That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3

Episodes 52-53

Hey, would you like to see an anime where people sit around large tables for two episodes straight doing nothing but talking? Cuz, boy do I have the show for you.

Jokes aside, we've been in a bit of an odd position with That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. We, as viewers, have known far more about what is going on than our heroes—not to mention our villains of the season. Now, this difference in information is somewhat normal—it's a classic way of building tension. However, it can be a problem if the information divide is too great or goes on for too long. You become impatient waiting for the characters to catch up so that things can move forward. In general, these episodes are about closing that gap.

On Rimuru's side, while he doesn't quite realize that Yuuki is ultimately behind both the attack on Tempest and Hinata's attack on him personally, he does get most of the way there. He figures out that several groups are working behind the scenes who unified briefly to attack Tempest but are now doing their things. Thus, without a unified conspiracy, there is hope for peace with Hinata and her country. Beyond that, we also lay the groundwork for things that will no doubt be important in subsequent episodes—like the upcoming festival and the modifications to the road.

Honestly, it is all a bit boring watching as our heroes struggle to try and connect the dots—especially as Raphael has to often do the job for Rimuru (only for him to get all the credit in the end). But, it's nice to finally get us roughly on the same page. They know something is coming but are optimistic that they can avoid another war.

Hinata's “boardroom meeting,” on the other hand, is far more interesting. Up until this point, we've seen little of her kingdom beyond the small handful of people at the very top. Those individuals have always seemed unified in purpose—i.e., doing whatever Luminous Valentine says to do. However, this time we see that the kingdom Hinata serves is much more divided.

Even her knight's order is split. Most don't take her seriously—and even if they do, it seems that they respect the position more than the person holding it. Hinata knows this and is forced to deal with the fact that she understands far more about what's actually going on than they do. She has to be careful about sharing what she knows and how she knows it—even if it makes her look less competent than she really is.

Moreover, the time we spend with Hinata in these episodes shows us she is far less one-note than she's appeared to be so far. She is smart enough to see that she messed up by attacking Rimuru and that she was manipulated into doing someone else's dirty work. Better still, she realizes that she is still being manipulated—especially once the Luminaries show up, give her a magic sword, and send her off to duel Rimuru. At this point, she trusts Rimuru more than she does her own supporters.

So, in the end, we are left with a solid setup for things to come. Both Rimuru and Hinata want peace—however, groups are working behind the scenes to try and instigate an all-out war. Can the pair get past their rocky history to save their respective peoples? Or will their meeting end up as the perfect powder keg for someone to throw a match into?

Episode 4 Rating:

Episode 5 Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I found the road a bit more than a little confusing. Don't get me wrong, I understand what the special panels do: they absorb the magic particles in the air so that new monsters don't spawn and endanger travelers. However, we've already seen what happens to monsters when they are robbed of their connection to magic—so aren't the people of Tempest just weakening themselves?

• I didn't realize that Veldora was a ticking time bomb but, if that's an issue, what's to stop him from heading out over the ocean and releasing his power for a bit?

• I'm somewhat confused as to why Rimuru even sees Hinata as a threat. He was able to fight toe-to-toe with her in their first battle, and that was before he became a Demon Lord. Trauma, maybe?

• It's a cool twist that the secret is out about what happened to the Falmuth army. What's even more intriguing is trying to figure out who broke Diablos' control over the bishop (and how) to get that information.

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