That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 3 Review
I’m pretty sure I’ve talked everyone’s ears off about how much I hate Witch, AKA Bitch, Whore, and formerly known as Malty S. Melromarc. She’s everything wrong with elitist mindsets rolled into an ugly package that’s so easy to despise. The good news is that she also matches Cersei Lannister in terms of idiocy, so if you know her game, it’s easy to beat her. Can you imagine if Witch was as smart as she thinks she is and how screwed the world would be? Well, Rimuru may not know it yet, but he might have just made an enemy out of someone with the same mindset and the competency to back it up: Mariabel Rozzo.
Mariabel of Greed
So, the OP and ED for this season of Slime Tensura have put a lot of emphasis on the girl known as Mariabel. In anime, that typically means that they’re important to the plot. Plus there’s also the fact that we’ve seen Mariabel always hanging around her grandfather, AKA the one who orchestrated that stunt with the merchants in the last season. Their plan was to con Rimuru into a situation where he’d owe them a favor, but he was too smart for that. It’s not the old man that’s the problem, though; it’s Mariabel. She’s a reincarnator like Rimuru.
Whereas our lovable slime was a working man on Earth, Mariabel was the opposite. She was born into the upper crust of European aristocracy, and she did not let her gender get in the way of her Littlefinger arc. She spent her entire life amassing wealth and power from the shadows until she ruled Europe from behind the scenes! The anime even implies that she profited off World War I, AKA the most pointless war in human history. That’s how you know that she’s evil. And she managed to die of old age, before getting reborn in the Tensura world as a baby princess. And she got a terrifying unique skill to boot: Greed.
Remember how Rimuru has that unique skill, Gluttony, lets him eat and gain the abilities of anyone he wants? Mariabel’s Greed lets her use other people’s desires to brainwash them. And the more the target wants, the easier it is to control them! By the time she was out of diapers, she had already brainwashed most of her house, until finally she became the right-hand of her grandfather, Granbell Rozzo, the thousand-year-old founder of the Kingdom of the Siltrosso and, like I said, the puppet master behind that merchant stunt!
Rozzo’s ultimate goal is, at first glance, actually pretty noble. He doesn’t want normal humans to live in a world ruled by monsters and Demon Lords, so he’s been pulling strings in the west to create a place where humans can live in peace. And Rimuru’s idea of a world where all races can live in peace is getting in the way of that. Hence the whole scheme with the merchants. And while I don’t entirely get it, I’m pretty sure the Rozzo’s and Yuuki are the ones funding Team Green Fury, AKA the guys cheesing their way through the Tempest Dungeon. So, they have to be dealt with.
There’s just one problem: Rimuru, Veldora, Ramiris, and Millim’s avatar bodies suck!
Avatar Team PWNS CHUMPS
We saw how the newly formed Avatar Team got their butts whooped at the end of the last episode, but this episode gives us an even better look at why. Not only are the Demon Lords and Veldora weak in their artificial bodies, but their teamwork stinks! They’re so used to being so OP that they can solo everything that they don’t know how to fight in a team. So while Kurobe makes them some sweet armor, Rimuru has them go through some intense training. Since they’re basically operating like the typical RPG team, they also have to learn teamwork. Which is good, since they could stand to learn that.
Rimuru’s plan ultimately works, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Green Fury was about to beat the 49th floor. So it was time for the admins to assert their authority.
I have to admit, it was nice seeing the Avatar Team put a stop to Green Fury before they could ruin everything. Hopefully, they can patch things so that no one else can use that exploit any further. As a gamer, I understand how much that sucks, but it’s better to win without resorting to cheap tricks like that. Good riddance, Green Fury!
The real problem, though, remains Mariabel. With her family’s plan with the merchants having backfired and Rimuru suspicious of Yuuki of the Free Guild, Mariabel’s going to change tactics. She plans to invite Rimuru to the West to the Council so she can get him alone and try to use Greed on him to turn him into her puppet. Little does she know that she’s grasping at straws, because a.) Rimuru is our protagonist, and has that protagonist plot armor; b.) he’s Rimuru. He’s got GOAT status. He’ll be fine! In fact, I say he should accept the invitation just so we can see him embarrass her! But that doesn’t make her less of a threat. She managed to kill the merchant who organized that fuss under Souei’s nose!
I Give “The Avatar Team is Formed” a 3.5/5
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