Score: A

What a way for Mushoku Tensei to leave us off until some time in 2027! This episode really helped bring us back to earth after the emotional beating that the previous episode provided. Rudy was right there with us in needing that too. We’re not back to the happy days that the start of S3 provided. But things feel a bit more optimistic since the worst thing was at least avoided for the time being. And that’s saying a lot since we basically can compare the Man God to Skynet in trying to kill his greatest enemy before they are born!

Really needed Sylphie here

No shock this opened up with Rudy basically shattered. I was feeling it from just watching that last episode! While he didn’t get to see the visuals…the story is about him and the people he cares about. It’s completely understandable that reading about the horrible deaths of his loved ones and the lows he fell to would be a brutal blow. All the more so since the bits we saw from the last page did hint about Oldeus thinking about taking over his younger self’s body instead of just trying to explain things. Which would’ve been one more stupid/selfish decision.

Rudy has always been haunted his past life. If we trust the Man God (which we can’t) the reason he appears to him in that form is because that’s still how he sees himself. Rudy at the start of the show couldn’t leave his home until Roxy helped him. And that diary was a painful reminder that he’s not past all that. It’s entirely possible for Rudy to go down a dark path if he’s not careful. It’s just one bad mistake and then things get out of control. It undoubtedly was unsettling for Sylphie and Roxy to see Rudy after he read that diary. But that they were there for him despite not knowing what was eating at him is why they are such great people. And his eagerness to care for them shows the good that’s there. Not destined to be a monster.

Sometimes you have to sit down and talk

I did enjoy the awkward, yet sweet discussion between Rudy, Roxy, and Sylphie. It was a tough one to walk into for sure. He had to both leave a warning about danger while also not going into details and potentially tipping off the Man God. That part went great. Sylphie is the type that is understanding, but also doesn’t want Rudy walking off into danger. Which is completely fair. Roxy has a good moderate position there. She’s able to and willing to protect their family herself. Roxy is definitely strong and that would eliminate one worry for Rudy if he has to go (so long as she avoids getting poisoned). But she also brings up the third option. If Rudy gets into trouble…they just go and help him! They absolutely can do that.

The Eris marriage bit was harder sell. Understandably so! Considering the society and Sylphie’s personality it’s not the third wife thing that was the issue, it was…everything else. Sylphie is the one that met Rudy while he was still struggling forward from the Eris case. He didn’t understand the situation. But it both wasn’t his fault (her letter was easily misunderstood) and the damage was legitimate. Her reluctance was coming from a place of love and not wanting to see Rudy hurt again. But again Roxy provided some nice perspective. Roxy didn’t see the state Rudy was in back then. But it’s completely fair to just leave the door open until actually meeting her. All they know about her is what happened to Rudy when she left. But easier to gauge things once the chance to talk presents itself.

Sign me up Orsted, I’ll help you take this guy down!

Well I guess all the hope of keeping the Man God in the dark didn’t pan out! In that sense Rudy might as well spell everything out for those close to him since it won’t matter all that much either way! Not that we can take anything that scumbag says at face value. He talks about descendants teaming up with Orsted but the only efforts we saw him make were to keep Rudy away from Roxy and then kill Roxy. He only really seems concerned about one of Rudy’s children. His “advice” would have gotten Roxy killed in the previous season. Destiny wasn’t going to keep her alive when she was seconds away from death! And he doesn’t seem to mind Rudy having kids as he never interfered with Sylphie and even pushed him to hook up with the beast girls.

My only issue with Rudy in this episode is going along with the war on Orsted demand. Looking at the Man God’s attitude and actions he isn’t remotely focused just on protecting himself. The malicious way he went after Oldeus says enough. He’s a sadist that just wants to see people suffer. If the Man God wants that guy dead then he’s probably the person that should be relied on. I get that Rudy is desperate to protect his family against an evil entity that has vaguely powerful effects on the world. But throwing away his life against Orsted seems like a really bad idea. I mean he did try to kill Rudeus so…I’m not against taking him down. But I just don’t want to get rid of the one guy that apparently can kill the Man God!

Eris.exe has crashed!

Oh man, that letter! I doubt Rudy was thinking too much about whether Eris could actually read his letter or not. There was way more going on in his head at that time. And I can’t imagine trying to dumb down that letter so she could read it herself. But wow…that’s definitely not a letter that you’d necessarily want read in open company! Eris’ friends getting a good look at Eris’ past actions and how darn dumb she was! That the best she could do was say “I left a note” says a lot!

But credit to Rudeus. It was a pretty…monotone letter in a sense. But he did get across where he was at, that he understood that Eris still loved him, but also that he did have two wives. Not leaving anything mysterious on the table here! Even if the “if you can’t agree with being the third wife I’ll take my punches and hope we can still be friends” bit was a bit hilarious being read by a third party! The look on Eris’ face was truly fantastic! You could just see Eris’ brain shut off in that moment! Also I salute the PS he threw on there. “Sorry, I might not be alive for very long so…best of luck if we do meet again!”

Rudy can’t afford to mess this up

It’s going to be a very difficult wait for the second half of this season! But it left on as good a note as possible for a potential deathmatch against one of the world’s most powerful individuals! Eris may be a goofball in many ways, but she flipped her switch fast after hearing that Rudeus was going to pick a fight with Orsted. I can only imagine she thinks he’s out to avenge their previous defeat. But either way she’s not going to let him take on this fight alone! And honestly it’s kind of the perfect setup. Rudy and Eris (and possibly Ghislaine) against Orsted. Presumably it will be brutal and good chance for some make-up sex before heading back to meet the wives!

I’m going to miss this imp

Final Thoughts

This season was absolutely amazing. I don’t know if it’s fair to call it the best season since we’re only halfway through season 3. But this season did just about everything right. The early episodes set up nicely how happy Rudy was and how much he really had to lose. Then things started to slip out of harmony with Nanahoshi’s condition and then the Old Rudy chaos. But all together it’s provided some of the best episodes of the series and of the season. The diary episode will go down as anime masterclass in terms of gut wrenching storytelling. I was utterly captivated by it from start to finish.

Really hope things work out

I’m just comfortable in knowing that Nanahoshi is looking to be alright now. Her condition rattled me since I couldn’t help but feel terrible about her position in all this. She didn’t want to end up in this world, didn’t have special powers (beyond her body stuck in a weird kind of stasis), and then found out she was going to die because her body really wasn’t suited to that world. That’s just a brutal and awful kind of fate for anyone. I am glad that she’s doing alright and Rudy will know to be ready for her to hit another wall in the future.

Until next time!

But this episode and season also let me feel good about where things are going in general. The marriage to Roxy and Sylphie has been great and I loved the various moments they all had. But this episode finally gave some understanding about where the Eris story was going. I just couldn’t imagine how she could come back into the story smoothly considering all that happened. But now it’s clear how that can happen. Rudy is still struggling to accept that he does love Eris even after all that happened. So I think fighting together will be an important step in rekindling that romance. But the big thing is that he does understand that she didn’t leave with the intention to abandon him. Now that Eris knows about that misunderstanding there’s a chance for her to ready herself for when they meet again. Can’t wait for more episodes.