English Dub Review: Mushoku Tensei “The Diary”

Overview:

In a future that could have been, Rudeus crumbles under the weight of loss.

Our Take(Spoilers):

I had a feeling this episode would be a banger, but I didn’t think it would be as amazing as it was. At first, I was confused because they didn’t give us any indication that we were viewing the alternate version of the future. If you’re ever feeling like your life is bad or unfair, then watch this episode, and you’ll realize that it can be much, much worse.

This goes to show you that one horrible thing can change your life forever. In this alternate timeline, Roxy died, and after that, Rudeus became a piece of shit. There was a certain God-class spell that might have saved her life, and Zanoba and Cliff are such G’s that they go with him. Unfortunately, Cliff is wounded and eventually dies from his injuries, and they’re too late to save Roxy, so he died for nothing, essentially. This pushes Elinalise away and drives Rudeus to become a drunk. Did I mention that he ran into Eris and was an asshole to her? Don’t get me wrong, I understand why he was, but that made me sad, like most of this episode.

We also got to see an older Rudeus, but not elderly, and if the voice acting for that is anything to go on, then Madeline Morris will probably not be replaced unless we get really far into Rudeus’s life. When/if that even happens, it will be Ben Phillips who does the voice of Rudeus if this is anything to go by.

It’s no secret that I’m an unapologetic Eris fan, and this episode cemented that for the most part. Like everyone else in this cursed timeline, she met a cruel fate. She died protecting Rudeus despite him being a huge dick to her. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried during this scene, and I had to rewind and watch it a few times. Eris deserved better, and if I didn’t know that this was an alternate timeline, I would be pissed.

It was interesting to see what Rudeus could do if he didn’t hold back and had no conscience. When he saw people desecrating Sylphie’s body, he burned down a whole town, people and all. I didn’t like seeing that, but I guess it’s nice to know he has that dog in him.

This was a chilling scene to read in the light novel, and the anime somehow managed to make it better. This was one of the best episodes the series has to offer. Now Rudeus has an enemy to focus on, and it’s the man-god.