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Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 7 – Quick Summary
In Jobless Reincarnation II episode 7, “The Kidnapping and Confinement of Beast Girls,” Rudy and Zanoba continued to train Juliette in basic magic. She was a quick learner – far quicker than Zanoba expected! She became so good that Zanoba showed her the statue Rudy had made of Ruijerd Superdia. But when Rudy asked to see the figure he’d given Zanoba of Roxy, Rudy learned a shocking truth. A truth that provoked such a reaction that Juliette hid from his wrath. What did Rudy discover? Will Zanoba survive the results? And if Zanoba wasn’t at fault, who was?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 7
Rudy has no idea just how powerful he really is. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Okay, before we address the herd of elephants loitering in the dead center of the room, let’s get my favorite quote out of the way. Because it’s at the heart of what I like about this series.
Rudy used deeply racist language to provide a reaction out of Rinia Dedoldia and Pursena Adoldia. And it worked. Rinia attacked, but Rudy put her down with ease. Zanoba tried to capture Pursena, but she was faster than him. So Rudy had to incapacitate her, too.
Zanoba was astonished and said as much. Rudy reacted like he had not demonstrated any particularly good skills. He even thought the fight was a bit of a let down.
“Maybe Paul and Eris were stronger than I thought,” he said to himself (11:40).
He’s still carrying so much emotional damage from his time on Earth that he can’t see it. He cannot see that he passed Roxy’s raw power long ago; that he fought beside Ruijerd and learned much from him; and that he’s even using the Orsted’s techniques. He’s one of the most powerful sentients on that planet. And he just doesn’t get it.
Favorite Moment from Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 7
Fitz is one devious person. Rudy would do well to remember that! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Don’t Pay Attention to My Delaying Tactics!
Remember when Rudy saw the Roxy figure in pieces? Did you see Juliette sneak away from her seat at the table and hide behind Zanoba? Was that hilarious or what? She knows a potential catastrophic event when she sees one!
Plus, Zanoba, and finally Juliette, chanting “Roxy, Roxy!” waltzed right over that line between sane and insane and are even now frolicking in my memory. Where I hope to exorcize them someday.
And yes, I’m delaying. This is tough episode to get my brain around. The good news is that I’ve already renounced virtual signaling (you can see proof in my review of the previous episode). So, before I go on, let’s get this out of the way:
There’s no jurisdiction in our world where this is legal. That I know of. And if there is, I don’t want to know about it. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Kidnaping, sexual assault, and racism are now, and have always been, and always will be, morally impermissible. There. It’s in clear text, and anything I say after this does not take away from the finality of that statement.
Seriously. I’m not going to justify a single thing that happened in this episode. Because here’s the thing: I don’t have to. This is a work of fiction. This is about Rudy’s journey from a destroyed human being to something else. I’m an anime-only viewer, so I don’t know where he ends up. But I know this: he’s a fantastic fictional character, and so are almost all the characters around him.
That includes Rinia and Pursena. And Zanoba and Juliette. And especially Fitz/Sylphie.
So, in this episode, for breaking the Roxy figure, Rudy retaliated against Rinia and Pursena by kidnapping and restraining them. He groped Rinia (as an experiment, he said). We could go on about what happened, but I think you get the point. What interested me about this whole affair is how everyone reacted to it.
Delivery: Making the World More Real – in All Its Sucky Glory
Rinia and Pursena knew Rudy was in control. They didn’t try to threaten their way out of it. They even bargained towards the end: sexual favors for jerky. Juliette certainly didn’t say anything. I think Reddit user Frontier246 put it best by saying, “At this rate she’ll be burying bodies for these two soon lol.” Zanoba? Seemed like a normal day to him. Even Fitz was all like, “Well, as long as you’re not having sex with them, it’s fine by me.”
This episode drove something home in a way that other episodes have not. It’s obvious; I’ve even spoken of it before. I’m sure you’ve thought about it. But this episode made something appallingly clear: this world brutally sucks.
And it’s one of the most vital, realistic, and living fantasy worlds I’ve ever encountered. It took this episode to drive that point home in a new and dynamic ways.
The “Roxy, Roxy!” is going to be stuck in my brain for a long, long time! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
My favorite moment was when Rudy and Fitz released Rinia and Pursena. Fitz had painted humiliating runes and expressions on their faces. She said that if the two turned on Rudy, or did anything to piss him off, she’d chant the spell needed to turn the paint into permanent tattoos. After the two beast girls had left, Rudy asked Fitz what would happen if someone else happened to know that incantation.
“That was a lie,” she said with a smile (19:42). “… That’s just cheap paint for magic circles.”
And Rudy realized that it’s probably wise not to piss off Fitz. I suspect that’s a lesson that will pay huge dividends in the future!
What did you think of… well, your pick! What did you think of anything in this episode and what were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Jobless Reincarnation II Episode 7: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu Season 2 • Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 – Episode 7 discussion
- DOUBLESAMA: MUSHOKU TENSEI: JOBLESS REINCARNATION SEASON 2 EPISODE 7 REVIEW
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
This world is terrible. We’ve been seeing it for ages, however, the problem is Rudeus is not from this world so he should know better. Even with his mental age being diminished by the things that happened to him at school, he must know that this sort of thing is inexcusable. He went through the same sort of things. There’s no way he doesn’t realise.
Also, didn’t Pursena call him boss when he first took the gab off her. It would appear to me that they were already submitting to him after being defeated in combat. To me, that makes sense when you look at the animal kingdom and how an alpha controls the pack. Just beating them made him the alpha and they acknowledged him. That made everything he did after that unnecessary. I feel like being back at school is having a terrible effect on him to the point that he could end up becoming the thing that destroyed his past life.
I think Rudy did indeed pull on his school experience. Being bullied often causes one to become a bully. What I found interesting about Rudy’s behavior, though, is that while I found it unfortunate that he did it at all, I also found it remarkable that he showed as much restraint as he did.
I’m not sure how much he knew about the beast folks’ cultures. I’m not sure he realized he’d become the alpha. He’d had some exposure to them in that village back when, but I’m not sure how much he absorbed.
I hope it doesn’t come across that I’m trying to excuse his behavior. I’m just trying to evaluate it within the context of who he has become, who he was, and the stage we’re at in the narrative. As far as I can tell. If that makes sense.
“Would the younger version of Rudy have stopped so soon?”
Wow, that didn’t occur to me. He really would not have, I am certain!
It’s no wonder why Pursena would be confused. I mean, she had every reason to expect a whole lot more, and if that was not Rudy’s intention, why else would he cop a feel at all? So he starts, in fulfillment of what she could expect, but then stops, and leaves her not knowing what to expect. Since no one could dare to hope for a reprieve under such circumstance, what could possibly be more confusing than getting one?
That’s the kind of moments I love from this show — character-driven scenarios, realistic reactions, authentic relationships, all that.
This one pushed into problematic territory for me. Kidnapping for petty reasons, pants wetting, humiliation, boob grabbing. Rudy has lost his character arc. It added nothing of interest to the story.
I don’t hate Rudy. I hate the writers. They think the audience wants to see this sort of thing.
Maybe. Or maybe it’s just part of where he is, and in terms of the character, it might not make sense to make him any “better.” At least not yet.
I think right now, he’s a lot of raw material that Sylvie can help mature!
I’m not disputing your point — but I’m not convinced this arc is the result of pandering. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong, though!
I distrust Japanese writers in that regard. Not a lot of respect for how they treat women and children.
This is one of those cases where I wish I could dispute that — unfortunately…
Though I’d add the unfortunate commonality isn’t confined to Japan, by any means.
If Sylphie were going to “mature” him, this would have been the time. She would have told him, “No. This is degrading.”
The whole situation was so very.. teen. Probably the closest Rudeus ever was to acting as a teenager, imo. Have too much free time and too little supervision. Get all emotional, get swept up by the flow with your buddies, do something very stupid (and sometimes dangerous), then snap out of it, leaving you wondering “What the hell was I doing?” and “How do I cover/fix this?”
I feel like similar statements are applicable to many of his other transgressions, like the infamous barn scene from s1ep6, and it’s no coincidence that Rudy is acting at his worst during the times when he’s in a safe enviroment. He doesn’t need to act mature to survive and starts acting his new age. Though it is still tainted by his old life memory banks.
PS: Fun fact: you can actually decypher the runes, as Human language is a letter-swapped Basque using made-up alphabet. It’s “I’m a cat/dog who lost to Rudeus”.
That makes a ton of sense. I like this interpretation. It explains a lot, and it fits the context of the series.
LOL about the runes. I didn’t know that. Very cool!
When the fury of Rudeus did make the mighty Zanoba quake with fear: hilarious. Juliette tiptoeing to a safer spot: also hilarious, though, considering Rudy’s anger was directed towards Zanoba, hiding behind Zanoba was maybe not the smartest move. Like, go hide behind a chair far away from Zanoba or something, girl.
When Rudy defeated both beastgirls with ease: about what I expected. There is still a terrifying gap between him and the most powerful people in the world – which, I suspect he will be colliding with in due time – but he has been practicing magic for over ten years, dabbling in physical combat for almost as long, he was trained by masters in both (though he never had the talent for fighting), received a magic eye from a demon lord, was baptized in fire throughout his ordeals after the mass teleportation, and has had time to grow, mature, and refine his skills in ways which only time can. He’s even had experience in teaching, courtesy of Sylphie, his time as a tutor, and now Juliette. He is monstrously powerful, especially for his age.
When Rudy groped one of the girls: too far, Rudy. Too far. Experiment or no, too far.
When Rudy went to Sylphie/Fitz for advice, and came back to find the girls had soiled themselves and were in a very bad state of mind: he *really* didn’t stop to plan any of this out, did he? I mean, comeuppance was due, but there’s a reason they say revenge is a dish best served cold. It is prudent to take one’s time coming up with one’s vengeance. Such as, for instance, consulting with one’s allies *before* taking action. And really, it took him all day to get advice from his friend and return? He didn’t think once of their condition in all that time? Sheesh!
Rudy has certainly gained some new allies and helpers, at least. Very obedient ones, too. That is the way of such brutal worlds. The impact of the stick followed by the delivery of the carrot is frighteningly effective.
I wonder… what was that term which they called Sylphie/Fitz? They said it twice, and Rudy picked up on the distress it caused, but what was it? Was it, perhaps, something which would reveal her true identity to Rudy if he understood it? Or was it some anti-elf slur or something like that? Hmm.
You know, you’re right — hiding behind Zanoba, the apparent object of Rudy’s anger, was one of Juliette’s less brilliant tactical moves. It all worked out in the end, though.
“Experiment or no, too far.”
From the perspective of my personal morality, I agree. What struck me about that moment, though, is Pursena’s reaction. At first, she reacted as I expected — she was very upset. But when Rudy stopped so quickly, she looked more perplexed or confused. That told me a lot about this world, and actually about Rudy. Would the younger version of Rudy have stopped so soon? I don’t think so.
He’s not where we’d like him to be, but he’s come a long way.
“he *really* didn’t stop to plan any of this out, did he?”
Not in the least. He’s a terrible kidnapper. Which is a good thing, actually!
“The impact of the stick followed by the delivery of the carrot is frighteningly effective.”
It really is — which emphasizes the need for the rule of law. We can’t have society ruled by the biggest thugs. That’s a bad way to run a country. The number of examples we have is frighteningly high.
“They said it twice, and Rudy picked up on the distress it caused, but what was it?”
I didn’t catch it. It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes of it.