FIF#76-That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

37 year old Minami Satoru was enjoying life at his age.  However, his calm and laid back existence came to a tragic end when he sacrificed his life to save a friend from a man with a knife.  Dying, Minami finds his existence somehow prolonged when he winds up in the body of a tiny Slime creature.  Not only that, he’s in a mysterious new world where he can absorb materials and learn new abilities thanks to a digitized guide in his head.  What is this new world and how did Minami get there…and get reincarnated as a Slime?  Somehow, Minami is getting a second chance at life.  And from small beginnings come the greatest of legends.

It’s an Anime with a long title but it’s quickly become one that’s near and dear to many an Otaku’s hearts.  That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a strange way to keep things fresh in the Issekai genre but it’s a good kind of fresh.  The first episode shows how unique this is going to be and, I wont lie, im perfectly ok with the adorable little slime trying to find his way around the new world with all his cute mannerisms and chibi-fied voice.

There is still plenty that confuses me, however.  How is Satoru pulled into this new world so close to death?  Is it a virtual video game type a la Sword Art Online, or something more akin to Escaflowne, or both?  How does he have the ability to have a voice in his head that gathers data for him and makes him practically invincible?  What the heck was up with the very first scene of a Japanese village being carpet bombed before a little girl I swept up by flames, is she like Minami in that she was brought to the fantasy realm at the brink of death?  What was on Minami’s computer that required it be doused in water and deleted as his dying wish?

Those are right questions to ask and while some stuff does get explained, the second Minami appears as a Slime, you kind of just suspend the need for answers and instead just kick back and watch the little guy do his thing.  Something about this whole premise just feels like new life has been breathed into a genre that has continuously tried to mimic Sword Art Online or Re: Zero for the better part of the decade.  Minami’s conversations digitized video game guide, as well as his chat with a FREAKING DRAGON, are some of the best dialogue in any recent Anime.  Minami is an Otaku, that’s pretty clear.  So yeah, he’s freaking out that he’s not only alive (kind of?) but also a Slime in a fantasy world…and yet it feels like either the ideal life or just a casual acceptance.  Im sure there are plenty of us who could dive right into their fantasy quest and roll with it rather than hide in a corner.  It helps that Minami is a pretty chill and selfless dude before his untimely death.

As far as beginnings go, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime has a ton of questions right out of the gate but also has a very rare and engaging entertainment factor that keeps these at the back of your mind while a great adventure gets ready to begin.  Im sure Minami will get a human form at some point (his own original body maybe?) but im actually just fine with him keeping his squeeky voice and adorable Slime form for the duration of this series (who knows he might even have both).  The series takes a premise done to death and infuses it with sharp humor and writing and an unexpected twist that works and should make for a fun watch.  Yeah, might have to continue with this one for a bit just to see where things go from here.  I do want answers to the aforementioned questions…but who knows, maybe ill forget I even have them while watching this surprise gem of an Anime.