English Dub Review: By the Grace of the Gods “Departure, with the Slimes”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Ryoma is surprised to find more people invading his personal space, but it turns out to be just the same party coming back with more members of their group. Duke Reinhart and his family have brung an award to honor and thank the slime master for the kindness he showed them previously.

They’re shocked to learn how advanced Ryoma is when it comes to slime magic. He teaches their daughter Eliaria how to catch and tame her first slime, and helps clear a blocked passage from their way after deciding to go on a journey with the group and see more of the world. With Ryoma’s slimes and skills, there’s no obstacle too great to overcome.

Our Take:

By the Grace of the Gods delivers absolutely no surprises in its second episode. Based on the premiere, one would think the show was a dull, color-by-numbers magical beast tamer isekai and Departure, with the Slimes does nothing to dispel that bland picture.

After finding such a mysterious boy in the woods, it was only a matter of time before Reinhart returned. This time he brings his father, wife, and daughter. They are on their way to a mining town where they’ll be spending quite some time, and once they discover how truly magical Ryoma’s abilities are, they invite him to come with them. This is where the show gets a little confusing.

Ryoma has had three years to explore if he wanted, but he hasn’t. What’s more, his reasoning for leaving now is based on a very passionless speech by Eliaria that somehow ignores his desire to learn more about the real world and gain common sense. He’s an overpowered kid, so that kind of makes sense, but it also doesn’t, because we’ve seen he remembers his past life as an adult man, so where’s that common sense gone?

The rest of the episode is amazingly one note. The group encounters an obstacle or a question, and Ryoma solves it with his superpowered abilities. Then everyone praises him and exclaims how surprised they are that he can do what he does. By the third or fourth time, it’s gotten old and I’m ready for Ryoma to get eaten by one of his slimes.

There are a few bright spots, but you really have to squint to find them. Reinhart’s wife Elise is kind of fun, as her passion for learning more about slimes and magic makes Ryoma the most fascinating person in the world to her. Her daughter Eliaria is also plucky and eager to learn more about slimes, although the show gets weird when it tries to make bath water a hindrance because ladies aren’t supposed to talk about it for some dumb reason.

After two episodes, I’m already ready to give this show a thumbs down for all but the most basic of anime watchers. Perhaps the manga is more engaging, and if you’re a fan of that, then I’d say knock yourself out. For the rest of us, though, there’s absolutely no reason to pick this series up. It’s about as pointless as a slime that can clean a goblin’s loincloth.