(CR) Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2

[Frontier]

Am I the only one who thinks Sara looks a little like Zenith ?

[Frontier]

Things are going well for Rudy and Counter Arrow! He's really part of the group now! And his reputation is improving as well! And that's not the only thing improving, he and Sara are getting quite close, even intimately so, to the point where she even asks him out on a date! I love how Timothy and Suzanne knows what's going on but it takes Rudy a minute to realize what just happened. Just don't mention the other ladies in your life, Rudy .

Wow, Sara went all out for the date! With a dress and everything! Shopping for a knife never looked so romantic .

And things get even better from there. First they drink and chat at a tavern, Sara gets a little tipsy, and makes it pretty clear she doesn't want the night to end with him quite yet, even to the point of inviting herself into his room. I get why Rudy is trying to play it safe and smooth (he even checks with Paul!), but she couldn't be more clear than that .

Then they get up to his room, Sara sits on his bed, they both start making out, undressing, and about to get busy...but then Rudy can't get hard. I mean, Rudy!? The horniest guy I've ever known!? He can't get it up with such a cute beautie like Sara practically naked in front of him? What sorcery is this !?

And then it kills the entire mood and upsets Sara who retreats back into her tsundere personality and acts like she only wanted to be with him out of obligation rather than her true feelings, which just crushes Rudy all over again .

The last person Rudy needed to see while drowning his sorrows was Soldat of all people, but Rudy finally punching him out and unburdening all his anger and frustration finally bonds the two. And rather than fight back against Rudy, the pair end up drinking together and opening up to the point where Soldat knows the best way for Rudy to get over his first heartbreak with Eris...getting it on in a brothel .

Rudeus got the most beautiful prostitute in the building! Elise is all charm and attractiveness, if Rudy can't get it on with her, he's done...and he can't. It seems like Eris leaving him hurt him so badly he won't be able to ever open up to a girl unless it's someone he trusts implicitly and knows will never betray him, which is a tall order for him at this point .

And then Rudy gets drunk and starts talking a big game and about how Sara didn't mean anything to him...when she and Suzanne are right behind him. Not only did Rudy break Sara's heart, he also damaged his relationship with Counter Arrow, and he kind of earned that slap. Rudy screwed up so bad he was about to kill himself with the dagger he bought with Sara after she threw it to the ground .

But luckily he's got Soldat as a bro now, and he's willing to help Rudy get through this by having him join his group, and maybe Rudy needs a new group and time away from all this .

Speaking of sex, Elinalise returns! And she's got a lead on Rudy! That she of course gets through propositioning sex .

[magnuskn]

Dang, that was even harder to watch than read. Good episode, but I'm definitely happy we are moving on to the next arc.

[scififan]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Am I the only one who thinks Sara looks a little like Zenith ?

Sara is tsundere. Rudy's ED problem frustrates her. Her reaction is maybe she is not attractive enough. Her angry attitude gives Rudy false impression. He thinks it is over. It is the difference.
Yeah. They have some similarity. It is why she and Rudy will not end up with each other. She looks like younger version of Zenith. She has pride as much as Zenith. Rudy's trash talk injures her pride. Rudy is not bothering to apologize to her, because he thinks it is over the second time.

They have so many misunderstanding. It is not likely they will end up together.

The guy who trash talk Rudy reminds Rudy about Paul. His way of solving Rudy's ED problem is taking him to sex workers. His low moral value proves Rudy's intuition is right. Nevertheless, Rudy goes along with him. When Rudy feels like killing himself. The guy suggest Rudy can go to a risky dungeon, for better use of his life.

[ryllharu]

This arc better actually be over.

It's been terrible and could have been compressed substantially. Two-thirds of this episode felt like padding, and only Elinalise reappearing felt like actual progress instead of a rehash of the previous two episodes.

[frubam]

Yeah, not surprised about almost everything that happened this episode, but the s*** talking at the end was so terribly set up and cliche`, I was extremely close to skipping it. Interestingly enough, Soldat took the time to understand Rudy better than anyone in Counter Arrow did, and it shows. I thought for a moment that Suzanne would implicitly get what was going on, but surprisingly she just defaulted Rudy as being 'scum' without hearing any explanation.

Oh well... its better to sever the ties with them so Rudy can potentially get back to being a free man, and not shackled down in a single town. I much liked his traversal adventures(irrespective to the company he kept; ie. Eris and Rujierd were great, but I mean even if you don't consider them) as it felt more interesting to go different places meeting new people, etc. Besides, he has Roxy, Eris, and Sylphie, although given the latter two whereabouts, and the end of the ep, I'm assuming Roxy finds him first. At least, that's what I hope; she'll definitely give him the emotional support he needs(and potentially get him cured of his ED).

I do wonder, with a man down, how well will Counter Arrow's adventurer work go without Rudy to back them up? I'm willing to bet this time away will make them appreciate what Rudy has brought to the table all the more.

Originally Posted by scififan

They have so many misunderstanding. It is not likely they will end up together.

The guy who trash talk Rudy reminds Rudy about Paul. His way of solving Rudy's ED problem is taking him to sex workers. His low moral value proves Rudy's intuition is right. Nevertheless, Rudy goes along with him. When Rudy feels like killing himself. The guy suggest Rudy can go to a risky dungeon, for better use of his life.

I would say them having misunderstandings isn't paramount to whether they'll end up together. There's a big one with Eris; to the point Rudy can't even get it up. As long as Sara isn't dead, there's a chance of reconciliation, and that could have the potential to form an even stronger bond by the time Rudy returns to meet her at some point(assuming he does), as he may mature even further and clear the misunderstanding. I'd say the biggest component against Sara would be that she has not contributed that much to Rudy's life like Roxy, Sylphie, or Eris has.

Soldat does remind me of Paul. Maybe a little more promiscuous than the Paul we've seen(but prob less than the younger Paul we've heard of ). Its probably better this way, since he already revealed the troublesome part of his past, and that goes a long way of establishing that bond he didn't have with the members of Counter Arrow.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by frubam

Yeah, not surprised about almost everything that happened this episode, but the s*** talking at the end was so terribly set up and cliche`, I was extremely close to skipping it. Interestingly enough, Soldat took the time to understand Rudy better than anyone in Counter Arrow did, and it shows. I thought for a moment that Suzanne would implicitly get what was going on, but surprisingly she just defaulted Rudy as being 'scum' without hearing any explanation.

I think she looked disappointed but I don't think she thought he was scum, otherwise she would've been a lot harsher with him.

Soldat had the luxury of Rudy basically yelling out all his emotional problems while he was punching him and was willing to hear him out afterwards. I think Suzanne would've been willing to hear him out if he talked with her but in the context of him drunkely insulting Sara and breaking her heart (which was all on him) she's probably not in the mood for believable reasons.

Oh well... its better to sever the ties with them so Rudy can potentially get back to being a free man, and not shackled down in a single town. I much liked his traversal adventures(irrespective to the company he kept; ie. Eris and Rujierd were great, but I mean even if you don't consider them) as it felt more interesting to go different places meeting new people, etc. Besides, he has Roxy, Eris, and Sylphie, although given the latter two whereabouts, and the end of the ep, I'm assuming Roxy finds him first. At least, that's what I hope; she'll definitely give him the emotional support he needs(and potentially get him cured of his ED).

I did notice that the first girl Rudy thought of that he'd be willing to be with was Roxy, even if he then said it'd probably never happen.

I do wonder, with a man down, how well will Counter Arrow's adventurer work go without Rudy to back them up? I'm willing to bet this time away will make them appreciate what Rudy has brought to the table all the more.

Admittedly it would probably be a bit too awkward to keep Rudy in the party.

I would say them having misunderstandings isn't paramount to whether they'll end up together. There's a big one with Eris; to the point Rudy can't even get it up. As long as Sara isn't dead, there's a chance of reconciliation, and that could have the potential to form an even stronger bond by the time Rudy returns to meet her at some point(assuming he does), as he may mature even further and clear the misunderstanding. I'd say the biggest component against Sara would be that she has not contributed that much to Rudy's life like Roxy, Sylphie, or Eris has.

Especially when it seems like the only way he can get over his problems is finding a girl that he knows well and completely trusts, and not many fit that bill. Maybe Sara could've grown into that role but that probably won't happen now.

Soldat does remind me of Paul. Maybe a little more promiscuous than the Paul we've seen(but prob less than the younger Paul we've heard of ). Its probably better this way, since he already revealed the troublesome part of his past, and that goes a long way of establishing that bond he didn't have with the members of Counter Arrow.

Yeah, I'm sure Paul partook in many a brothel in his time .

I also thought it was interesting that both Rudy and his dad got slapped for emotionally betraying a girl that had feelings for him.

[GDB]

The scene where Rudy tried to kill himself was so damned strong. None of the normal "internal dialogue to build up suspense" or talking about how there's nothing left beforehand. Just picked up the knife as if he was just going to cry, quickly unsheathed it and tried to neck himself.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by GDB

The scene where Rudy tried to kill himself was so damned strong. None of the normal "internal dialogue to build up suspense" or talking about how there's nothing left beforehand. Just picked up the knife as if he was just going to cry, quickly unsheathed it and tried to neck himself.

I feel like he was thinking of how the knife represented his relationship with Sara and how her throwing it to the ground basically summed up how badly it got messed up and then he was thinking how he probably screwed things over with Counter Arrow too...and, emotionally fragile as he really is, he just tried to end it.

Good thing Soldat moves quick.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I think she looked disappointed but I don't think she thought he was scum, otherwise she would've been a lot harsher with him.

Soldat had the luxury of Rudy basically yelling out all his emotional problems while he was punching him and was willing to hear him out afterwards. I think Suzanne would've been willing to hear him out if he talked with her but in the context of him drunkely insulting Sara and breaking her heart (which was all on him) she's probably not in the mood for believable reasons.

Ah yeah, you're probably right. I guess I just took the fact Suzanne turned her back on him and walked away as disgust, but given her personality, disappointment sounds like a more viable word for her in that situation. And it is also possible for her to come to an understanding later and trying to calm Sara down, esp if Sara tells her what had happened before.

[grecefar]

well that hurt, had to skip most of the chapter. I'll just hope for a fic or a doujin that ends on a happy note.

[Kanon]

I'm starting to get annoyed by this arc. Knowing all of Rudeus' problem stem from one big misunderstanding certainly isn't helping. What was even the point of Rudeus' epiphany at the end of episode 1 when he immediately resorts to suicide because a second girl dumped him? And it feels like he's completely forgotten about Sylphie at this point. At least he still remembers Roxy.

[GDB]

He doesn't even know if Sylphie is still alive or not.

[Frontier]

I think Rudeus' definitely backtracked but I think it was very realistic in terms of what he was going through and how emotionally fragile he is.

I do wonder though if Sylphie would fit the criteria for the best girl for Rudy to open up to again just as well as Roxy would. Maybe that's why they're setting up that he thinks about her so little for when they eventually reunite.

[Strahan]

Well, I was starting to come to like Sara since she extricated the stick from her posterior then that just went off the rails and I assume we won't be seeing her again. Then the opposite with Soldat, lol. I thought he was just an arrogant prick, but turns out he's decent. I was afraid after Rudy explained his ED problem he was gonna laugh at him, or that the callgirl would do something bad. At least that went better.

I also was afraid when Sara wanted to go back to his room she'd find the panty shrine and be grossed out, lol. Overall a good episode, but the ending with her overhearing him was trite. Would've been better if she was like just around a corner or something and had stopped to listen when she realized Rudy was talking. Given Soldat's position, he could see their approach. Should've been a bro and did the loud-cough-cover and simultaneously reach out and physically stop Rudy's big mouth, hehe. I've done that a few times over the years for people myself

Originally Posted by Kanon

I'm starting to get annoyed by this arc. Knowing all of Rudeus' problem stem from one big misunderstanding certainly isn't helping. What was even the point of Rudeus' epiphany at the end of episode 1 when he immediately resorts to suicide because a second girl dumped him? And it feels like he's completely forgotten about Sylphie at this point. At least he still remembers Roxy.

I'm glad I read the forums; I had been hitting skip forward on and off and happen to totally jump over the knife bit at the end. Didn't even realize he did that. I dunno; it's fairly true to life pretty often. We think we're over something, we talk ourselves into believing we're over something, then some bad shit hits just the right notes and we realize we were bullshitting ourselves. Pain doesn't vanish that fast.

Though I agree, I'm over this mopey-protag drown-in-self-pity arc. It's like... Jesus dude, you got ditched by a chick. Get over it. He's more fucked up by that than his family being spread to the four winds. Then again, it's been over thirty years since I've been a hormonal teenager so I'm probably just forgetting how dire and world ending early love getting crushed feels to such, heh

[Huh...?]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Knowing all of Rudeus' problem stem from one big misunderstanding certainly isn't helping. What was even the point of Rudeus' epiphany at the end of episode 1 when he immediately resorts to suicide because a second girl dumped him?

Well, that's what being a Teenager is like.

Even if he has his past memories of being 30+, his current body is that of a 13-14 year old, so obviously hormones are going to affect his mental state.

[Mad Pierrot]

The series relied a lot on Sugita's monologues a lot but the latest seemed at abuse them less to the point I was confused if Rudeus had problems when talking as he kept drinking over and over and Uchiyama changed the tone of her voice for the scenes where she starts punching the bully in rage and explaining how he wants his personality to be. I hope everybody stayed for the postcredits scene. Still, never thought impotence would be an actual plotpoint in this series. It kinda feels like a comedy but taken in a dark direction

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by Kanon

What was even the point of Rudeus' epiphany at the end of episode 1 when he immediately resorts to suicide because a second girl dumped him?

Originally Posted by Strahan

Though I agree, I'm over this mopey-protag drown-in-self-pity arc. It's like... Jesus dude, you got ditched by a chick. Get over it. He's more fucked up by that than his family being spread to the four winds. Then again, it's been over thirty years since I've been a hormonal teenager so I'm probably just forgetting how dire and world ending early love getting crushed feels to such, heh

Well, the thing about Rudy is that even if he managed to remain stable after meeting counter arrow, he still has some glaring self esteem issue not just because of what happened with Eris, but also because of his past. His psyche is pretty rough in general and I'd agree with Huh that hormones really don't help at all. As such, it isn't just because he failed with Sara that is the problem, it is more like the fact that "history repeated himself". Back in S1, anything vaguely similar to what happened to his past life was enough to make him squirm or worse. But here, Sara's rejection due to his antics pretty much triggered his fears and inner demons for his current life as Rudeus. Because of this, I suspect Rudy just wanted to end himself after thinking that no matter what he does (past life and present life), shit will go haywire so might as well end the pain.

While this may look daunting due to its length, this tweet has some interesting explanations when it comes to Rudy and Sara's behaviour in this episode.

[Tenzen12]

Plus he was drunk. Sober people usually doesn't try kill themselves.

[HandofFate]

a big part of the story is going to be him trying to cure his impotence, but a lot of people are just gonna write it off as Rudy being horny without thinking about the emotional trauma aspect behind it.