Emma Coats, a storyboard artist at Pixar listed 22 rules of storytelling on Twitter. Of those 22, one applies heavily to this anime:
"You admire a character for trying more than for their successes."
I want you to keep this rule in mind until the very end of this review.
Reincarnated as a Slime hooked me in with a very interesting premise: the MC is reincarnated into a fantasy world as a slime (surprise, surprise). To me, this was interesting because you'd generally think that a slime is supposed to be the weakest creature in a fantasy setting, right? So how does MC manage to change anything in this world as such a laughable mob?
Here's the catch: as a slime, the MC can absorb any ability/form of any creature he digests.
Okay, so that sounds a little OP at first, but I accepted it. Maybe there was some sort of drawback to this that the anime can throw in to really make you and MC think. And also, the opening DID immediately spoil that MC is going to get a human form anyways, basically making the idea that he'll struggle being stuck as a slime pointless... but I wanted to still give the show a fair chance.
So in the beginning, you see MC working hard to absorb whatever monsters and items he can in his initial setting and then using those new skills and items later on to assist others and himself. My initial reactions were the same as most of the other high-scoring reviewers of this show: it was cute to see everyone getting along because MC came by and started helping them with their problems. I had a grin and some good laughs along the way, too.
I started thinking to myself: "Wow! MC is a really good hero! He's fighting for peace and helping so many people! MC is a great hero! MC is... a perfect hero. MC is perfect, like how I wanna be."
MC is perfect, like how I wanna be.
This is where the biggest problem lies.
While it was adorable to see MC being so successful at first despite his (supposedly) limited form, that feeling quickly began to die down as the episodes ticked away. While considering the failures to successes MC has faced, you begin to realize how unbalanced the scale is in favor of his successes. MC resolves conflicts with little to no struggle; you can literally see this with how his face seldom turns into concern especially in the later episodes when they're (supposedly) fighting a formidable foe. MC's plans almost always work, and if they don't, it's because someone else screwed up rather than his plan being flawed.
Then, you begin to size up MC's relationships with other characters. NOBODY, other than the bad guys, has an issue with him. And if they do, they either get slapped silly out of a misunderstanding and end up bowing at his feet, or outright destroyed/humiliated. You even have certain female characters closely associated with MC fighting over his affection. Everybody loves MC, including one character who had his dad killed by him.
MC isn't flawed as a slime. He's OVERPOWERED as one.
MC is God incarnate; everyone bows to MC because he is capable of doing literally anything. Super strong bad guys? MC will take them out or convert them into good guys. Fatally injured good guys? MC will easily heal them back and even give them an upgrade if he hasn't already.
The last nail to the coffin for me came at the end of Episode 13, where the viewer is presented with a shot of MC flying with bat wings in the air as he's in his human form. This scene bothered me the most because it basically encapsulated the whole problem I was having with the show now. That initial interest about how MC will survive as a measly slime? Gone, because again, he's overpowered. He even has a human form now, so what is really lost with him being reincarnated as a slime?
Episode 14 hammered that nail down, with how MC disposed of a major foe. I won't spoil how, but this is all you need to know: there was little struggle, it wasn't a very long fight, and in the end, everything worked out for the MC and crew. I know there was one last episode of the season and there's probably more content coming afterwards. But by this point, I was done, and I doubt one more episode was somehow going to fix these issues.
It doesn't matter how good or bad you think the sound or animation is. The fact of the matter is, Reincarnated as a Slime is a power-fantasy. And that isn't a good thing for a show that sets itself up by making the MC seem like he's set in an impossible situation he has to work around.
Still remember that quote I started this review with? Well, here it all comes, full circle.
What makes a character memorable to the most possible people is what method and how long it takes for the character to overcome an obstacle, be it a physical or emotional one. It isn't how much cool shit they can pull off while they're on-screen. It's the flaws of the character, how those flaws impact the relationships and situations the character is in, and how the character develops to fix those flaws (if he/she even fixes them at all by the end of the show/season). Reincarnated as a Slime's MC has none of that. He's already well set; he isn't scared of combat and whenever he has been so far, his fears were clearly misplaced as he's basically immortal by this point. And keep in mind, we're in SEASON ONE.
Maybe I'm judging this show too soon; maybe there is more to it that will show the MC's flaws and he'll really grow as a character. Maybe MC will face a serious challenge pushing his wits. But so far, I haven't seen any of that, not even in the art somehow. In my mind, the show has gone from: "Oh jeez, I wonder how all the characters will get out of this!" to "I wonder when MC is gonna show up to quickly fix this problem?" The stakes are too damn low and have been from the very beginning. And consequently, it creates a show with lost potential.
Reincarnated as a Slime isn't SAO done right. It's SAO, slime-boy edition (minus the gaming).
Interesting original concept, poorly executed to keep any serious interest.
5/10.
