Well, this is awkward…
©RifuJinnamagonote/MFBOOKS/Mushoku Tensei II Production Committee
In terms of content, this episode is only about one thing: Rudeus finding out that he has feelings for Fitz. On one hand, this marks a major milestone for the character: Fitz is the first person Rudeus has fallen in love with since he and Eris broke up. On the other hand, this whole situation feels like a wasted opportunity for Rudeus to learn more about himself and his gender.
After getting acquainted with Nanahoshi last episode, Rudeus’ daily life has changed. Instead of spending the afternoon in the library with Fitz researching teleportation, he instead spent it with Nanahoshi researching her magic circles. Although he noticed the absence of Fitz in his life, it didn’t bother him—until the day he ran into Fitz on the street and found himself completely ignored.
This is meant to highlight how hypocritical Rudeus is in this case. Being ignored hurts him emotionally, but he doesn’t even realize that he’s been doing the same thing to Fitz for weeks (and as we see, Sylphy is already feeling insecure about it). This).
That said, Rudeus is introspective enough to question why he feels so hurt. After all, Luke had given him a completely fair explanation as to why Fitz had been ignoring him—that Fitz had ordered by royal decree not to speak while on duty. However, he was suffering from the pain of rejection that he knew very well from what happened to Eris. And of course, the reason Eris hurt him so much was because he loved her—just like he loved Fitz.
Here we reach the “missed opportunity” of the episode. In a few short scenes, Redeus is shown suffering a heterosexual crisis. He claims to be someone who doesn’t like men romantically. However, he also admits that he likes Fitz. Instead of facing this contradiction head-on, he looks for a way out: If Fitz were a woman, then he wouldn’t be weird at all. So he sets out to try to confirm Fitz’s gender—going behind Fitz’s back to do it.
Then, when Rudeus didn’t get the answer he wanted, he continued to avoid the obvious conclusion in his mind. But before he was forced to confront the idea that he might be bisexual, hermaphrodite, etc., he simply luckily discovered that Fitz was biologically a woman when she fell on top of him. His body and certain parts were stuck together. Thus, the problem was resolved and Rudeus no longer had to deal with the fact that he had fallen in love with a man—because that man ended up being a woman. Honestly, it feels a bit like a cop out at this point.
Still, the whole situation showed Rudeus the first hints of what he needed to truly heal from the aftermath of his first night with Eris. That wasn’t the physical connection he was supposed to be looking for—which is why none of his potential partners have been able to get one over on him since then. The deep emotional connection he had built with Fitz—the security he felt in the thought that Fitz would never simply abandon him—was what helped him fight his impotence. Of course, it’s not like he’s completely recovered. But now he knows that the love he has for Fitz is the key to helping him overcome his trauma.
..If only he hadn’t revealed one of her biggest secrets and made her scream from the library in panic.
Evaluate:
Random thoughts:
Before Nanahoshi met Rudeus, how did she check the circles she drew since she couldn’t use magic?
→ Let the little girl get drunk? One day you will become a great parent Rudeus.
© Has illusion magic been mentioned before in Mushoku Tensei—to the extent that one person can completely look like another person (as is the case with Princess Arial and Fitz)?
→ I continued to be surprised to see Sylphy’s eyes completely alive under her sunglasses—even though they were barely visible.
Mushoku Tensei: Unemployment Reincarnated II is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
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