Revolutionary Isekai – That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Has One Secret to Its Success
The popular anime series, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, stands out among the isekai genre because it looks beyond its protagonist and focuses on the greater world around them.
Isekai stories follow a protagonist who is transported to another world, often through death and reincarnation. These protagonists wield immense power, earning respect and admiration from everyone around them. The isekai genre is based on wish fulfillment, allowing the audience to experience the power fantasy of being a hero who can make a significant impact on the world. Many isekai series draw inspiration from video games, giving characters skills or abilities like those seen in role-playing games, leading to their overpowered nature. Although That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime follows the same formula, it differs in how it uses the protagonist’s power.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Puts Its Hero\’s Power to Work
Early on in the series, the protagonist Rimuru Tempest dedicates themself to building a new type of society where monsters and humanoids can coexist. Although Rimuru’s initial motivation is selfish, wanting a society as comfortable as the modern world they came from, Rimuru takes their leadership responsibilities seriously as the story progresses. Starting with
The hit anime series That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is a standout among the isekai (“other world”) genre, and that success is largely due to something that the genre doesn’t always do: look beyond its protagonist at the greater world around them.
Isekai stories revolve around a protagonist who is brought to another world, often through death and reincarnation. Protagonists in isekai tend to wield tremendous amounts of power, earning the respect and admiration of everyone around them. At its core, isekai is a genre based on wish fulfillment, putting the audience in the shoes of a hero who can actually impart their will on the world and see major changes as a result. Many take inspiration from video games, giving characters skills or abilities like one would see in Role-Playing Games, leading to the hero’s overpowered nature. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is no different in this regard, but where it actually differs is how that power is used.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Puts Its Hero’s Power to Work
Just a few episodes into the series, protagonist Rimuru Tempest dedicates themself to using their power to build a new type of society, where monsters and humanoids can coexist. This is partially selfishly motivated, as Rimuru’s initial goal is to have a society as close to the comfortable modern world he came from as possible, but as the story progresses, Rimuru begins to take their leadership responsibilities seriously. Beginning with the goblins and the dire wolves, Rimuru starts brokering peace amongst groups that once were at war, using the phenomenal power they’ve inherited to essentially force the issue. After all, when faced with peace or obliteration, most are going to choose peace.
Many isekai series have rather selfish protagonists who only want to fulfill their wishes (hence the prevalence of harem tropes in the genre), and another hit series, The Eminence In Shadowis a perfect example. While Rimuru isn’t exactly selfless, the level of responsibility that Rimuru finds themself with keeps them from becoming too greedy. They have people to protect who rely on them, and that’s something that Rimuru takes quite seriously, even to the point of doing some very morally questionable things. Where many isekai focus on the power part of a power fantasy, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime offers equal weight to the responsibility that comes with wielding such power.
Nation-building Sets Reincarnated As A Slime Aside From Other Isekai
The series is at its heart a comedic one, so it generally tries not to get too somber when dealing with responsibility, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there, or that it doesn’t play a major role. Rimuru’s seemingly endless growth in power is accompanied by an equal increase in responsibility for those who rely on them and the potential consequences of their actions. This element is truly the secret that made That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime such a hit, and why it continues to be popular to this day.
