English Dub Review: The Slime Diaries: “Summer in Jura”

Overview: Rimuru (Brittney Karbowski) goes on a bug catching trek as the monster citizens of Tempest go about their day.  

Our Take: Rimuru absorbing Veldora has more repercussions than he thought, further showing just how important the storm dragon was, creating a heatwave that allows for summertime relaxation. Other story tidbits that show how the writers care about and pay attention to where this spin-off fits into canon with Gobta not yet knowing Rimuru was once a human. 

It would not be summer without some big ol’ bug catching. It is funny to see the little differences between Rimuru’s earth and the one that he has been reincarnated into, or not so little with beetles being the size of elephants or sunflowers slightly differing in appearance. There are various shenanigans sprinkled throughout that are fun in the goblin water gun fight, or a very real one in Ranga and Shion fighting over Rimuru. Shion’s cooking strikes again and the demonic heat consumes Kurobe into making a demon sword. It’s this moment that highlights the moments of strong visual style with the hyper detailed character designs and inky blacks nailing the over-the-top humor. 

Shion and Shuna fighting over cuddling Rimuru is never not a joy and it is bittersweet in seeing how very little actual fruit came from Geld’s labor. But the sweet part comes from how he could cheer up a little girl with it. Treyni continuing to be a close confidant for Rimuru, and a hell of a mixologist, easing his worries about the environmental impact on Tempest is a wholesome sweet scene. Although very unlikely, she has very much planted her flag as a great potential waifu candidate. The firefly sightseeing is a heartfelt scene in how Rimuru reminisces and relates it to how he thought of summer in his youth. Rimuru playing with flocks of slime is a fun way to end the summertime romp.