Reincarnated As A Slime Is Vapid Fun: Three Episode Rule

Video Transcript:

I think I would have enjoyed ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime’ a lot more if it was an actual video game and not an anime. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, to be clear. There’s lots of strong animation peppered throughout the episodes, some pretty good jokes, and I do think this is a unique and upbeat take on the isekai premise. As an anime, however, Slime feels like it’s in such a rush to get to the material it’s more interested in showing the audience that it feels like its using endless amounts of exposition to skim over early parts of this story.

Excessive monologues feel like a horrific blight on otherwise good stories in this industry. Instead of being shown important events, information, and character traits that the audience needs to be invested, Slime prefers to simply have a main character explain all these things in as efficient a way as possible. To me it simply begs the question of whom characters like Rimu are actually explaining their lives to. The obvious answer is the audience, and to me that sort of writing just feels somewhat inauthentic to me without a proper framing device, such as the character writing in a diary, telling the story to a friend, or acknowledging the audience directly. Maybe a story doesn’t necessarily need that, but I always appreciate it when a writer puts in that little bit of extra effort and detail to really immerse anyone experiencing the art. Creators and fans alike seem all too eager to justify lazy choices because to them it’s not necessarily something they care about in writing, but to me taking into account the ways you handle writing exposition feels like such a simple way to improve your work and greatly widen the appeal of your art.

And as for the art itself, yes, as an Isekai, Slime employs a lot of cliche hallmarks of the genre such as death and reincarnation, an immediately understandable fantasy world, and an extremely strong main character with an everyman’s perspective in the construction of its story. And the world it builds feels very much like a bog standard Dragon Quest game complete with skills that the characters reference as such, and the soundtrack even features a lot of nostalgic chiptunes to really sell you on that JRPG aesthetic.

The differences are where it counts though. Being reincarnated as a creature which is very obviously a reference to a Dragon Quest Slime is a fun little subversion of expectations, and the animation of Rimu is consistently cute and funny in small little ways. I like that Satoru, the human Rimuru originally was before dying, was a 37 year old guy who actually led a pretty normal life and didn’t seem to be overly obsessed with video games prior to his death. He didn’t have a girlfriend but he wasn’t exactly a social outcast either. I liked that he died selflessly protecting a friend rather than being an idiot who carelessly got into an accident, as is usually the case with Isekai protagonists. And I like that Rimuru uses his new life to both figure out his place in this new world, as well as to just generally help anyone he comes across. Aaaand I like seeing this world from the perspective of the monsters and how they function, whereas so far the humans have felt like something of an other that Rimuru hasn’t yet had any place interacting with yet. It’s kind of par for the course for a character like this to get an absurd amount of super powers and instant respect from those he interacts with, but overall the upbeat atmosphere of the show and the simple, optimistic attitude of all the characters just had me feeling quite pleasant during my time with the show, as often it can be quite difficult to ignore the ugly sense of bitterness and entitlement at the heart of a number of Isekai. Slime has so far done a decent job of feeling more like a fun fantasy adventure designed for the audiences enjoyment rather than something the author just wrote for themselves.

Reincarnated as a Slime is a show about watching cute and colourful animation, getting exponentially stronger, increasing your social standing, and overall leaving a mark in the world under parameters that are easy to measure, understand, and make sense of. If that sounds like your bag then feel free to check it out. As for me, I might watch a bit more but to me there’s simply a lack of interesting themes or character dynamics to think about, as well as what I feel to be a rushed pacing, poorly handled exposition, and some tired tropes that are too typical to the genre. To me there’s just something very lifeless and unappealing at the core of shows like these, but I can’t deny that there’s a certain appeal that even I’m able to enjoy. But instead of watching it I’d much rather be eating monsters, absorbing their abilities, and doing quests for monsters at my own pace rather than watching someone else do it. In any case, I’m not saying I’m going to drop the show, but I get the distinct feeling that at some point I’ll just get distracted and forget to watch more. Especially since in terms of analysis I really don’t have much else to say, outside of the unlikely case in which it goes in a totally unexpected direction.

If you enjoyed the video you’re welcome to leave a like and a subscription, and if you comment remember that my thoughts are just my opinion. And remember, I gave the show a fair chance thanks to the universally agreed upon efficiency of the Three Episode Rule. Let me know what you want me to give the three episode rule next and I’ll see you in the next video.