Having moderately enjoyed the first season, though I looked forward to watching the second iteration, I didn't expect too much from it. And, as anticipated, the twelve episodes that have been released so far have proved to be more of the same. The first season, though rich in ideas and fresh in its approach, became something of a trudge towards the finish line near the end. The second season carried over the first season's strengths just as much as it continued any weaknesses and, as another cog in the narrative's great mechanism, tried to slot in with as little fuss as possible.
It would be hard to make a complete judgment on the second season without seeing Part 2, but it's probably not that difficult to tell how the rest of it is going to go. It is an isekai anime, after all. Anything that isn't totally formulaic and cookie-cutter immediately becomes something to be cherished, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is certainly one such series, even if the second season leaves a lot to be desired.
Premise (2/5): The second season takes something of a dark turn, but not just because of the ransacking of the city of Tempest and the resultant death of one of Rimuru's closest friends, alongside the demise of a hundred other inhabitants. In order to facilitate the reincarnation of his beloved citizens and simultaneously his ascension towards Demon Lord status, Rimuru duly awakens his inner monster. Not by turning into a grotesque beast of legend, of course, but by massacring twenty thousand humans without batting an eyelid, so as to garner enough souls to feed the newly-formed Archdemon that immediately submits to his whims and wishes, just like all the rest.
Ah, to be a genocidal, omnipotent slime reborn in another world! The heroic music that plays whilst everyone around Rimuru is cut down in cold blood almost makes you forget that you're also a member of the race that's currently being ethnically cleansed right before your very eyes.
In all seriousness, aside from that matter of little consequence, there's really nothing about the second season that hasn't already been touched on in the first. Rimuru continues to make new friends either by being his awkward, cutesy self, or by displaying his absolutely mind-boggling abilities to whoever happens to be at the scene. It's a lot of fun watching arrogant know-it-alls get cut down by the immensely powerful good guys, but it also means that by the end of the show, nothing surprises you anymore.
Characters (1/5): In a series with around thirty main characters, you can't exactly expect any substantial character development. But throw in the fact that the bulk of the development already happened in the first season, and you have a case of the characters from the first season being exactly the same the whole way through, and the characters from the second season not getting enough screen-time to express themselves.
All you really have to know for this season is that Rimuru gets more and more powerful, and his doe-eyed subordinates follow him around everywhere. It seems that nothing he does will ever test their loyalty to him. Again, very gratifying stuff, but also a gimmick that inevitably gets old. It's also the case that with so many characters, you invariably have to leave out a few here and there. Milim makes an abrupt appearance as a strangely mindless destroyer of worlds, the dwarf quartet dart in and out of focus, and most of the other minor characters suffer the same fate of obsolescence.
The new characters, however, are on another level of exasperating. Every human in the series, save for Youm and his gang of would-be heroes (and Myulan, whose romance with Youm is very poorly explored), is a sadistic, greedy, and downright evil caricature of sin and vice, meaning that whenever one of them gets mauled by the good guys, you can't help but cheer. And no one is more sadistic, greedy and downright evil than the terrible trio of "Otherworlders" whose only jobs are to appear, fuck everything up, then get comprehensively destroyed. They contribute nothing to the story - like most of the humans in the series - so they end up being little more than free punching bags. Additionally, the only new monsters of consequence that are introduced are the "Three Beastketeers", and even they don't really do much in the end other than run from the impending catastrophe befalling their country.
Characterization was one of the many things that the first season got spot-on; unfortunately, it seems that all the good work ended there.
Audiovisuals (4/5): Every other aspect of the second season might have its ups and downs, but at least the animation is as consistent and spectacular as it's always been. The CGI sequences during the "Great Sage" moments are complex and detailed beyond comprehension, and the action scenes are incredibly good value for money. You can never go wrong with having good eye-candy to cover up any pre-existing flaws, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime certainly makes proper use of its hefty animation budget.
The soundtrack is decent and appropriately utilized, though not really that noteworthy; the OP and ED are alright music-wise, and the merits of the animation extend to them as well. If you liked the first season's audiovisuals, then you'll surely appreciate what they've done here.
Execution (4/5): It might sound like the second season - and the entire series as a whole - was barely worth the watch, but the truth was that I thoroughly enjoyed most of the anime, even if some parts ended up turning my brain off for a while. The humor draws a good chuckle or two where it appears, and the plot progresses as linearly and clearly as possible, meaning that there's little room for unpleasant surprises. Given how disappointing some of the other facets of the second season were, it was testament to the series' competent execution that I never once felt the urge to drop it halfway through. Well-timed cliffhangers, snappy and satisfying dialogue, and the adequate application of narrative devices kept me on the edge of my seat at all times.
Nevertheless, it appears that the second season is doing little more than feeding off the goodwill from the first season. The wealth of ideas and twists from the first season remain in all their shining glory, and any further developments in the second season are consequently left in their shadow. Some of the faults that lie in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime are merely inherent in the majority of isekai anime - after all, once the protagonist is all-powerful and is worshipped by everyone, there's basically nowhere to go from there. However, this series does try to rise above the hoi polloi and blaze its own trail in the genre, with occasional success... and occasional failure.
It will be fascinating to see how Part 2 of the second season goes. But on the evidence of Part 1, I won't necessarily be holding my breath.
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