We’re freshly into January, which means Winter is officially upon us. With that realization, I thought that I should watch a good Summer anime to warm my spirits before all of the new anime of this year begin to roll out. So, I started researching popular titles on the internet. This is how I stumbled across “That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime.”
I’ve heard of this anime before, but I didn’t pay it any mind. My first impression was that it must be one of those new shows with long, ridiculous names and a sub-par story. I’ve been caught in the web of a spiraling plot in the past and have become wary. However, I’ve learned not to judge an anime by its title, so I dug deeper. And before I knew it, I’d finished the first season. I’m currently getting ready to binge-watch the first part of season two and catch up with its second part, which was released this past July.
If you’re anything like me and prefer to know more about an anime before you set aside time out of your week (or day) to watch it, then read on and I will tell you my thoughts about That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime.
So before we go down the rabbit hole, I have always thought that gaining general knowledge of an anime’s origins allows for a better grasp on the anime itself. That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, also known as TenSura, is based on a light novel series created by author Fuse in 2013. As of 2021, the light novel has already published eighteen volumes and is currently ongoing.
Additionally, a manga adaptation was launched by manga publisher Kodansha in early 2015. They’ve also done a bunch of spin-offs based on the original story. Finally, in 2018, the first anime adaptation of TenSura aired on many Japanese channels, including Tokyo MX. Not to mention, the streaming websites Crunchyroll and Funimation have done simulcasts of the anime, with the latter streaming it in English dub.
The first season of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime has twenty-four episodes, and the second season was divided into two parts, with the first part airing in early 2021 and the second part airing last July.
Now that you know a bit of its history, it’s time to move on to the show’s plot. The story starts with a middle-aged man named Satoru Mikami, who’s pretty content with his uneventful life, living as a single man. Then, one day, he gets stabbed by a random attacker while trying to save his friend and dies. As he lays on the sidewalk dying, he hears a disembodied voice saying a bunch of commands.
When he wakes up, he sees that he’s transported to a cave in another world and reincarnated as a low-level monster, a slime. Because of his boredom, he explores the cave and learns his new abilities. During his exploration, he meets and befriends a dragon that was imprisoned by a Hero some 300 years ago. The dragon gave the slime a new name and divine protection in exchange for helping him destroy the prison.
Thus, Rimuru Tempest was born. With his new abilities and knowledge, Rimuru quickly attains the fellowship and loyalty of the monsters living in the surrounding forest and becomes the leader of their newly created nation of monsters, Tempest. As his new nation gains renown and influence, it garners the attention of the surrounding dominions, be it for good or bad.
With the origins and general idea of the story explained, let us now move on to the bulk of the question. Is TenSura worth the watch? Just a quick reminder for everyone, I’ve only watched the first season. So anything I say here is based on that alone. Additionally, spoilers might be a possibility so tread lightly.
Many anime have lessons planted throughout their stories. Whether they’re themes of friendship or redemption, all great animes have pieces of teachings that viewers can garner knowledge from. While watching TenSura, I noticed quite a lot of them.
A good example is the recurring theme of redemption for the antagonists in the story. Some villains in the anime are individuals who’ve made wrong decisions in their lives and have become someone they no longer recognize. The anime shows that anyone can make mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance in life to better themselves.
Another excellent example, and possibly the most important lesson in the anime, is one should not belittle or discriminate against others regardless of differences. This lesson is one of the three rules that Rimuru created when establishing his little goblin town.
He taught the goblins that it doesn’t do them any good to berate or belittle other races and creatures. He shows them that they’re all just trying to live their lives, and everyone is equal in that sense. It’s a lesson that we all should emulate in our daily lives, especially in times like the present, where discrimination of others can lead to death.
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime has a good setting and world-building. Different areas in the fantasy world have a definite identity and feel unique from the other kingdoms and places of importance.
For example, although it’s a common trope in fictional stories, the dwarven nation of Dwargon is located inside a mountain with dark streets and is a mining and research-centered place. The setting makes you think that there is no better place to find a master blacksmith and artisan.
In regards to their world-building, TenSura is doing it at a consistent pace where they introduce new monster races and essential characters every other episode. In addition, they’ve seamlessly incorporated standard fantasy creatures like dire wolves, goblins, and dwarves and mixed them with isekai tropes like forced summonings and mentioning real-life items like mangas.
As the famous adage goes, when there’s light, there’s also shadow. Unfortunately, TenSura, like all other creations in this world, isn’t perfect. There are a few things that bothered me a bit while watching the series. But, again, these are only my opinions, and I’m only basing my knowledge on what I’ve seen so far.
First, I think the main character in the series, Rimuru Tempest, is overpowered. I know that there was a time where he just wallowed about in the cave, and one could say that he did some training of sorts against the dungeon monsters. But his Predator skill is just too ridiculous. So much so that he doesn’t need further training anymore by the time his real adventures begin.
The anime even shows his companions struggling against an enemy to highlight the gap between both parties. Of course, that gap would be instantly destroyed by the slime who could just eat his way to the top.
On top of that, the conflicts in the story so far aren’t complex. The solutions to the problems could be categorized into two sides; either Rimuru defeats the villain, or the gang gets lucky. A good example is when they first meet Milim.
She was ten times stronger than Rimuru and started to go on a rampage when she got attacked by his subordinates. Do you know how they made her stop in her tracks? Rimuru made her eat honey. It sounds absurd, but that’s what happened.
To summarize, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime is a good anime. It is fun and gratifying to watch with its subtle wisdom on the side, lovable characters, and amazing fantasy world. The plot is simple and complex in that it’s easy to follow but keeps you entranced enough to binge-watch. There were some things that I couldn’t help but critique, but those opinions could change once I get to watch its second season. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.