That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Episode 23 Review
Well this episode caught me off guard. MAL has had That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime listed as 25 episodes for most of its run time. The current arc, while beautiful closure on the whole Shizu story arc, has not been particularly compelling or season finale worthy. All and all, nothing really prepared me for the story bringing things to a close mid-way through episode 23 and then regaling me with montages, musical recaps, teary farewells and general padding for the remainder of the episode.
And I was most just left wondering, ‘is that it?’.
I get that this has been more slice of life than shounen or even straight fantasy. There’s no real big bad to have a fight against or compelling goal that Rimuru’s been working toward since the beginning. In that sense, closing off Shizu’s last regret of not helping the kids is actually a really logical end point to the season.
But if that’s the case why wasn’t this a more emotional or interesting arc. The kids are barely sketched in characters that we literally just met and have no connection to. The journey to get a spirit to bond with them had no danger or even interesting moments. It was just kind of montaged over and then they were there. Likewise the actual moment of bonding the kids with the spirits, while we got a pretty light show and some potential future consequences, wasn’t exactly a riveting moment.
And for all that Slime has been slice of life-ish for the majority of its run time it has managed emotive moments such as Shizu’s brief character moment and even Vesta falling from grace as the king called him on his schemes. These moments happened to relatively unknown characters with brief appearances and yet they had impact. Slime has also managed good action and drama at times. Yet none of this was brought to the fore in an arc that essentially ends a two cour series.
We apparently have an extra coming at us next and I’ll watch that before getting around to reviewing this as a whole series but my honest opinion right now is one of being just a little bit underwhelmed by what Slime ultimately delivered.
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THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME – RIMURU’S HEAT FLUCTUATION TOLERANCE SKILL LIGHT DRY HOODIE BLACK (L SIZE)
- Episode 1 – Strictly Set Up
- Episode 2 – So I Ate A Dragon and A Snake And A Bat Thing…
- Episode 3 – Submissive Wolves and Buff Goblins
- Episode 4 – Dwarven Blacksmiths and Giggling Elves
- Episode 5 – Past Wrongs and Future Destinies
- Episode 6 – The Importance of Pacing To Build Tension
- Episode 7 – Miraculous Survival of the Slime
- Episode 8 – 3 Ways Slime Is Exploring Endings and Beginnings
- Episode 9 – Watch The Slime Playing with Powers and Defeating Ogres
- Episode 10 – Slime, Ogres and Lizardmen; The Coming Conflict Looks Colourful
- Episode 11 – The Worst Way To Learn the Skill of Diplomacy
- Episode 12 – How Even The Best Laid Plans Can Be Derailed by Idiots
- Episode 13 – War: Crushing March of the Overpowered Monsters
- Episode 14 – The Fitting End of the Orc Lord Courtesy of the Slime
- Episode 15 – The Accidental Creation of a Slime Nation
- Episode 16 – Can You Catch More Demon Lords with Honey?
- Episode 17 – That Time The Powerful Slime Decided To Dabble in Diplomacy
- Episode 18 – The Slime, The Demon Lord and The Flying Sharks?
- Episode 19 – That Time We Defeated a Catastrophe Without Really Trying
- Episode 20 – Well It’s Been Fun, But Now We’ll Count Down Until The End
- Episode 21 – Who Would Have Thought That All You Need Is A Dog And Unlimited Power?
- Episode 22 – That Time We Found a Fairy Who is a Demon Lord?
- Episode 23 – That Time The Show Ended And The Audience Wondered Why?
- Episode 24 (Extra) – And Then Shizue Stole the Anime Right Out From Under Rimuru
- Episode 24.5 (Padding) – Now Worth The Slime
- Images from:
This show isn’t ever actually “bad” it just peaked at the Shizu arc and never gets back on its footing, and that’s a damn shame. Though I know there is much more story to tell.
I pray Shield Hero doesn’t go the same way.
Slime never hit bad, even in its slower more talk based episodes. There was almost always something fun to be found and the general laid back nature of the show made it fairly entertaining to just kind of zone out to for twenty minutes. That said, I agree that it definitely peaked mid way through the first cour and since then we’ve just kind of been marking time which doesn’t exactly make it high on my list of recommendations for people to watch.
That’s my view, and it’s a real damn shame, but still a decent fun show, just couldn’t keep it going.
The show ending on an anticlimax is strangely fitting. For better or worse. Maybe for better AND Worse. I liked the show, but diminishing returns is definitely a concept that comes to mind.
Have to agree. If and when this gets a second season, I’d probably watch it, but I know I don’t intend to buy this one on DVD or rewatch. There just isn’t enough reason to.
I must agree. I had such high hopes for what this might have been, but it never really delivered, and the end was… well, “meh.”
I’m still a bit stumped that this just kind of ended.