There are already plenty of experienced people trying to save Zenith. So, it's a question of whether Rudeus being there would be more valuable than Rudeus being right where he is now. As we saw, he actually really wants to go. His heart tells him to go. But you are forgetting we have already seen what kind of world it is. How much he and Eris struggled and went through to get back, yet Eris's beloved city lord grandpa was executed for something totally out of his control, and her parents died out there. It's that kind of world. Even if Rudeus is right next to Sylphy and the yet unborn child, he has no guarantees he could keep them safe. But if he's away, he has even less control, plus he might find himself facing the same kind of homecoming he witnessed Eris experience.
That's cute. Except that everything you say actually supports my point. His wife and siblings are in a pretty safe environment, with no actual enemies, surrounded by "civilization", allies and with a relatively high living standard. His mother, on the other hand, is effectively in an (mostly) unknown situation, in the middle of a continent with a pretty hostile environment, and most likely trapped in a labyrinth with who knows what happening to her. She could be living in paradise, or getting tortured everyday. Who knows? MC certainly doesn't seem to know. Or even care, apparently. A passing thought of worry is hardly what I would call a strong level of attachment.
So, riddle me this. Considering all that and, as you ki~ndly pointed out, the dangerous shitty world they live in, who is in more need of asistance? The people at Ranoa, or his mother?
As for being plenty of experienced people already there, what do you mean plenty? There are four: Paul, Roxy, Talhand and Geese (Lilia doesn't count because she can't fight for shit). So? How is that any guarantee that they can push through whatever obstacles in their way? As you nicely pointed out, that world is incredibly hazardous and you don't know what kind of dangers you can find in (essentialy) "the wild". Simply assuming that they are strong/skilled enough to just solve the problem by themselves with no actual details on Zenith's situation is just stupid, no matter how you look at it.
Man-God, as super suspicious as he is, has actually helped Rudeus aplenty. He can't completely dismiss the thing. In fact Rudeus can be fairly certain the Man-God is helping him, though the help might not be the path Rudeus himself would have chosen, had he known everything beforehand. But at least the Man-God hasn't been doing anything that would directly hurt him and nothing else, that I can remember.
Riiight. Except not really. Instead of helping, what he has done is
giving instructions, and vague ones at that, that happened to be sometimes helpful to MC. Unfortunately, this is one of those instances that MC is being forced to be stupid for the sake of plot. He never questions why this shifty guy is giving questionable guidance. There's no reason to assume he has good intentions, and yet MC ends up following what said shifty guy tells him to do and subconciously trusting that guy's word. A level of naivety more fitting for a child than an adult, yet MC is actually around 50 y/o (could have fooled me).
Not even once does he stop to question why this guy, who can seemingly see the future, is guiding his life to a certain path. He never wonders why Orsted automatically treated him (MC) as an enemy (and almost killed him, sparing him only on a whim thanks to Nanahoshi) the moment he suspected MC had a connection to Man God (such an awkward fucking name, I swear). MC's overall level of introspection is seemingly almost nonexistent, something that I suspect is intentionally done by the author to drive the plot he had conjured out of his armpit (and to craft his ever-so-precious
retarded "flawed" MC).
It doesn't change the fact Zanoba is a person who's mainly interested in his own hobbies and desires, and little else. He wasn't in a habit of considering how his behavior, choices, or powers affected others. He most certainly is not the right person to judge whether Rudeus should be doing with his own growing family vs his parental issues. Zanoba would still crack anyone's skull if he deems they are standing in his way. He has hardly any contact with his parents or siblings, and Zanoba marrying someone seems quite unlikely.
Yeah, he is someone mainly interested in his own hobbies, AND he is immensely respectful and obedient to MC. Did you somehow fail to notice that, or are you pretending not to for the sake of your own "argument"? If MC asked him to do his best to protect his family, he most certainly fucking would. He
literally offered to in this chapter.
The manga didn't do a good job portraying him imo, but in the novel
he explains that, from his point of view, a father isn't actually required for a baby to be born. Drawing on his education and experiences as royalty, he determined that, as long as the mother has all her needs taken care of and the support and safety necessary for the birth is provided, a king doesn't need to be present for the birth. Needless to say, this applies regardless of someone being a king or not. <- It's not
really a spoiler, but I'm hiding it just in case, since it's from the novel.
As for the skull cracking, he did have some questionable moments ranging from actual violence to just a threat. He is a bit of a nutcase, no real mistery there. The important thing is that, given the way he treats MC, he would never do anything that would put MC's family in danger. He is borderline fanatical when it comes to his master.
And the contact with his family and marriage prospects, I really don't get what you are trying to say there. He is a prince from a royal family in a fairly stereotypical medieval setting. Him being all kumbaya with his family would be actually out of the norm anyways.
This is isekai. All isekai fantasy is trash literature. It's escapism writing going where the fence is the lowest. That's pretty much its only point. However, you can still view it with a relative eye when comparing Isekai Series A with Isekai Series B-Z. In that group, Mushoku Tensei is pretty well placed.
There's no reason why an "isekai" story
has to be trash. You are just generalizing. And rating Mushoku Tensei in comparison to the lowest common denominator isn't really doing you any favors. Saying that something is better than garbage isn't that much of a compliment, I'll have you know.
Now that I've said my piece, honestly, I'm not going to bother anymore with this thread. I've already spent way too much time explaining my thoughts to hopefully aid the people most in need among us.
That is, those suffering from what I call MBS (or Mushoku Brainrot Syndrome). Poor lambs, lost in the wild, not knowing the way back. Back from brain death.
So, I'll call it a day. Or forever, actually. This is starting to become a waste of time for me. Got better things to do. I hope you all fare well.
