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

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Ryoma Takebayashi lives by himself in a forest, where he raises magical slime creatures and generally just hangs around. But he’s not actually an eleven year old boy — no, Takebayashi used to be a middle-aged office worker in Japan until he died from working too long at an exploititive job and was reincarnated in another world.

Our Take:

By the Grace of the Gods is about as textbook an isekai series as you can make right now. After one episode, the groundwork has been laid, and it looks like we’re in store for a low stakes adventure about a boy raising slimes and meeting new friends as he lives a new life in a strange world.

Ryoma himself is a pretty blank slate — at least in his current state as a kid. He’s very simple and drab. Maybe living with slimes as your only companions in a forest for years will do that to a guy. He hasn’t even talked in years, which makes him speak awkwardly at first to the travelers he encounters.

The traveler’s themselves aren’t that interesting either, but they at least have some semblance of personality, even if it’s very basic and archetypal. The head dude is a royal who sees his responsibility as taking care of this young boy living on his own in the woods. There’s also a mage, a warrior, a wise-cracker, etc. in the party, and all of them are equally locked into their role.

The best bit so far is definitely the flashback to the events following our main character’s death, where he finds himself meeting with three gods who inform him about where he stands. The funniest parts of the premiere are contained in this scene, as the gods react with surprise to find he’s already prepared for his upcoming adventure due to manga and anime he read while living in the real world.

So far, By the Grace of Gods seems poised to be a very mellow and monotonous show that borrows from other popular isekai titles while leaving out the exciting parts. Ryoma is boring (although his physical strength in a kid’s body is sure to come up later and liven things up a bit), his slimes seem like Pokemon ripoffs, and the art, animation, and soundtrack don’t stand out in any way. The only thing I’m looking forward to next week is the hope that the newcomers can spice this blandness up a bit.