English Dub Review: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: “The One Unleashed”

Overview: Rimuru (Brittany Karbowski) enjoys a brief moment of reprieve with his newly revived friends as he prepares to take on threats from all sides.  

Our Take: “The One Unleashed” unleashes a whole bevy of plot developments as the first cour of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2 comes to an end. With the citizens of Tempest revived, we are treated to something that has not been present for some time on account of all the death and despair. The cast’s heartwarming chemistry with one another. The best display of this is between Rimuru, Shion and Benimaru. Rimuru is one of the toughest dudes out there and has ascended to the heights of a demon lord. But even he did have the strength to smite Shion’s brilliant smile. Him relenting to speak the code word that references Shion’s atrocious cooking is always a hilarious running gag. Not to mention Benimaru egging him on is the icing on the cake. It is a recurring joke that you would think would be played out by now but. It is also a testament to how great the English cast is with Brittany Karbowski, Ricco Fajardo and Michelle Rojas being so breezy and natural with their levity. 

It was revealed earlier in the season that Malim was going to wage war against Lord Carrion. We now get to see just how that came to fruition. This is another highlight because it nicely allows for Carrion and Eurazania to be thrown into the mix, a character and nation in need of more screen time. But also because it shows how Slime is not neglecting Malim’s plot by hastily scraping together a conclusion within the span of a one episode finale. With all the setup of Malim’s tragic backstory and the teasing of her dark spiraling out, it is a story that deserves more time to marinate to be served properly. 

In the case of other demons, Diablo’s relationship with Rimuru is much more lighthearted than I had originally thought it would be. Truthfully, it does seem a bit odd with the way he has been teased so ominously before. However, similarly with Benimaru and Shion, they bounce off of each other so well with Diablo’s immature mopiness on account of not being unrecognized by Rimuru being nothing short of hilarious. So oddities aside, this development is fine by me, if this is the route taken that is. But, there is always a chance that his attitude is a misdirect to deceive Rimuru and his friends into complacency so I still reserve judgment as well. 

Lastly, it feels good to know that the show is, also akin to Malim, giving antagonists their due time with Tempest fully evaluating all threats that are laid in front making sure not to miss anything. Truth be told, Hinata, the Holy Church and Clayman completely slipped my mind on account of everything going on, so it’s especially nice that the series didn’t and it plans to fully cultivate that conflict in the second cour. Another fastball completely out of left field was the return of Veldora who Rimuru made a promise with that I promise you I forgot about. This was incredibly brief and only meant as a tease but with powerful heavyweights throwing down, some extra muscles sounds like it’ll be necessary so it seems like a logical decision. But also a welcome one considering we haven’t seen the ancient dragon since the first season. His friendship with the slime was quite adorable and will more than likely be a fun aspect moving forward. 

Slime ends the first half of the second season with a phenomenal finish as it gives a refreshing splash of heart and humor along with exciting teases for the future in various conflicts and new characters that make themselves right at home in the series.