English Dub Review: I’ve Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level: “Along Came an Elf”

Overview: Episode 3 of Maxed Out My Level has our quaint little family getting yet another new member in the elf, Halkara, who needs help out of a bind and Beezlebub, a demon, who is on the hunt for our pointy eared arrival. 

Our Take: “Along Came an Elf” is setting the precedent for how this fantasy isekai is shaping up. Even the title itself is a play at the past one further showing how this anime recognizes the patterns it’s forming. And quite frankly, it is already starting to become tedious. 

As the name implies, the show debuts a new character in that of an elf member in Halkara. She’s busty, kind and just a little ditsy. She’s how you expect the trope character to go, sweet yet sweetly by the book, at least for now. If you know any anime series (seriously pick a name out of a hat), you know what to expect. Fun little hijinks, of course. This time around, they take shape in her mixing up poisonous mushrooms or mistakenly believing a demon is after her because she got sick from drinking an energy drink that Halkara made. Can’t say anything bad about these little moments because truthfully they are fine enough in that they are somewhat cute with Halkara lusting after Aizawa because of the fungus effects or her scared, erratic behavior not being warranted because her life was never in danger, respectively. But at the same time, they do not feel sufficient enough to warrant one’s time as there’s no gut busting jokes or shenanigans that are worthy of it. 

Speaking of demons, it’s none other than the infamous Beezlebub, another addition to the cast. She seems to be feisty enough and that adds to her spirit. Of course, the whole murder Halkara plot, in keeping with the tone of the show, is righted off with a fun gag as the resolution, just like the first episode. Unfortunately for the punchline, it is a second time too many. Then after, like clockwork, Aizawa mentions how she did not expect to have a big family but it is all unexpectedly a different kind of great yada yada yada. All those yadas are because this series has begun to get into it a bland, formulaic rhythm that already tells me exactly how the series will unfold and why not to care. All this repetition is so clearly intended to hammer home the impact but is instead paint-by-numbers to a point that if it continues to go down this route, will just end up making me want to go to sleep instead. So to sum up, “Been there, done that, anything else you got?” is basically where I am at. 

I’ve Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years is at risk of feeling like it’s been going on for 300 years with a tired roadmap set forth with unremarkable humor, a while not egregious but still uninspired character debut and unimaginative story elements. A few fun gags and one decent enough demon introduction isn’t enough for it to hit the mark. Here’s hoping the witch’s show has some kind of magic up its sleeve to save it from obscurity.