7 Major Themes in Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

What’s the most attractive bit about Jobless Reincarnation? It’s more than just being introduced to another fantasy world full of magic and spells. 

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation starts off with a 34-year old unnamed character. He is forced to leave his home after his parents die. Feeling worthless, he believes that he never did anything in his life that would be worth remembering after his own death.

However, we get to see this character’s heroic side in some time. When he sees a truck is about to hit a group of teenagers, he comes in the way. Although he is able to save the young ones, he himself gets hit and dies.

So what happens next? He is reincarnated as a baby named Rudeus in another world. Now let's explore a bit of the plot and some of the common themes of this fantastic anime show.

1. Reincarnation fills a void from a previous life

After 6  months, Rudeus begins to understand the new world’s language. It is important to note that in his previous life, he was quite an underachiever. This entire concept promotes the idea that reincarnation brings along something to fulfill the void of a previous life.

2. Stereotypical view of an underachiever

In episode 2, we get to catch a glimpse of Ruseus’ past life. He is shown to have a messed up and untidy room. We might imagine him to appear gloomy. However, we can see him smile too whilst engaging in private adult behavior.

This scene shows us the stereotypical view of an underachiever. The typical traits are being messy, disorganized, and just wasting the time away being lazy. The only time he gets up is when some people barge into his place.

3. Skills run in the family

We can also see one scene where Rudeus' mom casts a healing spell on him. This scene revolves around the idea that "it runs in the family". Yes, Rudeus is in a magical world where many people practice sorcery.

However, his own family seems to be natural at performing extraordinary magic. This equates to the idea that some people "just have it in their blood."

4. Young genius or prodigy

We can see the theme of the young genius or prodigy throughout the show. Rudeus is just a baby, yet he seems to have a mind that's way beyond his years. Although by his physique, he is just like an infant. 

Another theme running side-by-side is that of bullying. In his previous life, Rudeus had been bullied by his schoolmates. And even though he is highly talented and skilled in magic and sword skills in his new life, ghosts of the past often come back to haunt him.

5. Learning is a never-ending curve

We can see throughout the show how much emphasis has been given to learning. Rudeus gets a new tutor, Roxy, which means his family is interested in making him capable enough. 

When the final exam comes, Rudeus is to copy Roxy's spell. We can see how he is able to successfully do it. Hence proving his quick learning abilities and that it's a lifelong process he'll definitely be able to master.

6. Fear of the unknown

I'm sure almost all of us can relate to this theme. There's this one post-graduation scene that I bet all fans love. We can see Rudeus walking outdoors on a fine day when he comes across a couple of bullies throwing mud and stones at a poor defenseless boy.

This time though, Rudeus decides to hit the boys with a spell. He refuses to keep quiet, which means he has developed the strength to fight back. 

7. Communication gap between parent and child

After that little water fight, Rudeus returns home. His father didn't know that the child was bullying another kid and so, calls him out for it. Rudeus tries to explain his actions but instead gets hushed by his father.

But that's not all. His father also slaps Rudeus before he could even finish explaining his point. This theme points out the communication gap that many children have with their parents. It could also come off as bad parenting and physical abuse.

8. Landing a job isn't an easy feat

I think we all could agree on this. It isn't just Rudeus who goes through a lot to land a job in the end. We all have to struggle pretty hard, much like Rudeus.

He brushes up his skills and applies for university. Even when he does that, he has to fight a lot of obstacles. He must also get hands-on experience tutoring someone older than him before he could make a permanent cut.

That's all for now. Do you find any of the above themes relatable from your Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation? And do you think of other interesting ideas from this anime show? If yes, feel free to comment below!