Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 1 – Quick Summary
In Jobless Reincarnation II episode 1, “The Brokenhearted Mage,” Rudy headed north to look for his mother Zenith, who remained lost after the mana disaster. Lacking the emotional framework to deal with Eris’ departure, though, he merely went through the motions. Suzanne, the vice leader of a group called Counter Arrow, took pity on him and invited him to go on a raid with them. But with Rudy in his current state, was that the best idea? Especially when another member of the party, Sara, reminded him oh-so-much of Eris. Will any of them survive the excursion? Or will Rudy have something else to feel guilty about?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 1
They say despair is a worse sin than any that produced it. I don’t think “they” have ever experienced life. At least not one fraught with hardship. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
How depressed is Rudy?
The poor guy had no emotional framework or maturity to interpret what Eris had done to him and why. He couldn’t know about her feelings of insecurity. He couldn’t understand why she gave him the gift of a single night together, then left him alone.
So, he imploded. Hard. This is Rudy we’re talking about. He hated himself. He could conceive of no way a woman would find him attractive. The day after he dared get his hopes up about Eris, he woke up alone.
His reaction made perfect sense to me. It seems like the perfect place to start the season. The only question is, had he really hit rock bottom? Or was this just a puppy love thing? If confronted with a real danger, would he snap out of it?
My favorite quote answered that question with clarity.
The bears were about to maul him. There were just steps away. Rudy look on them and sighed.
“Forget it,” he thought (15:41). “I’m sick of this.”
Rudy had hit rock bottom. The only place lower was the breathless chill of death. I see this as another example of this series’ dedication to authentic characters.
Favorite Moment from Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 1
Rude knew what memory to use to pull himself out of his despair. He just needed a little help to get to that point. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: The Darkness before Dawn
You might find it odd that I picked such a downer for my favorite quote. I completely understand if you do! But not only do I respect that for what it shows about Rudy in that moment. I like it for what it suggested would happen to Rudy later. After all, what better way to make a high seem even higher than to compare it to a devastating low?
My favorite moment isn’t when Rudy burned Eris’ locket of hair. That was based on a misunderstanding, and it struck me as sad. My favorite moment was just before that.
I understand why he did this, and it’s bittersweet. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
First, you just knew that Rudy still possessed the holy relic, didn’t you? Of course it would play a role in this episode! Just moments before, he had been in the tavern with Counter Arrow, where they had celebrated their combined victory. The whole affair had reminded him that fighting on a team, especially with their backs against the wall, was not only exciting. It was fulfilling.
In short, it reignited in Rudy the desire to live again.The whole affair had made him face his despair and understand it could be a passing thing. You may think of the holy relic as something perverse, and maybe it is. But it’s also something else. It’s a connection to someone Rudy respects and admires. It’s a connection to Roxy, his magic teacher.
Delivery: Rudy’s Not Alone
Crying into the holy relic, he remembered when Roxy had taken him outside for the first time. His NEET-ness from Earth had followed him into this world. His crippling social anxiety had confined him to his house. But Roxy helped him begin to heal from that wound. She also helped him mature in the mage that he is today.
How did Rudy rally himself? He turned to his memories of Roxy and her patient teaching.
“I can’t betray those lessons,” he thought (22:28).
Her patience and honesty taught Rudy as much as her actual lessons. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
This was a very human moment. We fall down. Sometimes, we fall so hard that we can’t even imagine getting back up. In this episode, Rudy had the good fortune to run into Suzanne. He had the even greater fortune to be Roxy’s student. The two of them helped Rudy get back on his feet. Seeing how this episode packaged and delivered this moment gave me a lot of hope for the season. Fingers crossed it pays off!
What did you think of Counter Arrow’s battle in the wilderness? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 1: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu Season 2 • Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 – Episode 1 discussion
- DOUBLESAMA: MUSHOKU TENSEI: JOBLESS REINCARNATION SEASON 2 EPISODE
- The Otaku Author: Mushoku Tensei II: Jobless Reincarnation (Episode 1) – The Brokenhearted Mage
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 0: Guardian Fitz
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 1: Brokenhearted Mage
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 2: The Forest in the Dead of Night
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 3: Abrupt Approach
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 4: Letter of Invitation
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 5: Ranoa University of Magic
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 6: I Don’t Want to Die
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 7: The Kidnapping and Confinement of Beast Girls
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 8: The Fiancé of Despair
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 9: The White Mask
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 10: These Feelings
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 11: To You
- Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 12: I Want to Tell You
Yeah. Old Rudy and New Rudy could take on all the bears by himself. Middle Rudy just wanted it over. I know how he feels.
Wonder how Counter Arrow will respond to have a superstar in their ranks?
That scene resonated — too much! It’s amazing how much emotion can overwhelm reason in those situations. I feel like I become a completely different person. Well, that’s what coping skills are for!
Interesting question about Counter Arrow. I can see this show answering it, too.
I really liked Suzanne and how patient she was with Rudeus. It was as if she understood exactly what he was going through and how best to help him. A bit of a gamble with the bears, but it worked and now they’ll probably be able to party with Rudeus for a few more quests.
I do worry about Sara’s similarity to Eris and the fact that this episode was all about rebuilding Rudeus. My gut is telling me to expect another fall in the near future and I feel like Sara could be a part of that. I hope I’m wrong though. It’s great to be back!
I was a bit miffed to see Rudy so despondent, despite however much time must have passed for him to get to the interior of this northern continent. I mean, after pulling himself up and out of his depression at the end of the previous season, I would have thought he’d be in a bit better shape by now. Then I was confused to see him suffering from a panic attack, but I understood the experience, at least. I was exasperated to see him so ready to die and how drawn out his recovery was in the middle of the fight, and then the people who saved him hail him as their hero for getting off his duff and saving them in return. Finally, I was sad to see him burn Eris’ hair. But, ok, we’ve gotten Rudy back in action, complete with another potential romantic interest. Now, to get on with finding his mother.
I get where you’re coming from! From my perspective, it seemed to fit with where Rudy was — and if anything, he seemed a little too together at the end of last season. Though that could have been an attempt at rallying that traveling for too long alone degraded.
Emotionally, I’m not even sure he’s a teenager — and he really had no framework to understand what Eris did.
All that made the fireball he threw all the more enjoyable. Though I can’t dispute your point that he just did his job, like Suzanne and the rest did, too.