Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation III ‒ Episode 8
With one single exception (which we'll talk about in a bit), none of what we see or learn this episode has any immediate impact. Is it interesting in a world-building sense? Sure. But it does nothing to further the plot.
…Well, at least as things stand now.
I have a feeling that this episode is one that will become much more meaningful in retrospect. At the moment, it feels like starting a jigsaw puzzle—you know, the moment when you dump all the pieces out on the table for the first time. Sure, you can see all the pieces and their shapes but you have no idea how they connect to each other or contribute to the overall picture.
Little throwaway lines about the mural in the basement or Sylvaril asking about the Man-God may turn out to be insanely important in the near future. And what we learn about Zenith from Elinalise will no doubt be vital at some point in the story—even as it leaves us wondering what Zenith's gift and curse may be.
The sole aspect of this episode that actually moves the story forward is something that's been foreshadowed quite a bit recently: Nanahoshi's health. While it's been treated by the characters in the story as if shes sick due to overwork, the fact that she doesn't seem to get better for long even after magical healing has been a big hint that things are far worse for her than anyone knows.
What's nice about the whole situation is that we've gotten enough nuggets about Nanahoshi over the years that it's not hard to guess at what's wrong with her—or at least guess why something is wrong with her. Unlike Rudeus, Nanahoshi wasn't reborn in this world. She was physically transported. That means that her body is wholly alien as far as the fantasy world is concerned.
The most obvious sign of this is her inability to use magic—as Nanahoshi's body is the product of evolution in a world without it—but things don't necessarily end with that. There could be any number of diseases that everyone born into this world has antibodies for that Nanahoshi lacks. We've seen in our real world during the age of colonization the devastation caused by non-native diseases upon an unsuspecting populace.
That said, the relationship between magic and Nanahoshi's body is likely at the core of the problem—as it's Sylphie's attempt to magically heal her that causes such an explosive reaction at the end of the episode. And so, with blood covering our heroes, we get our new call to adventure. Rudeus' peaceful life is officially at an end.
Rating:
Random Thoughts:
- Rudeus, homie, my main man, when your newlywed wife is barred from entering somewhere due to blatant racism, you don't simply ditch her and go in without her—even if she says it's okay.
- My heart breaks for Sylphie. She so wants to believe that Rudeus won't cheat on her again but the fear of it is eating at her hard.
- I completely understand Nanahoshi's tears this episode. Sometimes, even a pale imitation of something you long for can hit you as hard as the real thing.
- Perugius feels kind of miscast to me—like his tone of voice and words don't quite match. Perhaps it is because there is a voice actor who is famous for voicing this type of arrogant king: Tomokazu Seki (Gilgamesh in the Fate franchise). Or maybe it's because I watched Daemons of the Shadow Realm right before this, and Rikiya Koyama plays the brutish muscleman Right in that anime.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation III is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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