At this point, isekai series—shows where characters leave their worlds and wind up in some fantasy universe—have become old hat. We’ve seen so many variations on the same idea that it takes the absurd to truly stand out. And well, Reincarnated as a Slime stands out. Aside from making the lead one of the least cool RPG enemies ever, it also owns up to what most fantasy isekai attempt to do.
Rather than finding ways out of admitting the main character is absurdly powerful, That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime owns up to it. The main character having such insane abilities is the only way the story is able to work the way it does, and the power brings as many problems as it does solutions. With the second series on its way, this list looks at everything a newcomer would need to know before it airs.
10 WHAT'S THE SERIES ABOUT?
Satoru Mikami was a contractor in his late 30’s living a rather lonely life that consisted of not much more than work and spending his nights alone. As one of the older members at his job, Satoru goes out with his co-worker Tamura to meet Tamura’s fiance. But while on the way to dinner, Satoru goes to sacrifice his life to save Tamura after they get attacked by a random mugger. As he died, he found himself transported to an alternate world, transformed into a slime. There, Satoru has to build a new life around him.
9 HOW'S THE LEAD CHARACTER SO STRONG?
A few reasons lead to Satoru’s overwhelming strength. For one, he gains two unique skills: Great Sage, essentially a living supercomputer inside him capable of everything from analysis to fighting for him, and the skill Predator, allowing him to consume anything, analyze, and mimic its abilities. Lastly, while in his original cave environment, Rimuru meets a massive storm dragon, Veldora, that’s been trapped in there for hundreds of years. Agreeing to help him get out, the dragon allows Rimuru to absorb him, gaining Veldora’s magic power as well.
8 OUR GOBLINS ARE DIFFERENT
Ease up Goblin Slayer fan. If you’re expecting to see goblins with the same level of hatred and manipulative behavior that you can find in any number of other series—though particularly the recently popular series about killing goblins left and right, there’s no way you won’t leave disappointed.
The goblins in this world were harmless, tiny creatures who were picked on by Direwolves and lived a simple, primitive life until Rimuru came along and gave them all names. Since then, they’ve become artisans, warriors, and more.
7 NAMES HAVE POWER
How many Western comics have used the phrase “names have power”? Well in this universe, that’s literally true. As it turns out, none of the monsters in the Reincarnated start out with names. They have to be awarded names by people who have more magical energy than they do. When this happens, the monster has their own inner magic stimulated, and they find themselves evolving into stronger versions of themselves. This effect can also make them younger, gain muscle, or even age if someone is young enough.
6 SUMMONS ARE ACTUALLY COMMON
Unlike most series where only one group or even one character is summoned via a single spell, that's not how things work in this world. Though Rimuru landed there after dying, that’s far from the only way someone would make it to this new world. We learn later on that people can be summoned from other points in time, forcibly brought over to this world and used as tools in warfare. As if that’s not bad enough, any summon brought over improperly will have a lack of mana supply. While this is innocuous enough, if they aren’t cured, they’ll die in a very short amount of time.
5 MORE DIPLOMACY THAN COMBAT
In case it isn’t clear by how the goblins act, Reincarnated as a Slime isn’t really about throwing down. Rimuru’s one of the most powerful fighters anyone’s ever seen—the simple fact is he could easily beat most of the challenges he’s presented with in battle. But that’s not the goal of the series. Rimuru would rather work out compromises where every party can benefit than lord his power over everyone. Like this, he manages to make multiple alliances that were unheard of before he came to their world.
4 THERE'S STILL TONS OF FIGHTING
Having said all that, it doesn’t mean there’s no combat. Though many of the people in the series are easy to get along with and would prefer finding partnerships than war, there are beings that don’t want to be reasoned with. Some of the best fight scenes of 2018 and 2019 occur inside of Reincarnated as a Slime, as everyone from the goblins to some of the other monsters get in on the act. Plus, not every person the good guys face is a cakewalk—later on in the series, we’re introduced to beings who are so powerful it takes entire armies to bring them down.
3 WHAT HAPPENED TO VELDORA?
Rimuru owes so much of what he does in the first half of the series to Veldora. The storm dragon had been captured inside of barrier spell within a cave for so long his magic had begun to leak out, leaving magic crystals and fertile ground for magic vegetation to grow all in the cave where Rimuru reincarnated.
Rimuru eating all those crystals and vegetation is part of why he’s so powerful. Rimuru helped him escape the cave by absorbing him, and spends much of the remainder of the series silent inside his family member. ...At least, until one of the last remaining episodes, where we learn he’s been playing Shogi with another inhabitant within Rimuru.
2 THE SPIN-OFFS ARE PLENTIFUL
With a series that’s run for as long as Reincarnated as a Slime, it’d be a surprise if the series didn’t have any spin-offs to it. But there have been several, starting with The Ways of Strolling in the Demon Country, which features a young bunnygirl named Flavia exploring Rimuru’s country and making a guide for it. There’s also That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Corporate Slave, where Rimuru goes back to being a salaryman...but remains in his slime form! Lastly, there’s Trinity of the Magic Kingdom, showing a girl from another country attempting to infiltrate Rimuru’s land. There’s plenty of unique expansion for the universe, and hopefully even the anime leans into it.
1 SEASON 2 IS ON THE WAY
The first series of this managed to adapt the first three arcs of the web novel. However, with the web novel having ten arcs in total, we’re a long way from getting the entire story of Rimuru and the rest of his friends. It can be hard to invest in stories like this, but not to worry! The second season of Reincarnated as a Slime is already confirmed to be on it’s way. It’s confirmed as a 2020 anime, but currently has no specific season ascribed to it.