That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime - Episode 3 (Review)
By: Mithrandiel
Miss my review last week? You can find it here!
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime continues to weave an entertaining web, gradually expanding its world while giving some insight on how Rimuru chooses to use his newfound powers for good.
Spoilers Ahead!
Summary
Last week, Rimuru stumbled upon a very different kind of goblin society than the one anime fans may have been introduced with in Goblin Slayer. A hapless bunch, they find themselves completely at the mercy of a nearby pack of direwolves. After a bloody battle, their defenses are largely shot, and so it's up to Rimuru to step up and help defend them against this pending threat.
After advising them to build a fence, Rimuru employs some of his thread-based skills to help take down a handful of the direwolves as the goblins attack from range with bows and arrows. The effectiveness of this strategy angers the direwolves Alpha, who attempts to attack Rimuru head on. Unfortunately, he instead gets caught up in a series of Sticky Threads, and Rimuru separates his head from his body with a powerful water blade attack.
Absorbing the head, our fearless slime takes the form of a direwolf and employs the newly acquired skill "Menace" to force the pack into submission. Forming an unlikely alliance, the direwolves and goblins now have merged together to form a larger and more powerful clan.
The next day, Rimuru begins taking steps to organize their new society, and as part of the process he begins naming the goblins. They're overjoyed, and for a while he's unsure why they're so excited. After naming all of the goblins, and then passing a name onto the son of the previous Alpha wolf, Rimuru succumbs to a loss of magical energy and goes into a 3-day recovery period. Turns out that giving monsters names drains you of magical power!
After his 72-hour nap, Rimuru awakens to an entirely different population of goblins. They've grown bigger, prettier, stronger! For example, the village elder, whom he named Rigurd, has transformed from a fragile old man into a massive, muscly goblin lord.
Impressed by their evolution, Rimuru holds another village meeting to lay down some ground rules:
- Don't fight with humans
- Don't fight amongst yourselves
- Don't belittle other races
With some semblance of a moral compass, and an evolved clan of goblins and direwolves working hand in hand, everything seems to be in order - except for shelter and clothing. While they can hunt and feed themselves, goblins aren't very well known for their craftsmanship. Rigurd tells Rimuru of the Dwarves who reside in Dwargon nearby, and this sets Rimuru on a journey to work with the dwarves to get a proper village built for his people.
Review
Fantasy and isekai fans have a lot to celebrate this season, with a stacked lineup of varied, quality shows that keep the entertainment coming. If Goblin Slayer and Sword Art Online: Alicization weren't enough to whet your appetite, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime helps to complete the roundup of offerings with a fun and well-produced series.
We're still in the early stages of Rimuru's powers and growth, but seeing his abilities easily shut down a pack of direwolves is a great way of demonstrating just how much more powerful he is than your run of the mill monsters.
The animation continues to impress, namely with the subtle and nuanced movements of Rimuru's slime-form. The varied goblins were also seemingly brought to life with care, including some of the female goblins post-evolution...which may give you conflicting feelings when you go back to watching Goblin Slayer.
The main hiccup with this episode was the pacing for me. Things move very quickly within the first few minutes of the show, but once the Alpha has been taken down and the direwolves subjugated, the central plot didn't really move from there at all until the very end. Don't get me wrong, it is an entertaining jaunt to watch Rimuru flex his influence and power to help expand his influence by bringing a new, hybrid village to life. However, it seems like an episode that might be found more around the mid-point of a series than slowing down the narrative launch in the first few episodes.
Now that Rimuru is off to meet the dwarves, however, chances are that things are about to get even more interesting. I'm curious to see what sort of quest they'll have to offer Rimuru in order for him to secure their services.
You can catch That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime every Monday on Crunchyroll!
