©川上泰樹・伏瀬・講談社／転スラ製作委員会 ©柴・伏瀬・講談社／転スラ日記製作委員会
Cards on the Table: This might be my favorite tournament in a long time. Why? Because 90% of it is done in just one episode. To be clear, I don't hate tournaments in general. I loved them when I was younger. But over the years, I've enjoyed them less and less. Often, they feel like an excuse to show off the martial arts prowess of side characters at the expense of any meaningful plot development. Sure, a tournament round can have real personal benefits for our main heroes, but that usually only matters in the climactic finale.
In Tensura, however, we still feature a variety of side characters but also cut out all the fat. Instead of having a two-minute fight that takes up thirty minutes of runtime, we have a two-minute fight that takes up… two minutes. Basically, we have a few big moves and special attacks, a few reversals to build excitement, and then the victory—that's when we even get to fight.
The big joke of this episode is Masayuki's overwhelming skills at work. In the first round, he's pitted against his friend, who immediately resigns. In the next round, he's able to convince his opponent that it won't be a fair fight, as he's tired after the first round and Masayuki is still fresh. So they agree to fight later. By the end of the episode, it looks like Rimuru might actually have to fight Masayuki. Considering his fate-changing passive ability and Hero status, Rimuru might be in trouble.
The battles we actually get to see are mostly between Carrion and Gobta. For Carrion's, we get the usual strong and honorable men fighting. For Gobuta, the comedy is much more focused. The running joke with Gobta is that Rimuru sees him as a coward. However, any objective person can see that this is not true. Gobta is simply a man shaped by his environment. He knows 100% that he is a normal elf surrounded by some of the most powerful beings in existence. No matter how strong he is, his point of comparison is still Rimuru and Veldora, Shion and Benimaru. So of course he thinks he is weaker than he actually is.
However, we see him not only defeat a skilled human swordsman, but also force Carrion, a freakish former demon lord, to resign. Since Gobta is much weaker than those around him, he has learned to use his brains in battle. Will Ragna make an entrance? Great! Gobta will use him as much as possible, bending every rule possible in the process. After all, when it comes to a fight to the death, it's not how you win that matters. So with a little motivation and a little quick thinking (and maybe a little Masayuki's power), Gobta makes it to the finals.
Overall, this was a fun little episode. It had a lot of good points in terms of both action and comedy. I always enjoy the moments when Gobta is shown to be more than just a punching bag in the series. I'm really excited to see how things play out when Masayuki's powers change things in his favor — if Gobta can help the Hero run for his money.
Rating:
Random thoughts:
I wonder why Dwargo ended up there. Is it related to the fighting tournament or the overall festival? (I'm sure we'll find out next week.)
→ It's interesting to note who falls for Masayuki's BS and who doesn't. Of course, Rimuru is immune but surprisingly so is Chloe. Perhaps this has something to do with the mysterious source that stabilizes her own power.
→ I was shocked that Beastketeers and Hinata didn't enter the tournament—each to demonstrate the supremacy of their respective demon lords. But I was even more surprised that Veldora and Milim didn't put on their hats in the ring either (despite Rimuru's attempts to distract them).
© What's going on with Raphael? I can't help but feel like I'm missing some important information. Does it have something to do with Gobta's point of view? Or is it some kind of interference due to Masayuki's hero skills?
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
