That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime -- I'll be referring to the show as Tensura -- is an interesting franchise that capitalizes on its worldbuilding, characters, and plot. Originally a light novel, it has been adapted as a manga series, an anime series, and a few games. In all forms of media, the main story shines and stands out from isekai stories and from contemporary stories.
Quick research shows that both the manga and anime versions follow the light novel as close as they can but with a few deviations. The manga releases monthly, so it has several pages of plot progression in one release. The art style is appealing, most of the times leaning to the cuter side. The anime makes the journey grander by adding in a wonderful soundtrack, sound design, and sound mixing. The first season of the anime was released in October 2018, which was followed by an OVA. The second premiered with its first part in January 2021 and its second part in July 2021. In between the two parts of the second season aired a cute spin-off show often called Tensura Nikki.
One of the biggest struggles as a fan of the series is the monthly release of the manga. While the length of the individual chapters is appreciated, the chapters often end in an extremely satisfying note that makes the reader want more. As if to test the patience of the fans, the anime allegedly only releases when the manga is considerably further into the plot.
The story features Satoru Mikami who is reincarnated into another world as a slime. In this new world, he goes by the name Rimuru. Rimuru encounters many eccentric personalities, many of which he befriends. However, not all the encounters were peaceful, forcing Rimuru to make difficult choices while coming into terms with his lost humanity and gained monstrosity.
Rimuru sets out to make a place where all humans and monsters can coexist in harmony, Literally, the series builds a bustling city with Rimuru as its leader. He is surrounded by supporting characters with defining character traits. Perhaps, the two things that are similar among his subordinates are their strength and unequivocal respect for Rimuru. While the main series shows off the development of the characters like Geld, Myulan, and Rimuru, the spin-off Tensura Nikki adds more layers to the characters. This is another strength of the series: most of its spin-off stories are canon and well-written.
However, Tensura is not impervious to shortcomings. Rimuru chooses his opponents well, and his decisions make him look overpowered. While Rimuru is far from being the strongest character in the series, he never intentionally goes into a fight knowing he could lose -- as far as the plot goes in the manga and anime. As a result, the scenes wherein characters are praising Rimuru are getting too high for my liking.
Tensura also loves to foreshadow. It isn't farfetched to claim that all the dialog and scenes in the first few episodes would have greater relevance in the latter stories. While the setup is important and the payoff is usually greatly satisfying in the series, this could lead to slower pacing and pacing issues.
Far from perfect, Tensura is still a lovable series. It has many charismatic characters shining in each scene they are in. The worldbuilding stands out as well-thought and finely crafted. The plot is interesting enough to follow even with issues in pacing. Overall, there are tons to like in Tensura, arguably enough to overlook its faults.
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