Highlights
- Rudeus Greyrat, the protagonist of Mushoku Tensei, is reincarnated into a new world and quickly overcomes his past insecurities.
- Rudeus faces misfortune when he and Eris are transported to the demon continent and encounter the dangerous Dragon God.
- Despite his struggles with depression and erectile dysfunction, Rudeus continues to pick himself up and forge a way forward, earning sympathy from fans.
Rudeus Greyrat, the protagonist of the Mushoku Tensei anime series was reincarnated into a different world, although he is a 34-year-old NEET who got chastised his whole life. After planning to forge ahead in his old life, he goes out and gets hit by a truck and dies.
Fortunately for the 34-year-old, he is reincarnated as Rudeus Greyrat, a talented young child born to Paul and Zenith Greyrat. Perhaps because of his reincarnation, Rudeus masters magic much faster than his peers, even learning to cast spells without incantations. Now given a second chance at life, Rudeus plans to make the best use of it; however, he lets his troubles and insecurities creep up again and succumbs to them.
The Start Of Rudeus' Life
Although he was reincarnated with his memories intact, Rudeus quickly faced and let go of his past insecurities. Being in a new world, with a new loving family and teacher, certainly helped. As he grew up, he opened up and began to become more outgoing, pursuing his dreams.
To pay for his and Sylphy's tuition at the Ranoa University of Magic, Rudeus was employed to teach the fiery Eris Boreas Greyrat magic. While Eris certainly had a temper at first, she and Rudeus grew accustomed to each other, and their relationship progressed nicely.
The Beginning Of Rudeus’ Misfortune
Unfortunately, disaster came without warning through the Fittoa Teleportation Incident that transported all the residents of Fittoa to random unknown lands. As Rudeus and Eris got transported to the demon continent, they employed the help of Ruijerd the Superd to find their way back.
Unfortunately, the trio met Orsted, the Dragon God, who nearly killed them and in fact, left Rudeus for dead. However, Orsted decided to spare Rudeus on a whim and healed him. While the trio survived the encounter with the dragon god, the aftermath left Eris feeling weak and useless to protect Rudeus. To that extent, after her first steamy night with Rudeus, she left him. Her actions broke the young Rudeus, who slumped back into depression. Fortunately for Rudeus, he managed to pick himself back up as he decided to start the search for his mother, or so he thought.
While he did embark on a journey to search for his mother, Rudeus was in no great shape as his mind was in shambles. He became meek, seeking closure from the gaping hole Eris left in his heart. Scared of abandonment, Rudeus became unnecessarily polite and kind towards outsiders fearing to wrong them the tiniest bit. After a lot of prep talk, Rudeus claims he is over Eris and sets his eyes on forging a new and better future for himself and his family. However, he once again slumps when he tries to initiate sexual interactions with Sara and fails due to erectile dysfunction.
Is There Hope For Rudeus?
Fortunately for the boy, Elinalise Dragonroad, a former party member of his father appears and tells him the state of the search for his mother. After finding out Paul and Roxy are already going towards her, Rudeus felt relieved. Moreover, an opportunity to increase his magic skills while curing his erectile dysfunction appears. The Man-god tells him to accept the invitation to the Ranoa University of Magic and investigate the mass teleportation in Fittoa there.
Should Rudeus Be Sympathized With?
As Rudeus was reincarnated with his 34-year-old mind intact, his mind is one of a mature adult. Moreover, with his potential, top-tier talent, and status as a mage, many fans believe his continual depressional phase is unbefitting of him. While there may be some degree of truth to this, fans may need to understand that Rudeus is only human, and there’s only so much he can do. Moreover, prior to his reincarnation, he was in a similar state and so slumping and battling with insecurities is something he has struggled with for a long time. Fans need to understand that Rudeus is deeply hurt by the separation from his family, from Eris abandoning him, and from him losing everything. As a human, there’s only so much the young man can endure, and more importantly, he is hurt and needs healing.
Although he keeps slumping, Rudeus keeps picking himself up piece by piece as he tries to forge a way forward. Even after he tries to get over Eris with Sara, he realizes he has erectile dysfunction, which makes matters worse. Despite the blow that erectile dysfunction will deal to any man, Rudeus picks himself up and tries to look for a way forward. Although he may continually slump into his insecurities, fans need to sympathize with him as he tries his best to forge a way out of the darkness that constantly engulfs him. And to that extent, he has not given up.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is available to stream on Crunchyroll & Funimation.