©Daiki Kawakami, Fuse, Kodansha/Tensura Production Committee ©Shiba, Fuse, Kodansha/Tensura Diary Production Committee
Man, what a bait and switch. Here we are, all gearing up for a big board meeting filled with important and unimportant details – and they have the audacity to introduce us to a new role.
Of course, I’m kidding. Masayuki’s appearance turns what could have been another festive set-up episode into something both fun and enjoyable. Rimuru has faced many threats so far – from Orcs and Demon Lords to invading armies and Hinata. Although Rimuru occasionally goes head-to-head, most of his victories come from his unique skills. The Great Sage, now Raphael, might as well be a magical “I win” button. Whatever Rimuru needed to know or wanted to do, Raphael could do it effortlessly. When things get really bad, Raphael can even take over Rimuru’s body or magic to accomplish the seemingly impossible.
But here’s the thing, Yazhi may have a more powerful “I win” button. He has the “Choose a Hero” skill, which seems to change the fate of those around him (including himself), so he ends up being the hero in many cliche situations. This makes him a strong rival to Rimuru. While Raphael needs Rimuru’s instructions to activate (i.e., it at least needs to know his overall intentions), Chosen Hero is always at work – no matter what Masayuki wants. What’s more cliche a heroic story than a hero who not only wins a fighting tournament, but also defeats the evil lord of the demon who rules the city?
Masayuki felt that Yuuki’s way of attacking Rimuru was much better than Hinata’s. Although Hinata has some quirks in her personality, she is not an idiot. While she was once tricked into attacking Rimuru, she was later able to roughly figure out what the truth was – ultimately helping to avoid a ton of senseless deaths the next time she was put in a position to be taken advantage of. To Masayuki, it doesn’t matter what he thinks or feels. He is a puppet of fate. Even if he chooses to do nothing, things will end up with him standing out – more popular than ever. All there is to do is have the hero and the demon lord in the same place – and as we’ve seen, that’s no trouble.
Through this episode, I went from passively enjoying the leisurely preparations for the festival to actively feeling the dramatic intensity of the doomed encounter between these two powerful skills (and the poor fool they inhabit). Now do I think it’s possible for Rimuru to lose? of course not. However, I don’t foresee him winning in an easy way either – it should be interesting to see how Masayuki’s fate-bending powers affect Tempest’s monsters (especially given their fanatical loyalty to Rimuru).
score:
Random thoughts:
• If you think about it, Rimuru is not the only demon king attending the festival. I’m guessing Ramiris, Milim, and Luminous will be there as well – along with Frey and Karion. Not to mention the most powerful evil dragon the world has ever known.
• Not gonna lie, I don’t even remember the fox or where it came from.
• I admit, I don’t know whether Shuna or Treyni know what role is suitable for being a dungeon floor boss. I have a hard time remembering scenes of the two of them interacting alone, let alone with another powerful monster present.
• I thought Rimuru shared Veldora’s immense magic power. So if Rimuru was exhausted from naming the fox, shouldn’t Veldora be too? Or that he had become the Demon King, granting Rimuru his own magical reserves beyond what he could share with Veldora?
About me being reincarnated as a slime Season three is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
