Score: A-

We are back! Maybe that’s wrong to say since I wasn’t actively covering the show while it was airing either in S1 or S2. In 2024 (wow that’s two years ago) I embarked on my binge of the entire series. I did have a tough time at the start of S1, but it really didn’t take long to get absorbed into that world. So much so that I had to chronicle my experience with the first two seasons. Now S3 is here and so am I! It’s kind of fun to look at the flow of the story. Eris was THE heroine of S1 and then was pretty much gone for all of S2. Now she’s the focal character to start this season. There is a huge need to catch up with her and thus I’m all for this choice. Two episodes to start the season is great too.

God she had no idea…

During the lead up to this episode I’ve been uneasy about the return of Eris. I love Eris as a character so it’s not really about that. Once she rejoins the cast it’ll be awesome. Past…a fairly important part that is unavoidable. There’s no getting around the fact that there will be incredible drama coming up. Eris left with the intention and desire to protect Rudeus. The last night together, leaving hair behind, etc, was all done in part to fulfill her desires in that moment but leave something behind because the road ahead was long. In order to become a woman that could protect Rudeus from the true terrors of the world she couldn’t just stand still. All of that makes sense on a character level and was done with the best of intentions.

But they aren’t wrong about how you pave the road to hell! Because all of her intentions didn’t register at all and Rudeus felt abandoned. We spent a huge amount of time watching this guy be a broken mess because of it. His clashes, failures, and even erectile dysfunction dysfunction was all sourced in the trauma of feeling that Eris rejected and abandoned him. It’d take the most surprising turn in narrative history to not have that be a huge issue when she returns. Eris is going to be shocked at Rudeus moving on. He’s got two wives a kid! While she’s been desperately struggling to get stronger. And Rudeus still has that built in trauma and hasn’t forgiven her for what he felt was pure abandonment. It’s obviously going to work out. But I’m not going to enjoy the process of getting past all this!

Will be wild to see him and Eris again…

The show knows how to play on all that though. Naturally the episode opens up right with the moment that’s been stuck in my head. Eris and Rudeus had sealed the deal and she was feeling a sense of inferiority and unworthiness. It’s a tough thing. Rudeus of course didn’t want her to go (obviously) and wasn’t worried about her being worthy of him or not. But on her side…Eris couldn’t ignore it. She made a decision she believed in, but truly had no idea of how hard it would hit him. Eris isn’t a girl who is good with words so naturally the letter she left behind…didn’t help.

The misunderstandings sting honestly. Eris even went what she thought was the extra mile in cutting her hair. It was partly the classic showing of sincerity to the task she was undertaking and trying to leave something behind for Rudeus. Going to hurt when she finds out he just burned it…Just the opening 2 minutes of this episode had me. Just the viewer pain of seeing Eris looking up at the paired animals with a smile all while knowing that at that point in time Rudeus was a depressed mess. It just hurts how she had no idea. No malice either. So I just end up feeling bad for both sides.

Man knows what she’s up against

This really is Mushoku Tensei. I’ve barely talked about anything that actually happened within the two episode opener! It was kind of nice to see Eris again though. That cute red-head that has such attitude to her. Her talking shit to Ghislaine’s teacher was such peak Eris. Really is the girl that I remember. Girl just walks in there, doesn’t show any respect, and calls him small-fry. Even though Ghislaine’s tail you could sense the “WTF” that was going through her head!

I half wonder if Gal Farion half expected something like this from a student that Ghislaine would bring back with her! If nothing else the guy is worthy of his title. He doesn’t immediately lose his head and instead is intrigued by who Eris is out to kill. And again while others would be rattled he just seems to be having a good time. Because someone of his level can gauge things and can admit to not being on Orsted’s level. Eris shows up and basically says she needs to surpass him. Now that’s a student that creates a bit of buzz!

Eris has no chill!

Makes me both love and lament how fired up Eris is, especially at the start. She’s in such a hurry to reach the level she needs to get to and then get back to Rudeus. That poor kid she “fought” had no idea what was coming for him! Was probably in a mental state of “gotta impress, focus on my fundamen-OH MY GOD!” Just smacked the sword out of his hands and might’ve broken his neck! And it only got better from there! Nina gets her turn and is looking all smug about it. They even gave her a fake wooden sword that actually had a metal blade inside. It worked in that Eris’ wooden sword broke. But Nina is too rational and standard. She thought it was her win, but Eris just went to fists instead! She didn’t have a sword, but she wasn’t out of options!

Great how much she loves Eris

I like Gal Farion honestly. I get why Ghislaine was frustrated and confused. She thought he’d give Eris the same training she got. That he would train her with utmost rationality, teach her the skills she needed, and raise her on the same path. But he’s not doing that. In part it’s because he regrets taking the fire out of Ghislaine. She became a great swordswoman, but she could’ve been so much better if her strengths had been honed instead of dulled down. He’s trying to teach Eris in a way that maintains her fire. Because if her goal is someone beyond Gal Farion himself…he can’t do this the standard way. He even invites help in order to train Eris up. This man is dedicated to giving Eris every tool he can so she can reach her insanely high goal.

What a first encounter!

Totally get Nina having this two-bit rival atmosphere around her for a good part of the first two episodes. Eris beat the crap out of her so severely that her face was a mess…and she pissed herself. Understandable that she first wanted to imagine that Eris would be some lonely virgin her whole life and then that she was making Rudeus up. Neither was true of course and the more she dug into it the more she found out. Because at this point Rudeus had picked himself up and was making a name for himself. That had been part of his plan back then anyways. It’s all the more ironic since she found out more about what Rudeus has been up to than Eris. That girl was laser focused on catching up to him and not thinking about what he was currently doing.

In fact it just showed how easy it would’ve been. Eris was so single-minded and that did fuel both her strength/growth. But at the same time…she could have gone to see him at any time. Nina didn’t have to put forth a world shifting investigation. Rudeus was famous enough to find very easily. Now that probably was for the best. At that point I don’t even know how ugly things might’ve gotten if Eris approached him. Maybe the ideal timing is after she’s hit the level that she’s been seeking and Rudeus has had time to relax after getting married and having a kid. But…again…I’m not looking forward to how that might all play out.

She went for a ride too!

But things did come along nicely once the Water God Style. Styles and types can definitely enter the picture. Eris is strong and is full of aggression. That’s not a bad thing and it’s really let her dominate a lot of fights in the first episodes. But it wasn’t a good match against that style of swordsmanship. It’s easy to see a style that’s more evasive and deflects powerful blows wouldn’t be one Eris could handle easily. But that’s also the point. Eris is seeking to bring down the Dragon God that is basically a master of every single style. If Eris has a bad matchup…she’s going to die. Which means she needs to face those different styles right now and find ways to deal with them. Even if she doesn’t mater every style herself, she needs to be able to combat any style.

Letting Nina have that win was nice. It establishes her better as Eris’ rival and actually gives her something to hang onto. Up to this point she was the girl that got beaten to a bloody pulp in a fist fight. Eris does need to get stronger, but that doesn’t mean she’s the only one that can improve. The chat they had was actually quite useful. Eris can’t manipulate Isolate because her style is all about being defensive and countering. Eris is too openly aggressive which makes her easy to read. While Nina doesn’t bother with that so she can outspeed Isolde. But she loses to Eris’ manipulations and raw power. It’s a good mix and those three really helped elevate each other.

That smile kind of hurts

The episode ended on a positive note, but I get what is bugging Gal Farion. Eris’ goal is to surpass someone insanely powerful. Everyone just getting stronger is nice…but it’s not enough. She needs to surpass everyone there. Every single Sword Saint. Is she going to get there anytime soon at that kind of growth rate?

Anyways that’s what I call a return to a series! These first two episodes were top tier. It was all Eris and we only saw a bit of Rudeus (a version we’ve already seen) and that’s fine. Eris basically dropped off the map after S1. It’s important to catch up on where she is and to get her story moving. Because we’re really not that far off now from where S2 left off. After that point where Nina saw Rudeus he got married, went off and met Roxy again, his dad died, etc. So there’s a lot that will be happening. But Eris’ arc needs to really kick into gear so that she’s even ready to meet him again.