Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Jobless Reincarnation Episode 18 Review – Quick Summary
In Jobless Reincarnation Episode 18, “Separate Journeys,” Rudy, Ruijerd, and Eris boarded a ship bound for the Central Continent. Meanwhile, Roxy continued her search for any members of Paul’s family, including Rudy. She met an old friend, Nokopara, who, through the stories of his own family, tried to convince Roxy to visit her home. What made Roxy so reluctant? Why did she experience a panic attack at the very mention of returning? Just what happened to her before she fled her village so many years before?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Jobless Reincarnation Episode 18
Elinalise is an interesting character. I wonder what’s driving her behavior? Because it doesn’t seem like something that’s spontaneous. Capture from the Hulu stream.
I’m an anime-only viewer. I haven’t read this story in other forms. So I don’t know what’s going on with Elinalise Dragonroad. But I have a strong suspicion that participating in group sex isn’t something she does just because because she thinks it might be fun.
On the other end of the spectrum. Roxy isn’t a prude. She knows how some men are. I mean, we all remember the lengths to which Rudy would go to look up her skirt, and she knew full well what he was trying to do. Plus, we saw her reaction to hearing Paul and Zenith making love. Roxy is clearly a healthy young woman. At the same time, it’s pretty clear that she is very, very (did I mention very?) uncomfortable witnessing Elinalise expressing herself sexually with multiple partners.
In other words, Roxy blasts buildings apart to bring an end to the orgies. Like she did in this episode.
As they left town poorer because they had to pay for damages (again), Roxy lamented that Elinalise should be more private.
“Oh, but people watching makes it more arousing,” the elf said (21:35).
Did you notice something? Roxy didn’t criticize Elinalise directly — she said she should be more private. Nor did Elinalise criticize Roxy directly. They’re both trying to work through their own limitations without attacking each other. I found that profoundly refreshing!
Best in Show Moment for Jobless Reincarnation Episode 18
At first, Roxy could not figure out why she was crying. But her intellect quickly caught up. Capture from the Hulu stream.
Setup: Wow, This Hit Close to Home
The Migurdia Family: A Stand In for My Own
I lived Rowin Migurdia in this episode. Though I didn’t know it at the time, it started about six weeks before the birth of my first son. Did you see the quick shot of Rowin around 14:42? He looked on as his wife, Rokari Migurdia, taught Roxy how to speak — using a spoken language. For a few moments, he looked on, smiling. Then, he had to look away, and you can tell that he’s fighting back tears.
Why? What was going on? There was something about the moment that actually terrified me as I watched it. As in, I felt actually scared, and I didn’t know why. But my subconscious did.
Don’t you hate it when your subconscious won’t let you in on a secret that clearly affects you?
Hearing Roxy so happy and excited to be learning to talk; knowing what reception awaited her in the wider world; it almost broke Rowin’s heart. Been there. Done that. No tee shirt, though. Capture from the Hulu stream.
It was at that moment that other little details in the episode made sense. And suddenly, I was 30 years in the past.
A few months before my first son was born, my wife randomly took a class in American Sign Language. It’s the language that deaf people use in the United States. To this day, neither my wife nor I know why she took the class. At the time, it just seemed interesting.
It made a huge difference in what was to come.
A Communications Disability
When my son was a year and a half old, we learned that he was deaf. The precise classification was profound sensorineural deafness. I like precise classifications. They keep the conversation focused on its intellectual aspects so I can ignore the emotional side. Because, from an emotional perspective, as young parents, we were crushed.
Yet, because of my wife’s decision, we knew a way forward. We knew that my son would never learn to speak, but we could teach him ASL. Just like Rowin and Rokari could teach Roxy to speak out loud. But what we could not do was teach other people to interact well with my son.
Just like Rowin and Rokari.
It’s not that the others intentionally set out to hurt Roxy. It’s just that their society and their own upbringing had not prepared them to do otherwise. Capture from the Hulu stream.
That said, I feel fortunate. Not only did we know some sign language. We use it when we’re around my son so he doesn’t feel excluded from family conversations. We also knew enough to send my son to a deaf school, where he could interact normally with other deaf children and become immersed in deaf culture. Yet, every non-deaf interaction was like a punch to the gut. I could see the struggle; I could see the looks hearing people gave my son. I’ve come to peace with that after 30 years of trying, but it still burns, even now.
But what I wasn’t prepared for, when I sat down to watch episode 18 of Jobless Reincarnation, was how well they nailed the feeling of that time.
Because they effing nailed it.
Delivery: Family Can Overcome Alienation
A Conversation Forever Out of Reach
Jobless Reincarnation does a wonderful job of building our understanding of the various characters’ perspectives, then smashing them together into dramatic moments. In the previous two episodes, those collisions involved Paul and Rudy. In this episode, Roxy and her parents got their turn.
Roxy reluctantly reentered her village, mostly because Nokopara had inflamed her sense of duty. But as soon as she got there, she encountered some children playing. At first, I thought they just stared at her in a friendly way. Then I noticed the flash-bulb visual effect, along with a similar audio effect. Just like that I knew they were communicating telepathically. And Roxy was not a telepath.
Roxy had no context to interpret what had happened. She even asked her parents if the the kids and parents had treated her badly because she was a bad girl. Capture from the Hulu stream.
She could see flashes had meaning. She knew a conversation took place right in front of her. But because of her disability, she could not participate. Her culture’s primary way of communicating had been denied her, by conditions surrounding her birth.
That. Hit. Home.
Roxy Reached Out, and So Did Her Parents
She tried to reconnect with her parents, but it wasn’t going well. She that saw her mom had saved Roxy’s old toys, and that made her pause. Still, the memories hurt too much, and she said she might visit again in a half century. Just as Roxy said she was leaving, her mom dissolved slowly into tears.
You can suppress feelings that hurt deeply. Roxy did it for years. But with the right trigger event, they’ll flood back regardless of what you want. Seeing Roxy’s own feelings overcome her, seeing her shock and dismay as her own tears fell, made that moment viscerally real for me.
Those tears, fueled by a joy at a reunion neither side had dared hope for, fell on both sides of the screen. The show’s just that good.
She had finally arrived in a good place. Capture from the Hulu stream.
Now, I just have to hope that my son never needs such a reunion. I hope my wife and I have been able to show him a less painful path. Though I have to admit that I don’t control all of the factors that will determine that. There are a lot of villagers out there with their own flash bulbs…
What did you think of Ruijerd’s calm on the ship while Eris and Rudy struggled? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Jobless Reincarnation Episode 18: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: [Discussion] Mushoku Tensei Episode 18
- 100 Word Anime: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Part 2 Episode 18 – This One Is For Roxy Fans
- RABUJOI: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – 18 – The Most Important Thing
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 12: The Woman with Demon Eyes
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 13: Missed Connections
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 14: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 15: Slow Life in Doldia Village
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 16: Family Squabble
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 17: Reunion
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 18: Separate Journeys
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 19: Route Selection
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 20: The Birth of My Little Sister, The Maid
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 21: Turning Point 2
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 22: Dreams and Reality
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 23: Wake Up and Take a Step
- Jobless Reincarnation Episode 24: Eris the Goblin Slayer
this series sounds interesting and like the type to hit you in the FEELS ;-;
It’s interesting you mention that — I can’t think of another show, not even the new Fruits Basket, that has hit me so hard. This episode’s depiction of Roxy and her family was so authentic that it hurt!
The show may have some controversial elements, but from my perspective, I think it’s one of the most finely crafted anime I’ve seen.
This was a very moving episode. Jobless R keeps on impressing me. And Roxy is my favorite lady of the lot. She’s even close to my age. Real waifu material.
Roxy’s great! I was happy she could reconnect to her parents. And yeah, she has a much higher waifu index than most!
Wow…….there is something about this show that everyone seems to be able to relate to- in all aspects. This show is really well crafted, and I just wish that more people knew about it.
This episode was pretty good- I like Roxy as a character. And it continues to move the world forward. I feel like Rudy and Roxy’s reunion is going to be a sight to see- seeing how each other have grown is going to be an important moment for the both of them.
I’m really looking forward to Roxy and Rudy’s reunion! And I love how she knows he’s out there, but she trusts him to continue his part of the search.
What I’m also interested in seeing is how Eris reacts to Roxy! That could be quite the lively meeting!