Score: A-

This definitely feels like a turning point episode. I think we can officially say the light fun and family bonding times are over. Now it isn’t as if an enemy is storming the gates. They are going for a meeting to help advance Nanahoshi’s summoning spell and potentially get some advice about helping Zenith. But come on…that scene of showing off Perugius screamed bad news! This could all go sideways in a hurry.

This guy seems trustworthy

I did have to actually look back at S1 to be sure. But yeah, Perugius sent that guy that attacked back right before the teleportation incident happened. Now, he wasn’t actively targeting them. The orders were to kill anyone suspicious in the area. But…guy doesn’t seem like the overly friendly type. I’m not sure if Rudy remembers that guy introducing himself as a follower of Perugius or not. But if he does then I’m sure this situation will have him a bit on edge.

But the benefits are probably worth it in his mind. Zentih’s condition is improving that’s true. But it’s still at the point where the most they can hope for is her regaining the ability to speak and act like a normal human being. Whether or not she can regain her memories is still very hazy. If this guy can offer advice if not a diagnosis then that would be worth meeting with him. At the very least Nanahoshi doesn’t seem worried about him or about introducing others to him. But it’s still worth being guarded.

I worry for her

Another worry is definitely Nanahoshi. There’s enough promotional material for this season didn’t make me think she was going to have a good time. So the fact that she’s entering focus now and…appears to be sick doesn’t feel good. I don’t like it and would appreciate the show not making me worry about it! Her just having a cold right now would feel a bit worrying. But that’s not it. They are making a point that she’s been dealing with this for a while now! Nanahoshi gets sick, they use magic to cure it, and then she gets sick again. I don’t like the sounds of that. Could easily be reading too much into it. But it sure sounds like her immune system isn’t working properly.

I’d say she and Rudy should be more worried, but what else is there to do? Could really stand to look into some healers or people in that field to check her out. But her situation is so unique that experts might not be much help. In that sense pushing forward with her research might be the best thing to do. The best medical care she can get is back home. If they can advance the research some more they could reach the goal of getting her out of there. The thing that’s frustrating is that they are still a good ways away from that.

One small step

The progress in this episode was massive. I don’t want to underrate that they teleported a watermelon. I’m willing to call that as having summoned a living thing. They didn’t nail the vegetable that they wanted, but they were in the ballpark. I know they can’t rush this. Mushoku Tensei is very good at worldbuilding and also showing that you can’t rush anything. Travel takes time. Research takes time. But man, I feel like they need to hurry it up. But how many steps are left? They want to improve targeting, that makes sense. I guess it depends on how large they want to go. Presumably the end goal is actually summoning an animal close enough to human. A money or pig or something. And then they need to logic out the biggest test. Sending something back to Earth and then sending Nanahoshi back to Earth.

It just feels like there’s so much left to do. Maybe actually trying to tackle what’s making her sick and get her health stabilized is the better move. Feels like it could still take years to get this sorted. The good news is that there is progress, they know where they are going with this and have figured quite a bit out. It’s actually feasible for them to get Nanahoshi back home.

Victory!

I don’t want to completely dismiss the duel earlier in the episode, but there’s not that much for me to say. It’s a fight that shows the passage of time. These two graduated and are off into the world. Nothing remains static. It makes me think of how that deity tried to push Rudy to stay and marry one of them. Now I don’t think that would’ve been a terrible fate, they are cute girls. But I just can’t imagine how that was a better choice. If Rudy didn’t go…Roxy would 100% have died. If Rudy found out about that…it would’ve probably broken him. Beyond that Paul might’ve died regardless. And Zenith might have never been recovered. Or if Rudy eventually did go to save her…maybe there would be nothing to save by then. One choice really did change everything.

Nothing was held back

This fight felt like a consequence of what Rudy chose which made it interesting. Pursena and Linia just gave their all. It wasn’t flashy, but rather it was just a brutal brawl. We can call it a duel, but it was truly a battle between beasts. Since those two were even it just made the fight take even longer. Both of them walking away with quite a few cuts, bruises, scratches, and outright bite marks! Admittedly, I’m not entirely sure why them failing to find mates meant only one of them should inherit their clans. But…sure, why not. I like to think of it as the fight giving one of them the freedom to explore the world and find that special someone. One of them can take up the responsibility of home and the other can be free.

Hope the good times aren’t over

I definitely get the feeling that the next episode or two will be rather critical. This season has in part been about waiting for that shoe to drop. And this might be it. Whether we’re talking about Nanahoshi or going off to meet some legendary hero. There’s no way they just go and meet this guy, learn a couple things, and then cheerfully say farewell. Things can change in a hurry and that’s true even now. Hopefully Rudy and his family will be fine. If they can get Zenith back to normal that’s a win, but the biggest thing is just survival.