Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 Episode 13, titled “The Diary,” aired on September 20, 2026, and delivered the most painful episode in the series so far. The episode shows the full contents of the diary left behind by Old Rudeus, the time-traveling version of the protagonist who appeared in Episode 12. What unfolds is a chain of tragedies that destroys everything Rudeus loves, triggered by one simple action he was told to take by the Man-God.
The episode has become the highest-rated in the entire franchise on IMDb with a 9.8 score, and even the original author Rifujin na Magonote admitted on social media that he bought strong alcohol to get through watching it.
How the Tragedy Begins
The episode opens in Old Rudeus’s timeline with dead animals appearing around his home. His sister Aisha reports a strange dead rat behind the house . Soon after, Roxy collapses and is diagnosed with Magic Stone Disease, a terminal illness that slowly turns the body into magical stone.
Rudeus learns that a sacred text in the Millis Holy Country contains a detoxification spell that could save her. He travels there with Cliff and Zanoba. The group obtains the text, but on their journey back, they are ambushed. Cliff is mortally wounded, and Rudeus kills a person for the first time in his life .
When Rudeus finally returns home, Roxy has already died. The cure arrived too late .
Rudeus Falls Apart
The loss of Roxy sends Old Rudeus into a downward spiral. He turns to alcohol and prostitutes instead of facing his grief . Sylphie catches him with another woman and confronts him with the words, “Why can’t it be me?” before leaving the house with their daughter Lucy .
Sylphie later joins Ariel in the Asura Kingdom to help with her succession dispute. The political struggle fails, and Sylphie is captured and executed. Rudeus arrives too late to save her .
Years pass. Nanahoshi, who had been trying to return to her original world, takes her own life after repeated failures . Rudeus pushes away everyone who remains. Aisha eventually leaves as well .
Hitogami’s Cruel Confession
The Man-God appears before Old Rudeus and reveals the truth. The being admits that he orchestrated everything. By asking Rudeus to check the basement, he released a diseased rat that infected Roxy. Hitogami tells Rudeus, “Thanks to you, I managed to kill Roxy. She was pregnant, you know” .
“Although Hitogami later admitted to what he did, Rudeus understood that not everything could be blamed on Hitogami (he himself caused part of the tragedy). Human nature has its dark side, and the beauty lies in how we try to hide that side and work to show our light.” — Rifujin na Magonote, original author
Eris’s Final Act
Old Rudeus dedicates his remaining years to finding a way to kill Hitogami. He tracks down Eris, who had been training in the Sword Sanctum, but she remains silent when he questions her .
Rudeus eventually confronts the immortal being Atoufe for information. He is caught off guard during the fight, and Eris steps in to shield him, sacrificing her life . A character named Girenu later tells Rudeus, “She just wanted to be by your side” .
After losing everyone, Old Rudeus uses time-travel magic to return to the past. He leaves his younger self three instructions: “Consult Nanahoshi. Send a letter to Eris. Suspect Hitogami, but do not oppose him” .
What the Diary Changes
The episode is not just a flashback. It shows viewers the worst possible path Rudeus could have taken, one where he ignored the Man-God’s advice. The current Rudeus has already avoided some of these fates because Old Rudeus came back to warn him. Roxy survived her illness in the current timeline. But the threat of Hitogami remains .
The author explained why the episode was placed after Episode 12 instead of before it. He said swapping the order would make the story feel like a simple “redo” that erases the value of Old Rudeus’s painful life. The point is not that the failed timeline was meaningless, but that even failure shapes who Rudeus becomes .
How Fans and Critics Reacted
Fan reactions ranged from heartbreak to admiration for the adaptation. Comments on social media included:
“This is the hardest I’ve ever watched an anime.”
“I thought my heart was going to collapse.”
“Thank you for animating this.”
The episode received a 9.8 rating on IMDb, the highest single-episode score in the franchise’s history . Japanese viewers flooded message boards with reactions expressing shock at the faithful adaptation of the diary’s contents .
Not every review was positive. But Why Tho? gave the episode a 2.5/10, calling it “trauma porn” that tells rather than shows the tragedy, arguing that the speed of Rudeus’s downfall weakens the emotional impact.
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Where to Watch
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3 streams on Crunchyroll for international audiences. The Japanese broadcast airs on TOKYO MX and BS11 on Sundays at 24:00 JST (effectively Monday at midnight), with streaming on ABEMA and d Anime Store at the same time . The English dub runs two weeks behind the subtitled version, with the dub for Episode 13 scheduled for October 12, 2026 .
The season is confirmed for 14 episodes, with Episode 14 scheduled to air on September 28, 2026 .
Also Read: Mushoku Tensei Season 3 Episode 13 “The Diary” Streaming Times for Every Major Time Zone
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