That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Life can be harsh and I’m sure most of us think so in some way or another. The typical everyman at adult age works an 8-5 schedule on weekdays to make a living. Satoru Mikami is a very ordinary person until he gets reincarnated as a slime after being killed in a knife attack. As tragic as that sounds, it may not be a harsh life after all. Isn’t life just full of surprises? After being turned into a light novel, Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime) is one of the few isekai shows that I genuinely looked forwardto this year. While it subscribes to usual fantasy gimmicks, this show also does a unique job at entertaining the audience through its charismatic main lead, world fiction, and creative storytelling. I refer this show as more of a fantasy isekai, one that has a slime as the superstar. Can the isekai genre really have potential to be more than just what's on paper? It certainly could for some franchises. This show is one of them. Satoru is reborn as a slime and his role is crucial to everything around him. Taking on the alias “Rimuru”, he makes up for his appeal through a variety of personality traits: kind, witty, laidback, sarcastic, courageous, and among others. When you look at all these character personalities together, Rimuru can be very likable. In the early portion of the show, we see Rimuru’s charisma and being able to lead supernatural creatures without fear. He even gives names to his new friends while showing his compassion. Rimuru is built to be special in the show. This is established through his immense abilities (such his Predator skill), where viewers can easily point fingers at him for being overpowered. Indeed, this isn’t an overstatement. In most of his battles, they are more like curb stomp face offs where Rimuru dominates his opponents. From isekai shows in today’s world, overpowered characters aren’t uncommon. What actually sets Rimuru apart is his unnatural charisma and human behavior. The witty conversations and small talks he engages with others often makes his fights much entertaining than they should be. Even in serious conflicts, Rimuru finds time to make jokes while being strategic enough to formulate a plan. Now, that my friends, is setting a likeable isekai protagonist by example. Yet, this show can be a tearjerker at times too. The emotional context draws important value with a character named Shizu. After a titanic battle against a demon known as Ifrit, we learn about her past and Rimuru even inherits her will. Taking on her form, Rimuru realizes that he can’t save everyone regardless how powerful he is. It sets the path of his journey to keep promises such as being a mentor for younger kids. In the latter half of the show, Rimuru finds a group of children with magical potential and tries to lead them as a positive role model. Even as an isekai show established with such a powerful protagonist, its character cast shouldn’t be overlooked. We meet a variety of characters with colorful personalities during Rimuru’s adventures. Some of the most noticeable ones includes his allies such as Shion, Shuna, Gobuta, Benimaru, Ranga, and later on, the Demon Lord Millim. Through Rimuru’s character interactions, it’s easy to see how his charisma inspires others. Many of Rimuru’s followers shows great respect for him and similarly, he deeply cares about them. Even Millim, a Demon Lord with overwhelming powers, takes a liking to him as the two forms an unlikely alliance. Respect of course isn’t just demanded but earned. Thanks to Rimuru’s abilities, he manages to make alliances with the most unlikely races. Under Rimuru’s leadership, he even sets forth to build a new country with his allies. The central element of storytelling relies on Rimuru’s way of showing his will. He proves this throug his actions and words. Really, by the end of the show, I felt like I understood Rimuru far more than I originally anticipated. Despite my love for the show’s witty humor, colorful character cast, and storytelling, I should point out the anime still suffers from pitfalls. Fan service scenes with baths are common and Rimuru is still vulnerable to earthly desires in the fantasy world. In fact, I dare say the author made the monster girls as cute and sexy as possible. Millim and Shion are prime examples for their character designs. Just take a close look at them. Millim is pretty much half naked in her default outfit while Shion gives more of a mature lady vibe. Like most fantasy isekai, elves are characterized as desirable by males. This is shown early in the show when Rimuru encounters them and finds himself in brief moments of lust. While the storytelling has adequate development and carries an emotional weight, it’s hard to say that it’s great writing. In fact, many of Rimuru’s battles are extremely predictable even against the strongest of adversaries. In most of those fights, you should certainly expect Rimuru to be the winner. While the series also gives some of its supporting cast time to shine, most of the spotlight falls under our little slime-kun. Perhaps a bit too much... Finally, 8-bit is back. After years of mediocre light novel adaptations like Infinite Stratos and Knight’s & Magic, Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken’s sets a bar for being a marvelous example of world fiction. The magical world contains fruitful amount of content such as the various nations we see. Tempest is the most prominent one ruled by Rimuru. Located in the Jura Forest, it’s a prime example of a monster country filled with larger than life characters. Meanwhile, other locations such as Brumund Kingdom and Dwargon reminds me of the high fantasy elements of the isekai genre. While the visual quality can look a bit cartoonish at times, it remains vibrant, bright, and contains a fine degree of palette. It suits for this particular show with its lighthearted humor. The character designs are of course worth mentioning in the case of Rimuru, the Demon Lords, his monster allies, and the infamous Veldora Tempest. At times, I feel like the author really put his thought into making them look as otherwordly as possible. The battle choreography also delivers a visual direction of what isekai shows should be. Nothing too groundbreaking but being able to showcase what characters’ abilities can really do. You should definitely not expect a DBZ-level style of action quality but be prepared for some jawbreaking cinematography. Don’t you just wish life was simpler these days? Looking back at Rimuru’s adventure, I confess that I am a bit envious of his life. He is so carefree despite being an such a prominent figure in his world. Whether taking on the form of a slime, human, or Shizu, Rimuru makes everything look so easy. As such, watching this show felt like an easy way of passing time and enjoying what the author creator wanted us to experience. Now I wish life was easier.

Mikami Satoru’s (Rimuru Tempest’s) top search results: 1) Japanese Spooge-casters (newscasters) 2) AppleJack(ing) Off (My Little Pony Futa) 3) Slime Stuff (self-explanatory) 4) Grew Grew Cock fO`shO (spirit gun!)5) Legends of the Galactic Queero’s (starring Yang in the putang — otherwise known as Reinhard’s vagina) But enough giggles for one afternoon, what do these words bring to mind? Squishy. Amorphous. Pliable. Flaccid. No. This is not an explanation of Rimuru “The Slime” Tempest’s appearance — or a Donkey Kong dong Shlong — rather, it’s a succinct description of That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime’s (henceforth, will be referred to as just “Slime”) unstructured plot and the easily influenced cast of characters. Now before the various facets of the show in question are taken apart to illuminate its numerous failures, one must give credit where credit is due. For Mikami Satoru (Rimuru Tempest) to have the wherewithal to instruct his friend to destroy his hard drive — due to the massive amounts of downloaded pornography, allegedly — in the midst of his final moments on earth, was nothing short of being hilarious and befitting of the modern day virgin. But as well-timed as this joke was, it bamboozled the viewer into thinking that Slime’s story would entail more adult-oriented humor, instead of a puerile adventure about freeing a dragon (Veldora) from an Endless Prison. Besides this subterfuge, Slime grants Rimuru with — no exaggeration — the most ridiculously over-powered “cheat code” in the existence of Isekai. Although, at first, Rimuru is perceived as a relatively weak, helpless being, his ability to absorb literally anything to amass new skills is ridiculously “broken.” Furthermore, Rimuru can alter his appearance on demand and can later combine different abilities to forge new, stronger spells/attacks. Plus he can create potions for healing, various weapons for killing, and manipulate time itself. Still, though. This does little justice to the wide array of skills he displays throughout the series. Literally, if you can think of it, Rimuru either possesses it or can ascertain it through his absorptive powers. “Why is this a problem, though?” People, typically, can not acquire new skills on the drop of a dime. It takes time and a great deal of dedication. Take Naruto, for example. Even though humans will never produce a Rasengan in their life (a terrible pity), they can empathize with Naruto’s hard work and determination in mastering the difficult, new skill. Rimuru, on the other hand, appropriates spells/powers rather effortlessly, making his “arduous” journey difficult to empathize with. To put it another way: imagine the smartest person you knew growing up, and how effortlessly they achieved straight “A’s.” Their accomplishments seem watered down because they are expected given their superior intelligence, rather than achieved through rigorous persistence. This is the same dilemma the viewer is faced with when watching Slime. Rimuru, to the detriment of the series, is too perfect and no task seems formidable enough to properly challenge him. Furthermore, as far as characterization goes, Rimuru is as bland as oatmeal without milk (that’s right, dry out of the bag mother f—ker’s). He presumably lived 37 years as a human, but routinely acts like a child — especially in the presence of voluptuous women. Due to him possessing incredible powers, having an altruistic mindset, and not having any discernible personality (besides being a kind individual), he immediately evoked comparisons to the Gary Stu complex. Which hits the nail right on the head! What’s worse, is that Rimuru — the focal point of Slime — experienced diminutive growth/development throughout the course of the series. He is the veritable vanilla protagonist in this metaphorical Slime sundae (ewww!) that was so sorely missing in delicious toppings (what am I talking about?). The remaining cast of characters, woefully, failed to elicit any fond memories, as the writing staff seemed more concerned about character quantity, rather than quality. Essentially, each character get’s their five minutes of “useful” screen time, and then they are effectively disregarded to clear the way for even more characters. Besides Shizue Izawa — who had a mildly interesting backstory — every character is easily forgettable, becoming a distant memory after the end of each episode. Until they come back in another episode and you’re like, “oh, they still exist?” In terms of the plot, it proceeded like clockwork. Various problems occurred to create “tension,” but no situation felt insurmountable. Rimuru, per the hero obligation, spouted useless, uninspiring lines, such as: “If I don’t don’t kill him now, it really will be a disaster,” to substantiate the stigma of the boring, invincible hero archetype. It also perpetuated the overall laziness of modern day anime writers. Their inability to craft new, interesting stories and layered characters — with a semblance of authenticity — demonstrate their lack of ambition and willingness to take bold risks. Slime is an anemic mimicry that never breaks free from its own constraints, hamstringing its potential to inspire excitement and joy in the viewing audience. Instead of a “hot mess,” Slime is just a mess. A wet, goopy mess.

When was the last time a light novel adaptation or isekai tried to be straightforward? Nothing fancy, nothing repetitive or self-indulgent, just simple. With the likes of Re:Zero, Akashic Records, Overlord, and Mahouka, it’s become harder and harder to find an LN or isekai show that just wants to entertain (parodies like Konosuba don't count cuz fuck you). Even many of the “simpler”, “safer” anime like The Asterisk War and Isekai wa Smartphone fail to realize that we just want something simple and satisfying. That’s probably why Slime is as popular as it is. It just wants to entertain us with a fun, digestible isekaiworld for an adorable protagonist to build in and explore. Not to mention, it does so with some decent visuals, good music, and the sense of whimsey you’d expect from a show about being in a game-like world. That’s not to say the show never gets violent, that it never indulges in typical LN and isekai cliches, or even that it’s a good show. It’s just that Slime values entertainment above all else, never overindulging to the point of stupidity or alienation. Frankly, this is the first isekai in years to not suck. Slime’s visuals are honestly strange. It doesn’t really feel like it was made in 2018 or 2019. Something about this odd and inconsistent art style doesn’t feel like something you’d see nowadays. While the art style certainly feels unorthodox, a lot of the facial expressions are priceless and adorable as a result, particularly with Rimuru’s slime form. The sheer liveliness of some of the environments trumps even the likes of No Game No Life, which is arguably the most visually stunning isekai on the market. The show often experiments with different styles, like swapping between anime and photorealistic footage when getting us acquainted with Rimuru’s slime form in episode 1, or when he fantasizes about hot elves and they’re drawn in a 90s aesthetic. Several moments in the show, along with the first ED, also add a sort of digital, VR-like filter to whatever’s happening onscreen. Speaking of the first ED, the visuals for it change 4 times, and each version looks great. Even when they’re not experimenting, some of the action scenes and sequences of Rimuru wandering around in slime form look stunning and fluid. The first OP is a wonderful example of this. Sadly, the visuals are about as inconsistent as everything else. For every moment of smooth or lively visuals, we have moments of typical static shots, and episodes where we don’t get much animation. Some of the background and foreground scrolling tends to look awkward as well, and the rampant CGI tends to be even worse. Still, the character designs are generally great, and the high points in the animation put nearly every other isekai or LN adaptation to shame. Studio 8bit is probably one of the better sources of isekai anime out there. Even more vibrant is the music. Early on, we’re treated to some fun chiptune pieces, along with some adventurous tracks. Somehow, the amount of more lighthearted and fun tracks, and even the amount of battle themes is completely overshadowed by the sheer volume of great emotional pieces. A track that perfectly exemplifies both sides of this is actually the first ED, "Another colony" by TRUE. The guitars and drums give this energetic vibe that’s both invigorating and a tad emotional, and the violins more than add to the more emotional aspect of the song. Along with the decent vocals, these elements turn this into one of the better EDs of 2018, and a great way to cap off each episode. I don’t care as much for the second ED despite its more sentimental tone. Takuma Terashima does the 2 OPs of this season, and they are both fantastic. The first, “Nameless Story”, is a striking tune, especially with that bombastic usage of the special guitar which gives a more rustic, perhaps 2000s vibe. The visuals accentuate that vibe, as both aspects of the OP meld to create both this sense of adventure and danger. The second OP, “Meguru Mono” is a far calmer, more emotional piece that shows just how far Rimuru and his civilization have come, and how wondrous things will remain in the future. As expected from an isekai, the writing is a bit of a mess. The show’s pacing is often strange, and it has a ton of pointless and bewildering time skips. Emotional moments often feel rushed or conjured out of thin air, and the show often forgets about its characters until they randomly appear later. Examples of the latter include the time when Gobta’s just left alone in a cell halfway into episode 5 and forgotten about, or when the goblins and wolves are told to wait outside at the beginning of episode 4 and are forgotten about until episode 6, where we see them and a whole new batch of goblins working. The show also tends to resort to time skips, glossing over the progression of the central village Rimuru builds, and making the town’s progression and some of Rimuru’s absences feel utterly ridiculous. Another problem is that the world-building is sometimes inconsistent and unexplained, like how Rimuru could only name like 50 or so goblins and one wolf before passing out in episode 3 and then 500 goblins in episode 6. The worst case of the latter is in episode 19 where the wolf Ranga suddenly has a strong partnership with Shion and pulls a flying ability out of nowhere, since the characters ask how and when he learned that and became that close with her, and we never get an answer. Granted, the world-building is never indigestible and rarely broken like it is in Mahouka or Smartphone. It’s just that these issues become especially distracting when the narratives are already rather unremarkable and badly paced. It’s even worse when most of the arc conclusions are drawn-out, anticlimactic, or cheesy, with the 4th arc’s finale being the worst example. That said, some of the storylines in this show are genuinely good. The best example of this is the 3-part storyline with Shizue at the end of arc 1, with its intense backstory and a sentimental payoff for Shizue and her ultimately tragic tale. If only more of this show’s arcs and mini-stories were as good as this or even the majority of the second arc, but inconsistency really is Slime’s middle name. A majority of the characters in this show are actual yes men, often with one defining character trait and only some level of chemistry to make them salvageable. Barring Rimuru (the little asshole), his internal sage assistant, and perhaps the utter dolt that is Gabiru, it seems like the best characters in this show are ones that appear for a short time, like Shizue, Veldora, or the trio of guild adventurers at the end of the first arc. They along with the characters I’ve named often have the most entertaining personalities and chemistry, and the most we get from them are a few gags at Gobta’s, Shion’s, and Rimuru’s expense. Almost none of them have any exceptional personalities or amazing chemistry to rival the GOATs in anime casts, nor do any of them necessarily wring any hype out of me aside from a character introduced in the penultimate episode. However, none of them are insufferable or horribly written. Still, this is probably Slime’s weakest and least entertaining aspect. The experience of watching this anime at its best is a lot like that of playing a Kirby game. It has an adorable, round, expressive protagonist who absorbs his enemies’ powers while exploring new lands, and a sense of whimsy crafted by the bouncy slime animation and wonderfully varied OST. The experience of watching this anime at its best is a lot like that of playing a Kirby game. It has an adorable, round, expressive protagonist who absorbs his enemies’ powers while exploring new lands, and a sense of whimsy crafted by the bouncy slime animation and wonderfully varied OST. It’s not necessarily well-written, visually stunning, or even consistently entertaining, but it sets a benchmark for isekai that frankly hasn’t been met in half a decade. All it needed to do in order to not suck was just be straightforward and willing to entertain. With that said, can we finally have a good isekai again, please? I don’t want another isekai ending with a recap episode, as amusing as this one was. (Yes, the recap is listed as its own anime now, but it was still advertised as the final episode by the show itself, and MAL did not list it as its own entry when this review was made. Fuck you, it's my review...you bullies.) Written and Edited by: CodeBlazeFate Proofread by: Peregrine

As someone with literally thousands of hours of playtime in the Sid Meier's Civilization series over the years, I very much appreciated this anime. Isekai series are a standard staple in the anime industry nowadays and managing to stand out from the crowd can be easier said than done. Generally the way people do this is by giving some sort of twist to an otherwise quite generic setup, which in the case of Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken is quite simply that the protagonist gets reincarnated as a slime of all things once he gets transported to this particular fantasy world. However, it is important tounderstand that that part is *NOT* what makes this anime stand out from most other isekai series. Rather it is how likeable the protagonist is as a character and most importantly the general style and execution of its story. You see, regardless of what kind of twist people like to throw into their isekai novels, in general they still boil down to a similar end goal. You normally have some sort of greater peril to tackle or evil demon lord for the MC to defeat and in the process of doing so he'll get his own harem etcetera; it's all very shounen-like in terms of writing. But Slime isn't really like that. Instead, this anime is much more relaxed and focuses on completely different kinds of challenges. In essence, watching Slime is like watching a let's play of a fantasy version of a game of Sid Meier's Civilization. At the beginning of the story, our protagonist Rimuru comes across a poor goblin village, very basic and currently suffering from attacks by nearby wolf packs in the forest. He offers to help the tribe, and in the process not only manages to deal with the threat of the wolves, but by using his powers he's able to help the goblins domesticate them and join forces for mutual benefit. After being chosen as the new leader of the tribe due to his accomplishments, Rimuru starts the long and arduous task of trying to transform the village into something greater. This is a large part of what the anime is truly about: the evolution of civilization. Over the course of story we get to see more and more races join the village as it grows into a larger town. We get to see the establishment of culture and diplomacy with other nations, the progression of science and infrastructure, the birth of an independent country and the political negotiations of a fresh, multi-species society with the rest of the world. It's all quite fascinating to watch and it makes me wonder why this is such a rare thing to see in anime. It's not only rare but at least if you ask me, it's also a hell of a lot more interesting than a group of people feeding off the power of friendship to go overthrow some evil demon lord or whatnot. Now that is not to say that Slime doesn't have its fair share of action and clashes with hostile forces as well, but they are generally more large-scale conflicts with other nations. Also, while it is undeniable that Rimuru is ridiculously strong due to his completely broken Predator ability that lets him devour anything, I never felt that this was much of a drawback for the anime. Even if he may be overpowered, at the end of the day the eventual goal of the anime isn't just to defeat a bunch of enemies. The main challenges of this story are not ones that can simply be solved with brute force; they are a lot more sophisticated in nature, and I appreciate that a lot. Unfortunately the second half of Slime isn't quite as good as the first half as there are less challenges standing in the way both in terms of peaceful and hostile ones. It feels a bit more slice of life-like and also contains a bit of a side arc that I don't really think did a whole lot good for the anime as a whole. I did have the show scored as a 9 for the majority of its airing but ultimately I had to chop off a point towards the end for this fact alone. Nevertheless, with a second season already confirmed, I can only hope that it finds its footing again once that comes around. Ultimately, Slime is a great isekai show for the simple reason that it's focused on what it's simply like to start a new life in a new world—as well as the aforementioned evolution of society—without having to turn the story into a generic shounen fantasy adventure in the process. It's just a fun anime in general, and Rimuru's cheerful, smug and smart outlook on the world does a great deal for its overall enjoyment value as well. The show certainly wouldn't be the same without him. Overall, it's a very enjoyable and surprisingly creative show which is always cheerful, light-hearted and relaxing, without any excessive drama needed. Definitely recommended.