Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken 2nd Season Part 2

If there’s one ingredient that’s absolutely core to my enjoyment of a show, it’s relatability. It’s not necessarily that the characters have to be similar to me, it’s that I have to connect with some facet of their motivation. Rimuru Tempest (which I will refer to as “he,” despite being genderless, for ease of discussion) was easily the most appealing aspect of this narrative as he’s a character we all wish we could be. What made him stand out from the myriad of lackluster self-inserts was his open-mindedness and uncanny ability to befriend those who were once enemies--mostly due to his exuberant generosity and resources--whichallowed him to build a robust, ethnically diverse, RPG-esque community. It was fascinating to see all the moving parts of Tempest, how each individual can utilize their unique talents to contribute to their little society. Even if it’s all fictitious, there was a level of comfort in knowing that such a welcoming community exists where even a bumbling fool like Gobta has inherent value as a member. And while it has somewhat maintained this general appeal, I feel as though it has lost its luster over the course of Season 2. Spoilers ahead. There was a defining moment in Season 2 that dramatically shifted the dynamic of the narrative, and that was the Falmuth invasion. At first, I thought this was a good direction for the story to take. As the saying goes, you don’t know when something’s valuable until you’ve lost it, and witnessing the heartbreaking massacre on Tempest added some much-needed stakes to the story. It highlights just how fragile the city of Tempest can be, and it reinforces the idea that it’s something worth protecting. Such a loving community utterly devastated by humans, a race infamously known for their close-minded fear and ignorance. This can easily be seen as a metaphor for how minorities are often misunderstood and shunned because of it. The city of Tempest is truly the lifeline of the show, so it’s understandable that Rimuru would want to retaliate, but I feel as though he went too far. Up until this point, Rimuru kept that casualties to a minimum, only killing when absolutely necessary, so I was expecting the kind-hearted Rimuru to mourn the loss of his people, then try to establish a more sound relationship with the human race; this is a fantasy, after all, and I would like to believe people are actually able to be reasoned with, but the story took an unexpected turn. It introduced this cheap plot device where, if Rimuru evolves to Demon Lord, he can revive everyone who died in his city. Yea, you can kiss those stakes goodbye, ‘cuz from here on out, there will be none. There’s really no going back from this error. From now on, I know Rimuru will ALWAYS come out ahead no matter what, because the story can just pull something out of its ass to make sure of it. Throughout the show’s entirety, Rimuru’s powers and resources were handed to him on a silver platter, so I was genuinely interested to see how Rimuru would respond when things didn’t go his way, but of course, that doesn’t matter anymore. Yes, I understand that Slime is trying to be an escapist fantasy where everything goes right, but the invasion of Falmuth was an honest attempt at introducing a compelling conflict, and it fell flat because it’s trying to have its cake and eat it too. Needless to say, this has made Part 2 kinda boring...ish? Funnily enough, despite having no narrative stakes, it didn’t totally ruin the experience for me. I guess watching Rimuru and co. is enough to simply enjoy the show, so it wasn’t a chore to sit through, but it definitely isn’t as charming as it used to be. I, personally, enjoy shows from a spectator’s point of view, and I seldom enjoy things that require self-insert. While most people might project themselves onto Rimuru to live out their fantasy, I simply admire Rimuru as if I’m a part of the community, but after seeing the oh-so-kind Rimuru slaughter thousands of humans, it’s hard to appreciate him in the same light. Sure, he did slaughter hundreds of orcs in the previous season, but this time, he did it with this eerie sense of malice to him. It almost feels as though he’s this communist overlord coated with a veneer of humble benevolence and prosperity. I dunno, it’s kind of unsettling to see all of his subordinates obsequiously worship him with this unquestionable loyalty, and when someone does question Rimuru, he just responds with: “I want to make the world a better place!” and everyone is just like: “wow, Rimuru, you’re such a nice guy!” and I’m here like “dude, you just killed thousands of people in cold blood, who’s making their world a better place?” It’s hard to relate to all the characters who are doing nothing but blindly jerking off Rimuru, and it’s even harder to relate to the slime king who can do no wrong. Because the show has lost that relatability, the show just isn’t as engaging as it used to be. Now, the character interactions aren’t nearly as endearing and actually slightly obnoxious. The fight scenes have become overlong and exhausting. It’s well animated, but it’s just a bunch of badass wannabes standing around announcing meaningless attack names and doing some flashy nonsense, and the dreadfully loud, bassy sound effects make it especially nauseating to sit through. These are ultimately small, nitpicky details, but they do add up and take away from the experience. I should also mention, Slime has had a villain problem for a while now where their only motivation is that they’re evil, but Part 2 has exacerbated this issue. Clayman was the “big bad” the show’s been building up to for a long while now. Every conflict before now alludes to him being the guy pulling the strings, and now that we actually see him in action, it turns out he’s actually quite cartoonish and pathetic. It’s as if reviving half the population wasn’t enough, and they just had to hammer home the fact that this show has absolutely zero tension. Oh wait, but Clayman isn’t actually the guy pulling the strings, turns out there’s a guy above him who’s the REAL villain! Oh boy, I can’t wait to see that confrontation, isn’t it exciting? No. No, it’s not. Remember back in 2012, everyone was freaking out about Thanos in the Avengers mid-credit scene? Yea, that was a cool reveal because Loki was already a cunning, world-ending threat. I suppose Clayman is the Loki of this universe, but this shouty dumbass is laughable at best and pompously overbearing at his worst. Seriously, this is just a pitiful attempt at raising the stakes where there is none, since Rimuru is so OP that he’ll probably just brush off the next villain with ease anyways. I know I’ve been pretty negative throughout this review, but I still kind of enjoy the show despite all of its flaws. I wish I could just ignore these thoughts and experience the show for what it is, but alas, these things do indeed distract me. Like I said before, building the city of Tempest was what I found to be the most enticing aspect of the show, and I guess at some point, the show stopped being about the community and solely about Rimuru. Everyone either praises him or is impressed by him. We get a scene where 2 big bad demon lords talk about how mysterious and fascinating Rimuru is. In every fight scene, we have people shouting out how cool he is, and that kind of excessive stanning is lost on me. Thanks for reading!

Tensura Season 2 Part 1 went out on a relatively high note, and the hype for the continuation was real. This was my most anticipated summer anime of 2021. I am in shock and awe over what a disappointment it’s been. Story: 1/10 At the end of S2P1, it was clear that Rimuru would be spending the next arc taking down the antagonist, Clayman. The stage is set for an epic war between demon lords. Episode one rolls around, and the entirety is spent with the main, supporting, and minor characters talking it out. Okay, fair enough, it is the first episode, so it’s alright to spendit setting up the epic action teased to come. Then the second episode’s credits roll, and wouldn’t you know it, Rimuru and his pals are still talking it out in Tempest. Then the third episode’s credits roll… and the fourth’s… Wouldn’t you know it, we’re six entire episodes in and there has been no demon lord showdown as promised, but a whole lot of talking heads. If I wasn’t already three cours into this show, it would be an easy drop for this absolute travesty of pacing alone. Action finally starts with the seventh episode, but it amounts to little more than dick-measuring contests of power levels. No threat Rimuru’s underlings face are enough to create even an in-universe sense of urgency. As viewers, that’s one thing, but when the characters themselves show this level of apathy, why are we watching them? It’s the story equivalent of beating the stuffing out of early-game enemies after beating the final boss of a video game… but for entire episodes. It’s as senseless as it is boring. Speaking of Rimuru… what in the actual nine circles of hell was that Clayman fight? Episode ten ends with getting our hopes up with the promise of finally(!!) delivering the epic Clayman fight we were promised, and then the writing comes in and smashes the tiny strand of tension the narrative had finally managed to build up in favor of an episode worth of braindead sitcom gags that have no place in the middle of any fight sequence, much less to the death. This is paired with one of the dumbest plot reveals I’ve ever seen in my anime-watching career. Tension looks like it’s going to come back… and then evaporates moments later, rinse and repeat for as long as the airtime needs to fill the time slot. The sheer audacity of this entire trainwreck of bad writing is enough to put Tensura S2P2 alongside the very worst dregs of cheap cash-grabbing isekai properties. Art: 3/10 I can’t in good conscience give the art anything high when so much of the show has been the cast sitting around and talking with the enthusiasm of a cold bologna sandwich. While no animation jumps out as janky or mismatched, I know what Tensura is capable of showing us, and so I can’t help but be disappointed. At this point, the new character designs a have lost their charm as well. No more monsters for us, part of the selling point of the original imho, just generic mass-produced bishonen and bland waifus. The demon lords could have been really cool, but instead they have been designed as generically attractive human(oid)s in generic outfits designed to market sex appeal. It’s disappointing that this once-beloved anime has fallen so low. Sakuga might have made Tensura worth watching despite the atrocious state of its story. Unfortunately, there is very little, if any. Even the fight scenes somehow feel as comparatively devoid of life as the strategy room scenes. The best sakuga is found in the OP and ED sequences; speaking of which, why the slight updates halfway through the show? It’s not like it was particularly spoilery, so was it just not animated in time for the release, or what? Sound: 4/10 The OP and ED are okay. The rest of the soundtrack is nothing to write home about. The voice acting is hammy, but not as horrible as the other aspects of this show. Actors can only do so much with the script they’re given, after all. In that regard, the VAs are the most impressive aspect of the show. Thanks for trying, VAs, but you couldn’t save this one. Character: 1/10 The cast has undergone sitcom-ification. The script has never been Tensura’s strong suit. With a dearth of action scenes, any potential character of Rimuru’s posse has been killed in favor of unfunny jokes and tired cliches. Veldora suffers from this the worst, going from an intimidating dragon of few words to an insufferable buff bishie who’s about as intimidating as any character whose purpose is to be the butt of jokes. Clayman, the villain, is basically Baby’s First Antagonist. He’s as one dimensional as they come. Considering the arc focus is supposed to be between him and Rimuru, it’s extremely disappointing. If we have to be stuck in talking-head limbo, why not explore his motivations beyond being an evil, power-grabbing stereotype? Clayman is so transparently evil, arrogant, and abrasive to everyone(!) that it makes one wonder why none of the other demon lords have put him in his place. He feels like the author tried to evoke Roswaal from Re:Zero on a surface level, without the love and care that made Roswaal a compelling character. After being hyped up as an antagonist for so long, calling this a disappointment is an understatement. The other demon lords come off as a mix of arrogant as well as dumber than a sack of rocks, which is a combination of traits as odd as it is infuriating to watch for characters that are supposedly the cream of the crop. It comes off not as regal or powerful, but as an attempt to make the lowest common denominator of the audience feel smart. It’s hard to have respect for them as characters. Seriously, Tensura… it’s been a while since I’ve been so uninvested in a major faction reveal of all things. Not a single new demon lord is worth singling out to write about. There’s a certain level of horrid writing you have to reach to kill that kind of natural hype. Enjoyment: 1/10 I enjoyed the original Tensura immensely. It has a charm to it that I still believe sets it apart from your mixed bag of the seemingly endless amount of Isekai anime series churned out every seasonal cour, copycatting each other in an ouroboros of bad writing. S2P1 departed from the feel-good vibe of the original season in favor of edge, yet for all its controversy, I found it to be a strong enough and satisfying sequel. This one, though… I knew Tensura jumped the shark the moment Veldora began guffawing at manga in what was otherwise a high-profile political meeting, but I was determined to see it through to the end. Despite this, I couldn’t have anticipated how much worse the show got. I expected the show to throw me a bone, a reason to keep watching besides the sunken costs of having watched the earlier seasons. It never happened. Regarding any potential future seasons of Tensura, I would much rather watch an obvious bargain bin isekai anime where things actually happen than listen to the Rimuru Simp Squad kiss ass to their idol with just enough drip-feeding of plot to bait me into watching again next week, only to be let down again by more sitting and talking, a smattering of unhumorous, forced gags, and maybe watch someone gloat about their power levels if we’re lucky. If you enjoyed the previous Tensura seasons, do yourself a favor and pretend like S2P1 was the series finale and S2P2 never got funded. If that isn’t enough to stop you, at least turn it into a drinking game. Maybe the alcohol will help wash the bad taste of the writing out of your mouth. Overall, 2 out of 10.

Everyone’s lord and saviour Rimuru-sama has returned yet again, and this entry of Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken continues to be enjoyable despite its overall lack of narrative stakes. The characters remain just as entertaining to watch and help deliver on a well-timed arc that many previous fans of the series were most likely waiting for. Fans of the series know what to expect by now and this season makes sure not to disappoint them. Unfortunately for others who weren’t as keen on the previous seasons, many major issues remain as the show continues to play into its strengths rather than improve upon its weaknesses. Thisentry of Tensei Shitara knows it’s largest audience well. We get to see more one-sided battles from our carefree, overpowered protagonist, Rimuru, while all his friends are off engaging in their own rather insignificant battles. Under most circumstances the repeated lack of stakes would’ve resulted in a stale or boring story, however, Tensei Shitara manages to weasel its way out of any feeling of repetition through entertaining characters and a story structure that keeps you engaged. Plot points hinted at in previous seasons are delivered on and more plot points are set up for future developments. It keeps fans wanting more while making sure the current arc is interesting, and this continues to pay off greatly as the show progresses. There are numerous obstacles and antagonists, new and old, so don’t expect it to run out of ideas anytime soon. This season focuses a lot more on the demon lords, Clayman and his army in particular, and it was a good change of pace that resolved many issues brought in in previous arcs. It’s properly built up with numerous scenes of Clayman that allow the viewer to have become familiar with him as an antagonist by the end of the season. He can be pretty underwhelming at times though, and a more competent villain would’ve been much better for the series. This gets more evident the more the season progresses. The arc is wrapped up nicely in the twelve episodes though, with a satisfying conclusion to all the plot points it tackled. Other demon lords are also introduced, with some maintaining an aura of uncertainty around them adding a slight layer of unpredictability to the story. The exceptionally large number of characters continues to increase whilst quite honestly being one of the few things keeping the anime from dropping in entertainment value. You can expect to see previously introduced characters return, each one of them adding to the story in some way. Multiple new characters are introduced to set up for future arcs and there are only a select few characters introduced that seem to add no real value to the story whatsoever. At some points the number of characters can seem too large, with the series struggling to give enough screentime to them all. It’s forced to throw in a few random battles to make sure every character is doing something. While the fights were still entertaining to watch they can feel rather meaningless when looking back on the season as a whole. Although the large cast of characters keep on providing a fun and refreshing feel to the show there is still a noticeable lack of proper character development. All the major events that happen seem to barely phase any characters involved and by the end of the season they’re practically the same people they were at the beginning of it. Every event and battle just happens to play out in a way that leaves every character in great condition by the end of it. The events of Part One practically confirmed that you won’t have to worry about anything bad happening to the characters. Character development was never a goal for this series, this has been obvious since the first season, and it continues to prioritise fun and entertaining characters over more thought-out ones. Tensei Shitara has always had a slight focus on fantasy politics and this is now true more than ever. It makes sure you know this as well, with multiple episodes in a row being dedicated to having the characters sit in a circle and talk about… something. I’m not going to try and convince you that the political aspects of this season are particularly well thought out or complicated when they honestly aren’t. However, I can say that it was surprisingly easy to follow and digest, and the characters and dialogue made sure it never felt like it was wasting my time. There were genuinely comedic moments thrown in that helped stop making any long scenes of exposition from becoming uninteresting. Things like the relationships and conflicts between nations are explained well through dialogue rather than a narrator, which is just one small thing the series does that increases my appreciation for it. Tensei Slime never tries to be a complicated story and is able to clearly explain its world to the audience thanks to this. Visuals-wise the series maintains the quality seen in previous seasons. The animation gets the job done, with fight scenes being neither great nor bad. All the different races occasionally provide unique fight scenes that I think the animators do a fine job of showcasing. Some outfit changes such as Rimuru’s now all-black clothes added a sense of individuality to the season which was nice. The soundtrack was decent enough and went along well with whatever was taking place in the scene. Various sound effects stood out during fight scenes, for example certain abilities would leave a lasting impression thanks to the booming audio that went with them. The opening was great, standing out from previous ones it’s with English lyrics, something that is always refreshing to see. Anyone who’s seen previous seasons knows what to expect by now. This season of Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken show manages to meet expectations while delivering on an arc that has been built up in previous seasons, giving more of the same without the story ever dropping off in quality. It’s still a power fantasy through and through, but it’s an entertaining one in the end.

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