That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3

Episode 70

Despite my love for drama and tension, I still enjoy a good anticlimax now and again—and that's what we get in this episode.

The back half of the episode is centered around the final round of the fighting tournament. If Masayuki wins, he gets to fight Rimuru. And with his unique skill and hero title, he might just be Rimuru's kryptonite. Of course, Masayuki has no desire whatsoever to fight a Demon Lord. The problem is he knows he will win his match whether he wants to or not. No matter how much more powerful Gobta/Ragna is than him, fate will conspire for him to come out on top.

However, it seems that Masayuki might have a better understanding of his powers than he realizes. His unique skill doesn't guarantee victory as much as it guarantees coming out looking like a hero. If he can come up with a heroically plausible excuse not to win, the skill will handle the rest. And that's exactly what he does in this episode with the skill of twisting things to make it appear like his reluctance to fight is due to Rimuru not being an evil king—while also serving as a warning as to what would happen if Rimuru falls from the noble path.

The subsequent conversation between the two, where they connect as overpowered, isekai-ed Japanese nerds is likewise a good character beat for both. Rimuru coming to understand how much the skill rules over Masayuki's life is important and clears up more than a few potential misunderstandings that could easily happen in the future.

Meanwhile, the first half of the episode is the continuation of the plot to discredit Tempest during the festival using their liquidity crisis. Rimuru has decided to rely on his international allies to get him out of the hole he's in. While everything works out, it also highlights the inherent issues in how international relations work under Rimuru.

Rimuru sees Tempest's relationship with Dwargon and Sarion as an extension of his friendships with Dawrgo and Elmesia. It seems unlikely that either Dawrgo or Elmesia would ever ask another country for a loan. They'd be far too wary about all the implications and how the power balance between their countries would shift. However, both can see that, to Rimuru, what he's doing is no more than asking a friend to spot him a few bucks. And as both like Rimuru as a person and respect Tempest as a country, they're willing to play by his rules.

Of course, the other side of this general policy is that it lessens Tempest's autonomy. Normally, no neighboring country should be able to say a darn thing about your plans to throw a big celebration. It's not their business. However, if you expect them to step in and help if things go bad, you do need to run things by them in the planning stages.

There's also another layer to what's going on in this meeting. While Dwargo and Elmesia don't appear to be exploiting Rimuru as much as parenting him, it's also clear they don't want their country's neighboring superpower to mess up and bring chaos to the world. If this kind of friendship between leaders allows them the leeway to speak truth to power, all the better.

We even see Elmesia put this into practice immediately by questioning what Rimuru would do if Diablo goes rogue. Now, from her viewpoint, it's likely she is asking permission to take care of the issue without interference from Tempest or Rimuru. She never expected that Rimuru would take responsibility himself and act accordingly.

So in a real way, Rimuru has created a uniquely strong three-way alliance—one where the leaders meet and decide directly and leave it to the diplomats to hammer out the details. It's a system that can only work when the three countries share similar core goals—which for these three nations is peace and stability. As two of the three leaders are immortal (and the third is supremely long-lived), this has the potential to do just that in both the short and long term.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I have to admit, part of me wonders if Elmesia is actually behind the whole plot—after all, she is the one who sweeps in to solve the problem without being asked to.

• I like the fusion idea but am sad that “Gobna” is just Ragna with pecs.

• What exactly is “training” in Milim's eyes? Is it her just killing someone over and over and hoping they get stronger through the experience?

• I'd be curious to see how Masayuki's charm affects other high-level monsters like Veldora, Milim, or even Benimaru.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.