Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 1

Great read. Helps one appreciate the anime even more with more lore about the world richer insight into the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

First there is a reason this in considered one of the greats in the genre. I will talk about the entire series up to what has been released in English, I will also try not to spoil anything. First let's talk about the protagonist. At the start of the book, I hated him. In fact I disliked him to the point I stopped reading. Though if you can get over this horrible start, you'll find a character that also hates the way they started or ended. To become a better person he works to grow, his interactions with others do change him, in positive, and negative ways. Next up my favorite thing in this series, the side characters. Yeah they are amazing, and I enjoyed their interactions with the protagonist and how they force a reaction from him. They show the protagonist does not live in a bubble, that he is not some all knowing all powerful character. Lastly the world. This is where the series lacks in my opinion. Even though they describe the world and how people live in it, I just find it meh. There is no one location that stands out as unique. There are other worlds that build themselves as wonders, while in this series, everyone, seams to just be living there. So give it a read I promise it will be a fun journey.

There's morally gray areas, appropriate with the era of the setting the book takes place. But the key takeaways are great, and it's outlined clearly what's good, and what isn't. But that's not what makes it special. The world building, character development, is superb. The author , manages to get you to empathize with each and every one of the characters, and he tackles a hard topic. Mental health, but the author does so brilliantly. I won't go in detail, but the author understands it, and won't offend someone or hurt feelings because of it. The final epilogue left me emotional, it was so beautifully written.

I picked this up on a whim after sticking it on my wish list for a while prior to release, and was pleasantly surprised by it. The story basically covers the time just before he dies, through his death and rebirth, and then stages of his life up to age 7 in his new body with all his old memories. If I had to describe his last life, I would probably use terms like misguided and wasted, rather than useless or failure. It does appear he got a good head start in his new life in many ways, but I expect many obstacles both common and uncommon to get in his way as things progress. The way the story is told looks a little different than the some of the other books I've read of this nature, and isn't afraid to show the less savory aspects of humanity from peoples inner thoughts, to misunderstandings of situations. Occasionally the story will shift to do chapters in the perspective of other characters, which I found useful in adding depth to the environment of the story without being a mindless distraction. I'm adding it to my titles to look for in the future.

Mushoku Tensei is an interesting story about second chances. In his past life Rudy was a 35 year old shut in and basic incel with no social skills that missed his own parents funeral. He dies and is reborn as Rudeus Greyrat. What I like about this story over other isekai is that not only does Rudy have memories of his past life but along with that he has the same mental issues like his fear of going outside. He is still the person he was bur at the same time you can see him make efforts to be better, and even though he fails a lot, you cant help admire the work he puts in. Now as for any negatives, I only have one and thats how the adults don’t treat Rudy like a kid, we all know he is mentally 35 but the characters don’t. So when his father talks about how he chased women, from Rudy’s dad perspective he is telling this stuff to a 6 year old child and thats kind of messed up even if we know mentally Rudy is an adult. Still this was a minor thing. There are more issues specifically with Rudy’s dad that are problematic, but avoiding any spoilers. Thats it, I really recommend this series, my only caveat is I would say this is more a story for 17-23 year old range, there are things in here I wouldn’t want a 15 year old reading.

Can't wait to read what's in store. The context that wasn't added into the Anime or changed slightly makes character intentions make more sense and themselves fleshed out, especially Zenith.

I didn’t get the chance to watch the anime, so I got the LN instead. I’m pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. It seems well constructed to me. The story is about as basic as an Isekai could get, but it does these things exceptionally well. I think it’s because of the detail that goes into the protagonist’s training and the fact that you actually get to see him grow up in the new world. So yeah, it’s pretty good. Definitely more entertaining than I expected, given the context of the story. I’d recommend it.

Light novel translations are often written rather awkwardly, but this one was managed masterfully. Grammatical, idiomatic English that somehow still captures the author's Japanese tone? Yes please! Of course, there's no point to a good translation if the original work is subpar. Fortunately, Mushoku Tensei is charming, funny, and occasionally naughty. Having read this first volume, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the series. Fans of whimsical sword and sorcery tales will love this book. Highly recommended.

It's worth it

It arrived home in perfect conditions. I was surprised by how well it was even when its envelope wasn't too thicker. The book seem untouched and perfectly fine. I really liked it! Highly recommended!

I have read a lot of isekai stories. This story of a man who got reincarnated is funny. I surely shall read the next volumes. I can recommend this novel

This book is a solid translation of a very well written Japanese light novel that follows the plot of the web novel almost on point. Plot wise (spoilers alert even if minors): Jobless person reincarnates in a fantasy world as a child and strives to become a better person. Even if it sounds stupid and basic as a concept, the author writing and plot are amazing in which things that happened in volume 1 will affect volumes 7, 12 and 16; other than that, the plot is rational even if it includes typical anime quirks from time to time (overly sexual content due to MC being an open pervert from minute 1, and staying in character for the duration of the series). Changes from Web novel: The bigger changes were mostly toning down some sexualized content without actually deleting it, just basically trimming around the edges of the most eccentric stuff. Other changes were pacing and some content that was removed due to not being needed and even being boring and moving chapters around to set a better pace. English version: The adaptation includes swapping Japanese wording to a very accurate (even if at times a bit too informal) English market and the content is solid. Biggest sore point was first Lilia's chapter that was written in third person (as it was in the Light novel), while the rest of chapters that follow other people's Point of View are written in the first person (2nd Lilia's chapter, Zenith's and Paul's). It should have been consistent, but at least the redeemed themselves fixing the rest of the chapters (I believe Japanese LN was in third person mostly). Things to be Aware of: This series is a 24 Volume long + Extras one, so depending on Seven Seas, there could be future issues with releases, but at the time, there is a third volume scheduled for July, and this series is one of the best of the genre plot and character-wise so it shouldn't be a problem, just mentioning that it will take a while to finish and it will be a ton of volumes. Sexual themes: There will be some, and even be key points in the story due to relationships affecting the plot so I will say this series is at least PG-15/16 as there is no explicit content to be depicted, but wanted to mention it. Controversy: There are "grey themes" from time to time as this is more of a Seinen than a typical Shounen book, and the author had to even go back in the content of the book at certain points, so I will repeat the PG-15/16 theme for this series and for parents to be careful. I only got the digital copy, so I cannot speak for the printing quality.

If you can avoid any book published by "Seven Seas Entertainment", they love to censor stuff that shouldn't be touched. Novel itself is great(in it original version)