That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2

Episode 27

“In which our hero starts to upset a delicate balance.”

This week's episode really tears me up inside. On one hand, it's got some good character development and world-building. On the other, it's the third episode in a row that's spent on tying up loose ends rather than moving the story forward.

The episode itself is basically split into three parts: Rimuru's chat with King Dwargo, Rimuru and friends partying at the elf bar, and Youm's first meeting with Myulan.

On the surface, Rimuru's chat with the king of the dwarves seems like him explaining to Dwargo all the things we already know—i.e., Milim killed Charybdis because she is Rimuru's friend and Tempest is setting up a trade deal with Carrion's realm. However, that's not all this conversation does. It also shows that Rimuru is on the edge of tipping the balance of power in the region.

By having strong ties with two powerful demon lords and several nearby countries, Tempest looks to become the main center of trade for the area—taking that position away from the nearby Kingdom of Falmuth. And as the King of Falmuth is reported to be a greedy man, this could be a problem. Wars have been started over less.

Meanwhile, Rimuru chilling at the bar with his favorite elves is our comedic bit for the episode. The goblins have never been to a hostess bar and are overwhelmed by the sexual teasing of the elves. Rimuru also has a second reason for coming: he wants to use the bar to gauge how valuable his new apple-based spirits are—i.e., how much he can sell them for. Of course, the night ends with Rimuru and the goblins getting caught by Shuna and Shion for a bit more comedy.

However, this scene also brings up an important and legitimate criticism of Rirumu's actions. While both Shuna and Shion are clearly romantically attracted to Rimuru, they're not pissed because he went to the elf hostess club—well, not only that. They're mad because he snuck out to do so. Whether Rimuru believes it in his heart of hearts or not, he is a king now. If he is killed or kidnapped, the monsters of the Tempest Kingdom and all those who bet their lives on allying with it are in real mortal danger. While he has the power to simply decide he's going to booze it up with the elves any time he wants—he's a dictator and his rule is law, after all—it is nevertheless reckless and irresponsible to sneak out without protection to do so (and no, a squad of drunk goblins and dwarves do not count as protection). Shuna and Shion are right to be mad about it.

However, a problem with this scene—and many of those before it—is that they all serve to highlight the running gag of this season so far: Shion's utter ineptitude. In the first episode, she picks a fight with a diplomat from another country. Then, in that same fight, she loses control of her powers, almost killing everyone there. After that, when she finds out Reimuru's not taking her on a sensitive diplomatic mission to the dwarven kingdom, she throws a literal temper tantrum like a little child, destroying much of Rimuru's office. Then when he does take her, she gets drunk and passes out after making a spectacle of herself in front of the dwarven king! Finally, she makes her own king kneel in the middle of the street of a foreign kingdom as punishment (not exactly the best thing when trying to highlight how awesome your country is to another kingdom), only to forget why she's doing this the moment she finds out that she gets to cook breakfast for him for the coming week.

I know this is supposed to be humorous, but at what point is she more trouble than she's worth? From an outside viewpoint, far from endearing, she seems dangerously emotionally unstable. She's like an out-of-control four-year-old with the powers of a destructive god. If this is all set up for her next moment of introspection and major character growth, great. If not, however, I think the joke has already worn a bit thin.

The episode ends on a high note as we get the first meeting between Youm and Myulan. These past few episodes have shown that Youm is really growing into his role as “the champion.” While ostensibly doing PR for Tempest, he is actually doing good out in the world apart from that.

What we see in this episode is that, despite his growing strength, he is still capable of being humble. When his party first meets Myulan, they doubt the need for magical talents—hers or anyone else's. Yet, Myulan absolutely destroys Youm in their mock battle. What's telling is that Youm doesn't get mad. Instead, he shakes her hand, clearly glad that she has shown him where he needs to improve. It's clear that Myulan isn't expecting this. After all, she's verbally berating him in exasperation moments before he thanks her. This, in turn, shows us a bit about how she perceives the world and what she expects. ...And then there's the fact that she is obviously the cloaked figure in service to Clayman from last episode. It'll be interesting to see how things develop for the champion's party with a spy in their midst.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Explosive bloody noses have long been a staple of anime. But getting so horny blood shoots out your eye sockets? That's a new one for me.

• Rimuru should not listen to Dwargo's advice on speaking. He has gained loyalty from his subjects not because he is pretending to be some strong, infallible leader but because he speaks to them from the heart.

• I wonder... can Rimuru un-name Shion as punishment for all the BS of the last few episodes? She needs to learn that actions have consequences.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.