Slime 300

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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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Karandi James

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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Karandi James

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
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Karandi James