r/IsekaiQuartet

I started wondering about this after wanting to see the alternate-universe Subarus interacting with other Isekai characters... (I keep seeing fan art of the white-haired Subaru asking other Isekai protagonists about his other selves). But then I asked myself: in what context could they meet, aside from a theater setting where everyone watches each other's lives unfold? (If you see one protagonist, you'd have to see them all). Well, maybe an alternate-dimension school where they all attend... The thing is, as far as I know, other Isekai series don't have many—or perhaps any—alternate storylines (maybe they do, but I haven't read them); I only know of a few for *Konosuba* and *The Rising of the Shield Hero*. So, considering all that, if there were a class featuring the alternate realities from each series, which ones would you like to see included, and why? I'm referring specifically to the alternate versions.

Would be fun

The Rudeus debate usually begins and ends with: "He's a 34-year-old man in a kid's body."

Technically, that's true. But I think people picture a normal 34-year-old — someone with friends, relationships, a job, actual life experience. That was never Rudeus. He got broken at 15, shut himself away, and stayed socially stuck there for twenty years.

That doesn't excuse what he does. Some of it is genuinely indefensible. But what makes defending him feel so wrong to me is that Mushoku Tensei keeps softening his worst moments without ever actually making him look like a good person. The story tries to make him "not the bad guy" — but it never tries to make him a good one either. So fans end up building a defense that the story itself never wrote.

I recently started a small YouTube channel making anime video essays, and this is the first time I'm sharing one here. I made a full breakdown on this topic covering:

• Why the "34-year-old man" argument is more complicated than people think
• How Rudeus treats this world like a game until Paul calls him out
• What is and isn't defensible in his relationships with Roxy, Sylphy, and Eris
• Where I think the author failed with the Eris situation
• Why the ED arc feels like the story trying to atone — and doing a bad job of it
• Why I think we can love the show without needing to defend Rudeus

Here's the video if you're interested:
https://youtu.be/LskXVRuXp-I

Genuinely curious how you guys feel about Rudeus and the way the show handles him. And since I'm still new to this — any feedback on the video itself is welcome too.