The minions finally get to show off their special skills.
Creative Staff
Story: Fuse
Art: Taiki Kawakami
Character Design: Mitz Vah
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say
A living disaster in the form of an Orc Lord and his 200,000-strong force of monsters threatens the residents of the Great Forest of Jura. In response, Treyni the dryad, protector of the forest, asks Rimuru to vanquish the Orc Lord and his army. Rimuru accepts, but to take on this new, formidable enemy, he’ll need help. Unfortunately, it looks like he’ll need to enlist the aid of the lizardmen, which might be difficult after his last encounter with one of their leaders …
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The orc army is on the move, devouring everything in their path, and it’s up to one tiny slime to stop the unstoppable advancement. Rimuru has been able to handle whatever his new world has thrown at him so far without issues, but he only really had himself and a handful of followers to worry about. Now the entire forest is relying on him to save them, and Rimuru has to plan to avoid as many casualties on his side as possible.
Which makes this the perfect opportunity for the supporting cast to show the reader what they’re made of. Rimuru doesn’t bring everyone to battle, just the kijin and his hobgoblin tempest wolf calvary. The kijin are outfitted with new weapons and new outfits and get to hone new skills that combine their unique abilities with the new ones bestowed on them by joining with the Tempest clan. Ranga is able to power himself up to a more ultimate form which can summon a rain of tornados. The fact the warriors do this without instruction or help from Rimuru is promising.
The orc army itself is more terrifying than I initially expected. Mainly because they share a similar ability to what Rimuru has which allows them to use the creatures they eat abilities and skills. If allowed to devour the dead they only grow in power. Plus, the army didn’t just emerge from nowhere. A man named Gelmud ordered the attack, and he wasn’t alone. Another strange looking, clownish man named Laplace was there as well, and both were working for a demon lord who goes by Clayman.
Gabiru was originally played off as a joke. While he is easily swayed by his followers and easily tempted to power, he does have some skills as a warrior. He just makes poor decisions and is overconfident in his abilities. The king is wise, his daughter is wise, his son not-so-much. If Soei hadn’t been present or aware of the situation then the king would have seen his son’s mistake doom all of their people. Whatever occurs after this battle, I don’t see Gabiru inheriting the crown.
This volume is full of fun little throwaway moments where Rimuru is sitting around being a very undignified leader. The meeting with the dryad Treyni has Rimuru resting head down on the table and everyone eating potato chips. (He seems to forget that in a human form everyone can see how lackadaisical and surprised he acts. Lucky for Rimuru his followers don’t seem to care.) At one point the girls on staff ambush and dress up Rimuru in cute little dresses and he just goes with it for the most part. Maybe it’s just that his followers take his good-natured attitude for extreme confidence and benevolence.
I was pleased to see the Lizardmen ladies don’t actually resemble humans, they still look like lizard-people. It’s a trope of fantasy to have the female humanoid race monsters look more human. That being said, I’m going to absolutely die if Rimuru powers-up the head guard and she turns sexy. I wouldn’t be surprised, just disappointed.
As for extras, this volume continues with Veldora’s diary. He continues his shogi games with Ifrit inside of Rimuru while thinking that the Sage’s voice is actually Rimuru’s internal direction. If and when Veldora is finally analyzed and able to be freed, I wonder if he’ll be humbled enough to finally play nice with everything else, or if this miscommunication will continue. There are also some gag comics and bonus illustrations, as well as translation notes.
In Summary
Strategy, betrayal, and special attacks abound in Rimuru’s first war as leader of his own tiny kingdom. I’m happy to finally see what all of the side characters are able to do when they get to fight, and some of Rimuru’s minions are insanely powerful beasts. It’s all a learning experience for the newly powered up monsters on Rimuru’s side, but for the lizardmen, it’s very much a matter of survival. The most interesting part of this volume is when we get a look at the first enemy mastermind that is going to give Rimuru a real fight as well. I wonder what the Clayman is plotting to do to our hapless all-powerful slime.
Content Grade: B +
Art Grade: A –
Packaging Grade: B +
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Older Teen 16 +
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: February 20, 2018
MSRP: $12.99 US / $16.99 CN
