English Dub Review: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation: “A Day off in Roa”

Overview: With the stress of classes getting to Eris (Lindsey Seidel), she along with Rudeus (Madeleine Morris, Ben Phillips) and Ghislaine (Rachel Robinson) take the day off and spend some time shopping in the city of Roa.  

Our Take: As Rudeus, Eris and Ghislaine take the day off to relax, the life lessons and Rudeus’s lecherous side takes the precedent of this episode throughout. 

Ghislaine and Rudeus are both so badass at fighting and magic, respectively. So the juxtaposition of watching them learn each other’s respective skills offers a nice balance for one another. But there’s also a lot of levity associated with his teachings as well for even the more basic aspects like simple math and writing. Ghislaine being adorably proud of herself for getting an elementary math question correct or Rudeus praising Eris on answering something else right is endearing and charming. But then of course, it wouldn’t be Rudeus without some dirty minded shenanigans. This never fails to make me groan. You can’t get more pathetic than trying to take a girl’s panties, or ‘holy relic,’ as she sleeps. However, Mushoku Tensei author, Rifujin na Magonote, has discussed how he will mature over time but also maintain his perverted nature. That’s honestly cool with me as that’s a trope that anime in general has more than prepared me for and it can be funny if not incredibly over the top like this. The aphrodisiac bit, at the end, being a good example of that with Eris’s confusion and Rudeus’s dismay. 

Rudeus’s seriousness in starting his new life as a better one features his imparting of more serious life lessons on Eris, like teaching her how to be more polite and properly use money as well. Even better is how he puts the necessary lessons she needs to learn before his own desires. It’s these little things that make up the total strength of this episode as they build upon the initial episodes well with proper pacing and progression of Rudeus’s coming of age that doesn’t feel rushed or illogical. The added lore about the castle and the monster not only proves intriguing as it brings up a lot of questions about the state of the floating fortress and the nature of the hero. It most definitely feels like a plot point that was intentionally put in as it will be a major plot point later on. I also thought it was nicely implemented into the episode as a giant floating house will undoubtedly bring up questions and also how it’s a story told to children, as evident in Rudeus’s childhood with Paul and Zenith. 

“A Day off in Roa” serves as a good episode with fun, humorous moments but it’s also not without its meaning. It further distinguishes Rudeus on as his newfound path and does a good job of introducing some new lore and mythology along the way.