Controversial Crunchyroll Isekai Drops Time Travel Bombshell Before Finale & It Changes Everything

A controversial Isekai anime franchise now streaming with Crunchyroll has just dropped a time travel bombshell with its newest episode, and it’s changing everything for the anime right ahead of its Season 3 finale. It’s been a strong Summer for new Isekai anime releases as there have not only been some fun new Isekai that fans wanted to see, but some of the biggest franchises have returned for new episodes. But the one that fans were most curious to see has reached a surprising turning point ahead of its finale.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 is quickly reaching its finale for the Summer, and with it has really through Rudeus for a loop that even fans didn’t even see coming. Fans have seen the magic of this world reincarnate, bring other people from different worlds, teleport a massive group across great distances, and now it’s been revealed that time travel is possible too. And Rudeus’ older self has come back to the past to warn him about his greatest villain yet.

Mushoku Tensei Season 3 Introduces Time Travel Twist With Old Rudeus

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 Episode 12 picks up from that notable cliffhanger seen in the previous episode that saw Rudeus suddenly coming across an old man sitting in his room. This old man knew Rudeus’ name from his previous life, and it’s explained in this latest episode that this old man was actually an older version of Rudeus himself. Coming from a timeline where one terrible thing has happened after another, this version of Rudeus had studied his magic to the point where it was capable of bringing him back in time to warn his younger self.

It’s to reveal that the Man-God, who brought Rudeus to this new world in the first place, is actually a villain that Rudeus needs to keep an eye out for. Old Rudeus (voiced by Tomokazu Sugita) explains that Man-God’s plans had ended up in the death of Roxy, Sylphie, and eventually even Eris and Nanahoshi through the course of his terrible life. Wanting to warn Rudeus to avoid this fate, Old Rudeus tells him to do three things: ask Nanahoshi for advice, write a letter to Eris, and be wary of the Man-God but not antagonize him.

What Does This Mean for Mushoku Tensei’s Future?

This was such a bombshell for Rudeus to take in that he himself does not know what he’s supposed to do moving forward. Knowing that Old Rudeus coming back to the past changed his current timeline, he also doesn’t know what to do about Man-God moving forward. He discovers that Old Rudeus was telling the truth about a diseased rat that would lead to Roxy’s death, and is set to ready a diary his older self left behind to see what kind of terrible future will come to pass.

Just knowing this future is enough to change it, but Rudeus won’t be able to perfectly manage the future. This puts Man-God in an entirely different kind of position, and thus does make him ultimately the final villain that Rudeus may need to eventually face when it’s all said and done. We’ll just have to wait and see if the anime ever gets there. It might be filled with all kinds of controversy, but its real story is kicking in now.

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