English Dub Review: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime “The Labyrinth’s Grand Opening”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

The Labyrinth finally opens and fun is had by all. Except for me.

OUR TAKE

Maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t really looking forward to doing more with the Labyrinth, for at least a few reasons. The first of which being that this whole arc has, as I have stated several times now, been pretty much devoid of stakes or tension and thus not very compelling to watch as it progressed. There’s been nothing at stake, no deals or people on the line, no risk if something goes awry, so it ultimately comes down to whether or not you enjoy seeing these characters doing wacky shenanigans, which I think I have fully establish that I do not. The second reason, mostly related to the first, is that this whole deal is pretty much fully under Rimiru’s control, meaning that he’s not going to gain or lose anything from this as a character either. Everything is safe and planned out, nothing is challenging in the slightest for either him or those who are actually participating in the labyrinth. Oh yeah and the third reason basically boils down to the fact that those involved are characters I care even less about than the main cast, and even THEY’RE not given any chances to grow or change as a result of this.

Basically, this whole second half of the season has really brought me down by how much time it feels like they’re wasting when they could be doing much more compelling things. And with one more episode to go until this season is wrapped up, it’s virtually assured that this arc will be essentially a bust. The first arc of the season showed some promise and dealt with some real character reflection, even if a lot of it was just people sitting around and talking and leading up to an ultimately unsatisfying set of battles, but even then there were real consequences for what happened and it actually felt like there was something at risk if things didn’t go well. And don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with having a bit of time for character downtime and shenanigans, but it’s gotta be earned after some real substantial growth and change, which I can decidedly say that this show has not. Anyway, next week’s the finale and I’ve already used up my big rant, so maybe we’ll get something even worse for me to spew bile about for hundreds of words. And if not, well, I’m sure I’ll think of something.