Mushoku Tensei: Why Rudeus' Redemption Arc Doesn't Work

 Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is apparently one of the more influential works in the isekai genre. It deconstructed many of the tropes that later became popular in the genre, while popularizing a few of its own(e.g. being reincarnated in another world after being hit by a truck). However, Rudeus' "redemption arc," in which he makes amends for the sins of his previous life, is one of the more poorly executed examples of that trope.

What Makes A Good Redemption Arc

I discussed this in my entry about Zuko's redemption arc, but I should go into the three basic elements that constitute a good redemption arc. Quite simply, like most character arcs, or any process of change, it involves three things- a starting point, a journey and a destination.

The starting point should ideally involve the character seeking redemption as a flawed but redeemable individual. In Zuko's case, while he became obsessed with capturing the Avatar to regain his honor, he did so under the mistaken belief that the Fire Nation's war against the rest of the world was the right thing to do. He was also a decent person at heart, since the incident that led to him being banished was speaking out to prevent some recruits from being sacrificed.

The journey should involve the character trying to improve, but struggling with their own failings. In Zuko's case, he gradually changes as a person, but is tempted by the desire to get back into his father's good graces, and so betrays Iroh and Aang at the end of Book 2.

The destination should have the character be changed for the better, but continue to struggle with their flaws. Zuko still struggles to do the right thing, but understands that the Fire Nation has always been in the wrong, and makes amends with those he wronged.

All three of those points are important in their own way. If the redeemed character is too unlikable from the start, the redemption process happens too quickly, or the protagonist doesn't seem to change at all in the end, the entire process seems unearned, and thus the redemption arc falls flat.

Rudeus' Old Life

The start of the first volume has Rudeus recount his old life in the real world. Since the author didn't bother to provide Rudeus' real name, or even give him a memorable sobriquet(e.g."The Monkey Girl" for Katarina Claes' previous life in "My Next Life As A Villainess"), I'll call him Taro Tanaka- basically the Japanese "John Doe."

Taro's life gets off to a reasonably good start, until he ends up neglecting his studies in middle school, resulting in him ending up in the worst high school in the district. Despite that, he arrogantly thought himself better than his new schoolmates, which included delinquents, until he mouthed off to an upperclassman who cut in line, resulting in him being beaten up and humiliated him.

Taro stopped going for school for a month, and confined himself to his room, thereby becoming a hikkikomori, or shut-in, in the process. Rather than try to overcome his trauma, he simply concludes that this is what anyone would do. His parents provide him with whatever he needs, from food to spending money, and he leeches off of them without showing the bare minimum of gratitude.

This goes on for 20 years, until Taro turns 34 and his parents die. Taro doesn't even go to his parents' funeral, instead opting to masturbate to child pornography. Taro's siblings, disgusted and outraged, beat him up, throw him out of the house and disown him. Resorting to violence is going too far, but it became clear to them long ago that Taro would never improve himself.

Taro recognizes that he probably has no hope of getting a job, but then ends up seeing some teenagers about to get hit by a truck, and sacrifices himself to save them. It's a noble sacrifice, but to the end, Taro never even tried to change during his old life.

Analysis

Now let's look at Taro's life to see why Rudeus' redemption arc falls flat..

A large part of the problem is the starting point- namely how Taro was a truly loathsome human being, almost comically so. In addition to being selfish, lazy and never taking responsibility for his actions, Taro lusts after underage children, an act that, along with rape and spousal abuse, is an easy way of making a character almost cartoonishly detestable. Unfortunately, the problem is that Rudeus is supposed to demonstrate that despite having been a bad person for most of his old life, he's not without redeeming characteristics, and saving some teenagers on an impulse doesn't outweigh all his bad deeds.

In all fairness, Rudeus does honestly strive to improve himself and make the most of his second chance, so the journey is decently well done (although Rudeus makes more progress in half a decade than Taro did in two decades). He is able to leave home with Roxy's help, whereas he never once left his house prior to being kicked out in his old life. While Taro leeched off his family in his old life without showing any appreciation whatsoever, Rudeus manages to convince his mother to forgive the family maid for seducing Rudeus's father Paul. He saves Sylvie from some bullies, with his trauma from his previous life giving him a hatred of their kind. He even gets a job as a tutor for Eris, an extremely uncooperative relative far from home, in order to earn Sylvie's tuition for magic school, and convinces Eris to learn dancing by pointing out that not everything is easy for him.

Unfortunately, Rudeus remains as perverted as ever in his new life, as one of his first actions is to grope his own mother(although he doesn't recognize her as such) and sniffing her and the family maid's underwear. His bad habits remain a a persistent part of his character, so he never changes the most loathsome aspect of his character, and it doesn't help that his perversion can't be excused by his trauma. As such, the destination part of the redemption arc is undermined by the fact that Rudeus doesn't improve at all as far as his perversion goes.

Lastly, in the end, Rudeus' opportunity for redemption comes when he is reborn as a magical prodigy in a new world, rather than trying to make things right in his old life, and his reincarnating with the mind of a 34-year-old and the growth potential of a child gives him advantages that he never possessed in his old life. As a result, his redemption comes off as unearned.

Conclusion

While Rudeus has flaws that he manages to overcome, he does so with relative ease, making his development less realistic and compelling than it would otherwise be. Worse, his perversion is treated as a harmless and comedic flaw, and he never tries to change himself in that regard. As a result, while he has changed for the better, he's still far from a good person, and his redemption arc falls flat.