What’s the show? That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, Episode 14.
So how’s this episode? It makes an impact, in many senses of the word.
Okay then, so what happens? Putting it succinctly, Gelmud the powerful majin responsible not only for this whole ~march of the pigs~ but also for giving Gabiru his name shows himself on the battlefield, positioning himself between the Orc Lord and the “good guys”. And well, he’s your typical ‘not actually that powerful and kind of a wuss when it comes to crunch time’-kind of bad guys but rather than be defeated by one of our heroes his own creation Geld kills him, eats him and transforms into a Demon Lord level monster called ‘Orc Disaster’. (P.S What’s with all these G-names?)
That sounds like trouble. Indeed, and while our kijin friends put up an admirable fight, literally decapitating the big pig it’s no match for his overpowered regenerative and healing abilities as he walks off a decapitation like an athlete would walk off a stitch. So it’s the showdown we’ve all been waiting for Rimuru VS Orc Disaster. And boy does this show pull out all the tricks for this battle! Not only is it visually impressive, filled with the trademark dry humour and full of fun subversion on expectations but it’s also among the most touching “villain” deaths I’ve seen in this type of anime.
But isn’t he just some big dumb orc? That’s what I thought too, but like the best shows this isn’t just faceless evil up against our protagonists. This was once a humble orc King, living in the barren wastelands, trying his best to keep his people fed against impossible odds and so when traversing the wastes in search of the Forest of Jura he happened to stumble across Gelmud when he was at his lowest and most desperate and hence why he took the offer that seemingly doomed his whole clan to become a shambling echo of their former selves.
So does this fall into that trope you don’t like of “last minute flashback that humanizes the villain seconds before their death”? Somewhat, but this show handles death a lot differently from other shows I’ve seen and as a result it gets away with it. See, after trying everything to kill Orc Disaster (even letting ‘the great sage’ take a turn at “auto-battle”, which was wonderfully meta) Rimuru uses his trump card, that being his ‘Predator’ ability that literally allows him to absorb any threat and kudos to the show, they don’t do the whole ‘you were my enemy but now we can be friends’ shonen trope. Rimuru straight up dissolves Geld into nothingness but not before “absolving him of his sins” and showing him one last look at paradise to ease his guilty mind. I said it back when Shizue died, but Rimuru is ~literally~ God in this anime. The comparisons only mount with each episode!
Uh-huh, so good episode then? Yep, wonderful, I loved every single minute of it! Well… except that we’ve still got the same crappy OP as the previous 13 episodes. Keenly hoping since this is the end of this arc that we get a new OP next episode! Please?
Previous The Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Reviews:
Slife After Death – Episode 1 Review
Slime Is On Their Side – Episode 2 Review
A Name Brings Great Chance – Episode 3 Review
Elf-Care – Episode 4 Review
The King’s Justice – Episode 5 Review
Building Connections – Episode 6 Review
Burning Away The Past – Episode 7 Review
Ashes To Ashes, Slime To Slime – Episode 8 Review
Ogre-Reacting – Episode 9 Review
Un-Makeover – Episode 10 Review
Truth and Allies – Episode 11 Review
Hungry For Blood – Episode 12 Review
An Appetite For Destruction – Episode 13 Review
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Anime QandA 
The more I watch this show, the more I like Shion.
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She is a god-tier waifs, she might even give Shera (from How Not To Summon a Demon Lord) a run for her money.
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With all due respect to Shera (and I hold her in high esteem!), I have to declare for Shion. I mean, Shera’s no slouch in any category, but Shion is a freakin’ strategic weapon! The only thing that’s been able to even slow her down was a newly minted Demon Lord who had just consumed a majin.
Kinda cool how these shows drive conversations like this!
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No denying Shion’s capabilities outshine Shera but I feel I connect with Shera’s personality and character more but that’s because we had a full season with her, it’s still relatively early days so there’s plenty of time for more Shion development!
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Excellent points — and more reason than ever to keep watching!
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