With only a handful of episodes to go Tensura 2 seems to be moving things along with Shuna, Souei and Hakurou moving on Clayman’s castle while Rimuru goes to the meeting of the demon-lords and sees Milim’s current condition, though even that isn’t enough to really list the episode.
I will definitely give this episode points because Shuna’s face-off against the skeleton priest thing (one of Clayman’s fingers) was very impressive and Shuna’s a character who spends far too much time in the background making clothing or other things while everyone else gets to be awesome. However, outside of that, this episode left me feeling pretty flat.
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Has the charm worn of Tensura 2?
I’m not that worried though given long running shows tend to do this to me in that their energy spikes and falls and if I were watching this whole season in a binge session it wouldn’t feel anywhere near as drawn out as it does watching it weekly. That said, if (when) there’s eventually a third season of Tensura 2 I probably won’t be diving in for episodic viewing and will probably just binge it at the end.
If I’m really honest, even season one had a few dips in it in terms of how interesting I found it. As much as Tensura is very popular I will admit I find it a charming watch but I’m not a manic fan of the franchise and if it were to disappear I probably wouldn’t remember it for very long.
But let’s take the episode in order.
Shuna’s journey to Clayman’s base isn’t exactly fraught with danger given they overcome the challenge fairly readily and easily, but it was still so nice just seeing her out and about.
And honestly, anyone who claims not to have been impressed by her magical feats against the skeleton guy either didn’t watch the episode or is just too hard to impress. Shuna was awesome. If only she wasn’t sharing an anime with Benimaru and Rimuru she could have been an amazing protagonist all on her own.
Of course, much like last episode where Benimaru mopped up the battle in the canyon, I kind of felt sorry for the supporting characters this week. instead of the beastketeers, this time it is Souei and Hakurou who are forced very much into supporting roles in this battle and neither really get to do anything truly amazing (though Souei’s ease of slicing and dicing a death dragon could have been impressive if it didn’t get straight back up).
Considering both of those characters are very impressive fighters and Souei is a character I genuinely like in Tensura 2 but don’t think he gets anywhere near enough screen time, they both felt criminally underused in this episode.
The skeleton guy’s radical personality change also kind of felt a little bit on the cheap side this week though did give me a bit of a laugh (and laughs have been a little few and far between recently for Tensura so I won’t turn my nose up at it).
With that battle wrapped and the characters heading toward the fortress, we cut back to Rimuru heading into the meeting with the demon lords and he faces up to the guy who was responsible for Shizue.
Honestly, this feels like an underwhelming confrontation and while I get now probably isn’t the time or place for Rimuru to really pursue this issue, it all just felt a little anti-climatic. Tensura 2 part 2 hasn’t had any solid emotional notes really to hold it together and it felt like Rimuru should have had a stronger reaction (though I do get time and place).
Then we have Clayman arrive and they are still trying to make this guy look like walking scum as he slaps Milim in the head. As I’ve said in an earlier review, we already hate Clayman but they really aren’t doing subtle. But if we want to know how people react to the obviously bewitched Milim and the cocky Clayman I guess we’ll have to wait for the next episode.
I kind of wish I was more excited but honestly I’m just kind of waiting this one out and hoping Tensura 2 manages to end on a hight note.
Images from: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2 Part 2. Dir. Y Kikuchi. 8bit. 2021.
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Karandi James
I guess I’m enjoying it more than other people. I agree that there have been some painfully slow stretches. But this ep. leaves me with a lot of tension.
Shuna showing such awesome levels of power is both a treat and unexpected.That kind of power would have come in handy earlier.
Rimeru is starting to think like a demon lord and the ruler of a nation at war. He’s not the same cutesy slime he once was. Now he is playing chess at the top level. A certain combination of strategy and ruthlessness is necessary or Slime will be jellied.
I don’t blame Rimeru for not reacting. He is surrounded by incredibly powerful figures, every one of which could potentially win a battle. He’s never fought demon lord level opponents before. He doesn’t have powerful allies at the table with him and even a win could turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory. Clayman wants to destroy him, MIlim is under Clayman’s control, and the other lords want to see him tested to be sure he belongs to the demon lord club.
I’d be playing with a poker face too. But wait until Clayman discovers his castle is taken and he’s lost most of his armies. I expect that will set off the fireworks.
It may set off the fireworks but I somehow suspect Rimeru and friends will overcome them far too easily. As you said, this situation should be fraught with tension but I just can’t bring myself to invest in it given how easily Rimeru gets through most situations.
That’s a fundamental problem with most anime. Nobody wants to see the good guy take any casualties. If Rimeru’s supporting cast doesn’t all come thru, there will be hell to pay with the fans.
He’s starting to think like a demon lord and a ruler of a nation at war. He’s literally walking into a lion’s den. Total poker face is that way to play it.
I said once, a good while ago – actually, in my review of the first season, I think – that when the characters get comfortable, the storyteller needs to kick the chair out from under them… and let them hit the ground. Hard. Without that, things get too easy, and the story gets boring. We need tension, of some variety, to keep us interested.
I can think of exactly *one* show in my experience which managed to entertain me from start to finish without having even the slightest bit of real tension anywhere within it. But, as I keep thinking about it, *that* story had characters who weren’t sitting around waiting for things to happen, they went out and grew themselves on their own. They didn’t really need the chair to be kicked out from under them, because they weren’t sitting around in it. That kept them and every new thing they did interesting.
This show, however, doesn’t do that. It consistently sets up tension, and then consistently fails to deliver. It’s too easy, and victory doesn’t feel earned. Heck, we’ve never seen Shuna cut loose, and she had the spotlight for a single confrontation that she easily won. It was nice, but too easy, especially since she had the entire spotlight. Which, have you noticed? They don’t manage to spread the spotlight very well, making the overwhelming number of characters seem… well, like there’s just too many of them. Which makes it difficult to keep ourselves invested in them… especially because we know they’re going to easily win anyway.
I don’t dislike Slime but do feel I could walk away at any time and it wouldn’t bother me.