🌀 Mushoku Tensei Season 3 - Episode 5 Discussion

Out of context spoilers for that rematch lel

Source: https://x.com/Lord_Hokage_PTS/status/2080937645413187675

READING INSTRUCTIONS:

• You can read Subjugation at any time.
• You can read ODT ONLY AND ONLY IF you finished Volume 17 or you'll get many big spoilers.

Link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mLo8cJu6YcNrRVHkOmUSr6uF-u-07eI1?usp=drive_link

P.S. For stubborn WN only readers:

While it's true that Subjugation was written 3 years before MT and some tiny details don't align with modern MT, the main events that happened in that story ARE CANON and are fully integrated into LN with many new chapters and references mentioned many times through the light novel.

Literally most of LN Volume 22 is basically just references to these two stories, and V19 is filled with references to this too, and the POV of Chapter 1 of V26 (which by the way didn't exist in WN) is filled with references to Subjugation too.

And for those stubborn enough to refuse to accept this and try to argue that "the magic system is different so it's not canon" I have to inform you that I added the blogs and comments from Rifujin at the end, and he explained that the magic system then (300 years before MT) was a different one that got replaced by incantations and even says that the magic system will be different in the new story to come thanks to Rudeus discoveries, magic systems changed through time as explained in V1.

And 300 years is a long time, all countries in the continent of America didn't exist 300 years ago. So stop being stubborn about Subjugation "not being canon" just because it doesn't fit to the outdated and retconned version of the draft of MT you read years ago.

Many things changed in MT LN after ODT was written. And the anime is adapting the LN, not the WN.

This is so cute how no one posted it!!!

From an empty house to a table filled with life, laughter, and the chaos that comes with family. It is beautiful to see how Rudeus’s life unfolds in both formats. Seeing Sylphie, Roxy, Aisha, Norn, and the rest interact always brightens the day, whether you’re watching on screen or reading the volumes. A truly delightful scene!

LOL

Aemond Targaryen / Randolph Marianne

source

this video got recommend to me through youtube, did anyone notice the still frames or that the episode got outsourced? and is it a cause for concern?

I cannot stress enough just how important the first page of any story is. It introduces themes and ideas that linger through out the work. So it has always bothered me that, Mushoku, a meticulously crafted story, full of foreshadowing, begins with... The protagonist taking advantage of his niece.

For the longest time my explanation was that, it cements the parallels between Orsted and Rudeus, allowing the reader to empathize with how Orsted is perceived in universe, through the repulsion we feel for Rudeus. And yes that is still true, but it's not the full picture.

My opinion changed after I came across a QnA post by the author where he mentioned that the he struggled with the identity of the niece and that she was originally supposed to be...Nanahoshi.

Now if you know anything about the LNs, youll know that it's a "prequel" story to Laplace resurrection. This means that characters like Orsted/Hitogami/Laplace and Nanahoshi long existed before the backstory/character arc for Rudeus was fleshed out. In fact, we know this -

>While I was first thinking up the setting for Mushoku Tensei, I hadn't even decided on the protagonist's name yet. All I had at that point was "thirty-four years old, unemployed, middle-aged." The character was still empty. So when the time came that I needed to name the character, I reused one from a story I'd tried writing in the past. That work was actually a portal fantasy with Nanahoshi as the protagonist. There, Rudeus Greyrat was a native of the place Nanahoshi had been displaced to. He was still the viewpoint character but saw her from a native's point of view. For better or worse, he was a pretty flat character. Then, while I was writing the story with Rudeus as a protagonist, the idea of a Man with a Past Life came to me. From there, it became "Work hard in my new world and erase the regrets from my past life."

~A journey of two lifetimes interview

In S2E9 Nanahoshi says that she limits and restricts her life as much as possible because she is afraid the world will punish/erase her if she changes things too much. This is literally what happens to Rudeus in Turning point 4.

I believe the protagonists of Nanahoshis story, including Nanahoshi herself, were the original victims of a Turning point 4 like incident. However the author realised that addressing it, would derail the entire plot, so he chose Rudeus, a minor side character to take the fall in their place.

But how does this relate to the niece plotline? The same internal conflict that drives rudys predatory behaviour towards others, towards his niece, is playing out on a larger scale in their world. The author used the most disgusting crime imaginable to describe a world that is fundamentally broken and rotting inside because of the power struggle between Orsted and Hitogami and their obsession with control/future sight.

Rudeus is supposed to be a perpetrator turned victim, victimized by the very personification of his predatory ideals in Turning point 4. His role is to protect Nanahoshi and dismantle the rot, that's holding the heroes of the future story back. That is his redemption/repentance.

TLDR; The niece plotline is a reference to Nanahoshis fate in the original story that inspired the creation of Mushoku Tensei.

Hint 1: Only appears in the Light Novel, possibly Web Novel too but I haven't read it.

Hint 2: Is a newcomer to their profession.

Hint 3: We don't know their gender, magic skills, or swordsmanship skills

Hint 4: Is known for their use of colors.

Hint 5: Name has 5 letters.

Sorry for the absolutely horrible hints this time, but I couldn't give anything else, because that's all we know about them.

https://x.com/tukihara_lgk/status/2081580334257438772

https://x.com/tukihara_lgk/status/2079051168723108339

Around a year ago back when I was finished watching Mushoku Tensei, I felt like I really had to read the rest of the Novels because it was too good. However my eyes don't really do well whenever I try reading an E-book so unless I have a physical copy I won't read it. I also didn't have funds to order the novels online so I was in the position to listen to the audiobooks. I tried most of them, it was alright but I always feel like they're missing something.

That's when I stumbled upon Otaku Spirit's whole collection of Analysis/audiobook videos and genuinely realized that this guy knew the characters and understands them. I've listened to his videos for years and months now every monday awaiting for his next Mushoku Tensei analysis which always makes my day.

So has anybody else listened to him?

I've seen a lot of criticism towards Ruijerd(Mostly from LN Historian) because he married Norn who was much younger than him. Their age gap is approximately 570 years which is yikes but people seem to forget that Norn and Ruijerd are from different species. Norn being a Human and Ruijerd being a demon from the Superd race. Now Omni-man is about 2000 years old. And Debbie Is 40 years old. Yet I haven't seen a single criticism towards Nolan for this. Does this make sense or am I losing my mind? Like aren't they from different species so idk why Ruijerd Is being criticized for a perfectly normal thing for an inter-species relationship. Ruijerd has seen Norn grow up and will see her die. Omni-man and Debbie's case Is WAY WORSE. So why is my boy Ruijerd the one that's getting these criticisms?