I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Series Review

I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years Anime Review
Lynn Sheridan has sponsored reviews of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
https://otakuauthor.com/

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level is charming and yet fairly unremarkable.

For the Spring 2021 anime season Lynn Sheridan sponsored me to review I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed out My Level. It is an isekai fantasy which is well within my usual comfort zone however it is also a slice of life and a comedy which puts it into the realm of stories that are more miss than hit for me. Which did leave me wondering how Slime would go.

Fortunately, episode one was mostly charming even as it went through some fairly standard motions and largely this was thanks to the protagonist Azusa. While the whole season wasn’t all smooth sailing, I will say a huge thank-you to Lynn for choosing this anime because I may not have stuck with it by my own choice and then I would have missed out on something that could definitely be described as comfort food.

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Azusa with her two 'daughters.
Image from: I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
Just that image makes me feel so calm.

Anyway, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level (or Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shranai Uchi ni Lvel Max ni Nattemashita, or just plain Slime 300) is an isekai anime based on a light novel that features an overworked female protagonist from Japan who dies and finds herself before a goddess who essential grants her a wish for her next life.

300 Years later and Azusa is the most powerful witch even having spent the time inbetween just kind of killing the slimes around her home.

It doesn’t make a lot of sense but this isn’t the kind of power-fantasy isekai where Azusa is ultimately going on a quest to save anything. Largely, it is a slice of life about Azusa, and the characters she meets, just kind of dealing with the day to day and enjoying cups of tea, good meals, and helping out their friends.

I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed out My Level - Happy family.
Slow life doesn’t mean lonely.

The strengths of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years definitely come through from knowing that it isn’t trying to be serious and so rather than trying to provide explanations that ultimately won’t really work things just kind of happen in the story. Azusa is the most powerful witch because she is. Characters just kind of show up at her house on cue and for whatever reason a lot of them end up just moving in and staying.

All of these characters are of course cute anime girls and most of them bring something to the table and depending on your viewing preferences you’ll love them or find them annoying. But it really doesn’t matter because there are so many characters by the end surely one of them will hit the spot for you. The only problem then is how little screen time they’ll get as the story tries to find uses for all of these characters.

Episode 12, the final of the season of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years, particularly suffers from this as it brings back every single character who had interacted with Azusa. While the episode itself is pleasant and charming, not one character can really distinguish themselves because they all get like a two line beat before the episode whisks the audience away to catch up with whatever the next girl is doing.

The main girls from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years
They are all very cute, and the demon girls haven’t even shown up yet.

Part of me kind of wishes the story had a little more focus on just Azusa, Laika (the first dragon girl) and the twin slime spirits with a few drop ins from Beelzebub (perhaps the coolest demon girl ever). The bloated cast made it harder to really care about anyone in particular and episodes where the focus was on Halkara or Flatorte didn’t really sit well with me.

Of course, other viewers probably disagree and found the episodes that were just super cute with the twin girls were a little too saccharine and probably wished they had less time.

This is kind of the problem with anime that try to cater to all tastes because it is a real scatter-gun approach and leads to hits and misses throughout the season for every viewer. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years may have ended up being more solid if it had just decided it wanted to be super adorable (such as How To Keep A Mummy) or if it had decided to focus more on the dragon conflict.

Then again, by taking a more scattered approach the end result is something that everyone can kind of find something to like in it so they’ll keep watching so maybe I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years is fine with being just kind of okay for everyone and not really amazing for anyone.

Beelzebub - Best anime girl from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Beelzebub is the cutest demon girl ever – and just a lot of fun.

You may have noticed I’m talking a lot about the girls and haven’t really gotten into the plot. And that’s largely because I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level doesn’t really have one.

Azusa’s driving focus is a slow life. If left alone she’d simply go out, kill some slimes, and then relax the day away. Though she does have a hat to rival Elaina’s from Wandering Witch so she’s definitely got credibility as a witch.

It is only through the arrival of other characters with a specific problem that Azusa is driven to any kind of action and then it is kind of a simple solve the problem and then have yet another girl kind of move into her house to join the ‘family’.

Ultimately it means there’s no real story here. The demon lord isn’t trying to take over the kingdom. In fact, she’s just another of the many characters who end up hanging around Azusa. There’s no real threat or conflict. Each week I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years simply has someone or something show up to introduce a minor drama that the cast then try to fix by the end of the episode.

End with a party - I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
Hanging out with the girls from I’ve Benn Killing Slimes for 300 Years.

It is low stakes and largely the problems exist only to give the girls a reason to do something other than drink tea.

This is definitely an anime trying to get by on the charm of its cast and fortunately it largely succeeds.

That said, some of the girls are very much used for fan-service with varying degrees of success. Halkara is the used for many jokes but her bouncing breasts come into focus quite a bit and Flatorte has more than one moment of stripping her human clothing off. There’s the usual interesting camera choices that make it clear that this anime is aware of how it is positioning its female characters to be viewed and at times it feels a little jarring in contrast to the overall relaxing tone of the story.

That said, it isn’t intrusive to the point of actually making this a strictly fan-service only show. If anything, it is rather reserved when compared with many isekai anime.

She tripped - Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years
Example

Adding to the overall charm of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years is well chosen music that suitably fits the overall relaxing calm the story seems to be striving for and some great visuals with some of the landscapes as the characters stare out at starry skies or fly along on dragon or even leviathan back.

It is a brightly coloured and vibrant affair with a clear focus on colour over movement at times. And it works. Because it is charming to watch even when little is going on.

Finding money in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Azusa learning about the world.

While I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level isn’t going to top any of my lists for best anime any time soon, it was a really enjoyable experience. It is the kind of anime that is perfect to watch at the end of a long day at work and it just helps tension and stress melt away.

While those looking for something a little more plot driven probably won’t be thrilled, there’s certainly fun to be had in this series and it certainly hits the right notes for cute characters being cute.

As always I’d love to know what my readers thought of the anime so be sure to leave a comment below.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 12 Impressions

Killing Slimes for 300 Years Episode 12
Lynn Sheridan has sponsored reviews of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
https://otakuauthor.com/

It’s time for the witch to run a super-modern maid café in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.

After the slight mis-fire that was episode 11 where the humour didn’t stick its landing for me and I found the whole set-up fairly inane, episode 12 brings out all the charm I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years has (which is quite a bit) and throws it across the screen on mass as the cast put together a café for a festival.

Now we could ask petty questions such as why is Azusa introducing maid café culture to a medieval fantasy world and why does no one find the entire thing surprising (though I guess the minstrel was into death metal so why not), however it would be pointless. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years is basically a thinly veiled excuse to have cute super-powered girls do very little and look adorable and the café setting puts the strengths of this series on full display in a calming and fun conclusion that perfectly fits the series.

The twins were born to be the cute waitresses - image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
Did I need another adorable picture of Shalsha and Falfa? Of course I did.

Basically the core group learn that the local town is having their annual festival and are keen to be involved. Azusa has kept herself out of it for the last 300 years so hasn’t had any prior involvement. After about two seconds of thought she comes to the conclusion that they could do a one-day café in her house for the festival.

Naturally this means getting fitted for maid outfits. I’m just not sure why this was entirely necessary in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years given the girls’ usual attire is pretty adorable, but when you have so many cute girls I guess any excuse to put them in an outfit that you could later sell a figure or poster of is good enough. And, they really did look pretty cute.

Azusa amazed at the success of her cafe - Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
Doesn’t everything you do turn out to be a bit crazy?

Not content with dressing up the slime twins, dragon girls, a witch, an elf and the ghost girl (via magic), I’ve Been Killing Slimes brings back every single character we’ve encountered. Whether it is Beelzebub of the Demon King dropping in and taking over waitress duties, the Leviathan sisters moving into the kitchen and cooking up a storm, the other witch handing out product samples or the minstrel performing for the line of customers, every girl who has had a moment in this series appears in this final episode.

I guess they really didn’t want any fans to leave this episode feeling they missed out on seeing their favourite girl.

However with so many characters this episode didn’t really allow any of them any time to be anything but cute. Beelzebub lacked her usual biting edge, the demon king really did just seem like a hyperactive little sister, and the core cast all just kind of blends together in a blur of maid costumes and café service.

Beelzebub lays on the charm - Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
I mean, she’s a really cute demon maid.

It isn’t that this is bad. I mean, it is super laid-back and super relaxing and it all just kind of feels super-cute. Which means I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years is playing very much to its strengths and the charm that really grabbed audiences back in the first few episodes.

I imagine binge watching I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level could more or less lull you into a sugar coma for how sweet it all ends up being and the few jokes that haven’t landed along the way are minor inconveniences. So for now, I’ll end with a picture of the main cast as they prepare for the cafe and I’ll get on with planning the series review.

The girls from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 11 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 11
Lynn Sheridan has sponsored reviews of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
https://otakuauthor.com/

Listening to Halkara was mistake one. Listening to Pecora was even worst. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years takes a decided downward turn.

There’s a moment in a lot of either horror movies or comedies where you can see a character is about to do something unbelievably stupid and you keep hoping that it is just a fake-out and they wouldn’t really be that dumb and then… well then they do it anyway. I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level decides that episode 11 is the time to do just that.

Falfa, Shalsha and young Azusa in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
Don’t look glum about it Azusa, this is mostly your fault.

The initial set-up is Halkara wanting to do some kind of massive mushroom barbeque with a ridiculous name and excessive enthusiasm for pure mushroom eating. Now we learned in episode 3 that Halkara thinks she’s an expert in mushrooms and yet is very prone to just stuffing up her identification or leaving out key pieces of information.

All of which leaves me wondering why on earth Azusa would trust her this week in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and mostly makes the end results, Azusa becoming a little girl, entirely her own fault.

Naturally the child-sized Azusa is actually pretty adorable. This anime has absolutely nailed drawing cute anime girls. Unfortunately, despite using child-size Azusa for a couple of obvious jokes we quickly move onto the solving the problem phase and that really doesn’t deliver much of a punch line. Basically, if they were going to do such an obvious set-up we needed a much better pay-off.

Halkara's own idiocy makes her laugh.
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
Halkara is at least amused.

Also, we’ve gone a long way from Azusa just wanting to relax in her next life now. Her dislike of working too hard and taking breaks seems to have faded out of her personality and now we’re just kind of in generic fantasy land with generic fantasy anime girls.

And honestly it is a little disappointing because one of the strengths of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Our My Level early on was that Azusa’s reincarnation mattered. That her past life seriously exerted influence on her current existence. Watching this episode as a stand-alone, you’d be forgiven for not even realising it was her second life, that is how little it matters.

The girls tired from their journey up the world tree.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
Did they get worn out by their own premise?

But back to this episode, the solution, provided by the annoying demon-king Pecora, can apparently be found at the top of a world tree which is now some kind of weird tourist attraction but still kind of dangerous and exhausting. It doesn’t make any sense and makes even less when you realised they could have flown straight to the top and that they didn’t need to go anyway because the medicine could be found elsewhere.

As I said, way too little pay-off to justify the set-up here.

Pecora is a pain.
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
Please don’t.

Basically, this episode of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level is watchable. Each character gets a tiny moment in it and they resolve the ‘problem’ for the week by the end. I just didn’t really find anything more to say about it.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 10 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 10
Lynn Sheridan has sponsored reviews of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
https://otakuauthor.com/

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years decided they needed yet another anime girl and an excuse for lots of singing. Episode 10 is the result.

Episode 9 seemed to exist for fans of fighting anime, meanwhile episode 10 of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years decided to go for an idol kind of theme with some death metal thrown in just for fun. Because, Slime 300 loves to subvert expectations and a bunny-eared minstrel who attempts scream metal until they pass out has got to be hilarious.

The newest girl on the block for I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
You go girl.

Surprisingly, despite not finding that set-up particularly funny or the introduction of Kuku particularly endearing, I did find myself quite enjoying this episode of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years. Sure, the plot of helping Kuku find a new sound and write some lyrics was essentially a flimsy excuse for each of the girls to get a very brief musical number but its the kind of silliness that is actually kind of enjoyable about this anime.

It also didn’t hurt that Shalsha and Falfa’s song was too adorable for words. I mean, you couldn’t listen to a whole album of just that kind of thing, but as a short interlude in an episode with two cute characters, the lyrics about scary praying mantises and hopping grasshoppers actually kind of worked.

Shalsha and Falfa know their stuff in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
Super cute.

Actually, I was enjoying I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years sufficiently well that I was somewhat surprised when the half-way point came around. I thought the episode must surely be done and while normally that would be a sign of an episode that was dragging its feet, here it just felt like we’d already crammed so much in with introducing Kuku and her problem, all of the girls performing and so on.

Flatorte showing off her skills in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
And who knew Flatorte would turn out to be useful this week?

Anyway, the second half sees best girl Beelzebub turn up and amazingly enough there’s about to be a festival in the demon city. Kuku gets a performance invite and the rest of the girls get to go try some food and have some fun before the concert begins.

It is silliness amplified as we never see any other performers, Kuku’s performance seems to have an entire band and back-up vocalists on board but she’s standing alone on stage, and realistically everything is just coming together too neatly, but anyone worried about those sorts of details wouldn’t be at episode 10 of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.

Kuku's performance - I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years
Kuku, you got this.

What matters here is that the performance was worth waiting for and was one of those too cheesy for words moments that work so beautifully as endings to 80’s movies. Forget the logic behind it and just feel it and you’ll end up smiling while the corners of your eyes tear up.

Of course, they couldn’t just end on the high note of the concert and we belabour the ending and the overall point of saying thank-you before Flatorte goes out of her way to undermine all the goodwill she earned earlier in the episode. They try and play it off as another cheesy mentor/student moment but to be honest we really could have done without it and I would have left the episode feeling better about Flatorte as a character.

So all and all another episode from I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level that is an entertaining enough affair, gave me a few smiles, a few feels, and left me feeling warm and fuzzy. I think that’s all I can really ask of it.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 9 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 9
Lynn Sheridan has sponsored reviews of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.
https://otakuauthor.com/

The case of the transformed slime spirit in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level.

After episode 8 felt more like a disjointed series of vignettes that had been loosely connected, episode 9 of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years returned to providing us a central problem for the episode and then had the cast walk us through the events leading to its resolution.

Basically Falfa, the slime spirit, transforms from a little girl into an actual slime while sleeping and can’t change back. Thus begins a walking quest from one slime to another in an effort to find a way to restore her.

Beelzebub has an interesting examination method.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
I’m not sure this is how you examine a patient.

One thing remains true and that is that there are definitely too many characters in the core cast of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years now. Once again we leave the majority of the baggage (cast) behind and only Azusa, Laika, Shalza and Beelzebub head to the first stop on the quest which is pretty much just back to the demon castle to find an intelligent slime.

The thing is, these smaller groups work and usually have pretty good chemistry so the trip is pretty relaxing to watch even as the obvious gags of Beelzebub getting lost while guiding them and the slime eating the bread crumb trail eat up screen time.

It was kind of weird though that Azusa literally spent 300 years killing slimes and yet never encountered a form outside of blue monster. Now we see an intelligent slime, a magician slime, before we end up in a fighting tournament looking for a fighting slime.

Smiling Beelzebub is golden.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.

Also, despite the cool concept of having slimes that have specialised abilities and appearances, none of the three characters really get any kind of screen time or feel like they have any purpose other than being the next NPC on a fairly generic fantasy quest from a forgettable RPG. Even fighter slime who is arguably the final hurdle just kind of happens and then we’re done.

I’m not going to nit-pick too much because it did lead to the long awaited rematch of Azusa and Beelzebub given their fight, many episodes ago, ended when Beelzebub flew into Azusa’s barrier which she’d more or less forgotten about.

Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
Why do I not think that likely?

Anyway, the main conflict, Falfa being a slime, ends up getting solved off screen and almost becomes a forgotten issue as the fight between Azusa and Beelzebub heats up. While it ends up being resolved more or less as easily as everything else, at least these are two characters I genuinely enjoy watching and this was kind of a fun moment for I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.

I’d really like to see a rematch between these two because it kind of feels like Beelzebub could be even stronger. I also wonder how a match between the two would play out without the rules of the fighting tournament. Beelzebub is a demon and a strong one and Azusa is an awesomely overpowered witch. A real smack-down between them should be spectacular though I somehow doubt we’ll get it.

Episode 9 kind of feels like one of the earlier episodes of this anime. It’s just kind of fun, nicely paced so you don’t get bored, and nothing really has impact but you aren’t expecting it to either. The fight was entertaining enough and there are enough moments that make you smile along the way.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 8 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 8
Lynn Sheridan sponsored reviews for I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed out My Level anime.
https://otakuauthor.com/

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years goes in search of (boars / verbal abuse / fake witches / fame).

To say that episode 8 of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Our My Level felt a little disjointed and more like a rambling series of vaguely connected vignettes than a single episode wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Sure we have the cookie rivalry between the dragons very thinly holding the plot together as it starts the episode and then returns during the resolution, but basically our characters move through a series of quests and objectives this week and each set piece kind of feels like its own thing before we move to the next.

Cookie contest.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years
This is more or less what I expected when they added the blue dragon to the group.

One thing that seems clear, is even the writers know that the group is now so large that the dynamic don’t work when all the characters are together. So instead we have small groups breaking off with the dragons, ghost girl and Azusa going on the boar quest, red dragon and Azusa heading to the town in the west and then north, before we catch up with small groups of characters at the market at the end.

This adds to the overall disjointed feel of the story because characters just kind of come and go and at times there seems little purpose (like when the demons just randomly show up while the characters are boar hunting and then we’re suddenly having a meat picnic).

Though, all things considered, it works in the sense that we’re just kind of following along with these characters. While I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years is an isekai, it is also a slice of life and it very much has opposed giving Azusa any kind of overall goal. This sense of drifting through her day to day as she kind of just moves from one thing to the next fits that perfectly.

What fits less is that we’ve kind of lost the sense of calm nothingness that was kind of permeating the earlier episodes because we move from sequence to sequence here and it always feels like we’re pushing forward but not getting anywhere. I’m not entirely sure they’ve nailed either slice of life of adventure comedy in the execution here.

Azusa, Laika and Rosalie go boar hunting.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
The boars never stood a chance.

Anyway, after the dragon cookie fiasco and then the boar fighting and subsequent food binge, Azusa hears about a fake highland witch and decides to investigate. I’m not sure why she cares if someone else wants to call themselves the witch of the highlands, but apparently she does, and she sends her family out in all directions to search, conveniently leaving her with Laika and the original duo of this story head off to the west.

Somehow this results in them needing to verbally abuse some patrons at a bar in order to be told the witch is actually in the north and they are off again. I’m guessing someone thought the bar sequence was funny but for me it just felt very much like a square peg hammered into a round hole with brute force. It just didn’t fit and looked out of place in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.

Azusa dishes out some disrespect.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
How do any of the patrons end up with booze if the waitresses never actually deliver it?

Finally we catch up with the witch, realise yes she’s been using a fake name but she’s actually pretty talented, help her out and everything is cool. About the only unexpected part of the resolution is that she doesn’t end up moving in with Azusa as she’s got her own thing going and by the end has a thriving business selling pills.

I’m not sure if we were supposed to get attached to the girl or not but honestly she was in the episode for such a brief period and her character was so all over-the-place it was kind of difficult to care about this segment of the story even though it ended up being the final mission of the episode.

New witch character.
Image from I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.
I suspect she’d get on well with the elf-girl.

All and all, this episode of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years was perfectly watchable. The boar killing and picnic was probably the high point as it was kind of just silly fun. The bar sequence felt out of place and didn’t land for me and while the fake witch segment worked it didn’t exactly stand out and the character wasn’t given enough time to feel consequential. So pretty average episode in an average anime.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 7 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 7
https://otakuauthor.com/

The family we make.

As we pick up after Halkara’s ridiculous knocking out of the demon king and subsequent imprisonment, the other characters (also potentially facing death) are fretting about how to save her and hatch a plot to wake up the demon king and have her over-turn the sentence. That sounds a lot more tense and interesting than it ends up being but the real bonus of the whole sequence is the brief turn by the red-dragon girl into a cute-mini dragon. Can I just say I want one? In plush form preferably. Which in honesty is probably the point behind it but anyway.

300 Slime Ep7 1
So cute.

Anyway, the plan involves mixing up some bitter green medicine that will apparently shock the demon-king awake and so Azusa, badly disguised as a demon doctor, goes to meet with the demon king. I’m guessing this sequence was more or less a desire to put Azusa in a sexy doctor costume complete with demon-horns and tail because it is clearly a bonkers plan with zero chance of success and honestly it is seen through almost instantly.

However, when subterfuge fails, Azusa brute forces her way through and this was a nice reminder that Azusa has in fact maxed out her level. I’m still not entirely sure how the level system works and why demons who have probably lived longer than 300 years aren’t stronger than a highland witch who only ever killed slimes but I don’t think we’re particularly supposed to be concerned with the specifics. Azusa is max level and she more or less wipes out the guards without breaking a sweat. Even Beelzebub is impressed.

300 Slime Ep7 4
Let’s hope she doesn’t try.

The confrontation with the demon king turns out a little differently than expected after she challenges Azusa to a duel to prove her intention not to kill her. Like Azusa, I’m questioning the logic here but given the demon king’s reactions after being beaten I’m guessing logic isn’t her greatest asset even if she is quite the devious one. The fight does at least have Azusa forced to dodge for once and while the outcome is never really in question it does at least leave you wondering if Azusa might even take an injury (I’m more surprised that she let her hat get cut to be honest).

300 Slime Ep7 5
Victory?

All of that happens pretty quickly and honestly, was enjoyable enough. The rest of the episode very much falls into meh territory when it doesn’t make decisions that actually made me eye-roll. The Demon-King ends up demanding Azusa play the role of an older sister and she’s getting very exhilarated at the idea of someone who might give her orders and not just do as she, the demon king, says. There’s also a scene of Azusa kissing and then hugging the members of her ‘family’. All of this before we actually get to the award ceremony which was kind of the reason Azusa and family travelled to the demon king’s palace in the first place.

300 Slime Ep7 7
Credit where it is due – these two are adorable.

Honestly, the ceremony was the low point as we see a return of the blue dragon and then through a series of incredibly contrived plot points the blue dragon girl joins Azusa’s merry band of free-loaders (sorry, family members) and they all get back on the flying whale (or the sister of the original flying whale) and head back to the highlands.

It wasn’t a bad episode by any means but the addition of the blue dragon girl into this already over-cluttered cast of trope characters who don’t seem to get much fleshing out wasn’t exactly a winner for me.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 6 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 6
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Halkara continues to be the low point of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years.

At episode 6, the mid-way point for I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years, it has very much established itself as perfectly mediocre in almost every regard. It is moderately funny and moderately calming to watch. It has a low-key interesting fantasy world that it doesn’t do a huge amount to explore and it has some decentish characters that don’t get enough development.

Basically, it remains very watchable and honestly will be quite the bingeable anime for when you want to relax but as a weekly show each individual episode does not pack enough punch.

Killing Slimes for 300 Years
Nor should they.

That said, I do know which character remains the one I dislike the most, and that is Halkara. Since her arrival she’s been treated as the butt of so many jokes, a lot of which haven’t landed, and then they spent another episode possessing her with a ghost. Now we have the set-up of the characters going to the demon-kingdom for Azusa to accept an award and we have the instant foreshadowing of Beelzebub pointing out the demons won’t hurt them as long as they are basically polite.

All the characters cast worried looks at Halkara and her fate is set and so begins the slow process to getting to the point where they actually drop the axe, which in this case is actually the end of the episode setting up a cliff-hanger conclusion for the first time in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years’ run time.

The problem is, I kind of don’t care if Halkara actually does face a consequence given her blunder is so incredibly avoidable and I just don’t like her as a character. Ultimately, that makes what could have been one of the more dramatic moments of this series fall flat and I found I actually enjoyed the episode more when Azusa was playing dress-up with Rosalie, the ghost-girl who joined the cast.

300 Slime Ep6 3
See, cute.

It isn’t often I prefer the slice-of-life moments of characters just going about the day to day more than actual plot developments but that is where we are. Slime 300 does slice-of-life well. It does relaxing over a meal with incidental conversation well. It does cute slime-spirit girls well. It doesn’t do drama well. Or at least, it certainly hasn’t yet.

However, I would be remiss not to talk about the highlight of the episode. The night scene when the characters were riding the leviathan to the demon-kingdom. That was an incredibly pretty nightscape and it felt almost wasted. This beautiful set-piece and it was used for one incidental conversation that barely set-up a really lame fake-out joke. Admittedly, it doesn’t change the fact that it was beautiful and undeniably the show-stealing moment of the episode.

300 Slime Ep6 7
I know the image quality is bad but trust me, the scene was gorgeous.

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level remains an anime that more or less delivers what you expect and it does it well enough that there’s not really any reason to complain. It never promised to be a brilliant character drama so the fact that it isn’t shouldn’t be a problem. What it is, for the most part, is a relaxing watch with a largely charming female cast and the occasional bit of magical shenanigans. And largely it succeeds at what it attempts to do.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 5 Impressions

Slime 300 Episode 5
https://otakuauthor.com/

Amateur exorcists should not watch this episode.

After a one episode break from the standard formula of insert new character and then have scenario play out, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed out My Level kind of defaults back to form though this time at least Azusa is going to have to commute. Halkara (elf-girl) has bought a new factory and wouldn’t you know it, it’s haunted. Apparently so badly that people won’t actually work there and that’s forcing the elf-girl to work increasingly long days and into the night.

This naturally triggers Azusa who decides that something has to be done because people shouldn’t have to work long days.

I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years - Azusa
I like that she continues to be influenced by her first life.

Anyway, given Azusa doesn’t like ghosts and scary things either, she summons the demon-girl, Beelzebub to help them out. Why a reincarnated witch who lives with a dragon-girl, two slime-spirits and an elf, who happily summons a demon, is scared of ghosts is a matter this anime is utterly not-wanting to address but let’s just roll with it.

The summoning is slightly botched and Beelzebub ends up in a cold tub of water that is intended for the garden in what is a pretty lame joke except that it is a set-up for a plot point later in the episode so at least this story is trying to have some continuity even if at times it feels like they really had to force that particular foreshadowing.

Killing Slimes for 300 Years is pretty loose with its timeline.

One question I was left with at the end of this episode was how much time actually passed during the episode. We see Halkara looking at property advertisements and the rest of the group thinking she’s about to move out so it seems like the whole factory thing is kind of new. But then it’s apparently been operating long enough that the locals have all now heard the rumours of the ghost and won’t work there.

Did this all happen in a day or was there a number of incidents leading to this? What did the ghost do that scared them all? None of this is actually addressed and while the cute-teen ghost with a bad attitude ends up being kind of fun later in the episode you have to wonder what she was doing to people in the factory that made them all run away.

killing slimes - Beelzebub isn't messing about
Talk, ghost.

That point aside, Rosalie is the ghost and after hearing her sad story about how she ended up as a ghost they decide to help her leave the factory. Problem is she’s bound to the location. That should leave some kind of tension but Beelzebub more or less knocks that on the head by providing a near instant solution.

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years did at least make it an imperfect solution which leads us to the final third of the episode and where things are either funny or idiotic depending on your mind-set while watching. I actually found it kind of amusing and the eventual return of the cold tub of water worked nicely to bring the episode kind of full circle.

The end result after all the silly antics and terrible methods suggested for removing a ghost from a possessed person is that Azusa now has one more house-guest. I know she mentioned having lots of rooms after dragon-girl rebuilt her house but how many is ‘lots’. I mean, are we going to end up with anyone else under this roof?

300 Slime Ep5 4
But then again, how could you say no?

Again though, the episode hits enough moments that make you laugh or at least smile and the characters continue to be pleasant and play-off one another. Halkara even felt a little more interesting this week, though she did spend nearly a third of the episode possessed.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


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Karandi James


I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Episode 4 Impressions

300 Slime Ep4
https://otakuauthor.com/

Dragons Unite in I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years

Clearly even the writers of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years seemed to get that they couldn’t just perpetually have new characters move into Azusa’s house and so episode 4 shakes up the established formula by having Azusa actually travel. Laika (the dragon-girl) gets a little more fleshed out as a character (though emphasis on the little part) as we travel to her home to take part in her older sister’s wedding.

It isn’t all smooth sailing as the blue dragon clan crashes the wedding and Azusa’s over-poweredness is required to save the day.

Best dragon in I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years
I hate lines like this that are deliberately misleading just for the sake of getting a reaction from other characters.

It was nice for the anime to shift its focus back to Laika. Since episode one where she brazenly challenged the witch of the highlands, she’s really just been the server of tea. As much as Azusa told the elf-girl last episode she’d have to help with the cooking, you never really see anyone outside of Laika preparing food or serving the meals.

While this episode didn’t give us a lot of insight into Laika, she did at least get to be more central to the basic story unfolding and we got to see her interactions with her older sister and parents which adds a little more to her character (it is kind of like she’s starting to be filled out from the very sketchy outline we previously had).

That said, this episode also kind of established that elf-girl isn’t going to be anything more than the butt of repeated jokes. Whether it is playing dead during the dragon fight, getting drunk at the party, or left out of Azusa’s make believe family ties, elf-girl really isn’t getting to do anything more than be the punch line.

That said, I couldn’t help but sympathise as she got dragon-sick having had to get on a plane twice in three days and being incredibly sick myself on both occasions (I do feel bad for other passengers who are unlucky enough to fly with me on small domestic planes – international flights I’m usually okay for… usually).

Dragon sickness - I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years
I could relate.

Though if elf-girl has become the butt of every joke, the slime spirits don’t even have that going for them. They just get the occasional cute line and get to huddle at the first sign of any danger. I will give them credit for actually being pretty adorable, but that doesn’t give them any more character points.

But, the award for worst character motivation so far in this series, I’d have to give it to the leader of the blue dragons who rocked up at the wedding just to cause trouble because they could. Even the characters even the show remarked out petty and pointless the whole thing really was and again I feel the need to point out that being self-aware of lame moments in a story does not make them less lame.

300 Slime Ep4 4
Wow… That’s just sad.

If I ignore the motive behind the dragon attack though, the episode that unfolds is actually pretty fun and more or less reinforces the point that this story isn’t about what is happening or even why it is happening so much as just enjoying what is there. The fight between Azusa and the dragons is kind of fun and feels very reminiscent of something from Dragon Ball or a similar type story.

The demon’s reappearance later in the episode is perfectly done and her attitude and manner is actually genuinely funny. Then we have some touching family moments with Laika and her sister followed by Azusa and her group and it leaves us feeling like we watched a fun episode and then got a feel good ending so its difficult to really be overly critical of the show.

If I was going to be a little more critical, the visuals took a bit of a hit this week. Maybe it was the sheer number of dragons they were attempting to animate or the difference in size between the humans and dragons. However there were a number of scenes that really just look a little bit on the lame side visually and moments where characters (particularly their faces) seemed to lack detail.

For a show really being carried by cute girls being front and centre that seemed a little odd for the cute aesthetic to take a hit.

300 Slime Ep4 5
Don’t scare kids, don’t break Azusa’s house, and don’t try to fight her. Simple rules.

All and all, this episode did expand the world a little more as we finally moved out from Azusa’s home and village. It also gave us a slightly different variation on the set-up that the first three episode delivered. It definitely gives the series a bit more room for movement going forward with more possibilities for scenarios or I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years could just go back to doing what it was doing with the occasional episode like this to break things up. Either way, I’m pretty happy to sit back and watch it all unfold.

Images used for review from: I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. Dir. N Kimura. Revoroot. 2021.


Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James