Dragon Ball is often considered the godfather of the Shonen genre, it's not that it was the first nor the best - and in fact encapsulates some of the worst parts of the genre. That said, it was what popularised the genre and spawned legions of Shonen to come. It is why looking back Dragon Ball looks and feels generic - it's because we have decades of stories that have built on it's base ideas since then.
In quite a similar vein, Mushoku Tensei is the godfather of Iskeai. You know that hit by a truck to reincarnate in another world meme? Guess who started it.
I've followed Mushoku Tensei manga simply because it feels weird to ignore one of the biggest names out there. I never really liked it though. Protagonist can be pretty trashy, felt like a generic adventure thing. I really wondered why it was so ridiculously popular. When I'm notified that new chapter came out, I tend to speed read through and forget about it. At one point when I was cleaning my follow list I even removed it for awhile.
It's only recently that I discovered that it's because the manga is a horrible adaptation. Fans of mushoku tensei loved the light novel not the manga.
I discovered this because of the anime. When they announced the anime, the hype was crazy. I figured, well I'll check it out a bit. Skimmed through it, thought the animation quality was really good but yup it's this rather trashy story trashy protagonist. So for awhile I just kept skimming through to see what was going on once in awhile.
Then season 1 part 1 ended, there was a long break, and season 1 part 2 rolled around. First few episodes I still did the skim thing. I don't remember but at some point I started watching the episodes properly because the story was better than I remember it to be in the manga, and the animation is really clean.
I got to say, these White Fox studio guys - when they really love something you can tell. First Re:Zero, and then for Mushoku Tensei they created a spin-off studio just for it. The amount of effort and love they pour these is amazing.
For Mushoku Tensei one outstanding thing is how they make the world feel so alive. The places they go, the cities, they are not some generic backdrop for our characters to move through. Each locality has it's own culture, language (they created languages for this show), architecture and so on. People going out with their lives in the background. They even created a different opening song for each locality, and it is seamlessly integrated over animations of where the characters are every episode. Just check these out:
Then second half of season 1 part 2 (ie. the last quarter) came around and I was blown away.
Season 1 just came to an end today and the recent episodes have truly elevated Mushoku Tensei to a whole new level in my eyes. I can now see the appreciation of the light novel readers, and from what I have spoiled myself (heh), it all keeps getting better from here.
One interesting thing is I find that there are a lot of similarities between Re:Zero and Mushoku Tensei. At first glance, they couldn't be more different. Mushoku Tensei is a classic Isekai, while Re:Zero is a twist on generic isekai tropes with return by death. They have very different plots. Yet when you talk about their strengths it's quite similar - the characters, world building, etc.
Funnily enough, I would say they both also have the exact same glaring weakness. They're both in some sense 'coming of age' stories. Both their protagonists frankly start off quite annoying. It's hard to continue a story when you dislike the protagonist from the onset, and many people do drop these stories because of it. For Mushoku Tensei, I would say a fair bit of their characters start off as annoying. Looking back, I think that was the whole point really. The growth of these characters however is a big part of the story, so I'm not sure what's a good solution to that.
If I were to summarise Mushoku Tensei season 1, I think the phrase 'it's the journey not the destination' really encapsulates this story. It's also not just the protagonist, we see so many characters grow, and it's wonderful. Another thing that stuck out to me was how they all felt so human. They all continue to remain imperfect people with flaws, they continue to screw up, make mistakes, they are just people trying to get by.
Watch or not? Well, you have to be prepared to deal with flawed characters with certain personality traits that are not great. Someone described the whole novel as a redemption arc for the protagonist, so take that as you will. If you can, I think the pay off is well worth it. Well the beautiful animation in the early parts help.
Some final remarks in spoilers:
[Minor spoilers describing themes of final episodes though it doesn't go into details]
What I really liked about the final episodes of season 1 of Mushoku Tensei was how they looked back at the past. This is not the same as reusing old scenes which in anime are typically time wasting recap stuff. Flashbacks are used but it is a mix of moments in old content and previously stuff that were not covered. The final episode was almost entirely made up of flashbacks and checking in on how other people are doing, but it was executed so well and was plot relevant. You see where everyone is now, how the protagonist has shaped their lives, and how far we have come. These all land greater weight to the final scene when he steps out of his tent and walks forward, you cannot help but cheer for him. The man has come a long way indeed. I really think this final episode is one of the best I have ever seen from any show - though it requires 22 episodes of build up for it to make sense haha. It was a very satisfying conclusion to the season.
[Spoilers that would be considered more major]
I also really like the concept of 'turning points' in the story. I enjoyed watching everyone go 'oh help oh no' when they announced 'next episode - turning point 2' in the last quarter after things seemed to be all positive for awhile heh. TP1 was after all a major catastrophe that upended everyone's lives. That said, I think it's interesting how TPs aren't necessarily major 'events'. In reality it's called a TP because it shaped the direction of the lives of the characters moving forward. Watching the episode where TP2 happened and looking at it's immediate aftermath for example, you didn't get a sense that things have irrevocably changed. But over the remaining episodes you can see how this was such a life changing moment for the characters involved. I have spoiled myself, and I am looking forward to the TPs to come in the future heh.
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