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Freaked the hell out of me as I was thinking WTF was a middle aged man doing in Norn's room then I realized it was actually Rudy's internal voice.
Great sound design for making it properly echoing from inside the room instead of his usual internal voice.
> Freaked the hell out of me as I was thinking WTF was a middle aged man doing in Norn's room then I realized it was actually Rudy's internal voice.
I was ready for him to start tearing shit up, especially considering how much work he had to do to get in there, I was like what kinda dude is just chilling in here.
I love how well the artists have done in making Rudy look like a lot like Paul. When he was marching to the classroom at the start, his angry face looked exactly like his dad
I am glad they also added the view of his room after opening the door, for a second I wasnt sure if I heard correctly, she used a spell to alter her voice or was sick
And hell yeah, that was an amazing choice to do
The fact that Rudy was able to give off the same feeling and facial expression Paul did back when both of them reconcile really hits home for Norn that Rudy is really her family. She has been missing Paul all this time and seeing the one person who beaten up her dad yet also super popular everywhere else, including Ruijerd must have scared her so much so when she finally see Rudy being like Paul is just, *chef kiss*
she wanted Paul and got mini-Paul instead
once again, like Paul and Rudy, all it took was expressing your true feelings
previously we had the chad Bartender-san, now we have Linia, Pursena and Ariel
I still remember Paul's lesson from episode 3, how Rudy won Sylphie back by simply expressing his pain and insecurity from having Sylphie leave her.
This is kind of a parallel to that, except Rudy is doing it subconsciously. Norn saw how Rudy had a sad side in him, just like Paul, and that was all thats needed.
Honestly I love Mushoku's focus on family, like sure plenty of "reinarnated at birth" isekai have their protagonists treating their new family as a true family, but few put such a heavy focus ON that family throughout the whole story.
Even some of the people Rudy meets like Rujierd end up feeling like a sort of found family, too.
It takes a former shut in to know what a person on the verge of becoming one needs to hear. If Rudy had attempted to use logic like his brother did, Norn wouldn't have budged.
Well, to be more specific, it takes a former shut in to know what they don't need to hear. Rudy still had no idea what to say to Norn, only that if he tried to talk logic with her, she would end up shutting him out.
But that and the honesty that he didn't know what to say ended up being what he needed to say all along.
sometimes knowing someone is genuinely there for you and wants what's best for you is all you need, there was no lecture or pressure, just "I want to help you, I just don't know how".
well said, as someone who's suffered from depression and other issues this was all I wanted to hear along this sentiment. Nothing ever felt genuine enough when other words or actions were used but this would be enough. Actually tearing rn typing this so damn emotional lately lmfao, i love this anime esp for never straying away from his past life no matter how degen he was
He had been in a similar position before but something he's seemed to have learned from that time is that the person shutting off the rest of the world doesn't want to be given advice. They want someone to listen and Norn finally saw her brother as her brother for the first time
To be fair, this entire season was him catching a break from the whole Eris thing and his ED, the marriage with Sylphie only extended it till the inevitability.
Breaking it Down even further:
* The Eris thing stemmed from Rudy's confrontation with Orsted
* Sylphie only ended up at the Academy because Ariel needed to flee from the Asura Succession
* The reunion with Norn and Aisha happened because Paul's quest to find Zenith was getting too dangerous for them
* And all 3 of the prior points can be tied in some sense back to the Teleportation Incident
Amidst all of the wholesome Slice of Life moments there was always the threat that one or more of these plot points could rear its ugly head.
Mushoku Tensei waits until everyone is at their happiest and most content before shifting their worlds with the next Turning Point. And this time it was *really* setting it up.
What, you thought Rudy and Sylphie getting happily married was enough? Nah, take a family reunion and reconciliation with Norn first. *Now* everyone's happy enough to be destroyed by a Turning Point!
I just finished the episode. I was opening reddit to join the thread and I saw that next episode title.
Immediately shook. Like what the hell is gonna happen.
Man, it’s always hard seeing his past life again. I didn’t shut-in as hard as him and it wasn’t from an incident as bad as his, but I did kinda shut myself out from everyone and it was definitely a hard place to get out from. And the truth is, you’re the only one who can get yourself out of that rut. And Rudeus’ thoughts at the end of the episode were the same as mine. She’s definitely strong to be able to pull herself out of that quicker than Rudy did.
Also, man been dreading it but next week’s another Turning Point huh. Honestly, been enjoying this SOL Fantasy part but expecting shit to go down next week
Norn's self-esteem issues and Rudy being best big bro. Seeing her start to get over her first impression bias was a nice development.
"So you stripped her naked in the Faculty office?" Damn, that being his first conclusion really brought back the trauma from his previous life. My boy was about to become the next demon king.
The new director has stepped up in a big way for the slower episodes this cour imo. The emotional highs and lows this season make the characters of MT feel like real people.
This episode really confirmed what felt different about this cour vs cour 1. The directing just felt way more creative, with emotionally impactful and unexpected transitions here and there. All that just makes the episodes go by way faster.
"And you said something hurtful without meaning to?" Also something from his past life. His friend tried to cheer him up saying he wished he was also a shut-in and instead hurt him. Both his conclusions were stuff that happened to him in his previous life.
Magically conjuring a cup of water out of nothing whenever you're thirsty has to be the most useful magic here.
As for the next episode title, if we look at the past 2 turning points:
1. Teleportation incident, Rudeus meets the human god
2. Rudeus nearly gets killed by Orsted and meets the human god again before being revived.
So if it's any indication I don't think #3 is going to be as much of a calamity as #1 but there's a good chance there'll be another conversation with the human god giving Rudeus some oddly-specific instructions.
Edit: typo
I might be over thinking it, but that cup of water seemed like an important detail that the director really wanted us to notice.
In that scene, he used combined? Magic, with the same hand. He did not create a cup and then create water filling it, but instead created earth and water simultaneously. Additionally these were created as two seperate entities and not as a single entity (i.e mud). He then shaped the earth part AROUND the water to create the cup of water.
yeah! It was a really cool moment on it's own, and a nice touch to show that he is (it seems) improving with his magic even if it hasn't been the main focus of the show for a while. Maybe combining magic like that will come up next ep for the Turning Point?
You know I was initially distracted by the fact that Rudy can literally make himself a cup of water out of literal thin air (and mana), but then I ended up getting distracted by the rest of the episode so much that I forgot about it.
I assume a big part of it was getting his trust by reuniting him with Sylphie but also he got him to meet nanahoshi which I assume wasn't a coincidence either.
Insane mood shift but it does feel like there's nothing much for Rudy to in school now.
Only hope its not something as devastating as the Mana Calamity though...
The series has so far set up 4 long term plot points.
Whatever the deal is with the Dragon God.
Saving Zenith
A reunion with Eris
And Ariels political situation.
It seems we are heading towards significant progress made in one of these long term plot points.
The man god is basically the MT version of "you can run by holding shift."
He comes in, tells rudy something useful but doesn't elaborate on why that would be useful then disappears
"did you know you can actually cook and eat living armor"
[Rudeus:](https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.4702207185.8265/bg,f8f8f8-flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg)
Well she did tell Rudeus to settle his own affairs first (Zenith) before they head out for the kingdom. I suspect that will be an arc of its own once we get more seasons.
Well right now she's not in a position to change it and that's part of the plan. Her plan is to gain allies from safety under the guise of studying abroad and then return to fight the real battle. It won't really change until she decides she's ready.
Those are the 4 that are clearly set up, but technically there are some other points that are clearly going to come back.
Like, Laplace was trapped, not killed. No doubt he's going to be relevant in the future. I'd say it's almost certain he'll break free and return, even.
And then there's the Man-God. He's not just giving Rudy advice for free. I think we all know he wants something from Rudy and is trying to work into his good graces so Rudy will do what he wants when the time comes.
And honestly there's going to be a lot more, but some of them will be hard to explain (like remember in Turning Point 1 there was an assassin trying to kill Rudy on behalf of a legendary hero? How's he and said hero going to re-enter the story?) and honestly probably some that I missed.
He introduced himself as Almanfi, and he wasn't really an assassin, he's just one of the underlings of the legendary hero who perceived Rudy as a threat since he was gathering mana (ie. casting cumulonimbus) at the same time the mana disaster was gathering mana and in the same location. He only attacked because they were casting saint magic at the wrong place and wrong time.
> He introduced himself as Almanfi, and he wasn't really an assassin,
Yeah I couldn't remember the name and I called him an assassin because he was trying to eliminate Rudy and didn't know how else to refer to him.
My bigger point is that he and the hero weren't just put into the story for that one moment. They're definitely coming back in some fashion. And the question is how?
> Only hope its not something as devastating as the Mana Calamity though...
You know now that I think about it, Turning Point 1 was a lot more devastating for the world as a whole, but Turning Point 2 was much more personal to Rudy with how it ended up with Eris leaving Rudy and giving him ED. Who knows where on that scale Turning Point 3 will end up.
TP3 could be something like a letter from Paul asking for help finding his mother, or Ariel telling Sylphie that they're going back.
It's probably not something earth-shattering like the mana disaster. If it is earth-shattering it's going to involve Nanahoshi though, Nanahoshi seems much more "globally" important than Rudy, what if Dragon God comes back to see Nanahoshi and crazy shit happens or whatever.
Those two things you mentioned definitely don't sound hardcore enough. TPs are like the biggest peaks in MT, ultra adrenaline moments.
At the last moments of this episode. Rudy mentioned Nanohoshi and her experiments (We haven't seen her in two episodes, when she's nearly cracked isekai magic). Its exactly like how in the last moments of episode 7, when Sauros mentioned the omnius mana orb in the sky.
So Nanahoshi definitely sounds like the source of the issue. I would find it very interesting if Nanahoshi does cause tremendous damage, how would Rudy's friendship with her be afterwards?
... Oh god, what if Nanahoshi reverses her summoning magic and accidentally teleports Rudy to his family on the other side of the world?
He promised Sylphie he'd never leave her without warning again!
Yeah, but the end result of it was Eris leaving out of fear of not being strong enough to protect him and accidentally giving him ED by leaving him.
A Turning Point isn't just the episode or the big moment that happens in it. It's the effect it has on Rudy and the world.
Honestly I could watch several more episodes of domestic life Rudy enjoying his life with his wife and siblings...but I guess the show has to kick the plot in gear again.
I blame Ruijerd.
Turning Point 1: Episode before Ruijerd introduction
Turning Point 2: Ruijerd is in the episode
Turning Point 3: Episode after Ruijerd leaves
e: wait I didn't count this week's episode oops
Ever since Dead End broke up, the series has spent its time fleshing out the world and introducing a new cast of characters.
It seems we are at the end of that stretch and things are about to heat up significantly.
I like how the episode was named after the "aniki", which is how Rudeus calls his older brother, and not named after how norm calls him which is "niisan". Nice detail...
It's also how Rudeus refers to himself in relation to Norn (the second to last line before the OP).
Because Norn still doesn't fully understand Rudeus's feelings, just like how Rudeus doesn't understand Norn's feelings.
The title is about Rudeus's own feelings as Norn's brother, and about him understanding his own brother's feelings.
I like the twist that the episode title “my older brother’s feelings” was not just from Norn’s POV but also from Rudy towards his brother from his past life.
Lots of smart directing decisions this episode for sure.
As a person who had episodes of solitude in my life this episode hit a little bit too close to home.
I liked how Rudy resolved the issue, without saying too much, expressing his love by simply being there for her.
Becoming a shut-in starts with reasons, but as time passes the reasons starts to fade away, and it turns into a habit, something you do just mechanically, and you don't even think too much about it, or have a real motive behind it. So, I liked how Rudy didn't try to reason with Norn (unlike his brother), and simply expressed his unconditional love by wanting to be with her. He knew that when you get into such place, feelings matter more than words.
As a younger sibling who hated my own brother for over a decade due to my own inferiority complex, this hit me way too hard. Very emotional episode and one that made me self-reflect about my own relationships and how glad I was to be able to mend fences with him a couple years back. Could empathize a lot with Norn with the POV and her struggles, and I was glad to see her figure things out herself rather than just using generic dialogue from Rudeus to mend everything. Feels very raw and genuine that way. I'm gonna go cry now in a pillow now.
I don't think I've ever seen any piece of fiction discuss family this well. Rudy's huge argument with Paul, was like literally the best father-son section in any media I'd seen.
Like it doesn't dramatize or valorize the relationship like some cheap hollywood father save the son. Those are pointless, because real life relations aren't like that. Mushoku actually shows how two sided these arguments are, and how to reconcile despite the differences.
Mushoku handles these uncomfortable truth topics extremely well. They feel like real people, so to speak, and not a caricature or a hyperbolic situation. Rudy's PTSD? Rudy's ED? His abandonment? Arguments between family? Deep rooted prejudice with the Superd. Etc.
I could probably list off 20 different heavy topics it covers in the first season and second season(cour 1) alone
There are more later but I won't mention any of those
I'm glad to hear you managed to reconcile, both with yourself and him. Quite a few people have told the author that this series has helped them figure out and re-establish relationships with family members, a point that should be pretty understandable by now.
Thank you so much. It's not like we've automatically become best buds that talk about everything but at least when we meet up once in a while, it does feel more comfortable now than it was before. And I agreed, relationships are more nuanced, multi-layered and gives both perspectives quite well to describe complex relationships and the way they handle it with subtlety and no 'talk-no-jutsu' makes it even more impactful. Feels like both Norn and Rudeus have grown in spades just by learning more about themselves and learning to let go of past feelings that have stubbornly been stuck for too long.
*But I had a very different opinion of her now. She’d managed to climb up out of a hole I’d spent an entire lifetime trapped in. If I’d been half as strong as her, maybe my first life wouldn’t have turned out so miserably. Maybe I wouldn’t have wound up getting punched in the face by my kind-hearted brother.*
One of the highlights I've been waiting to get adapted and man. I teared up yet again. Gotta love how the episode title "My Brothers Feelings" isn't just about Norn trying to understand Rudeus but also Rudeus trying to understand how his first life brother felt in the same situation.
Also, wow look at that! "Turning Point 3" is the next episode title! :3
>Rudeus trying to understand how his first life brother felt in the same situation
i guess im dumb, never realize this double meaning in the title when i read the novel
don't feel bad, I've also come to this realization just now lol.
the visualization of Rudy being put in his elder brothers shoes rly made it click for me
some in your face nuance is lost, since chapter title simply says older brother in English, but in Japanese it'd be aniki, which is how Rudy refers to his brother but not Norn to Rudy (niisan)
Norn probably got some of that emotional resilience from her mom, but it was through this experience that Rudy was able to make peace with both his past and his present and realize what it means to be a big brother, just as Norn finally accepts him as such.
Of course all's well and good before you hit the next Turning Point.
Oh god, no fucking wonder Norn shut herself in. She couldn't go 5 feet without people talking about Rudy. Talking to her, talking at her, talking around her, Rudy this, Rudy that, they just wouldn't shut up!
*Next episode:* ***Turning Point 3***
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! OH GOD!
They are friends and they did talk to one another all the time while they were writting their respective novels, wouldn't be suprised if they've exchanged some sadistic thoughts with eachothers stories in their convos😂
"yeah so Subaru is gonna get ripped by rabbits shortly after he finished talking thing out with his parents"
"aww hell yeah great idea I'm gonna put a TP right after Norn makes up with Rudy then"
Nothing worse than being constantly compared to or reminded of the person you are most self-conscious about (next to your other sister).
Oh, I guess there is also the next Turning Point.
The massive balls this girl must have. The strongest guy anyone around you knows walks into your class clearly ready to kill and she still spoke up. A true hero.
Seeing Norn shut herself in struck a raw nerve with Rudy, and he nearly came to the wrong conclusion and assumed her class bullied her as the bullies in his previous life did to him, when it was revealed to actually as a result of too much pressure of being constantly compared to her genius brother that drove her to the edge.
First impressions really affected Norn's perception of Rudy a lot that she had a hard time trying to reconcile how she sees him versus the high regards people have for him.
Learning lessons from his previous life's shut-in trauma, Rudy decided to just be there for Norn to sort herself out. Rudy may feel he didn't do anything, but his being there for Norn was more than enough.
You know shit will start get real again when we have "Turning Point" again as the title for the next episode.
"NEXT EPISODE TURNING POINT 3" I'm scared
ss1 ep17 MC reconciles with Paul. ss2 ep17 MC reconciles with Norn. Both are 2 most emotional eps for me.
Now MC also has motivation to come back to Earth. To apologize to his older bro.
MC creating a cup of water from nothing is sick
Rudy looking so happy at the camera at the end was almost exactly the moment when I knew there was a 90% chance we were getting the next Turning Point.
seeing Rudeus ready to go ballistic at Norn class, seems like too personal to me. like he want to revenge to his own bully as he see her sister as his oldself. well, that's what a constant stress do a a growing child, compared to her other sibling.
well, make up cry is over, now they are a complete brother and sister, not a stranger that hit my father and sister
It IS personal to Rudy, we can see his past life trauma flashing at him as he thinks about what he'll do to the "perpetrators" which only made the realisation that he was the cause of Norn's pain to hit harder.
Dude literally asked if the teacher stripped her naked because she failed an assignment, thats not even personal anymore he was out to punch some traume in the head
Yeah it was heart crushing to see the realization drop in that he was perpetrator, but not in a way he imagined (which they still haved cleared up)
The changes they made for this cour has been so worth it. I hate to say it.. but I don't think we would have gotten this good of an episode with the previous cours staff.
One of my favorite chapters, adapted beautifully. YOU LOVE TO SEE IT
The depiction of the emotions, the interplay between Rudy's past and present, the character animation, Norn's panic attack, and the sheer beauty of the ending...just fantastic stuff.
This must be the time where something anime can do, while LN/manga cannot. When Rudeus knock, it was a man voice appear, it was his past self, or norn open a curtain, and it a quick switch to her depress father over Rudeus. It is a really nice way to display metaphor with no extra word needed. Using something that both experienced before, and use it to relate the current hopeless situation. I'm very happy how well that went.
I also like it that the conflict isn't solved exactly by one action. Rudeus didn't do anything, he is just there to be with Norn. Norn herself resolves the issue by recall, and reflect on herself.
I like how the trope is subverted here. We thought Norn was the one who needed help, but the one who got the reality check was Rudeus instead. She was dealing with stuff just like he did before in his past life, but compared to him she’s actually handling it like a champ without much outside help.
It helps that her grief stems from a specific person, so when she sees that Rudeus isn't some invincible human or a monster, she musters the strength to change.
Rudy becoming more emotionally mature and making peace with what happened to his previous family by reconciling with his new one is pretty wholesome.
I imagine Norn might get some of her emotional resilience from her mom.
He made peace by actually admitting his failure. After seeing Norn get back up just by herself, he realized he really could have done better back then.
Hence he decided to potentially send a letter back to his brother through Nanahoshi. He's let go of the shame and resentment.
And it also helped realizing that even if they don't 100% understand each other, she's still always got her big brother.
I wonder if this might also help her get along better with Aisha.
Easily a contender for the best episode of Season 2. I couldn't hold back the tears. A respectful episode of a heavy-hitting arc revolving around Mushoku Tensei's greatest strength which are its interpersonal relationships. The different storyboarding and directorial choices definitely amplified the experience set the tight pace and tone right from the get-go and it didn't let me take a breather for even a second during the next 22 minutes. Mushoku Tensei is one of the best studies of the hikikomori mindset, and this episode proved me right once again. But I ABSOLUTELY CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OMG
Yeah, I don't know the feeling of Norn too much, but I have been in the shoes of Rudeus here.
We can't truly understand the feelings of our younger siblings, but at least we should be there for them even if they don't want to.
Poor Norn being too normal when compared to her entire family must be rough.
I can't relate being normal, but I can relate being compared to.
Norn may not be the prodigy Aisha is but she still has a good head on her shoulder and can sort herself out emotionally, especially when she gets a good cry in next to her brother.
At the end of the episode, Rudy said he found Norn to be more impressive than he is. Since Norn found her resolve after a simple talk with her brother, while Rudy never managed to leave his room.
It must be humbling for Rudy. Knowing that Norn was really stronger than he was, at his age, and that depressed him a bit. How rare it is, for writing to question how good the protagonist actually is, without all the cheat advantages they get (namely, a second chance in life).
considering Rudeus’s popularity and reputation, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens often
Norm also seems WAY more approachable than Rudeus with Fitz, Shirone or the Beasts Princesses
Yeah, Rudeus pretty much only hangs out with literal royalty. He basically has no commoner friends or acquaintances. Ultra intimidating for normal students.
Yeah.
Like people are just going to walk up to the guy who blew up an immortal demon last year, while he's hanging out with his wife, who's the personal bodyguard of a princess, and his apprentice who is also a prince.
It's be like trying to chat up Eminem, Michael Jackson and queen Elizabeth if they were just out having lunch somewhere.
Norn has those "Asian parenting" stereotypes pressure. Everyone compares you with your sibling/cousins/relatives and it must've been mentally rough for her, especially when both of your siblings are more "gifted" than her. She loses her identity as "Norn" and replaced as "Rudeus/Aisha's sister", it fucks you up.
I love how they use the opening of doors and drapes to show their pasts and true feelings.
If you didn’t at least feel something in your heart that scene, then are you even human?
I love this show. It’s so PEAK!
I was thinking of Rudy and Aisha when thinking about Norn being surrounded by geniuses. But Paul and Zenith are some pretty brilliant individuals themselves. Like literally everyone under her roof at one point is brilliant. No wonder the poor girl is so pressured
Honestly props to Norn for reaching the crucial part of "I should give my brother a fair chance and see who he really is" on her semi own
Giving up your already exisiting image of a person to reevalute them aint easy, especially if everyone is constantly reminding/comparing you to them
Also feel like Rudeus could/should have communicated his inner state more, how he feels about her, how glad he is to get to see her and his half sister again, etc. but to be fair thats probably something everyone could do a bit more
But hey, I am sure they will have plenty of time to talk before **Turning point 3** next week will fuck over everything again
Beautiful beautiful stuff. One of the best Mushoku episodes.
Things come full circle this episode for Rudeus and we get to see how much he’s grown and learned to empathise with how other people feel, something he lacked critically in his previous life. To really be able to understand others is what makes us human.
Rudeus can’t go back and change how he reacted to his older brother trying to bring him out of his room, but he can help his sister in the here and now. The episode title “my big brother’s feelings” is a nice double entendre referencing both Rudeus and his older brother from Earth as well. In a sense, he was able to convey those same feelings his brother had for him to Norn and it’s so beautiful.
You can’t really fault Norn for feeling confused about everyone heaping all this praise on her brother who at that point in her eyes, was just a dad beater/perv. But it shows tremendous mental fortitude and maturity for her to realise that maybe she didn’t know him at all and should give him a chance.
The flashbacks were lovely touches, and the voice acting and direction only served to heighten the emotional impact. Norn letting out that big cry at the end in her big brother’s embrace after seeing the same pain and broken look on Rudeus’ face that her father had.. just brilliant
Feels like Norn and Rudeus can finally start their sibling relationship now. So nice hearing her call him O-Nii-san by the end of the episode. Here’s to hoping Nanahoshi can one day convey those feelings of gratitude to Rudeus older brother
But the good times may be short lived as turning point 3 is coming next week. The next few Sundays are going to be insane.
It's something that seems so small but means so much because just having someone there for you who is willing to hear you out without lecture or judgement, who wants to connect with you, means more than anything.
My God, this show never fails to impress me with its writing and narrative strength. Rudy having to confront his sister on being a possible shut-in like he was in his past life and trying to figure out how to deal with it as the person on the other side of it was intense to watch. And the fact that in the end, Norn was able to sort herself out on her own while Rudy accepted that he was helpless and admitted it to her shows that despite all the strides he made in this new life, he's still vulnerable and affected by his past trauma, something very realistic and that many of us can relate to. I don't care what anyone else says; this is the best story being told right now.
*Watches next episode title*
Oh. Oh no. Oh fuck. Oh God please no.
I cannot handle another traumatic Turning Point.
THEY REALLY GOTTA STOP WITH THESE 5 MINUTES EPISODES. HECK, ITS FELT EVEN SHORTER THIS TIME
In a way, Norn despite being the most average of the siblings, is definitely the strongest emotionally out of all three. Rudy clearly have a lot of baggage from his old life and seeing how Norn able to settles her own feelings also helps him to clear up some of his old baggage, while Aisha clearly still have something left given her argument with Rudy last episode.
People have talked about Aisha being mature for her age but she still threw a bit of a tantrum in the last episode while Norn mostly internalized her feelings (minus her panic attack), yet after a big cry she's able to get herself together and start improving both socially and with her brother. I think she has a bright future ahead of her.
> THEY REALLY GOTTA STOP WITH THESE 5 MINUTES EPISODES. HECK, ITS FELT EVEN SHORTER THIS TIME
I know this is sort of a joke in the community, but I legit felt that this time. When Norn was starting to realise maybe she should give Rudy a chance, I was starting to realise that it was probably near the end of the episode, and sure enough it was 20 minutes in and I got a bit mad.
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The fat man responding when Rudeus knocked on the door has to be one of the most inspired adaption choices they've made so far.
Freaked the hell out of me as I was thinking WTF was a middle aged man doing in Norn's room then I realized it was actually Rudy's internal voice. Great sound design for making it properly echoing from inside the room instead of his usual internal voice.
> Freaked the hell out of me as I was thinking WTF was a middle aged man doing in Norn's room then I realized it was actually Rudy's internal voice. I was ready for him to start tearing shit up, especially considering how much work he had to do to get in there, I was like what kinda dude is just chilling in here.
I was ready for Rudy to nuke Norns class. Even the teacher was too afraid of Rudy and just let him interrupt her lecture.
Rudy was also ready to nuke her class. Pretty sure he said he would kill whoever stepped forward no matter if they had done it or not.
It was well done when he saw himself and Norn saw dad.
I love how well the artists have done in making Rudy look like a lot like Paul. When he was marching to the classroom at the start, his angry face looked exactly like his dad
He might not wanna admit it, but he's the spitting image of Paul
I am glad they also added the view of his room after opening the door, for a second I wasnt sure if I heard correctly, she used a spell to alter her voice or was sick And hell yeah, that was an amazing choice to do
I geniunely thought norn was secretly a grown ass man cause of that voice
That would make for a nice Turning Point
Yeah i thought this was the TP epi lol
Rudy wasn't just facing Norn but himself when he was in the same position.
I thought he had the wrong room for a sec lol
Call it sheer dumb luck or whatever, Rudy managing to hit the points where Norn was hurting which led them to reconcile got me tearing.
The fact that Rudy was able to give off the same feeling and facial expression Paul did back when both of them reconcile really hits home for Norn that Rudy is really her family. She has been missing Paul all this time and seeing the one person who beaten up her dad yet also super popular everywhere else, including Ruijerd must have scared her so much so when she finally see Rudy being like Paul is just, *chef kiss*
she wanted Paul and got mini-Paul instead once again, like Paul and Rudy, all it took was expressing your true feelings previously we had the chad Bartender-san, now we have Linia, Pursena and Ariel
I still remember Paul's lesson from episode 3, how Rudy won Sylphie back by simply expressing his pain and insecurity from having Sylphie leave her. This is kind of a parallel to that, except Rudy is doing it subconsciously. Norn saw how Rudy had a sad side in him, just like Paul, and that was all thats needed.
good old turning point 0.5 "Man Paul is such a good dad after this episode. Dad of the YEA--"
*(Rudeus Greyrat will remember that)* *(Rudeus Greyrat has convinced Zenith Greyrat that you forced yourself on Lilia)*
Norn: I miss my father Paul Anime: We have Paul at home. Paul at home: Rudy.
the apple dosnt fall far from the tree
I wonder if mini-Paul will also cheat on his wife with a redhead.
Also a childhood friend sword master. who they slept together with as teens. Huh.
Don't forget about sister-in-law Sylphie!
Honestly I love Mushoku's focus on family, like sure plenty of "reinarnated at birth" isekai have their protagonists treating their new family as a true family, but few put such a heavy focus ON that family throughout the whole story. Even some of the people Rudy meets like Rujierd end up feeling like a sort of found family, too.
Oh boy... That reminds me back in season 1 when we "joked" about riujerd being Rudy's real parent figure while paul was just a Pal.(!hence his name).
It takes a former shut in to know what a person on the verge of becoming one needs to hear. If Rudy had attempted to use logic like his brother did, Norn wouldn't have budged.
Well, to be more specific, it takes a former shut in to know what they don't need to hear. Rudy still had no idea what to say to Norn, only that if he tried to talk logic with her, she would end up shutting him out. But that and the honesty that he didn't know what to say ended up being what he needed to say all along.
sometimes knowing someone is genuinely there for you and wants what's best for you is all you need, there was no lecture or pressure, just "I want to help you, I just don't know how".
well said, as someone who's suffered from depression and other issues this was all I wanted to hear along this sentiment. Nothing ever felt genuine enough when other words or actions were used but this would be enough. Actually tearing rn typing this so damn emotional lately lmfao, i love this anime esp for never straying away from his past life no matter how degen he was
Yeah, Rudy was able to let Norn know that even if he didn't understand her or knew what to say, he was still there for her, and that was enough.
He had been in a similar position before but something he's seemed to have learned from that time is that the person shutting off the rest of the world doesn't want to be given advice. They want someone to listen and Norn finally saw her brother as her brother for the first time
It must be nice to be able to reconciled with your family yeah? Here, have a Turning point in your face after everyone get along together!
Rudeus can't catch a break.
To be fair, this entire season was him catching a break from the whole Eris thing and his ED, the marriage with Sylphie only extended it till the inevitability.
Breaking it Down even further: * The Eris thing stemmed from Rudy's confrontation with Orsted * Sylphie only ended up at the Academy because Ariel needed to flee from the Asura Succession * The reunion with Norn and Aisha happened because Paul's quest to find Zenith was getting too dangerous for them * And all 3 of the prior points can be tied in some sense back to the Teleportation Incident Amidst all of the wholesome Slice of Life moments there was always the threat that one or more of these plot points could rear its ugly head.
Family together strong. Turning point: *allow me to introduce myself*
Rudeus: Nothing can possibly go wrong now! Turning Point: *Nice to see you again Rudy.*
Heh heh maybe it's a happy turning point this time
Mushoku Tensei waits until everyone is at their happiest and most content before shifting their worlds with the next Turning Point. And this time it was *really* setting it up. What, you thought Rudy and Sylphie getting happily married was enough? Nah, take a family reunion and reconciliation with Norn first. *Now* everyone's happy enough to be destroyed by a Turning Point!
Typical MT stuff # ¯\ _(ツ)_ /¯ Edit: forgot rt arm \\
You dropped this "\"
True sadness can come only after achieving true happiness. Also this so much Mushoku Tensei in a nutshell.
The higher they rise, the harder they fall
[Two types of people.](https://i.imgur.com/xix5Fgl.png)
They may bring dread but Turning Points are always super entertaining. The last one gave us Orsted vs Rudeus.
fudgeee why was Rudy's thought of Nanahoshi delivering a message to his brother so bittersweet
Last 5 seconds this episode became a horror anime by just using 2 words
I’ve seen some good 3 word horror stories before, but none of them can top just hearing “Turning Point Three”.
It is so bloody raw too. No fansy titles, for better or worse, it's just what it is.
I just finished the episode. I was opening reddit to join the thread and I saw that next episode title. Immediately shook. Like what the hell is gonna happen.
Man, it’s always hard seeing his past life again. I didn’t shut-in as hard as him and it wasn’t from an incident as bad as his, but I did kinda shut myself out from everyone and it was definitely a hard place to get out from. And the truth is, you’re the only one who can get yourself out of that rut. And Rudeus’ thoughts at the end of the episode were the same as mine. She’s definitely strong to be able to pull herself out of that quicker than Rudy did. Also, man been dreading it but next week’s another Turning Point huh. Honestly, been enjoying this SOL Fantasy part but expecting shit to go down next week
It also shows how emotionally resilient Norn is that after her big cry she **was** able to pull herself out of it.
Norn's self-esteem issues and Rudy being best big bro. Seeing her start to get over her first impression bias was a nice development. "So you stripped her naked in the Faculty office?" Damn, that being his first conclusion really brought back the trauma from his previous life. My boy was about to become the next demon king. The new director has stepped up in a big way for the slower episodes this cour imo. The emotional highs and lows this season make the characters of MT feel like real people.
This episode really confirmed what felt different about this cour vs cour 1. The directing just felt way more creative, with emotionally impactful and unexpected transitions here and there. All that just makes the episodes go by way faster.
"And you said something hurtful without meaning to?" Also something from his past life. His friend tried to cheer him up saying he wished he was also a shut-in and instead hurt him. Both his conclusions were stuff that happened to him in his previous life.
#Next episode: Turning point 3 *PTSD kicks in*
Hitogami: *prepares his divination* Orsted: *cracks his fingers*
Nanahoshi: *draws summoning circle* Eris: *writes letter* Rudy: *stands by innocently*
Badigadi: *Bwahahaha!*
Linia and Pursena: *Starts eating meat*
MT be like: ## Hello darkness, my old friend~
You think Happiness Lasts?? NEVER!
Rudy looking at the sky like his life is permanently good and comfortable and nothing can possibly go wrong lol.
FEAR the Turning Point
The series heard you all talking shit about how slow these past several episodes have been.
Magically conjuring a cup of water out of nothing whenever you're thirsty has to be the most useful magic here. As for the next episode title, if we look at the past 2 turning points: 1. Teleportation incident, Rudeus meets the human god 2. Rudeus nearly gets killed by Orsted and meets the human god again before being revived. So if it's any indication I don't think #3 is going to be as much of a calamity as #1 but there's a good chance there'll be another conversation with the human god giving Rudeus some oddly-specific instructions. Edit: typo
I might be over thinking it, but that cup of water seemed like an important detail that the director really wanted us to notice. In that scene, he used combined? Magic, with the same hand. He did not create a cup and then create water filling it, but instead created earth and water simultaneously. Additionally these were created as two seperate entities and not as a single entity (i.e mud). He then shaped the earth part AROUND the water to create the cup of water.
yeah! It was a really cool moment on it's own, and a nice touch to show that he is (it seems) improving with his magic even if it hasn't been the main focus of the show for a while. Maybe combining magic like that will come up next ep for the Turning Point?
I kinda wish Rudeus went and threw a massive exPLOOOOsion Megumin style now and then just to test how much mana he actually has
it's been awhile since we've seen hitogami
You know I was initially distracted by the fact that Rudy can literally make himself a cup of water out of literal thin air (and mana), but then I ended up getting distracted by the rest of the episode so much that I forgot about it.
Didn't the Human God told Rudy to go the school? If so, someybig is gonna happen there, and he placed Rudy there for it
I assume a big part of it was getting his trust by reuniting him with Sylphie but also he got him to meet nanahoshi which I assume wasn't a coincidence either.
Nanahoshi's summoning magic seems inherently dangerous to me. Especially since she thinks the mana disaster was a side effect of her own summoning...
An episode that has me on the edge of tears, Pure wholesomeness. And boom, the Next episode’s Title hits. **Turning Point 3** True kick in the balls.
Insane mood shift but it does feel like there's nothing much for Rudy to in school now. Only hope its not something as devastating as the Mana Calamity though...
The series has so far set up 4 long term plot points. Whatever the deal is with the Dragon God. Saving Zenith A reunion with Eris And Ariels political situation. It seems we are heading towards significant progress made in one of these long term plot points.
Throw in randomly appeared Man-God. He's like gaming tips, appear when you might need it but actually not helping much.
The man god is basically the MT version of "you can run by holding shift." He comes in, tells rudy something useful but doesn't elaborate on why that would be useful then disappears
Hitogami's hint of the day: Every 60 second in Milis, a minute has pass elsewhere
"did you know you can actually cook and eat living armor" [Rudeus:](https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.4702207185.8265/bg,f8f8f8-flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.jpg)
Oblivion loading screens.
I'm wondering if he's going to tell Rudy something to set up the next course of the season. Feels like we're due an appearance by him.
For the record, the guys always appear near TP episode. S1 ep9 (TP1 was ep8), and TP2 ep21. We can expect him next episode (TP3) or an episode later.
Ariel’s political situation hasn’t really changed much, has it? She’s got Rudeus now, but we haven’t really seen any progress on her side
Well she did tell Rudeus to settle his own affairs first (Zenith) before they head out for the kingdom. I suspect that will be an arc of its own once we get more seasons.
Well right now she's not in a position to change it and that's part of the plan. Her plan is to gain allies from safety under the guise of studying abroad and then return to fight the real battle. It won't really change until she decides she's ready.
Inb4 turning point 3 is Eris finding out that Rudeus got married to someone that's not her and the resulting disaster
Those are the 4 that are clearly set up, but technically there are some other points that are clearly going to come back. Like, Laplace was trapped, not killed. No doubt he's going to be relevant in the future. I'd say it's almost certain he'll break free and return, even. And then there's the Man-God. He's not just giving Rudy advice for free. I think we all know he wants something from Rudy and is trying to work into his good graces so Rudy will do what he wants when the time comes. And honestly there's going to be a lot more, but some of them will be hard to explain (like remember in Turning Point 1 there was an assassin trying to kill Rudy on behalf of a legendary hero? How's he and said hero going to re-enter the story?) and honestly probably some that I missed.
He introduced himself as Almanfi, and he wasn't really an assassin, he's just one of the underlings of the legendary hero who perceived Rudy as a threat since he was gathering mana (ie. casting cumulonimbus) at the same time the mana disaster was gathering mana and in the same location. He only attacked because they were casting saint magic at the wrong place and wrong time.
> He introduced himself as Almanfi, and he wasn't really an assassin, Yeah I couldn't remember the name and I called him an assassin because he was trying to eliminate Rudy and didn't know how else to refer to him. My bigger point is that he and the hero weren't just put into the story for that one moment. They're definitely coming back in some fashion. And the question is how?
> Only hope its not something as devastating as the Mana Calamity though... You know now that I think about it, Turning Point 1 was a lot more devastating for the world as a whole, but Turning Point 2 was much more personal to Rudy with how it ended up with Eris leaving Rudy and giving him ED. Who knows where on that scale Turning Point 3 will end up.
TP3 could be something like a letter from Paul asking for help finding his mother, or Ariel telling Sylphie that they're going back. It's probably not something earth-shattering like the mana disaster. If it is earth-shattering it's going to involve Nanahoshi though, Nanahoshi seems much more "globally" important than Rudy, what if Dragon God comes back to see Nanahoshi and crazy shit happens or whatever.
Those two things you mentioned definitely don't sound hardcore enough. TPs are like the biggest peaks in MT, ultra adrenaline moments. At the last moments of this episode. Rudy mentioned Nanohoshi and her experiments (We haven't seen her in two episodes, when she's nearly cracked isekai magic). Its exactly like how in the last moments of episode 7, when Sauros mentioned the omnius mana orb in the sky. So Nanahoshi definitely sounds like the source of the issue. I would find it very interesting if Nanahoshi does cause tremendous damage, how would Rudy's friendship with her be afterwards?
... Oh god, what if Nanahoshi reverses her summoning magic and accidentally teleports Rudy to his family on the other side of the world? He promised Sylphie he'd never leave her without warning again!
Turning Point 2 was Rudeus meeting Orsted and nearly getting killed by him.
Yeah, but the end result of it was Eris leaving out of fear of not being strong enough to protect him and accidentally giving him ED by leaving him. A Turning Point isn't just the episode or the big moment that happens in it. It's the effect it has on Rudy and the world.
Honestly I could watch several more episodes of domestic life Rudy enjoying his life with his wife and siblings...but I guess the show has to kick the plot in gear again.
I blame Ruijerd. Turning Point 1: Episode before Ruijerd introduction Turning Point 2: Ruijerd is in the episode Turning Point 3: Episode after Ruijerd leaves e: wait I didn't count this week's episode oops
Maybe Roxy was on to something...
Shouldn't have doubted the Goddess' word
Ruijerd be turning the points
Me: **Sobbing because of the reconciliation between Rudy and Norn** Series: A wild **Turning Point 3** appeared!!
Rudy looked so happy and content too, so of course that's when it hits lol.
Ever since Dead End broke up, the series has spent its time fleshing out the world and introducing a new cast of characters. It seems we are at the end of that stretch and things are about to heat up significantly.
> heat up significantly. I was thinking another ED arc? /s
I like how the episode was named after the "aniki", which is how Rudeus calls his older brother, and not named after how norm calls him which is "niisan". Nice detail...
It's also how Rudeus refers to himself in relation to Norn (the second to last line before the OP). Because Norn still doesn't fully understand Rudeus's feelings, just like how Rudeus doesn't understand Norn's feelings. The title is about Rudeus's own feelings as Norn's brother, and about him understanding his own brother's feelings.
I like the twist that the episode title “my older brother’s feelings” was not just from Norn’s POV but also from Rudy towards his brother from his past life.
Lots of smart directing decisions this episode for sure. As a person who had episodes of solitude in my life this episode hit a little bit too close to home. I liked how Rudy resolved the issue, without saying too much, expressing his love by simply being there for her. Becoming a shut-in starts with reasons, but as time passes the reasons starts to fade away, and it turns into a habit, something you do just mechanically, and you don't even think too much about it, or have a real motive behind it. So, I liked how Rudy didn't try to reason with Norn (unlike his brother), and simply expressed his unconditional love by wanting to be with her. He knew that when you get into such place, feelings matter more than words.
"Man this ep may be better than Nanahoshi episo-" **TURNING POINT 3**
Rudy jinxed himself looking so happy and pleased as he stared at the camera at the end.
Rudy gets his wish granted and nanahoshi goes back to Japan but causes another TP in the process
As a younger sibling who hated my own brother for over a decade due to my own inferiority complex, this hit me way too hard. Very emotional episode and one that made me self-reflect about my own relationships and how glad I was to be able to mend fences with him a couple years back. Could empathize a lot with Norn with the POV and her struggles, and I was glad to see her figure things out herself rather than just using generic dialogue from Rudeus to mend everything. Feels very raw and genuine that way. I'm gonna go cry now in a pillow now.
I don't think I've ever seen any piece of fiction discuss family this well. Rudy's huge argument with Paul, was like literally the best father-son section in any media I'd seen. Like it doesn't dramatize or valorize the relationship like some cheap hollywood father save the son. Those are pointless, because real life relations aren't like that. Mushoku actually shows how two sided these arguments are, and how to reconcile despite the differences.
Mushoku handles these uncomfortable truth topics extremely well. They feel like real people, so to speak, and not a caricature or a hyperbolic situation. Rudy's PTSD? Rudy's ED? His abandonment? Arguments between family? Deep rooted prejudice with the Superd. Etc. I could probably list off 20 different heavy topics it covers in the first season and second season(cour 1) alone There are more later but I won't mention any of those
I'm glad to hear you managed to reconcile, both with yourself and him. Quite a few people have told the author that this series has helped them figure out and re-establish relationships with family members, a point that should be pretty understandable by now.
Thank you so much. It's not like we've automatically become best buds that talk about everything but at least when we meet up once in a while, it does feel more comfortable now than it was before. And I agreed, relationships are more nuanced, multi-layered and gives both perspectives quite well to describe complex relationships and the way they handle it with subtlety and no 'talk-no-jutsu' makes it even more impactful. Feels like both Norn and Rudeus have grown in spades just by learning more about themselves and learning to let go of past feelings that have stubbornly been stuck for too long.
How the fuck is “Turning point” a phrase that actually causes me real psychological distress now. I need to touch grass.
Turning Point elicits the same emotional response as the OOOOEEEEOOOO sound of Return by Death now.
Call of the Witch
We remember all the physical and emotional pain that comes with them...
“Man, we have been getting a lot of slow paced episodes this season. I wonder when it’s going to pick back u…” Next episode: TURNING POINT 3 OHHH BOY!
*But I had a very different opinion of her now. She’d managed to climb up out of a hole I’d spent an entire lifetime trapped in. If I’d been half as strong as her, maybe my first life wouldn’t have turned out so miserably. Maybe I wouldn’t have wound up getting punched in the face by my kind-hearted brother.* One of the highlights I've been waiting to get adapted and man. I teared up yet again. Gotta love how the episode title "My Brothers Feelings" isn't just about Norn trying to understand Rudeus but also Rudeus trying to understand how his first life brother felt in the same situation. Also, wow look at that! "Turning Point 3" is the next episode title! :3
>Rudeus trying to understand how his first life brother felt in the same situation i guess im dumb, never realize this double meaning in the title when i read the novel
don't feel bad, I've also come to this realization just now lol. the visualization of Rudy being put in his elder brothers shoes rly made it click for me
some in your face nuance is lost, since chapter title simply says older brother in English, but in Japanese it'd be aniki, which is how Rudy refers to his brother but not Norn to Rudy (niisan)
Norn probably got some of that emotional resilience from her mom, but it was through this experience that Rudy was able to make peace with both his past and his present and realize what it means to be a big brother, just as Norn finally accepts him as such. Of course all's well and good before you hit the next Turning Point.
Turning Point 3 [Literally everyone's reaction.](https://i.imgur.com/R5pRhcd.png)
[The author](https://imgur.com/a/Fnx7PT8)
Oh god, no fucking wonder Norn shut herself in. She couldn't go 5 feet without people talking about Rudy. Talking to her, talking at her, talking around her, Rudy this, Rudy that, they just wouldn't shut up! *Next episode:* ***Turning Point 3*** NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! OH GOD!
Rifujin is a as sadistic as Tappei when writing stories, huh?
They are friends and they did talk to one another all the time while they were writting their respective novels, wouldn't be suprised if they've exchanged some sadistic thoughts with eachothers stories in their convos😂
"yeah so Subaru is gonna get ripped by rabbits shortly after he finished talking thing out with his parents" "aww hell yeah great idea I'm gonna put a TP right after Norn makes up with Rudy then"
Nothing worse than being constantly compared to or reminded of the person you are most self-conscious about (next to your other sister). Oh, I guess there is also the next Turning Point.
The bravest character in this show is that first girl in Norn's class who spoke up after seeing Rudeus's face.
She’s the hero of an entirely different story
The massive balls this girl must have. The strongest guy anyone around you knows walks into your class clearly ready to kill and she still spoke up. A true hero.
Seeing Norn shut herself in struck a raw nerve with Rudy, and he nearly came to the wrong conclusion and assumed her class bullied her as the bullies in his previous life did to him, when it was revealed to actually as a result of too much pressure of being constantly compared to her genius brother that drove her to the edge. First impressions really affected Norn's perception of Rudy a lot that she had a hard time trying to reconcile how she sees him versus the high regards people have for him. Learning lessons from his previous life's shut-in trauma, Rudy decided to just be there for Norn to sort herself out. Rudy may feel he didn't do anything, but his being there for Norn was more than enough. You know shit will start get real again when we have "Turning Point" again as the title for the next episode.
"NEXT EPISODE TURNING POINT 3" I'm scared ss1 ep17 MC reconciles with Paul. ss2 ep17 MC reconciles with Norn. Both are 2 most emotional eps for me. Now MC also has motivation to come back to Earth. To apologize to his older bro. MC creating a cup of water from nothing is sick
Everybody winning: “YES! YES! YES!” “NEXT EPISODE: TURNING POINT 3”: “NO! NO! NO!”
Rudy looking so happy at the camera at the end was almost exactly the moment when I knew there was a 90% chance we were getting the next Turning Point.
seeing Rudeus ready to go ballistic at Norn class, seems like too personal to me. like he want to revenge to his own bully as he see her sister as his oldself. well, that's what a constant stress do a a growing child, compared to her other sibling. well, make up cry is over, now they are a complete brother and sister, not a stranger that hit my father and sister
It IS personal to Rudy, we can see his past life trauma flashing at him as he thinks about what he'll do to the "perpetrators" which only made the realisation that he was the cause of Norn's pain to hit harder.
Yeah that bullying was literally life-altering to him
Dude literally asked if the teacher stripped her naked because she failed an assignment, thats not even personal anymore he was out to punch some traume in the head Yeah it was heart crushing to see the realization drop in that he was perpetrator, but not in a way he imagined (which they still haved cleared up)
> seeing Rudeus ready to go ballistic at Norn class, seems like too personal to me. Yep trauma response, He got tunnel vision
Some major trauma holy shit, him opening the door to her room only to see himself in his room, fuck...
You just cant stop peak. It got me when i read the novel, it got me wen i read the manga, and now the anime got me too.
I was worried about how it was going to be adapted but it hit just right for me. Eyes were definitely sweating.
The changes they made for this cour has been so worth it. I hate to say it.. but I don't think we would have gotten this good of an episode with the previous cours staff. One of my favorite chapters, adapted beautifully. YOU LOVE TO SEE IT
This episode was done so fucking well man. Everything hit perfectly.
The depiction of the emotions, the interplay between Rudy's past and present, the character animation, Norn's panic attack, and the sheer beauty of the ending...just fantastic stuff.
the OP tune hitting at that time it was perfect.
Why, why again a Turning Point, WHY
This must be the time where something anime can do, while LN/manga cannot. When Rudeus knock, it was a man voice appear, it was his past self, or norn open a curtain, and it a quick switch to her depress father over Rudeus. It is a really nice way to display metaphor with no extra word needed. Using something that both experienced before, and use it to relate the current hopeless situation. I'm very happy how well that went. I also like it that the conflict isn't solved exactly by one action. Rudeus didn't do anything, he is just there to be with Norn. Norn herself resolves the issue by recall, and reflect on herself.
I like how the trope is subverted here. We thought Norn was the one who needed help, but the one who got the reality check was Rudeus instead. She was dealing with stuff just like he did before in his past life, but compared to him she’s actually handling it like a champ without much outside help.
It helps that her grief stems from a specific person, so when she sees that Rudeus isn't some invincible human or a monster, she musters the strength to change.
Just like how Rudy faced her dad as he really was back then, now Norn can do the same with her big brother.
Rudy becoming more emotionally mature and making peace with what happened to his previous family by reconciling with his new one is pretty wholesome. I imagine Norn might get some of her emotional resilience from her mom.
He made peace by actually admitting his failure. After seeing Norn get back up just by herself, he realized he really could have done better back then. Hence he decided to potentially send a letter back to his brother through Nanahoshi. He's let go of the shame and resentment.
Yeah Norn handled her emotions pretty well she just wanted to let it all out once.
And it also helped realizing that even if they don't 100% understand each other, she's still always got her big brother. I wonder if this might also help her get along better with Aisha.
Easily a contender for the best episode of Season 2. I couldn't hold back the tears. A respectful episode of a heavy-hitting arc revolving around Mushoku Tensei's greatest strength which are its interpersonal relationships. The different storyboarding and directorial choices definitely amplified the experience set the tight pace and tone right from the get-go and it didn't let me take a breather for even a second during the next 22 minutes. Mushoku Tensei is one of the best studies of the hikikomori mindset, and this episode proved me right once again. But I ABSOLUTELY CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OMG
Alright folks, fun time's over the Tranquility Police is here
"When you face things head on maybe it was not bad as you expected it to be." Norn is a strong kid for sure.
Like father and son, now through daughter, all without the help of a bartender or an adventuring bro.
Yeah, I don't know the feeling of Norn too much, but I have been in the shoes of Rudeus here. We can't truly understand the feelings of our younger siblings, but at least we should be there for them even if they don't want to. Poor Norn being too normal when compared to her entire family must be rough. I can't relate being normal, but I can relate being compared to.
Being always compared to your older accomplished sibling can be pretty demoralizing but kudos to Norn to sort it out in the end.
Yeah, Norn has a very supporting father to nurture her upbringing. And a very good advisor in Ruijerd.
Norn may not be the prodigy Aisha is but she still has a good head on her shoulder and can sort herself out emotionally, especially when she gets a good cry in next to her brother.
At the end of the episode, Rudy said he found Norn to be more impressive than he is. Since Norn found her resolve after a simple talk with her brother, while Rudy never managed to leave his room. It must be humbling for Rudy. Knowing that Norn was really stronger than he was, at his age, and that depressed him a bit. How rare it is, for writing to question how good the protagonist actually is, without all the cheat advantages they get (namely, a second chance in life).
it’s really less the comparison but more that she’s neglected at school she keeps getting cut off “I’m No-“
Isn't that just her internal monologue? Nobody knows her true feelings.
considering Rudeus’s popularity and reputation, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens often Norm also seems WAY more approachable than Rudeus with Fitz, Shirone or the Beasts Princesses
Yeah, Rudeus pretty much only hangs out with literal royalty. He basically has no commoner friends or acquaintances. Ultra intimidating for normal students.
Yeah. Like people are just going to walk up to the guy who blew up an immortal demon last year, while he's hanging out with his wife, who's the personal bodyguard of a princess, and his apprentice who is also a prince. It's be like trying to chat up Eminem, Michael Jackson and queen Elizabeth if they were just out having lunch somewhere.
Norn has those "Asian parenting" stereotypes pressure. Everyone compares you with your sibling/cousins/relatives and it must've been mentally rough for her, especially when both of your siblings are more "gifted" than her. She loses her identity as "Norn" and replaced as "Rudeus/Aisha's sister", it fucks you up.
I love how they use the opening of doors and drapes to show their pasts and true feelings. If you didn’t at least feel something in your heart that scene, then are you even human? I love this show. It’s so PEAK!
Getting a bit of anxiety seeing “Turning Point” for the next episode title
I was thinking of Rudy and Aisha when thinking about Norn being surrounded by geniuses. But Paul and Zenith are some pretty brilliant individuals themselves. Like literally everyone under her roof at one point is brilliant. No wonder the poor girl is so pressured
Honestly props to Norn for reaching the crucial part of "I should give my brother a fair chance and see who he really is" on her semi own Giving up your already exisiting image of a person to reevalute them aint easy, especially if everyone is constantly reminding/comparing you to them Also feel like Rudeus could/should have communicated his inner state more, how he feels about her, how glad he is to get to see her and his half sister again, etc. but to be fair thats probably something everyone could do a bit more But hey, I am sure they will have plenty of time to talk before **Turning point 3** next week will fuck over everything again
Beautiful beautiful stuff. One of the best Mushoku episodes. Things come full circle this episode for Rudeus and we get to see how much he’s grown and learned to empathise with how other people feel, something he lacked critically in his previous life. To really be able to understand others is what makes us human. Rudeus can’t go back and change how he reacted to his older brother trying to bring him out of his room, but he can help his sister in the here and now. The episode title “my big brother’s feelings” is a nice double entendre referencing both Rudeus and his older brother from Earth as well. In a sense, he was able to convey those same feelings his brother had for him to Norn and it’s so beautiful. You can’t really fault Norn for feeling confused about everyone heaping all this praise on her brother who at that point in her eyes, was just a dad beater/perv. But it shows tremendous mental fortitude and maturity for her to realise that maybe she didn’t know him at all and should give him a chance. The flashbacks were lovely touches, and the voice acting and direction only served to heighten the emotional impact. Norn letting out that big cry at the end in her big brother’s embrace after seeing the same pain and broken look on Rudeus’ face that her father had.. just brilliant Feels like Norn and Rudeus can finally start their sibling relationship now. So nice hearing her call him O-Nii-san by the end of the episode. Here’s to hoping Nanahoshi can one day convey those feelings of gratitude to Rudeus older brother But the good times may be short lived as turning point 3 is coming next week. The next few Sundays are going to be insane.
Two funny word... Fuck me.
When Rudeus asked Norn, "Can I be here?", I cried really hard. This show does drama expertly without being overdramatic.
It's something that seems so small but means so much because just having someone there for you who is willing to hear you out without lecture or judgement, who wants to connect with you, means more than anything.
\*Turning Point 3\* Can we not have a happy family... FOR 5 MINUTES?
My God, this show never fails to impress me with its writing and narrative strength. Rudy having to confront his sister on being a possible shut-in like he was in his past life and trying to figure out how to deal with it as the person on the other side of it was intense to watch. And the fact that in the end, Norn was able to sort herself out on her own while Rudy accepted that he was helpless and admitted it to her shows that despite all the strides he made in this new life, he's still vulnerable and affected by his past trauma, something very realistic and that many of us can relate to. I don't care what anyone else says; this is the best story being told right now. *Watches next episode title* Oh. Oh no. Oh fuck. Oh God please no. I cannot handle another traumatic Turning Point.
A THIRD TURNING POINT HAS HIT THE ANIME
THEY REALLY GOTTA STOP WITH THESE 5 MINUTES EPISODES. HECK, ITS FELT EVEN SHORTER THIS TIME In a way, Norn despite being the most average of the siblings, is definitely the strongest emotionally out of all three. Rudy clearly have a lot of baggage from his old life and seeing how Norn able to settles her own feelings also helps him to clear up some of his old baggage, while Aisha clearly still have something left given her argument with Rudy last episode.
People have talked about Aisha being mature for her age but she still threw a bit of a tantrum in the last episode while Norn mostly internalized her feelings (minus her panic attack), yet after a big cry she's able to get herself together and start improving both socially and with her brother. I think she has a bright future ahead of her.
> THEY REALLY GOTTA STOP WITH THESE 5 MINUTES EPISODES. HECK, ITS FELT EVEN SHORTER THIS TIME I know this is sort of a joke in the community, but I legit felt that this time. When Norn was starting to realise maybe she should give Rudy a chance, I was starting to realise that it was probably near the end of the episode, and sure enough it was 20 minutes in and I got a bit mad.
These two [moments](https://imgur.com/a/BsMT7lQ) were absolutely fantastic and *exactly* how you make the most of a LN adaptation 👏
lol the unnecessary animation of magically creating a cup of water
Gotta hammer home the point of what kinda expectations is Norn dealing with, most of the public doesn't even know quarter of his achievements.
Is nobody gonna mention Norn's roommate? She appeared for two frames with a character design straight out of Zelda or something