Merry Month of Manga: MUSHOKU TENSEI: JOBLESS REINCARNATION

Isekai fantasy manga are all too often power fantasies for their readers, and sometimes those power fantasies can go in some obnoxious or dark directions.  A lot of manga adaptations try to fix them, but as shown in today's example it's not always successful.

 MUSHOKU TENSEI: JOBLESS REINCARNATION (Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu), based on the light novel series by Rifujin na Magonote with art by Yuka Fujikawa.  First published in 2014 and first published in North America in 2015.

PLOT:

Once he was a hopeless NEET.  Then he was hit by a truck in an attempt to save some teens, and all he can wish for is for a second chance.  He gets it when he is reborn as Rudeus Greyrat, the child of two adventurers with a precocious knack for magic.  Under the tutelage of his tutor Roxy and his friend Sylphie, his power grows stronger, but what will happen when he needs to leave home to keep learning?

STORY:

I haven't been looking forward to this one.  Thanks to its recent anime adaptation, this series has become something of a lightning rod for the dreaded Discourse.  Its critics rightfully called out its shitty attitude and double-standards towards women, while its defenders downplayed the faults of its protagonist to focus on the characters and production value.  So how does the manga adaptation compare to the source material and the anime?  Well, it's something of a middle ground.

Most notably, this manga does a lot to downplay a lot of Rudeus's worst qualities, both pre- and post-reincarnation.  This can only be a good thing, as both the novels and anime make it clear that Rudeus's previous self was a sexual predator in the making and that some of those toxic ideas are still present in Rudeus.  Doing this allow the series to focus more on his emotional growth and on Rudeus overcoming some of the trauma from his past life in good, constructive ways.

Note that I said that the gross sexual stuff is downplayed, not removed.  It honestly became distracting how often Rudeus's moments of emotional growth were punctured by him making some pervy aside.  It's like trying to play some lyrical piano piece, only to routinely interrupt it by smashing your hands on the keys and picking up where you left off.  The tone shifts constantly threw out me out of the story.  That's not even taking into consideration how this approach sometimes creates plot holes (like the true reason Rudeus's previous self was thrown out of his home) or glosses over some egregious actions (like the fact that Rudeus's father literally raped the housemaid).

For all the focus on Rudeus's emotional growth, I wish that same level of respect and dignity were applied to the women in his life.  His mother, the housemaid, his magic tutor Roxy, his friend Sylphie - all of them are shown to have some interesting stories of their own, but all too often they are used either as vehicles for fanservice or cheerleaders there to celebrate and mark Rudeus's greatness.  I also couldn't get over how well-spoken he is during this first volume, despite the fact that Rudeus ages from 3 to 7 during it.  Other than calling his parents Mommy and Daddy, he makes no attempt to sound like a child and I feel like this should be something that others would point out as spooky or unusual for his age.  Maybe that's just nitpicking, but it's proof that glossing over some of the more sexually deviant parts of this story isn't enough to solve the very real problems that are holding this series back.

ART:

Curiously, the original light novel artist isn't credited here.  Normally they get credited for creating the character designs, at least.  It's not like Fujikawa's art bears much resemblance beyond the surface details.  Their take on the character designs is (as usual) a lot rounder and simpler than the light novel art.  It's not entirely lazy, though.  There's a lot of use of hatching for texture, and Fujikawa does put some proper effort into the backgrounds.  Sadly, they also put a lot of effort into the fanservice.  In an instant, a panel will suddenly shift to extreme high or low angles while Fujikawa uses all the perspective tricks they know to thrust a girl's bust or butt towards the reader, and this only enhances that discordant tone in the story.

RATING:

The manga version of Mushoku Tensei is probably the most presentable this series will ever be, but that's not quite enough for it to get past the problems of its source material.  Maybe if it would focus more on Rudeus's emotional recovery and less on indulging him (and the audience by proxy) in his basest instincts, then perhaps it could be worth recommending.

This series is published by Seven Seas.  This series is ongoing in Japan with 14 volumes available.  12 volumes have been published and are currently in print