. (See below for more details.)
Mushoku Tensei OVA episode release date confirmed
During that same live stream, the Mushoku Tensei OVA episode released was officially confirmed for March 16, 2022. The OVA will be released as an OVA episode along with the anime TV show’s Blu-Ray Volume 4.
The unaired side story will focus on the adventures of “Eris The Goblin Slayer” during the time frame of Episode 16 (the reunion of Rudeus and his father Paul Greyrat).
Why a Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation movie makes sense before Mushoku Tensei Season 2
The story of the anime’s first season ended with Eris declaring her love for Rudeus. She wanted to train harder with Ghislaine so she could take on even the Dragon God Orsted.
Meanwhile, poor Rudeus is heartbroken since he completely misunderstood the note that Eris left behind before her abrupt post-coital departure. Rudeus is only lifted out of his lethargic misery by the memory of his mother Zenith.
Paul and Norn have reunited with Lilia and Aisha but Zenith is still out there. When Roxy arrives she has news of Zenith’s possible location. So Roxy and Talhand set out to inform the rest of the family, while Rudeus starts a quest on his own to find his missing mother.
The final post-credits scene in Episode 23 teased that an unknown elf was advocating that Rudeus be accepted at the Ranoa University of Magic. What’s interesting about this after-credits scene is that it’s based on a small section of an extra chapter, Ruler of Ranoa Magic Academy, from light novel Volume 7.
The story for the entire series was originally created as a web novel self-published by creator Rifujin na Magonote. What stands out is that the story of light novel Volume 7 was not part of the web novel series since it’s a light novel-only story that fills in the time skip between web novel Volumes 6 and 7.
Ending the first season with the Extra Chapter may have been Studio Bind’s way of teasing their intention to create a Mushoku Tensei movie. After all, the Extra Chapter takes place after the epilogue/ending of light novel Volume 7, so why would they tease the future story arc of a TV sequel if the time gap wasn’t going to be filled with a film?
Thus, while the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 anime TV series could simply continue the story by adapting light novel Volume 7, it would also make sense to adapt the standalone story as a Mushoku Tensei movie.
Here’s the story summary for light novel Volume 7:
“Alone and forlorn, Rudeus arrives at the city of Rosenburg to search for his mother, Zenith. Despite his attempts to focus on the task at hand, Eris’ absence weighs heavy on his heart, and so Rudeus gambles on a dangerous new venture to distract himself from his newfound loneliness—accepting an A-rank job all by himself.”
Arguably, there are other light novel volumes that could work as a standalone Mushoku Tensei movie. For example, the second TV season could adapt both light novel Volume 7 and the University arc of Volumes 8 and 9, and then a film could be based on light novel Volume 10.
Without getting into major spoilers, that book doesn’t have as much action as Volume 7 and it also concludes a very important character relationship arc. So it would work better as the conclusion for the second season.
Similarly, the stories of light novel Volumes 11 and 12 are inter-connected so they’d work better as a TV show. Volume 13 then introduces another major character development milestone, so it would work better as the ending of Mushoku Tensei Season 3 but it could also work as a film.
All in all, the plot of light novel Volume 7 seems the best fit for making a Mushoku Tensei movie. Let’s just hope the anime production committee doesn’t leave fans waiting in suspense for too long. Stay tuned!