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Season 3 of Mushoku Tensei proves anime's most controversial fantasy hasn't lost its magic

14 0
10.07.2026

[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation season 3.]

Season 3 of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation opens with Eris, one of the show's female co-protagonists, reminding audiences that she and Rudeus, the reincarnated protagonist of this isekai, who also happens to be her second cousin, had sex when they were 15. (For context, Rudeus has the mind of a 30-year-old.) Shortly after, we see Eris embarking on a journey with her master, Ghislaine, a beast-folk woman whose look and outfit are the culmination of the wet dreams of pubescent, fantasy-obsessed boys around the world.

Things like this make it hard to recommend Jobless Reincarnation to anime fans. And yet, I would have a hard time not including the series among my top three fantasy (not just isekai) anime of all time. That’s the problem with Mushoku Tensei: despite all its controversies, it’s just that good.

Based on the light novel series written by Rifujin na Magonote and illustrated by Shirotaka, the anime produced by Studio Bind tells the story of an unnamed 34-year-old Japanese NEET who dies and is reincarnated in a fantasy world as Rudeus Greyrat, the son of two former adventurers. Rudeus retains the memories of his previous life, but unlike in most isekai, these don’t........

© Polygon