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EP. REVIEW: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2

There is no law that says you have to spare active military combatants.

But "they started it" is also not a [expletive] excuse for commiting war-crimes.

A bunch of Nazis break into your house and kill your wife. Their sole reasoning? You monsters (Jews) are less than human and don't deserve life. They then very aptly tell you, "We're going to have lunch on your lawn. In a few hours, we'll come back inside to kill your kids next. Because they are monsters (Jews) too." According to Richard, if you then go outside and murder them ruthlessly in your lawn, then you are the bad guy.

While you're out of the house, an unarmed SS member breaks in and kills your wife with his bare hands. His reasoning? You are monsters (Jews) and he also doesn't like how much money you have. Then he tells your kids, "I'm going to have lunch on your lawn. In a few hours, I'll come back inside to kill you kids too--because you are also monsters (Jews)." And he also announces that 199 unarmed Hitler Youth and his boss (also unarmed) will join in the killing.

However, what none of them know is that, while they're eating, you've come home--and are the strongest, fastest man in the world ...and have a flame thrower with plenty of fuel to cook them all. But they learn soon enough when you burn all 201 unarmed people--i.e., the SS officer, his boss, and all 199 Hitler youth--alive on your lawn before any can even try to escape or surrender.

I mean sure, you could have driven them off with a warning shot or simply flambéed only the people directly responsible--i.e., the SS officer and his boss--but, I mean, they're all Nazis, so what's the problem? Who cares if literally 99% of them were heavily indoctranated children--children who were only doing what they were told, and hadn't even seen your family yet, much less hurt them?

...Oh and doing this also means your wife has a 3% chance of coming back to life, so that's a motivator too.

However, what none of them know is that, while they're eating, you've come home--and are the strongest, fastest man in the world ...and have a flame thrower with plenty of fuel to cook them all. But they learn soon enough when you burn all 201 unarmed people--i.e., the SS officer, his boss, and all 199 Hitler youth--alive on your lawn before any can even try to escape or surrender.

I mean sure, you could have driven them off with a warning shot or simply flambéed only the people directly responsible--i.e., the SS officer and his boss--but, I mean, they're all Nazis, so what's the problem? Who cares if literally 99% of them were heavily indoctranated children--children who were only doing what they were told, and hadn't even seen your family yet, much less hurt them?

...Oh and doing this also means your wife has a 3% chance of coming back to life, so that's a motivator too.

Hm, no, Rimuru is not the strongest, fastest man. That title belongs to Hinata as the strongest woman, as far as we know, and she's on the side of the attackers. You seem to have forgot that detail. Nuance is indeed important. Knowing this, after flambéeing the officers and boss in charge, letting the soldiers go, how will the other Axis powers and the Church, which in this case, is on the side of the attackers and literally doing a crusade in their perspective, how will they respond?

Is Hinata faster than Rimuru... or she faster only when Rimuru's capabilities are severely crippled due to a barrier ambush?

If we're playing at being nitpicky, at what point did Rimuru take into consideration that letting knights live would mean that the church would retaliate and thus he needs to annihilate them in order for the church to stay put? At what point did he consider ANY reason other than revenge and resource extraction with the purpose of maybe-resurrection when formulating his plan?

What do you mean war crimes? No war crime is being committed here. Rimuru killing these 20000 knights, soldiers and mages is not a war crime. It's just war. And if Rimuru wants to preserve his own nation, regardless of having friends he wants to ressucitate, this is the choice he has to make.

No. Setting out with the intention to completely annihilate an underpowered enemy is not "just war". It is called "no quarter" and it is explicitly forbidden under the laws of war. And I have covered the many different tactics Rimuru could use to secure his nation without resorting to war-crimes before so I won't repeat them again.

Once again, I would like for people who have never once opened a book on law or history to stop making definitive and wildly inaccurate statements about these things.

She's powerful enough to ambush him without him or Great Sage noticing and then has a sword that if it hits you seven times, if i'm not mistaken, kills you for sure.

I'm not trying to be nitpicky, I'm trying to see the bigger picture and the consequences of this. You ask when did he consider it? He considered it when he heard that becoming a Demon Lord means he'll have more power. Power to prevent this from happening again.

Quote:

While you're out of the house, an unarmed SS member breaks in and kills your wife with his bare hands. His reasoning? You are monsters (Jews) and he also doesn't like how much money you have. Then he tells your kids, "I'm going to have lunch on your lawn. In a few hours, I'll come back inside to kill you kids too--because you are also monsters (Jews)." And he also announces that 199 unarmed Hitler Youth and his boss (also unarmed) will join in the killing. However, what none of them know is that, while they're eating, you've come home--and are the strongest, fastest man in the world ...and have a flame thrower with plenty of fuel to cook them all. But they learn soon enough when you burn all 201 unarmed people--i.e., the SS officer, his boss, and all 199 Hitler youth--alive on your lawn before any can even try to escape or surrender. I mean sure, you could have driven them off with a warning shot or simply flambéed only the people directly responsible--i.e., the SS officer and his boss--but, I mean, they're all Nazis, so what's the problem? Who cares if literally 99% of them were heavily indoctranated children--children who were only doing what they were told, and hadn't even seen your family yet, much less hurt them? ...Oh and doing this also means your wife has a 3% chance of coming back to life, so that's a motivator too.

TL;DR: Nuance is important.

Number 6 wrote:

What do you mean war crimes? No war crime is being committed here. Rimuru killing these 20000 knights, soldiers and mages is not a war crime. It's just war. And if Rimuru wants to preserve his own nation, regardless of having friends he wants to ressucitate, this is the choice he has to make.

No. Setting out with the intention to completely annihilate an underpowered enemy is not "just war". It is called "no quarter" and it is explicitly forbidden under the laws of war. And I have covered the many different tactics Rimuru could use to secure his nation without resorting to war-crimes before so I won't repeat them again.

Once again, I would like for people who have never once opened a book on law or history to stop making definitive and wildly inaccurate statements about these things.

Killing enemy combatants is not a war crime unless it is done via banned methods, e.g. chemical or biological weapons.

It is a war crime to kill enemy combatants who are unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated to the point where they can no longer fight.

Killing prisoners is also a war crime.

The problem is in the transition from active enemy combatant to prisoner. In order for that to take place the enemy combatant must surrender.

"in order to surrender it is incumbent upon such persons to perform a ‘positive act’, which indicates ‘in an absolutely clear manner’ that they no longer intend to directly participate in hostilities and therefore no longer represent a threat to the military security of the opposing party."


However

"That the onus is upon those wishing to surrender to indicate unambiguously that they no longer intend to take a direct part in hostilities explains why international humanitarian law does not impose an obligation upon an opposing force to first offer its enemy the opportunity to surrender before making them the object of an attack, regardless of how hopelessly outgunned and vanquished they may be."

So, while it is a war crime to kill someone who is clearly and genuinely surrendering, it is not a war crime to kill enemy combatants before they have a chance to surrender.

The above citations are from here:

The Rule of Surrender in International Humanitarian Law

Number 6 wrote:

She's powerful enough to ambush him without him or Great Sage noticing and then has a sword that if it hits you seven times, if i'm not mistaken, kills you for sure. I'm not trying to be nitpicky, I'm trying to see the bigger picture and the consequences of this. You ask when did he consider it? He considered it when he heard that becoming a Demon Lord means he'll have more power. Power to prevent this from happening again.

Stealth doesn't equate power. She set up a trap to a clueless and careless slime, that won't happen a second time. Plus that convenient sword got destroyed. To have a fighting chance against Rimuru, she needs to set up a trap, isolate him and make sure he goes to where she needs him to be. That is not a realistic expectation at this point.
Not like it matters in the end whether Hinata is or not stronger since the existence of those footsoldiers will not affect at all Rimuru's chances against Hinata.

I re-checked the episodes and indeed he mentions that he covets the title as a political tool, so in the most nitpicky sense I was wrong. He does want power to protect his home (with the intent of stopping all attacks, not because he thinks his nation will be crushed otherwise).
However, and pardon me for moving this particular goalpost, that is irrelevant to his current conflict with Falmunth as that will be over before he becomes a demon lord; whether he commits war crimes or goes for the lowest headcount he can manage, Falmunth will lose against a particularly powerful slime, not a demon lord. He wants that power to defend against future potential attackers, not the current ones. Killing with an ulterior motive beyod winning against his aggressors is no longer self-defense in any way, shape, or form.
To reiterate: at no point did Rimuru consider that he needs to enact this massacre to triumph against the enemy forces, that was never part of his thought process nor the justification he gave to his people.