Tensura Nikki: Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken

Spinoffs made these days carries a certain level of risk and this is especially true for fans of their favorite franchises. This can apply to any media, whether it's anime, live action movies or TV shows, and even video games. Being loyal to a brand is part of our DNA and although not everyone follows that mindset, spinoffs usually at the very least must fundamentally meet the expectations of the what it tries to sell.

What does that tell you about Tensura Nikki: Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken? Well, it is a spinoff and is based on the TenSura franchise set in the same universe. The ... main TV anime received not only a second season with two parts but also this charming little spinoff. If you're a fan of Rimuru and his daily adventures, then prepare to bedazzled again.

One important concept you should know about Slime Diaries is that it follows a non-linear storytelling format and is advertised more as a fantasy slice of life than a fantasy adventure. The English title 'Slime Diaries' sells exactly as the way it sounds. It tells and shows the daily life of Rimuru like a diary. Every episode itself feels like diary entry bought to life. And as you can guess, anything can happen in their world that defies the logic of natural order. Facing this concept, you should relax your mind and watch this as a slice of life. That's because Rimuru is back to entertain the audience through his daily adventures.

This is Yuuji Haibara's debut as a director and can we just say how adorably charming the spinoff is? By just glancing at the promotional material, you can say the show is easily decorated with a slate of charm and lighthearted humor. Rimuru returns as the main protagonist alongside a familiar cast from the original series. The personalities of all the cast remains the same and don't expect any real character development. This show isn't here to tell a complex story after all or make a character study of the cast. It's here to relax and make the most of its slice of life themes. Every day in Rimuru's life, we get to see how he helps his community. It's not an easy task but if you're familiar with Rimuru's character, then you'd know that he would often exceed expectations. But Rimuru still retains the personality of a free spirited character. He isn't trying to rule his community with an iron fist but instead geninuely cares about his people. And because of that, Rimuru has the respect and affections from many of his friends.

Watching the returning cast is also a joyful delight especially for characters such as Shion, Shuna, Milim, Benimaru, among others. Because they retain the same personalities, expect hilarious rivalries on screen such as Shion vs Shuna. Characters such as Gobuta also returns with a cartoonish role that makes him look like a fool at times. Rimuru's character interchanges between his human and slime form to give viewers an idea about how he lives his life. Nonetheless, this spinoff offers a simple way of storytelling such as community farming, Summer festivals, and of course, the obligatory beach episode. And by beach episode, you can expect the girls dress to impress, especially Shion. As the season changes, we also get to see how the characters spend their times during Winter. There's really minimal conflict (if at all) compared to the main show. Even when there's drama, it's mostly protrayed as lighthearted comedy, rather than with heavy emotions. Really, just watch this with an open mind, and let this anime be what it is.

Tensura Nikki Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken is the type of anime this franchise needed as a brief break before the second half of the main anime airs agian. If you wanted to experience a diary adventure mixed with slice of life comedy, then right here is the right place. Rimuru shows that anyone can enjoy life in a fantasy world, even if they're just a blue bounching slime.

I don't usually like spin-offs, and this is one of those that I don't like.
I just don't get why they make a series (spin-off) that doesn't really accomplish anything.
This is just a bad spin-off because it is strictly maintaining the anime's status for it's characters. Meaning, they keep the characters same throughout this spin-off so that it won't contradict with the main series. And it's not that it's bad, it's just that this entire spin-off is pointless because it didn't accomplish anything. No character developed nor story progressed. There's no meaning to this spin-off existing.
If it was like at least 12 minutes per episode, ... then I can tolerate it being a slice-of-life spin-off. But it's a full-cour season with 24 minutes per episode. Why? Does it need to be that long to tell a pointless slice-of-life series that won't affect the main series?

Well, moving on to my review. The story is bad. Everything happens just because. There's no progression because it feels like "oh, what if we put these characters to a certain situation?" and then they based the entire episode to it. The pacing suffers because of it and so, it's really a drag to watch. Also, the fact that it doesn't affect the main story and stays stagnate is really bad.

The characters are bad too. They stay the same throughout the entire season because if even one of them changes, the "jokes" won't work anymore. They are all one-dimensional characters that doesn't develop because just like I said, the story must remain stagnate so that it won't contradict the main story. Also, the fact that they exaggerate the characters to make them funny makes them less funny. But that's just my opinion.

The animation is decent. The girls are all cutesy dipsy, but almost all the male characters look like sh*t. The art wasn't clearly the best thing. But the animation is decent enough for a spin-off series.

The music is also decent. The opening is good, but the ending is not my type. The ost is also pretty absent in some scenes and it really makes it forgettable.

Overall, just a bad series in general. It doesn't accomplish anything or inform the viewers information that they already know from watching the main series.
Some of you may ask why am I so harsh to a spin-off series...
Well, being a spin-off series doesn't really excuse it being this bad. Take Prisma Illya as example. A magical girl spin-off of Fate Stay Night which doesn't stagnate the characters and always finding ways to seperate itself from the main series but not too much that it would contradict the main series.

Basically, every story must have reason to exist, or it's just a waste of time. And this spin-off is definitely the latter.
(3.6/10)

If there was one way to summarize this spin-off, it'd be: "How good and pleasant it is when we, the denizens of Tempest, dwell together in unity, to praise and commune with the Great Rimuru-sama".

Ever since the announcement (and eventual airing of the 1st Cour) of Season 2 of TenSura, fans have been kinda complaining that the source material's adaptation have been wishy-washy, as if to premonition the events of what Season 2 will be carrying forward for the franchise, and leaving what's left of Season 1's smaller and minor contents behind for the "greater good". Well fear no more, because this spin-off (which is ... actually meant to be the stopgap between Season 2's 1st and 2nd Cours) will definitely address that problem, and definitely for the "greater good".

As what you'd expect from the title, TenSura Nikki (still written by author Fuse but illustrated by someone else: Shiba) accounts the slice-of-life daily diaries of Great Rimuru and the various humans and monsters of Tempest, all living together in harmony and experiencing their share of canonical stories while living in the Jura Tempest Federation, devoid of any danger (Shion and Demon Lord Milim are the usual red flags, but thankfully the latter is suppressed to a kid-like personality). If you feel like most off the side characters in the main series barely had any time to breathe in Season 1 of the Jura Tempest Federation arc, well this is the show for all the side characters to shine and get their screentime, that's worth the hilarious and relaxing humes of feelings and emotions all at the same time. Heck, a Tempest where there's little to no "Big Bad" avenues for violence? Sign me up for this relaxation course!

Despite still being produced by 8-bit (as part of the TenSura franchise), almost all of the production staff (except musician R.O.N) are newbies with some works credited to them (even director Yuuji Haibara, of which this show is his directorial debut), and not a lot of that. That might explain why this show looks vastly different from the main series, not to mention with the drop in production values. Even stemming down to newbie Seiyuu Akane Kumada for her performance on her debut OP songs for both Super Cub and this show (if you don't count the unpopular shows she has done before), overall, this is a relatively young crew whom are just starting their careers in the anime industry. Still though, with such a high-profile franchise like TenSura, there is hope that these chaps and delicate women will be able to make it big in their future projects, with TenSura Nikki being a healthy stepping stone. Good luck, and fingers crossed on that one.

Really good stuff when it comes to most spin-offs of any huge or popular franchise, and TenSura Nikki is no different, offering a very different take, while simultaneously delivering on the same feel from the series that it stems from. The only discourse is that you need to have watched Season 1 in order to understand all the references of this spin-off, otherwise you're good to go and enjoy some of the best relaxing and composed companionships that are never-before-seen in the main series.

Of course, you're the low-ball who deserves a rest, and TenSura Nikki is your gateway to more slime goodness in slice-of-life comfort and pleasure, coming out with a smile on the face.