Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (無職転生 〜異世界行ったら本気だす〜, Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu) is a 2021 television anime series based on Rifujin na Magonote’s light novel series of the same name. The adaptation is directed and written by Manabu Okamoto and produced by studio Bind. Staff credits also include music composed by Yoshiaki Fujisawa. The series first aired in Japan on January 2021 followed by its second cour in October 2021.
Note: This unboxing has been updated on 6th January 2024 to include the UK Part 2 Blu-ray release.
Background:
“When a 34-year-old underachiever gets run over by a truck, his story doesn’t end there. Reincarnated as an infant, Rudy will use newfound courage, friends, and magical abilities to embark on an epic adventure!”
Plot Synopsis via Crunchyroll UK, December 2022.
After tons of isekai adaptations, we finally get to Mushoku Tensei which many consider to be the one that started the modern isekai craze, especially the idea of being reincarnated to another world. It’s a light novel series that still includes the over-powered protagonist and harem fantasy elements, but this series is different in tone as well – there’s a lot of story plot points that you wouldn’t normally see in other anime and in fact the web novel where the series originated from was apparently much darker and more messed up compared to the light novel, manga and anime.
Mushoku Tensei‘s anime does retain a lot of what the light novel covered in tone, so the fanservice is there throughout and there’s actual sex scenes which are normally trimmed or toned down drastically when anime is adapted. That said, what makes the series known for its tone and why a lot of people don’t want to read/watch the story is because of Rudy, the main protagonist and his background.
Before being isekai’d, Rudy is shown as a disgusting individual and one who was also humiliated and bullied throughout his life. When he’s brought into the new world, he’s reborn as a baby but still retains his adult perverted behaviour. That said, what does make the series shine for me is how he grows as a person throughout, because Mushoku Tensei is all about his life from beginning to end, so you see Rudy as a baby first then a few episodes later he’s now a young child. The light novel has tons of volumes and we will eventually see him as a teenager and adult which the anime will cover over time.
Studio Bind is also a studio that was basically formed to adapt the entirety of the Mushoku Tensei story, and while they’re adapting a different series for Winter 2023, they are going to work on a second season for this isekai title. The quality of the animation is really good so hopefully they keep it going into the new season.
Funimation picked up the license for simulcast and home video so they also provided an English dub, but this was also one of the last titles under the Funimation name before Crunchyroll became the main focus for Sony’s approach on anime going forward, so when it was released on home video the Crunchyroll logo was used instead. For the UK there were some concerns about whether it would be released uncut because Mushoku Tensei pushes the questionable content further than any other anime, and so far Part 1 which covers episodes 1-11 (the first cour of the season) passed certification without issue and only two episodes were rated 18. UPDATE: The entire first season passed without issue with the second half receiving a 15.
Limited Edition Contents:
Considering the massive reception Mushoku Tensei had received during broadcast, and the fact that it’s an isekai, it’s no real surprise that Crunchyroll would provide a limited edition release. Now I have gone for the UK version which is almost identical in design. The Part 1 release had no differing artwork though Part 2 does so the artwork on the slipcase will be lost when that gets released (and there’s also characters featured on the discs which will also be lost for Part 2 due to the format split). I decided to stick with the UK version for cost reasons, though despite losing the slipcase and main artwork the spine is reasonably consistent on the shelf so that’s not too bad.
The Part 1 limited-edition box set features a rigid box that houses a Amaray case as well as a 64-page artbook and a cardboard box featuring 4 art cards, and a fabric poster. Both the standard and limited edition share the same artwork. The booklet includes character designs, interviews and illustrations.
The artwork is free of any information and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Funimation limited edition releases.
The SRP for the limited-edition set was £74.99 (the North American release was $84.98), and there’s no exact unit count. I acquired the limited-edition release from Amazon UK as the price was cheaper than MVM’s Anime-on-Line and United Publications (£51.99). Standard edition release is available for Part 1.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with Amaray packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification
- 64-page Artbook
- 4 Art Cards
- Fabric Poster
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Crunchyroll UK
Released: 26th December 2022 (Part 1), 27th March 2023 (Part 2)
The limited edition release for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 1 Part 1 contains episodes 1-11 across two Blu-ray discs and two DVD discs, with the encode and authoring done by Crunchyroll’s US branch.
Audio options include Japanese audio with English subtitles and the Funimation English dub. The white subtitles are locked during Blu-ray playback and the disc regions are playable on A & B for Blu-ray, and 1, 2 & 4 for DVD in NTSC format.
The regular Blu-ray release for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 1 Part 2 contains episodes 12-23 and its OVA across two Blu-rays, also with the encode and authoring done by Crunchyroll’s US branch. Audio options include Japanese audio with English subtitles and the Funimation English dub. The white subtitles are locked during playback and the disc regions are playable on A & B for Blu-ray.
Worth mentioning that Mushoku Tensei has a few alternate scenes for its Japanese Blu-ray release, which is the same master that Crunchyroll has used for their home video releases. It’s nothing integral but it does provide some more fanservice.
Blu-ray Specs (Parts 1 & 2):
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | Yes |
| Discs | Part 1: 2 BD-50s Part 2: 2 BD-50s |
DVD Specs (Part 1):
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | 1 2 4 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Part 1 Disc 2:
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – Voice Actor Q&A
- Promo Videos
- Commercials
- Textless Opening Song “The Traveler’s Song (Tabibito no Uta)”
- Textless Opening Song “The Awakening Song (Mezame no Uta)”
- Textless Closing Song “Only”
Part 2 Disc 2:
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Part 2 – Dub Cast Panel
- Promo Videos
- Commercials
- Textless Closing Song “The Way to Go With the Wind (Kaze to Iku Michi)”
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
No extras across all discs
Unboxing Photos:
Part 1:
Part 2:
Final Notes:
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 1 is available to purchase on Blu-ray & DVD by Crunchyroll in the UK & Ireland. Both part releases can be bought through different retailers including Amazon UK (Part 1 limited edition, Part 1 standard, Part 2), AllTheAnime Store (Part 1 limited edition, Part 1 standard, Part 2) and Anime-on-Line (Part 1 limited edition, Part 1 standard, Part 2). United Publication did have stock but have discontinued home video product sales as of the end of 2023.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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