English Dub Review: That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime OAD 3 and 4

Overview(Spoilers Below):

As season 2 soon makes its way back into the hearts and minds of isekai fans, the series recently became supplemented with new OADs (Original Animation DVD). Taking place just before the end of first season, Extra: Rimuru’s Glamorous Life as a Teacher, Part 1 and it’s continuation, details Rimuru’s final moments not only as an instructor at the Freedom Academy in the Kingdom of Ingrassia, but also with Shizue’s past students that he’s come to know and love.  The students are assigned to protect a teacher that is not their own and safely transport them in a carriage from their school to a nearby town. Extra: Rimuru’s Glamorous Life as a Teacher, Part 2 continues the class competition. Whilst Rimuru’s class, Class S, was assigned to the very cheerful and polite teacher, Ms. Tiss, Mr. Jeff’s class, Class A, was assigned the blue slime himself to safeguard throughout their journey. After arriving at the mansion of Count Guratol, who was not expecting their early arrival, Class S is sent to scout the caves they’ll be entering in the next challenge. The class soon finds themselves in hot water however as when they go to check the cave they’ll be fighting their way through in the second part of the test, they get ambushed. The assailants, of course, are the ones that plotted to hold the students for ransom and who were embarrassed most hilariously by Rimuru outside of the Dwargon Kingdom previously. They easily dispatch their enemies only to be greeted by another. One who helped the thugs behind the scenes and who is not who he seems.

Our Take:

Being engaged in a “friendly” competition not only allows for some fun comedic moments between snooty teacher Jeff and Rimuru but some witty banter as well that’s a nice change of pace from the animated visual jokes. What’s also appreciated is the subtlety in the extra layers of Jeff’s character and how he is connected to the ongoing plot thread in the background of this episode. It allows him to be more than just a gag character and become a bit more sensible. Another welcome addition to the narrative that was seeded very well in this episode was the increasing effect that Rimuru is having on the children. Their newfound confidence is a refreshing and welcome change of pace and from how they were when the series first introduced them and builds greatly upon the progress they made towards the end of the initial season. 

Part 2 very smartly and elegantly builds upon the establishments made in the first part in various ways. For one, we get to see how adept of an instructor Jeff is simply through the great teamwork and coordination skills that his students display in quickly dispatching monsters on even when they least expect it. While Class S goes even further beyond that. Not only do they care for Ms. Tiss in a caring and hospitable manner, but also manage to arrive earlier at their destination than most and beat their peers to the halfway point of the assignment. Seeing Rimuru’s students, Kenya, Ryota, Gale, Alice and Chloe all rise to the occasion and perform coordinated attacks and powerful techniques, to protect Ms. Tiss, is a testament to how far they’ve come in such a short amount of time. Their fierce determination when they make the decision to not turn away from a very real threat they were unprepared for is admirable. 

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime OAD 3 & 4 offers an enjoyable character driven ride that further develops the other characters of this universe. It wisely takes the focus off of Rimuru and centers it on his pupils and those of Jeff’s as well.  And that all the while helps further reinforce what we already knew about Rimuru and what we hadn’t discovered about Jeff until now. Class S obtains a newly discovered sense of strength and seeing the mileage they’re getting out of it is a fulfilling treat.