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.
