WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 2 of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime stars Rimuru Tempest, a massively overpowered but deeply compelling lead who seeks to create a new nation of peace and tolerance in a divided isekai realm. In Season 1, Rimuru racked up many new powers and abilities, as well as added new races and agents to his new kingdom. Season 2 took all that to the next level.
Season 2 of Slime begins with a hero who seemingly has it all, from magical powers and worldwide fame to a legion of loyal followers. However, as Season 2 smartly proved, when a person has new assets or powers, their problems and enemies scale up too, and Rimuru must fight all-new battles to keep the power he has gained. Overall, Season 2 handled this well, with just a few hiccups along the way.
Season 2's Highlights
For the most part, Slime Season 2 takes what made Season 1 so compelling and expands upon it all, while filling in a few more areas on this world's map and greatly fleshing out the world's political landscape -- something that not many isekai series do. By now, there are few enemies who can truly threaten Rimuru in battle, so the narrative wisely shifts the battlefield to international politics and statecraft, where Rimuru is more vulnerable and has plenty of room to grow. He isn't simply a power fantasy character -- he's someone who always has something to learn, and he stays humble about it.
By now, Rimuru's nation, the Jura Tempest Federation, has enough territory, influence and population to be a proper nation, and Rimuru steps onto the world stage as a leader. He has new allies and new enemies, from the friendly Armed Nation of Dwargo to the hostile Western Holy Church -- and most of all, Demon Lord Clayman and his shadowy boss, Yuuki Kagurazaka. Slime breaks fresh ground by showing Rimuru's progress as a diplomat and politician, and the narrative balances his cool competence with his relative inexperience. He makes mistakes but learns fast, and it's exciting to see him expand his power through words and leadership rather than simply by using Predator on anyone who doesn't like him.
Slime expands the world's politics and its cast of characters even more during the Walpurgis meeting, where the Demon Lords convene, and Rimuru joins them as the rookie while facing his nemesis, Clayman. This season also pushes Rimuru much harder than Season 1, with the Falmuth-Church joint assault on Tempest and the deaths of countless Tempest citizens, including Shion. Rimuru slaughters Falmuth's troops and becomes a True Demon Lord to reverse the damage, but he must never abuse this new power.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2's Drawbacks
Slime Season 2 had few distinct flaws, although it could be argued that this season dragged things out, and that compared to Season 1, relatively few things happened in the span of 24 episodes. Before attending Walpurgis or attacking Clayman, Rimuru spends several episodes in a row reviewing everything with his allies. While such scenes are important, this part of the story stretches on a little longer than it needs to. In fact, Slime Season 2 feels mostly like setup, with the payoff being the final battle against Clayman's army and the Walpurgis meeting. This payoff is worth it, but even so, the rest of the season felt seems a little watered down compared to its predecessor.
This season also continues a minor but distinct issue from the first -- there's no real sense of tension or suspense when Rimuru is fighting. He can defeat, recruit or eat just about anyone, and Clayman is no exception. A few characters are indeed stronger, such as Milim Nava or Guy Crimson, but such characters are either Rimuru's allies or have no clear intent to harm him. When the story focuses on Rimuru's strength in battle, the suspense deflates quickly.
Fortunately, these flaws of Season 2 are minor compared to the many upsides, and in particular, the focus on politics and diplomacy helps ease the problem of Rimuru being too strong in battle. Season 2 essentially proves that a good isekai series takes everything into account, not just magical powers and harems, and so Rimuru's adventure promises to be an exciting and compelling one well into the future.
