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This episode is mostly about Rimuru’s mistakes, either those he has already made or is currently making. The episode opens with Rimuru talking with his closest foreign allies. With both of them, he has made the same mistake: not letting them in on his plans.
For Blumund, his desire to use them as a distribution hub for items made in Tempest—as well as the north and east—could easily change the nature of their very economy. If they’re not prepared, things could get out of control very quickly. Of course, if they are prepared, their tiny nation is about to get very powerful and wealthy overnight.
His second mistake, the one with Dwargo, is much worse. At the end of his fight with Hinata, Rimuru, and Luminous set up a plan to overturn the Holy Empire’s racist doctrine by forging a new peace with the human-like dwarfs. This would, in turn, lead to something similar with Tempest over the years. The problem is that while Luminous has lived up to her side of the deal in sending an ambassador with the terms she and Rimuru discussed, Rimuru never bothered to tell Dwargo about his intended part in the whole scheme.
This is insanely problematic as neither Luminous nor Dwargo are his subjects. They are fellow rulers of their own countries. Dwargo has every right to make this a giant diplomatic crisis and demand reparations from Rimuru for attempting to use his name and kingdom without permission. Not telling Dwargo about the plan could have backfired directly as well. Rimuru is lucky that Dwargo didn’t just reject Luminous’ messenger out of hand as some kind of political trap—worsening the relationship between the countries and setting human acceptance of monsters back even further.
Then comes the back half of the episode which is all about showing Rimuru making new mistakes. Simply put, Rimuru knows at this point that Yuuki is suspicious if nothing else. Sure, he could be the nice guy he seems to be or the mastermind behind all the problems with Hinata, the Holy Empire, and Clayman (which he is). So what does Rimuru do? Give Yuuki the job of going through all the secret, powerful ruins underneath Clayman’s castle. It is a move so stupid, I hope it’s actually a trap that Rimuru is setting up. Though, to be fair, Kagali and Yuuki are so friendly and playful that it’s disarming to the extreme. It’s hard to imagine, in the moment, that the pair desperately want revenge on Rimuru for killing their friend.
Finally, we have Rimuru’s last big mistake: His encounter with Masayuki. Now, how much of this is truly Rimuru’s fault and how much Masayuki’s unique skill-twisting fate is a matter of debate. But basically, all Rimuru had to do here was thank Masayuki’s party for bringing the elves home and rewarding them. Instead, he tells them to join the fighting tournament and, if they win, he’ll face them in battle. As Heroes are known to be kryptonite for Demon Lords it’d be ludicrously stupid for Rimuru to fight Masayuki—even in a non-lethal fighting tournament.
Yet, perhaps this—and all his other mistakes showcased here—are a way of showing Rimuru’s ego at work, blinding him to the danger. After all, even when his people were massacred, he was able to bring them all back to life in the end. Maybe he really thinks, now that Hinata is no longer gunning for him, there’s nothing out there that can harm him. I hope by the end of this arc, he’ll learn that’s far from true if nothing else.
Rating:
Random Thoughts:
• It was good to see the kids again—and I hope we get some scenes of them interacting with Hinata (i.e., another person who loved Shizu) as the opening suggests.
• I loved Rimuru’s outfit for his meeting with allies this episode (especially the giant ponytail). The androgynous look suits him well.
• I wish we got some lines from the elves. How do they feel about the hero? How do they feel about coming home to find a Demon King in charge and the rest of their people now living in a dungeon?
• Poor Youm is sitting on some political landmines. The former prince of Falmuth is his aid (meaning the kid is a lightning rod for potential revolution) and his wife, Mjurran, is technically a monster (and he’s hiding that fact).
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.
