English Dub Review: The Slime Diaries: “A Fruitful Autumn”

Overview: With the help of Treyni (Jamie Marchi), Ririna (Sarah Roach) and the others, Rimuru (Brittney Karbowski) and the monster citizens begin reaping their homegrown reward in the form of various crops. 

Our Take: With the leaves turning to brown and orange, Fall is upon Tempest in what is a nice seasonal transition in the harvesting of crops. There are more beautiful background CG making a nice centerpiece of the 2D art that comes together to have a pretty painterly aesthetic. Ririna becomes more attractive by the second in how she is sweet but also a firm handed overseer. 

An interesting tidbit is learned about Treyni’s dryad nature being derived from potatoes of all things. Rimuru censoring Gabiru’s outlandish behavior at newly grown rice is hilarious in how increasingly tired he becomes of him. Rimuru perks  up excitedly, though, when matsutake mushrooms are farmed but the fact that they are so common is amazing for his adorable poutiness. Malim and Shion’s competition in harvesting sweet potatoes is a fun way to fan the flames of their rivalry, with them each one upping each other throughout. 

Malim has been subjected to the cruel ruffage of raw vegetables from Hermes and Middray, no wonder she loves roasted sweet taters in a cute scene and brief cameo from them. Benimaru reminiscing about his sweet tooth and love of persimmons from his dad highlights the deeper meaning it can have. It highlights the heartfelt and nostalgic effect food has on people and how it connects us all. His memory also allows for getting more of a glimpse at his kind father other than what has been mentioned. It is also nice to see how everyone’s farming has paid off in being more experienced. Gobta and the other goblins trying to get the drop on Hakurou is a recipe for disaster, unlike the fire roasted veggies, but a hilariously welcome one. 

Geld using crops to honor the fallen, like his old lord, and as a great sign of bountiful health is another fascinating and heartwarming way of showing how nourishment is rooted into the core of who we are as well as our past, present and future. Treyni tried to pull a fast one, like Malim did, in pretending to leave only to come back, showing how lighthearted the series is as well, not taking itself too seriously with arcs in this particular series. Rimuru putting a scale in the women’s spa ishis dumbest, most tone deaf decision to date but also his most laugh-out-loud one as a result of Shion, Shuna and Malim’s searing anger. Suffice to say, it was destroyed with the girl’s downplaying their weight and the dessert club being disbanded making for a funny ending stinger.