English Dub Review: By the Grace of the Gods “Laundry Business, with the Slimes”, “The New Coworkers, with the Slimes”, “The New Slimes, with the Slimes”, “Taming Magic Training, with the Slimes”, and “The Beginning of a New Era, with the Slimes”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Ryoma is excited to open up his clothing cleaning company, called Bamboo Forest Laundry Service, along with the help of Serge and his friends. The grand opening goes off without a hitch thanks to the hire of two assistants named Carme and Carla Norad who are experts at keeping things organized. In fact, the Bamboo Forest Laundry Service turns out to be so popular that Ryoma has to hire lots more workers, including Fei and Li Ling, a pair of former assassins.

Our Take:

By the Grace of the Gods has had a very predictable run up until now, with nary a major conflict or emotional development in sight. That doesn’t change in this last batch of episodes, which Funimation has released in a big ol’ lump of mediocrity. Ryoma is still his usual flawlessly annoying self, Eliaria is still his modest admirer, and the most important thing that happens is the founding of a laundry business.

Ryoma decides to call his company the Bamboo Forest Laundry Service for some reason, even though he admits that it’s not really fair to call it laundry since there’s no water involved — just slimes having a meal. While watching an eleven year old cleaning clothes with his slimes doesn’t seem like the most exciting thing in the world, it does give the show a chance to introduce a bunch of new characters into the mix. As before when this has happened, I was hopeful that some fresh faces could bring some spice to the world.

Alas, that never seems to be the case in this show, because apparently Gods are allergic to spice and prefer blandness. The two Norad siblings appear stiff at first, and once they get to know Ryoma and his hustle a little more they are… still pretty stiff. When the ex-assasins Fei and Li show up, I allowed myself to get a little optimistic one last time, because surely if anything could inject some life into this show, it would be suspicious assassins. But no, they’re just honest people looking to move on from that life, and Ryoma eagerly welcomes them into his horde of successful workers, even hiring a cook to make great food for his employees.

After the laundry business is wrapped up, Ryoma and Eliaria take centerstage for the final few episodes as they learn new magical abilities while exchanging the same old sneaky blushing glances. It’s always been a little off-putting due to the fact that Ryoma is really a full-grown adult in a child’s body. While it’s never exactly clear how he thinks of his own age, it’s established that he does remember his former life, down to the minute details like the early morning speeches he would give to his coworkers. This his infatuation with Eliaria a little awkward — especially when a member of the guards starts teasing him and telling him to show her more affection. It’s a weird scene that just made me feel uncomfortable for the two of them. In the final episode, they share a sweet goodbye. It’s also the most we’ve ever heard Eliaria say in a single episode, but hey, at least they let her go out with a bang.