That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Episode 1

Introduction

The first anime of the Fall 2018 season is finally here in the form of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. After the successful isekai anime that was How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, I have some pretty high hopes for this season’s comedy isekai.

While MAL only has this series tagged as fantasy and shounen, it’s clear from both the title and the first episode that comedy is likely to play a central role throughout the series. From MAL we can also see that this series is going to be two-cour, which is something I would have liked from the good isekai last season like Demon Lord and Overlord III.

It should also come as no surprise that this Slime isekai is a light novel adaptation, as is basically every modern isekai.

The studio behind this series is 8bit, and after going through all of their works I can confidently say I’ve never seen an anime created by them before, so my expectations are nonexistent. That said, most of their anime have high 6 to low 7 ratings, which seems pretty average for MAL.

Summary

Like most isekai, but not The Master of Ragnarok and Blesser of Einherjar, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime starts off with our protagonist in our world before the events happen which lead to him being reincarnated in the other world. In this case, Satoru Mikami was stabbed randomly on the street and died.

However, before this scene of Satoru dying and being reincarnated, we get a seemingly unconnected scene of what appears to be Japan during the second world war. Thin this scene, a young girl is stranded in the streets as her town is being bombed, and a cyclone of flames transports her away (probably to the other world).

Back to Satoru dying, as he lies on the ground bleeding out, everything he complains about is turned into a skill which he then is reborn with. For example, he complains about his blood being hot, so he gains heat resistance, and he complains about the pain, so he gains pain resistance.

This skill acquiring also extends beyond physical sensations. At one point he remarks that since he was almost 40 when he died, and was still a virgin, he should be considered a sage. So, he gains a skill called “Sage,” although it’s unclear what exactly this skill does.

I thought that this way of explaining how and why Satoru has the specific skills he does as a Slime was a great addition. Normally, isekai protagonists are either reborn with innate abilities, which are usually overpowered, or they have to acquire them through some sort of skill tree.

Satoru belongs to the first group since he was reborn with abilities superior to those a Slime should normally have, but it doesn’t necessarily feel too overpowered because we were shown exactly why he has each ability he does. Though, his Predator ability seems extremely useful and has nothing to do with his promise to be more aggressive in chasing girls.

Based on how his new skills were acquired, if he had complained about dying, would he have gained immortality as a skill? I know he commented on how he might die, but I don’t remember him ever saying he hopes he doesn’t die or anything along those lines.

After dying, Satoru awakens to find that he’s been reincarnated as a Slime, which is a weak, common monster in fantasy games. I don’t play many fantasy games, so the only example I can think of are Chuchus from The Legend of Zelda.

Satoru spends his time devouring all the rare herbs and minerals he comes across in his cave because there’s nothing else for him to do. Luckily, thanks to his Predator skill, he’s able to convert the raw materials he dissolves into functional potions to store in his “stomach” for later use.

At some point (he doesn’t know how long he’s been a slime) he comes across a voice which promises to give him the power of sight (Slimes are blind) in exchange for not being afraid when he sees the creature who’s talking to him. Satoru accepts, and finds that the voice he was talking to belongs to a dragon.

Storm Dragon Verudora is one of only four true dragons in the world. He was sealed away inside the cave 300 years ago after he “accidentally” burned an entire city to ash, and then was defeated by a hero who referred to herself as a “Summon.”

Verudora also explains to Satoru that while there are others who come to this world from other worlds, Satoru is the first he’s heard of who was reincarnated into this world. He also clarifies that Summons aren’t the same as “Otherworlders,” but I have my doubts.

After putting on a convincing tsundere performance, Verudora agrees to be Satoru’s first friend in the new world. Thus begins Mister Mikami’s Dragon Butler.

Conclusion

There wasn’t a next episode preview, just a next episode title, so there isn’t too much for me to predict about episode 2. The next episode is titled, “Meeting the Goblins” so we can assume Satoru is going to meet some goblins. To do so, I also assume he’ll have to escape from the cave with Verudora.

I’m guessing that Satoru will be able to use his Predator skill to dissolve the diamond-looking seal which is keeping Verudora in the cave, and then the two of them will set out together. In the ED, we see Satoru jump off a dragon, so I assume that was Verudora and he becomes Satoru’s first companion.

What were your first impressions of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime? I enjoyed it, especially the part when Satoru was gaining skills as he was dying. I hope that this series continues to do more unique things like that going forward.

If you enjoyed this first episode review, click the like button down below. You should also follow me on Twitter if you’re interested in being notified every time a new post goes live. I’m planning to review the new episode of this series each week either on Mondays or Tuesdays.

My review of the next episode is available here.