That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3

Episode 67

Narratively, this dinner party is akin to the action climax of this arc—only instead of some big fight, the “action” is a battle of words. Rimuru is surrounded by enemies, friends, and those sitting on the fence. All are here because they are curious—and because when the leader of a new superpower invites you to celebrate their ascension, you come. Each speech—each conversation—is a battle to be won or lost. It could change the political landscape of Tempest for years to come.

And to show's credit we get our fair share of this. Rimuru does his best to ease his allies, feasting with them. This shows the other human nobles that Rimuru treats his fellow kings as equals, be they monsters, dwarfs, or humans. Then, when high-profile guests arrive, like the elven empress, he welcomes her personally—showing politeness beyond what is strictly required.

His first mistake of the evening comes with his serving of sushi as the appetizer. He sets up a grand display of having a monster fish cut up and served in a flashy swordplay. He hopes to show off things only Tempest has to promote trade and tourism. It just never occurred to him that sushi doesn't exist in this world for a reason—and that the guests, including his allies, would be afraid to eat it.

Luckily, Rimuru is not the only Japanese person present and soon Hinata and Yuuki pull up chairs beside him to get a rare taste of home. This opens the door for others (those with strong ties to Rimuru, Hinata, and Yuuki and those who would like to foster such ties) to try the exotic dish—granting Rimuru's plan a fair measure of success.

Then comes the arrival of the demon lords. While Carrion and Frey may no longer claim the title of a demon lord, this won't mean much to your average human noble. And having Milim at their head—well, it's likely terrifying having three of the most powerful monsters in the world show up to dinner.

It's here that Rimuru makes his second big mistake of the evening. Detailing the menu, he neglects to remember that Frey is a harpy and offers her poultry—something that could be seen as a veiled insult. What's interesting is how Frey reacts. She is far more politically-minded than Rimuru so she plays the role of enraged guest because she knows how Rimuru will react—i.e., with a sincere apology. Lowering his head to an inferior lets all those in the room who don't know Rimuru personally see what kind of man he is. His actions show he cares more about maintaining a good relationship with his allies than his pride. It also means he is willing to admit when he has made a mistake—even an accidental one.

The back half of the episode is where things kind of fall apart. We get a lot of the two things I dislike most about this series: unfunny comedy and everyone praising Rimuru despite him doing nothing to deserve it. The whole extended joke of Middray throwing a fit about the food only for Shuna to give an impassioned speech about how the meal is a metaphor for the geopolitical stage had me alternating between sighing and rolling my eyes—especially once we get the chorus of adulation for Rimuru at the end of it. The last thing I want from this series is even more sycophants telling Rimuru his farts smell like roses.

Luckily, the episode does end on a high note with Rimuru giving a speech that comes down to “If you want to be friends, great. If you want to ignore us, okay. If you want to invade us, we'll murder you.” And honestly, that's a pretty fair stance. We'll just have to see how that message is taken once the fighting tournament begins and the other countries get a taste of Tempest's martial might.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Was Mjöllmile hinting that spies from other countries have infiltrated Tempest by posing as merchants?

• Why were the kids from Earth so shocked? Have they never seen Rimuru as a slime before? ...They knew he was a king, right?

• Don't the faces look a bit younger than usual in this episode? Specifically Milim's and Shuna's.

• It's been a long time since we've had Raphael pop in and speak. Did she and Rimuru have that little chat they were supposed to have after the fight with Hinata off-screen? Is that the reason why she's been so quiet lately?

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.