That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Episodes 1-4) – Why a Slime?
Satoru Mikami was a pretty average thirty-seven-year-old guy – career-focused and girlfriend free! None of that mattered when he was stabbed in a random attack. Maybe, he’ll do better in the next life as a slime!
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Episodes 1-4)
Episode 1 – The Storm Dragon, Veldora
Satoru died protecting a young work colleague. As he lay on the ground bleeding out, a voice echoed around his head, reacting to his thoughts and feelings. With his final breath, he told his colleague to destroy his hard drive. He woke sometime later in a strange body with weird and wonderful abilities. The voice in his head returned and helped him get to grips with his new life as a slime!
Episode 2 – Meeting the Goblins
After meeting the Storm Dragon, Veldora, and receiving his new name – Rimuru Tempest, he vowed to find a way to free his new friend from his unbreakable prison. To do that, he would need the Great Sage to analyze the barrier from the outside while Veldora did the same from the inside. To do that, Rimuru used his Predator ability to swallow Veldora and the prison. It was going to take some time, so Rimuru went exploring and found his way out of the caves. There he was met by a goblin clan that begged him for his help.
Episode 3 – Battle at the Goblin Village
The goblin village had been decimated by a pack of dire wolves, leaving only the weak, elderly, and young. After hearing their story, Rimuru agreed to help them in exchange for their loyalty. Although, he would have done it anyway. Rimuru easily defeated the pack leader and gave the survivors the chance to leave or join them. Surprisingly, they chose to join Rimuru and the goblins. To celebrate this victory, Rimuru decided to give them all names, which left him exhausted. When he woke three days later, the monsters had evolved thanks to their new names.
Episode 4 – In the Kingdom of the Dwarves
It turns out that goblins are no good at making things. Clothes, buildings, you name it. They can’t build it. So, Rimuru heads off to the Armed Nation of Dwargon. He gets into a bit of a fight outside the city and is placed in a cell. However, a chance presents itself, allowing Rimuru to heal three dwarves and earn his freedom. He even gets introduced to a master blacksmith who agrees to find Rimuru some artisans in exchange for some magic ore. Then, Rimuru copies his sword and fulfils his order for him, freeing them all up to party at Butterflies of the Night!
Why a Slime?
So, I’m revisiting That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and thought I would try a new format out. In each post, I’m going to look at four episodes and see if I can pull something interesting to talk about. Should be pretty simple, plus it’ll mean I can get through a series much faster.
For this post, I want to look at why Satoru was reincarnated as a slime and why we should care. It seems to be more common for isekai protagonists to be run over or die mysteriously in their sleep. It’s usually fairly sudden and they don’t have much time to think about what’s going on. In this instance, Satoru was all too aware of what was going on, which I think played into his new form.
Not long after being stabbed, he complained about the heat he felt in his wound. A voice appeared confirming the skill, Heat Resistance. Satoru didn’t register and seemed to think that it was his colleague muttering. He questioned why he had to go this way and the voice confirmed another skill, Physical Attack Resistance. At this point, the pain was becoming too much. Pain Resistance acquired.
It took him a while to lose consciousness and the whole time he was complaining about things, as you might expect. However, each thing he said was being applied to his new form in his new life. He gained Cold Resistance which combined with Heat Resistance, evolved into Thermal Resistance. He was given a body that didn’t have blood. When he asked his colleague to destroy his hard drive, the voice didn’t understand and the nearest it could do was to grant Electrical Resistance and Paralysis Resistance.
This was when Satoru started to reflect on his life and how he was a thirty-seven-year-old virgin. He joked that he was like a chased wizard. The voice added the skill, Great Sage. Finally, Satoru made a promise to himself that he would be more forceful in the next life and was granted the unique skill, Predator.
So, Satoru was reincarnated as a slime because of his dying thoughts. The Great Sage took all of his concerns and wishes and found the best body to hold those skills. It’s actually quite a clever and elegant way of setting him up as the over-powered protagonist.
The other reason that I think he’s a slime is that it makes him an easy target. One of my favourite things in over-powered isekai stories is the reaction characters make when they realise that they are nothing in comparison. It usually comes after some bragging and overconfidence. Well, as a slime, it opens up every encounter to potentially show us this. He’s a slime. The weakest of the weak. No one is going to miss the chance to underestimate him.
So, those are my thoughts on why we’re following the adventures of a slime. Well, I did leave one thing out. Rimuru is cute as hell and the design is so easy that a child could draw him. Never underestimate the power of kids doodling slimes in their textbooks to cement a fandom. Anyhow, I had a lot of fun revisiting these four episodes. It was even better than I remembered. Thanks for reading!
Other Posts in the Series
Series Information
| English Title | That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime |
| Japanese Title | Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Isekai, Magic |
| Demographic | Shounen |
Anime
Season One
| Season | Season One |
| Released | Fall 2018, Winter 2019 |
| Animation Studios | 8Bit |
| Episodes | 24 |
| 1-4 | Why a Slime? |
| 5-8 | Destined to be with! |
| 9-12 | Ruler of Monsters! |
| 13-16 | Jura Tempest Federation! |
| 17-20 | Charybdis! |
| 21-24 | Back to School! |
| Season | OVA |
| Released | Summer 2019, Fall 2019 |
| Animation Studios | 8Bit |
| Episodes | 5 |
| 1-2 | Something for Everyone! |
| 3-5 | School’s Out! |
Season Two
| Season | Season Two |
| Released | Winter 2021, Spring 2021 |
| Animation Studios | 8Bit |
| Episodes | 24 |
| 25-28 | Laying the Groundwork! |
| 29-32 | Playing With Fire! |
| 33-36 | What Would You Sacrifice for Family? |
| 37-40 | Getting the Story Straight! |
| 41-44 | Scheming and Levelling Up! |
| 45-48 | Setting the Scene! |
Movie
| English Title | Scarlet Bond |
| Japanese Title | Guren no Kizuna-hen |
| Released | Fall 2022 |
| Animation Studios | 8Bit |
Season Three
| Season | Season Three |
| Released | Spring 2024, Summer 2024 |
| Animation Studios | 8Bit |
| Episodes | 24 |
| 49 | Demons and Strategies |
| 50 | The Saint’s Intentions |
| 51 | Peaceful Days |
| 52 | Everyone Has a Part to Play |
| 53 | Meeting of Both Sides |
| 54 | Those Approaching |
| 55 | Saint and Demon Clash |
| 56 | Misunderstanding |
| 57 | The Scheming of the Seven Days |
| 58 | God and Demon Lord |
| 59 | Reconciliation and Agreement |
| 60 | Festival Preparations |
Bonus Posts
| Saturday Spinoff | Shizu |
