Prepare to be hosed down by plot in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea. By the demented standards of fantasy anime, this sequel is fairly straightforward; the weirdest thing on show is probably a unicorn-wolf who scoffs pink frosted doughnuts. For those struggling to distinguish the interchangeable faerie folk populating the cast, this second theatrical outing for the series includes a handy explainer at the start: the protagonist is a murdered salaryman reborn as Rimuru (voiced by Miho Okasaki), an amoeba-like blob who rises to become demon lord of the realm of Tempest.
Minimal Rimuru, Maximum Plot
Rimuru features minimally in this sequel. He and his retinue are invited by the Celestial Emperor to holiday at a luxury island resort. The only thing spoiling their sightseeing, fishing and carousing are the laser-like bursts of “nuclear magic” periodically blasting over their heads. However, they are told they are in no danger: the target is the nearby undersea kingdom of Kaien. Rimuru and co resume their vacay, but bodyguard Gobta (Asuna Tomari) realizes the group is being trailed by Yura (Saori Onishi), a Kaien priestess who has absconded with an ancestral flute at the center of a power struggle.
A Conspiracy Knot
The busy conspiracy knot that follows involves shady chancellor Djeese (Kōji Yusa) and his attempt to wrest control of the kingdom’s water-dragon protector. This is a good lesson in the difference between plot and story. We’re hosed down with the former, but the only resonant bit is the unlikely tryst blooming between Yura’s aquamarine-tressed ninja and Gobta, a kind of top-knotted mini-Shrek sporting a Hawaiian shirt. As Djeese’s goons hunt them down, they get a fun tag-team martial-arts sequence sprinting through the resort’s Venetian streets, like a Bond opening scene.
Under the Waves
As Rimuru’s posse is drawn under the waves to Kaien, this partnership is eclipsed by bland politicking and oceanside smackdowns between the factions. With less daffy humor than the previous film Scarlet Bond, the initially so-so animation picks up to a more sublime level by the climax. If the sight of the aforementioned unicorn-wolf surfing a wooden door into the heart of a mega-waterspout suggests emotional poignancy may not be a priority, think again: there is an unexpectedly chilly closure to Yura and Gobta’s romance, apparently transplanted from a Wong Kar-wai movie. Otherwise, this hectic fantasia struggles to plumb deeper depths.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea is in UK cinemas from 1 May.
