That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

So, What are you Watching this Summer?

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Some of the anime that RJ Writing Ink’s Watching this Summer

Summer time! That means it’s time for family trips, smashing watermelon on the beach, and arguing over who looks best in a swimsuit. Anime fans do all that, and we have to keep an eye out for all the new anime that’s coming out. This year, we’ve got a pretty good lineup of new and returning anime to watch, with Crunchyroll having dropped a list of some of its biggest upcoming shows. And, I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t know how much of it I’m going to be able to watch. Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m going to be so busy covering things. But that’s not going to stop me from giving you my list of anime that I’m looking forward to enjoying! I’m RJ Writing Ink, and here are all the anime for the summer season that I’m probably going to watch! Hopefully!

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3-July 5th

The Rentaro Family is back! And just as crazy and wholesome as ever! If you remember my writings from the winter of last year, then you know that I’m crazy about the ultimate harem anime. Naturally, I’m going to want to cover it as we get even more members joining the Rentaro Family! I won’t spoil anything about them, but let’s just say that this next batch will contain some of my favorite girlfriends thus far, as well as some that will make you question how the mangaka got away with them. So, just be prepared in advance.

The Elusive Samurai, Season 2, July-

Two years ago, we got the first season of the anime The Elusive Samurai, and now we’re finally getting the second. Created by the mangaka behind Assassination Classroom, the Elusive Samurai is a historical fantasy about Tokiyuki Hojo, the last surviving heir of the former Shogunate, forced to go on the run when his family is overthrown. I liked it well enough at the time, but I never got into it as much as I could have. With the manga having ended earlier this year, though, I might be willing to pick this story back up.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4-

So, it turns out that I was mistaken. I knew that the fourth season of Slime Tensura was going to be split up into multiple cours’, but I assumed that they would be split up into different seasons of anime. As it turns out, I was wrong. That means that we’ve got another 12 weeks of Slime Tensura to get us through the Summer, and I’m looking forward to it! I can’t wait to see what Rimuru gets up to next, because I have no clue.

Speaking of peak Isekai…

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3-July 5th-

You know that Crunchyroll is pushing a show to be a frontrunner for the season when they make one of the main characters the thumbnail for their trailer for said season. Mushoku Tensei has exploded in popularity thanks to the success of the anime, and I have been waiting for the last two years to see us pick up where we left off with our boy, Rudeus! He may have lost his arm and his dad while saving his mom, but he’s gotten a second wife in the form of Roxy, and more importantly, he’s a dad now! The real highlight of this season, though, is going to be the return of Eris, AKA the girl who broke Rudeus’ heart. If you’ve read my reviews of the show, you’ll know my opinion about Eris: she’s going to have to spend the rest of her life making up for bailing on him the way she did. More importantly, though, we are going to get to see something happen that will reframe the story and what happens going forward. Something that I’ve had to keep my mouth shut about for years now, and if the anime doesn’t go into more detail, I will!

Baki-Dou: The Invincible Samurai-June 18th

I know that this comes out three days before the actual summer solstice, meaning that technically, it doesn’t count as a summer anime. However, this is Baki we’re talking about. If you’ve seen Baki, then you know that the characters in this series do things that regularly defy common sense. They can do whatever they want! And in this case, the second half of Baki-Dou has the entire cast throwing everything they to defeating the resurrected Musashi Miyamoto, AKA the undefeated Samurai of legend. A man who was able to go toe to toe with Yujiro Hanma!

And this is just the start of the anime that are coming out this season. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch some beach episodes and see who wore a swimsuit best!

OHMYGOSHABABYDRAGONITSSOCUTE!!!

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 12

With the threat of Maribel defeated and Yuuki forced back to the drawing board, life in Tempest returns to normal. Well, as normal as it can get in a nation that’s evolving at such a ridiculously fast pace! Really, that is what this entire episode is about, though. Tempest is continuing to evolve as Rimruru looks towards the future of his nation. And there is plenty for him to look forward to as we head into the second cours of this incredibly long season!

This episode is more or less a breather episode to get us all caught up to speed on what comes next for Tempest, as Rimuru goes around meeting with his friends and allies and discussing what comes next. First up, he meets with the other leaders of Tempest to discuss the need for a legal system. Now, none of them would object to Rimuru being the end-all for the law, but he must have read up on history, because he knows that doesn’t end well. So, he comes up with a governmental system based on one of the most (objectively) successful on Earth: the United States government! And I say objectively because, let’s be honest, there are times when the US Government is its own worst enemy. Thankfully, everyone in Tempest is incredibly competent at what they do, so it’s not that big a problem.

CHOO-CHOO

One of the bigger highlights of the episode, though, is the surprise unveiling of the first-ever Magitrain! Thanks to Veldora and Ramiris’ help, the engineers got it done faster than I think Rimuru thought it would take!

I know it may not seem like much when we have cars and planes, but when locomotives were first created, they were a game-changer. For the first time, journeys that would take days or weeks were cut down to a fraction of the time. That led to an explosion of travel and trade in our world, allowing populations to skyrocket to what they are today. And with Tempest being the ones building these trains, it stands poised to become the biggest economic hub on the continent! Everyone will be clamoring to be on good terms with them, and that means that the idea of Humans and Monsters living together in peace is one step closer to reality.

The real highlight of the episode, though, has to be Millim and the rebirth of her beloved dragon.

BABY DRAGON

Thanks to Rimuru managing to save them in the last episode, Millim finally has a second chance with the beloved pet that she thought was lost to her. There’s one scene where Rimuru finds her fast asleep clutching the egg like it’s a beloved toy or pet, and it really shows us just how much this means to her. Millim may be very childish in nature, but there has always been that part of her that’s used it as a way to cope with her tragic past. Getting to see her enjoy this second chance is just so heartwarming, and it only gets better.

Given how this is the end to the first cours of the season, it’s natural for the anime to give us a special ending to reflect that. In this case, we see everyone in Tempest celebrating their accomplishments as of late l, only for it to be broken by the news that Gaia’s egg is about to hatch! As everyone in Tempest gathers around, we see the egg crack open as Gaia, Millim’s dragon friend, is reborn into the world. It’s honestly just so wholesome to watch, like a big family welcoming its newest member to the world. Seeing Millim happy over getting to see her friend again is enough to make a grown man cry, and that’s okay! Weep manly tears of joy!

This was such a sweet moment to end this first part of the season on, but thankfully, we don’t have to wait long for the next part. This season is so big that the anime is splitting it up into five parts, and the next one will be coming next week! Which, judging by when this goes up, will have already passed. So, hopefully, I will already have it ready! Fingers crossed!

I Give “Tempest Evolved” a 4.5/5! Bonus for the cute Dragon!

How to Train your Crazy Dragon, By Rimuru

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, S4 Ep 11 Review

Once upon a time, Millim had a best friend, a dragon that had been gifted to her by her late father, AKA the creator of the universe. The girl and the dragon loved each other very much, and thought that they would be together forever. But then this punk nation tried to gain control of Millim and killed her friend, making her crash out and become a Demon Lord. Like Rimuru, she used the experience to bring back the one she lost. Whereas Rimuru brought back all the Tempest citizens without issue, though, Millim failed. Consumed by wrath at its death, the dragon went on a rampage, forcing Millim to seal it away. Until Maribel decided to bring it back to distract Millim while she killed Rimuru! And now, Millim has to relive her trauma all over again! The good news, though, is that this time, she has Rimuru.

So, there are likely some people out there who don’t like characters like Rimuru because of how OP he is. And they’re not wrong; from what I hear about the end of the light novels, Rimuru could solo a vast chunk of fiction. The thing is, though, is that Rimruru has to be OP by necessity. It’s the only way he’s able to survive in a world filled with so many broken enemies. Case in point, the elemental dragon that Millim called a friend is now going on a renewed rampage. The kind of rampage that, if not stopped, could reduce the entire world to ash!

While Rimuru was busy with Maribel, Millim has been trying to contain her pet dragon, but the anime makes it clear that she’s fighting with a handicap. I like how natural said handicap feels in the context of the episode. We know Millim could destroy the dragon if she wanted to, but her love for him means that she can’t bring herself to do it. I know that some people wouldn’t hesitate to do what might seem necessary without any remorse, but Millim isn’t like that.

Thank heavens that Rimuru is the way he is, though!

Rimuru Eats a Dragon

So, once Rimuru shows up and sees what the dragon is doing, he doesn’t hesitate to help Millim deal with her problems. And despite being a Demon Lord himself, the dragon does give him a hard time. But that’s when he realizes something important. It was believed that when Millim revived the Chaos Dragon, they had come back without their soul, hence why they were so angry and destructive. However, Rimuru discovered that this wasn’t entirely accurate: a fragment of the Dragon’s soul was left behind. And that’s when he comes up with a crazy idea.

I have to admit, it’s crazy to think that Rimuru was able to retrieve that soul fragment from the Dragon before Millim destroyed it. What’s even crazier, though, is that he was able to place it inside a container. How many characters in fiction do you know that are capable of manipulating beings on the level of the soul? Very few that I know of, and Rimuru is one of them! But, again, Rimuru has to be the way he is for the sake of the story, and I think that just highlights how crazy Slime Tensura is.

Happy Ending for Everyone

So, everything works out. Rimuru is able to give Millim’s dragon an actual second lease on life, even letting her give it a proper name, Gaia. The ruins get turned into a tourist attraction. A happy ending for all involved who isn’t Maribel or Gaiye. Except Yuuki still got away with everything, and he knows it. He can pin everything on Maribel controlling him, letting him continue scheming unimpeded…is what he thinks.

Yuuki may have pulled the wool over Rimuru and everyone else, but Raphael isn’t fooled. She knows that Yuuki was faking being brainwashed the entire time and tells Rimuru he’s not to be trusted. He can’t do anything without being made out as the bad guy, but now he’s on his toes. So let’s see what Yuuki will do next.

There’s one episode left to the first cours so let’s see what happens next.

I Give “Millim’s Friend” a 4/5

Rimuru Folds Maribel like Paper

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, S4 Ep 10 Review

Dang. I knew that Maribel was going to get absolutely embarrassed, and that’s not just because I read the manga ahead of time. It’s just what happens when you mess with someone like Rimuru. But I didn’t think that seeing it in anime form would be so humiliating! I know that we shouldn’t underestimate kids, but even so, Maribel just got reminded of her place in the world in the worst way possible! For her, that is. It was like watching one of Jinwoo’s curb-stompings for me!

What did she think would happen?

So, Maribel has decided to stop messing around and throw everything that she’s got at Rimuru. She’s got Yuuki fighting for her, some knight we dont know, and last, and definitely least, her trump card: Gaiye. Yes, the arrogant and self-absorbed adventurer that made a fool of himself at the opening festival and during the fiasco at the Council is Maribel’s trump card. She used her power to supercharge him up in exchange for most of his life force or something, thinking that it could distract Rimuru long enough to brainwash him. But we already know how that turns out.

And Rimuru just revokes the man’s subscription to life like it’s nothing.

Honestly, what was Maribel thinking here? Gaiye was a chump even before she pumped him with her powers. He couldn’t handle a Dryad, for crying out loud! How did she think that he could fight Rimuru! It would be funny if it weren’t so pathetic!

What follows can be best described as a grown man giving a little girl a lesson on the pecking order of the world. Maribel just keeps trying to throw everything she has at Rimuru, and he just no-sells it all like it’s nothing.

This is just sad

And the more she keeps failing to get rid of him, the more she gets upset as she realizes how badly she messed up making an enemy out of him. But she’s got no one to blame but herself about this, as she chose to go into this fight without learning more about her enemy. If she had, she would have known that it would take way more than what she brought to kill Rimuru. In all honesty, the only useful card she played was Yuuki.

We as the audience should already know just how dangerous Yuuki is thanks to his manipulation tactics. As it turns out, though, he’s also dangerous in the physical sense. His secret power, Anti-skill, lets him seal away any skills an opponent might have, if only for a short while. And since skills are often what determines how powerful a person is, that makes him very dangerous to fight. Even Rimuru realizes that there’s a chance that Yuuki could kill him. But thankfully, he still manages to come out on top. But then Kagali and the others give this impassioned plea for him to snap out of it and not let Maribel control him and he snaps out of it.

Wait, what?

Man, Yuuki is good

Rimuru effectively voices the thought that the audience is meant to think while watching this: this is cliché. Way too cliche, in fact. I’ve seen plenty of anime where a character is mind-controlled and overcomes it thanks to the power of friendship or something else, and it’s usually very heartwarming. It’s supposed to be heartwarming, after all. But this was way too easy, and Rimuru knows it. But he can’t prove that Yuuki was faking it without looking like the bad guy, so he’s forced to let things go and let him deal with Maribel as she tries to blow up a magic reactor and kill everyone.

And you know what? We’re right to find this sus, because Yuuki was playing everyone!

As Yuuki corners Maribel, alone and wounded in the ruins, he decides to play with his food before eating it. He reveals that he was never under Maribel’s control, and had been faking it the whole time!

This is actually a brilliant play on Yuuki’s part. He knew that Rimuru was starting to become wise to him, and the last thing he wanted was to make an enemy out of a Demon Lord before he was ready. But thanks to Maribel, he can now say that all of it was because he was being controlled by Maribel’s skill, Greed. And since Rimuru can’t prove otherwise, he can’t make a move against Yuuki without looking like the bad guy. Thus, he’s managed to get away with everything he did up to this point.

And then comes the most humiliating aspect. Right before Yuuki delivers the killing blow, Yuuki reveals the fatal flaw to Greed: it doesn’t work if the target’s own greed exceeds that of its user. And while Maribel wanted to control the world from the shadows, Yuuki wants to rule as its king. You can’t get greedier than that! Maribel was just born too late to do anything, and that costs her her life.

It’s sad, honestly. As evil and selfish as she was, Maribel could have done a lot of good for the world.  Then again, the same could be said for a lot of villains.

I Give “The Master of Greed” a 4.5/5

THIS was Maribel’s Master Plan? Are you Serious!

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That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 9 Review

It’s storytime with Mr. Jay, no relation to the Joker. Once upon a time, there was a very happy girl with pink hair and godlike power. She spent her days playing with her adorable and easily marketable-as-a-plushie pet dragon. But then this Elven king wanted the girl’s power for himself, so he tried to assert his control by using magic to kill the dragon. But instead, the girl crashed out, became one of the first Demon Lords, killed the King, and leveled his kingdom. The survivors would build a new city that eventually became the ruins that Rimuru and the others are about to explore. Unfortunately for everyone, Maribel has gotten so desperate that she’s willing to do something just as stupid as the stupid king.

Let’s get one thing straight about this episode: it is just the setup to the climax of this first part of Slime Tensura’s fourth season. As such, anyone who came into this expecting some epic, Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Uncharted adventure is going to be sorely disappointed. In all honesty, though, those kinds of stories paint a pretty unrealistic picture of archaeology. There are moments when people make epic discoveries and fantastic treasures, but most of the time, archaeology is pretty uneventful. I should know; I took a class on archaeology 101 in college!

What I’m trying to say is that there is not a lot of action for most of this episode. Mostly, it involves exposition about how this city became the way it is as Kagali guides Rimuru’s group and the other explorers through the ruins. Though ruins would be a stretch, as the Dark Elves still live in the topmost sections. The rest is sealed behind magic barriers that only Clayman had been able to unlock. The plan was for the explorers they brought along to unlock it, but Rimuru does it in two seconds. Because of course he does. He’s lucky that those archaeologists are humble enough not to be offended by him making their jobs so easy.

The coolest part about this episode, though, is the mural that the group finds depicting the story I mentioned above. More importantly, though, is seeing how Millim reacts to it. It’s ancient history to everyone else, but to her, it’s looking back on a part of her life that she may not want to remember that well. And unfortunately for her, history is about to repeat itself thanks to Maribel, who’s so desperate to get rid of Rimuru that she’s willing to do something incredibly stupid. Something that not even Luffy would do!

Going back to the story about how Millim became a Demon Lord, much like how Rimuru used his evolution to revive Shion and the other citizens Falmuth killed, Millim used it to revive her pet dragon. The problem was that it was so hate-filled by its death that it went on its own rampage. Millim had no choice but to seal it away in a pocket dimension for all eternity. But now, Maribel has set it free to lure Millim away from Rimuru so she can control or kill him.

There are so many flaws to this plan that I dont even know where to start. Firstly, Maribel unleashed an angry dragon capable of leveling the world, endangering the lives of billions. Secondly, when Millim finds out who did this, she’s not going to be happy and want to know who did it. Lastly, does she really think that just luring Millim away will be enough to make Rimuru vulnerable? He’s still got Gobta and Shion.

To her credit, Maribel did think ahead by using the ruins for her trap. The security’s activation is enough to be a hassle for the group. But, again, this is Rimuru. So Maribel has no choice but to reveal herself.

I know I’ve heard speeches about how no one is created equal before, and they do have a point. There are always going to be people that are just better at some things than others and thus see the world differently. Though when the Founding Fathers of America wrote that, they meant that everyone has the same rights regardless of background. If everyone was truly the same and equal, the world would be pretty boring. That’s what Maribel doesn’t get, and that’s why she and Rimuru were always going to be at odds.

Next episode, the fight between Rimuru and Maribel finally begins! But let’s be real: we know Rimuru is gonna win. We just want to see how he wins.

I give “Investigating the Ruins” a 3/5

Maribel Still Wants the Smoke from Rimuru

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That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 8 Review

When will people learn to stop messing with Rimuru and his people? Every single time that someone tries to mess with him, they either get humiliated, die, or end up joining him. I think that it’s honestly just embarrassing at this point! Although we wouldn’t have much of a plot for Slime Tensura if that happened, would we? In any case, though, it seems that Maribel Rozzo doesn’t seem to understand that, because she is going to try to get rid of Rimuru yet again. And this time, they’re going to try and do it in a setting that feels ripped straight out of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, or the Uncharted games.

Maribel is Doubling Down on her Behavior

Picking up where the previous episode left off, Maribel, Yuuki, and her lackey Johann are discussing how their plan to frame Rimuru at the Council meeting failed with their assassin being caught. This is also where we see one of the many flaws in their logic regarding Rimuru, as since Maribel has lost her connection to Glenda, she concludes Rimuru killed her. She never considers that Rimuru not only did not kill Glenda, but he freed her from her curse. I chalk this up to her being so selfish that she would never even consider doing something like that, and thus never considers anyone else doing it. In other words, she’s psychologically projecting.

In any event, rather than accept defeat and back off, Maribel decides to double-down on her attempts to bring down Rimuru, this time with the help of Yuuki. A while back, Rimuru and Milim had learned about the ruins of this old city, Amrita, in the former territory of Clayman, and they decided they wanted to explore it. Rimuru approached Yuuki’s guild for help, and his assistant, Kagali, is going to guide them through the ruins. Maribel decides that this would be the perfect place to set a trap for the demon slime to put him under her control or just kill him. As for Milim, Yuuki says he has something that used to belong to her that he thinks will keep her busy long enough to keep from being a nuisance.

Maybe it’s because we can see the full picture as the audience, so I may have no right to say this, but…does she even hear herself right now? Does Maribel really think that she can take down not just Rimuru, but also Milim? Milim is one of the first Demon Lords and one of the strongest, as well as being an overall agent of chaotic good. She was able to fake being under Clayman’s control! And Maribel thinks that she can bring her down? How could she possibly think that this could happen? If you want my personal opinion, I think Maribel is someone just as blinded by greed as those she controls. And when people are blinded by things like greed, they tend to make stupid decisions.

Glenda added to the party

While all of this is happening, Rimuru is busy getting all sorts of new information out of his newest follower, Glenda. She was very insistent on joining Tempest to thank him for sparing her. Thanks to her, they know all about Maribel’s schemes and how she intended to get Rimuru under her thumb, regardless of what happened at the Council meeting. And as much as I hate to admit it, she did have a well-thought-out plan. By having Gaban and Johann against each other like they were, she positioned them so that one would gain influence with our favorite slime demon. If it weren’t for the fact that Rimuru has Raphael, it might have worked in the end. But it didn’t.

As a quick aside, I like the fact that the story makes Rimuru feel so broken yet doesn’t make it feel like he can bulldoze through everything. That’s good writing.

In any case, Rimuru’s going ahead with his plans to explore the ruins of Amrita, knowing that Maribel and Yuuki will have a trap set for them. But since he knows about it, he can plan around it. Also, he’s not going to miss out on the chance to be an adventurous archaeologist.

Which brings me to my favorite part of the episode: their prep to explore the ruins.

Just Like Tomb Raider

Rimuru must have been a fan of stories like Indiana Jones in his first life, because the gear he has made for their trip to Amrita feels like something pulled out of the adventure genre. The pith helmet and clothes fit the concept to a tee, and for bonus points, they’ve got guns now! Yes, they actually managed to make guns that fire magical bullets, and it’s awesome! Are they necessary? No, but they made them for the cool factor, and that’s what matters! Live out that explorer fantasy, Rimuru!

Eventually, the day arrives for their trip to Amrita, with Rimuru and Milim taking Gobta, Ranga, and Shion along with them. Between the five of them, I think that they can handle anything Maribel pulls. And with Rimuru using a teleportation gate to take them directly to the ruins, we bring the episode to an end.

I give two, maybe three episodes before Maribel’s regretting all her life choices.

I Give “Foundation of Greed” a 3.5/5

Rimuru now knows about Maribel

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That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 7 Review

You know what’s awesome? Ninjas! Part spy, assassin, and warrior, ninjas have become a staple of pop culture in the East and the West, with everyone having their own intepretations of them. As someone who played a lot of Assassin’s Creed in its heyday, am a big fan of Naruto, and even trained in martial arts for a while, seeing ninja’s fight is awesome. Why am I mentioning this? Because that’s basically what we got in this episode of Slime Tensura as, thanks to Souei, Rimuru learns about the existence of Mariabel Rozzo.

The entire meeting between Tempest and the Council of the West was a twofold trap. Maribel’s ultimate goal was to either force Tempest to bend the knee and do what her puppets wanted, or off the Prince of Engrassia and frame Rimuru for it. Being Rimuru, though, he and his friends foiled it without breaking a sweat. Even better, the would-be assassin was dumb enough to stick around after she failed to get her target. And that mistake was all that Tempest’s best ninja, Souei, needed to move in for the kill.

The fight between ninja and assassin is pretty subdued compared to other fights we’ve seen in the anime. However, I think that’s in line with what they both do. Assassin’s are supposed to keep a low profile and not get caught. By that logic, they’re not going to attract attention with flashy techniques. That being said, I was impressed by how that assassin was able to use her magically-created bullets and spatial magic to push Souei into a corner. Too bad for her, he was using the shadow clone jutsu. Still, not bad, lady!

Here’s the fun part, though. I didn’t recognize her at first, but it turns out that we’ve seen this woman before, from back in season three. And it gets better. Not only is she an Otherworlder like Rimuru and Hinata, but she was one of her old subordinates in the Ten Great Saints before Tempest humiliated them: Glenda Abbey. She had run off after getting beaten by Diablo during the Falmuth Civil War, but it seems that she was working for Maribel the entire time.

And when she sees that Rimuru is accompanied by Hinata, she is (rightfully) freaked out and convinced that she’s going to die. But not necessarily at their hands.

This was all Maribel’s Fault

As Glenda confirms, the fiasco at the Council meeting was the handiwork of Mariabel of Greed. Her whole plan was to either make Rimuru her puppet, or make him look bad to everyone with that assassination plot. And she used her Skill, Greed, to make sure everyone would act the way she wanted. She never expected that Rimuru’s own Skills would allow him to cancel hers out. But neither was Rimuru expecting to learn that the former hero, Granville Rozzo, is still alive and the one pulling Mariabel’s strings, either.

Rimuru and the others also learn that when the Rozzo family summons Otherworlders, they put a curse on them that makes it impossible to disobey under the threat of death. They’re basically being used as slaves.

Obviously, Rimuru isn’t cool with either of these things, so he decides to do something about them. First things first, he cancels out the curse that Glenda is under, setting her free. She then proceeds to ask him for a job, much to his surprise. The man just can’t seem to stop making people want to be loyal to him!

Elsewhere, Maribel is left stewing over how she failed yet again. And even though we already know why she and her grandpa are doing all this, she gives this monologue about how a Demon Lord like Rimuru can’t be trusted. That with the way things are going, the Western Nations will bend the knee to him without even realizing it, and they can’t let a Demon Lord do that to them. Granted, those are valid points, but they overlook the fact that Rimuru isn’t like that. He just wants to chill and enjoy himself; he wouldn’t abuse that kind of power even if everyone offered to let him. But now that she’s picked a fight with him, Rimuru is going to be coming for Mariabel.

If I were her, I would do one of three things right now: get down on my knees and apologize, run for it, or get my affairs in order. There’s no scenario in which she’s getting out of this without some form of punishment.

This was one of the slower episodes of Slime Tensura, but as always, it’s the intrigue and the characters that make it interesting to watch. I can’t wait to see what Rimuru is going to do to Mariabel.

I Give “The Mastermind’s Identity” a 3/5

How did Mariabel Think this Plan would Work

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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 6 Review

Okay, who’s bright idea was it this time to try and antagonize Rimuru? Because this is just getting embarrassing. Well, not for us; it’s hilarious. But for them, it’s just embarrassing.

If you’re wonder what I could possibly be referring to, then I’m talking about what some of the people in the Council of the West just tried to pull with Rimuru. It was another attempt by Mariabell Rozzo to manipulate Rimuru into a corner, but just like her other attempts, it didn’t work. Why? Not just because Rimuru is GOATED. He’s also surrounded by GOATED people!

WHAT KIND OF DEMANDS DID THEY MAKE?!?!

So, I remember mentioning last time that I couldn’t remember what it was that pissed Rimuru off. Thankfully, though, the new episode doesn’t waste any time in explaining to us why he’s angry. The new terms that the Council gave for admitting Tempest were as follows:

Basically, they’re trying to rob Tempest of everything and make them their servants. Or rather, the ones pulling the strings made these unreasonable requests knowing it would set Rimuru off, and thus make him look bad and justify a forceful response to make him kneel. Which they were going to do using some half-baked plan involving the Prince of Engrassia, some armed guards, Team Green Fury, and that one jerk from the Tempest Opening Festival. Oh, and they wanted to use this magic bracelet to make Rimuru serve them.

I’m sorry, but exactly what part of this plan did Mariabell and her puppets expect to work? Because I fail to see any scenario where this would work on Rimuru. But it does make it incredibly satisfying to see him and his friends pull up and put everyone in their place.

Rimuru Pulls the Uno Reverse Card

Firstly, Rimuru realizes that everyone is being manipulated by some mental magic, so he cancels it out. Suddenly, most of the room realizes “wait a second, what the heck are we doing? This is completely unreasonable of us! We can’t expect Rimuru to agree to this!”

Second of all, when the Prince of Engrassia comes barging in and yapping about getting everyone to agree to subjugate him, hardly anyone agrees to it. And the ones who did had to be bribed. Not that it would’ve worked, anyway. Raphael confirmed that their trinket wouldn’t have worked on Rimuru.

Finally, thanks to Souei, Rimuru is able to produce documented proof that a bunch of the Council members were bribed. Busted!

Again, we shouldn’t be surprised to see Rimuru and his friends embarrass their enemies. That’s nothing new. But what makes it so much fun is getting to see the look on the faces of whoever’s antagonizing them when they realize they messed up. Priceless! He didn’t even have to retaliate; his friends did that for him!

So, the personal knight of the Prince of Engrassia is incredibly rude and disrespectful towards Hinata, putting hands on her and making crude remarks. So he gets humiliated.

But the real highlight of the episode has to be what Shuna did to Gaiye.

Shuna is My Favorite Girl in this Series! Here’s Why!

I know that despite her young age, Shuna is sort of like the mother to everyone in Tempest, given now sweet and kind she is. But I saw a YouTube short saying how there’s a golden rule all Tempest citizens follow: don’t make Shuna mad. Even Rimuru is not safe from her when she gets angry! And if you manage to piss her off beyond belief, then you might as well dig your own grave, because she will end you! Case in point, Gaiye makes her so angry that she summons a killsat attack on him guaranteed to leave no trace behind! And she didn’t even kill him! She just destroyed his clothes!

It’s like Issei’s dress break from High School DxD, only funnier!

So, after thoroughly showing everyone the error of their ways, you’d think everything gets wrapped up? As it turns out, Mariabel had a few extra contingencies. She had an assassin with spatial magic attempt to put a bullet in Prince Idiot’s brain, planning to frame it on Rimuru. And this was actually pretty scary because of how close it came to succeeding. Using spatial magic to teleport a bullet until it’s point-blank is pretty effective, not gonna lie. If it weren’t for Raphael, the plan might have worked!

After that mess is solved, though, everything gets wrapped up. The Council gives terms that are heavily in Rimuru’s favor as recompense for what’s happened. The Prince of Engrassia is grateful for having his life saved and decides to turn over a new leaf. And Rimuru decides that he hates this kind of cutthroat politics and decides to let Raphael handle it. The episode ends with Souei going to confront the wannabe assassin, and, given how it’s Souei, they will be dragged back for interrogation very soon. After that, it’s only a matter of time before Rimuru is onto Mariabel, and she is screwed.

I really like these kinds of episodes of Slime Tensura! I know the politicking isn’t for everyone, but I find watching the heroes outwit their foes to be as interesting as an actual fight. And I especially love seeing a villain have that smug look wiped off their faces!

I Give “The Council of the West” a 4/5

What did they Do to Piss off Rimuru?

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , ,

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S4 Ep 5 Review

When you’re the cool new kid on the block, everyone in school is going to want to befriend you; it’s what they do. When you’re the leader of a nation that’s been waking waves in the world in recent memory like Tempest, you get people trying to suck up to you. That’s just how the politics of the powerful tend to work. And given how the main reason Tempest has been invited to join the Council of the West is so Mariabel can try and manipulate him under the table, that idea is in full play here. Since Rimuru is HIM, he obviously isn’t going to play ball. At the same time, though, he’s not looking to antagonize the West, right? Right?

They have Guns now?

So, as Rimuru and his entourage of Shuna, Benimaru, and Souei arrive in Engrassia for the conference with the Council, one of the first things the group does is buy some new clothes for the occasion. Benimaru and Souei both look like they could be runway models while Shuna’s warm and inviting attire reflects how sweet she is as a person. Unfortunately, Rimuru’s child stature makes the shopkeeper give him kids clothes by mistake. It’s not often that his androgynous appearance has this happen to him, but when it does, it’s funny. Demeaning, but funny.

The more important thing, though, is that Hinata meets up with the group to let them know they everything they suspected is true. The only reason the Council is inviting Rimuru is because they either want to take advantage of him and his nation, or outright put him under their collective thumbs. Worst-case scenario, they’re hoping to make Rimuru crash out, make him look untrustworthy, and use that as an excuse to deny Tempest’s entry.

Then there is also how Duke Muese was assassinated. As Souei saw, he was fine one moment, and then he was slumped over, dead. The only sign of injury was a hole in his head. Being Otherworlders, Rimuru and Hinata are quick to recognize that someone had to have used some kind of long-range sniper rifle to kill Muese; a gun.

This is not good. Guns are considered one of the greatest equalizers in combat. You could pit the strongest person in the world against the weakest, and if the weakest has a gun, they could kill that person. Now imagine what it would be like if someone found a way to channel magic into them? You could have a bunch of people with less than noble intentions running around killing people. That’s a recipe for disaster.

Okay, What did they do?

But then comes the actual conference. And this is when we get to see firsthand what Rimuru is facing.

As soon as Rimuru and the others enter the HQ of the Council, they are immediately beset by representatives from other nations. Some of them, mostly the weaker and those who were actually impressed with the Grand Opening Festival, seem genuine in wanting to be friends. Then are the bigger nations. The ones with more power, wealth, and influence. First, they rudely shoo off the other reps under the guise of decorum. Then, they try and pressure Rimuru into adding lines for his upcoming Magitrain to their countries. Thankfully, Rimuru was a bussinessman in his first life, so he knows how to give them the runaround. After that, the meeting begins.

The Council’s requests for Tempest’s admission are simple, and can basically summed up as them wanting to use Tempest for its military might and promising market. This is another example of how Rimuru being a businessman in his former life comes in real handy, as it helps him make deals that work out in his favor. But then…this happens.

I was so curious about what comes next that I read the manga ahead of time, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was that set Rimuru off. Then again, this is probably Mariabel trying to manipulate him through her pawns, so it’s understandable. I know something big happens next, but I don’t remember the full details to it. All I know is that next episode is going to be interesting. Can’t wait!

I Give “The First Step” a 3.5/5

That Time Gobta (Almost) Found Love in Slime Tensura

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , ,

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea Review

I’m not sure if this is accurate or not, but I suspect that a lot of Slime Tensura fans were as upset as me when we found out there wasn’t going to be a new episode on May 1st. I didn’t even know the series would be on break! So, even I had told myself to not spend the extra money, I talked myself into going to see the new Slime movie, Tears of the Azure Sea. Unfortunately, the closest movie theater that had it in dub was too far for me to want to drive that weekend, so I found another movie theater closer, but with it subbed. Subbed or dubbed, though, the movie was still pretty fun to watch. Especially since it manages to give our boy, Gobta, something that he’s been wanting for a very long time.

Like a lot of movies of dubious canonicity to an anime, Tears of the Azure Sea takes place in the time gap between major events of Slime Tensura. In this case, the time between the third and fourth seasons of the show. The Opening Festival of Tempest finished a month ago, and Rimuru and his friends are looking forward to a much-needed break. So Elmesia offers to let them visit a famous resort island in her country, leading most of Tempest’s leadership and their allies to go on a giant vacation. But then Gobta runs into this blue-haired woman, Yura, from Kaien, a famous kingdom located under the sea, who is being pursued by evil forces. And from there, it doesn’t take long for the entire group to get roped in.

Gobta (Almost) finds Love!

Full disclosure here: this movie is pretty much about Gobta. Rimuru and everyone else are in it, but from the moment Gobta notices Yura following them to ask Rimuru for help, it’s pretty much his movie. At best, Rimuru is there to help provide support when fighting the bad guys. If that sounds disappointing to anyone, you have to remember that Rimuru is one of the most broken protagonists in all of anime. When a character is that overpowered, you either have to have them face threats that can push them further, or set things up so that their use is limited. Tears of the Azure Kingdom opts for the latter by having Rimuru only step in to face the threats that could kill everyone.

As a sidebar, they also do the same for Milim and Veldora by having them stay behind to guard the island. They could solve everything, but also wreck everything, LOL. And this is Gobta’s film.

If it isn’t obvious at this point, the fact that Gobta is the first of the group to meet Yura, as well as the one who spends the most time with her, means that she’s meant to serve as a love interest for the goblin. It’s not brought up that often in the main series, but if you watch the OVAs or the spin-off anime Slime Diaries, you’ll see that Gobta is the one in the group that really wants to find love, but whose behavior gets him slapped by the girls. And while they start off on the wrong foot at first, getting to run around the island whil avoiding assassins was a great way for Gobta to show off how badass he is. And when the ultimate big bad of the movie tries to use her as part of his plan to conquer the world, it’s Gobta who ends up saving her! Way to channel your inner Krillin, dude!

Too Good to be True

Of course, since this is a movie with dubious canon placement, though, we all knew that Gobta’s chance at love wasn’t going to work out. We were totally right, by the way! I don’t want to spoil how it ends, but here’s a hint: you know what happened with Sokka and Princess Yue in Avatar. Let that sink in.

As a film, there really isn’t much substance to Tears of the Azure Sea. The most that it’s got going for it is that its film budget allows for some really stellar action sequences, especially at the climax where they are fighting the big bad. Though, if you’ve watched a lot of anime, then you should know that when they make a film based on a popular series, it’s usually not going to have much substance to it. It’s more or less an excuse for us to see more of the characters do cool things. Off the top of my head, I can name only seven times the events of an anime film had an actual impact on the plot of the series, and all of them were from Shonen series. Yet these franchises keep pumping them out because we like seeing these one-off adventures so much. It’s fun! It’s a good way to kill time, too. Besides, it’s not like everything in the film is going to have zero relevance to the actual anime. There’s a post-credits scene that hints at the arrival of a new character to Tempest in the near future. So, there’s that!

Well, hopefully next week, we will get to see Rimuru confront the Western Council. I read part of the manga in advance, so I can happily say that things are going to get interesting real quick!

I Give “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea ” a 3.5/5