That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime Season 3 International Release Window, Teaser Trailer, Possible Plotlines And More Details
Based on the popular light novel series of the same name, the addictive anime series "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" (titled "Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken" in Japan) has a unique premise, even for an isekai. There's been an explosion of isekai anime in recent times, shows that follow an unlikely hero after they're transported or reborn into a fantasy world, often after an untimely death. That's what happens in "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" — our protagonist, 37-year-old salaryman Satoru Mikami, is stabbed by a robber and wakes up in a strange new place. However, what sets this show apart is that the hero comes back as a Slime, one of the weakest classes of Monster in this world.
Season 1 of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" was announced in early 2018 and dropped during the Fall season that same year, quickly becoming a fan favorite. After some delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a second season arrived in January 2021. It was released in two 12-episode parts, with the final episode airing in September. Fans have been waiting for Season 3 of the hit show ever since then. We're happy to say that it's definitely on the way — and the wait is almost over. Read on to discover everything we know about "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" Season 3.
When will That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 be released?
Viewers loved the second season of "That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime" (which holds an impressive 8.38 rating on MyAnimeList), and the moment it finished they were desperate for confirmation that the show had been renewed for a third season. They had to wait for over a year for some concrete news, which finally came in November 2022. During an early screening of the film "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Scarlet Bond," it was announced that a third season of the anime was officially in the works.
The announcement was accompanied by a visual showing hero Rimuru facing off against Hinata Sakaguchi of the Ten Great Saints. It didn't come with a release date of any kind, but it now seems as though the powers that be simply wanted to let "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Scarlet Bond" have the spotlight for a while. According to Crunchyroll, the staff held a "grand finale" screening of the film to bring its successful run to an end, and the release window for "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" Season 3 was finally confirmed at the event: The third season will premiere on Japan's Nippon Television in Spring 2024.
In December 2023, with the release window fast approaching, the makers of the show decided to reveal a bit more information regarding the release date, confirming that Season 3 will be dropping in April 2024. On top of that, they confirmed that Season 3 will be running for two consecutive cours, meaning fans have approximately 24 new episodes to look forward to when the third season arrives.
What is the plot of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3?
Minor light novel spoilers ahead.
"That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" is based on a series of light novels written by Fuse and illustrated by Mitz Vah. The series is now up to Volume 21, although the English translations are a bit behind. A note from the author in Volume 19 confirmed that they planned on bringing the series to a conclusion within the next three volumes, per Anime News Network. Looking at the source material gives us a good idea about where the anime is heading.
By the end of Season 2, Part 1, Rimuru has become a Demon Lord and their subordinate citizens have all transformed into an immortal army, while Demon Lord Milim Nava has destroyed the Beast Kingdom Eurazania, and Demon Lord Frey has killed Demon Lord Carrion. Rimuru learns that Claymen might be behind the attack, renames demon Noir as Diablo, and also frees Veldora, who gets a new body. In Part 2, fans see the fallout from the invasion of Tempest, Veldora's freedom, the purported death of Carrion. But what will happen next?
The second season of the anime is based primarily on the fifth and sixth volumes of the light novel series. Season 3 will likely cover the events of the next few volumes. In Volume 7, tensions run high when Hinata Sakaguchi — the chief knight of the nation's Imperial Guard and captain of the Crusader forces — sets her sights on Rimuru. It gets worse when a priest that Rimuri sends to Lubelius is murdered, but things calm down a bit in Volume 8, which focuses largely on a festival that's taking place in Tempest.
Who is starring in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3?
At the moment, there's nothing to suggest that all your favorite voice actors from the first two seasons of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" won't be back for the third outing. That means Miho Okasaki will continue in the lead role of Rimuru, and — thanks to the artwork that accompanied the Season 3 announcement — we know that Hinata Sakaguchi voice actor Manami Numakura will also be back. Okasaki has plied her trade on shows like "My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!" and "Extreme Hearts," while Numakura is best known for playing Kohaku in "Dr. Stone." Rimuru is voiced by Brittney Karbowski ("Fairy Tale") in the English dub, and Hinata is played by Alexis Tipton ("Fire Force").
Other Japanese voice actors from the previous seasons include Megumi Toyoguchi as Great Sage, Chikahiro Kobayashi as wolfish Ranga, Asuna Tomari as hobgoblin Gobta, Mao Ichimichi as ogress Shion, and Kanehira Yamamoto as goblin leader Rigurd. The actors tapped for the English dub of the show include Mallorie Rodak as Great Sage, Tyson Rinehart as Ranga, Michelle Rojas as Shion, Kent Williams as Rigurd, and Ryan Reynolds as Gobta. No, not that Ryan Reynolds. This Ryan Reynolds is an experienced voice actor with some great shows and movies on her resume. She counts "Black Clover," "Fruits Basket," and "My Hero Academia," among her credits, and she also worked on "Wolf Children," widely viewed as one of the best anime films ever made.
Is there a teaser trailer for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3?
The first teaser trailer for "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" Season 3 was released on the show's website in December 2023. While it doesn't give much away (we get various shots of Hinata performing attacks and riding on horseback as battles rage but there's very little in terms of actual plot), it does confirm the release date, which was more than enough to get followers of the franchise pumped. On YouTube, the reaction to the teaser trailer was largely positive. "I'm seriously dying to watch this anime," wrote @badridemonking said, while @zathroatgoat said, "This is what I was looking forward to all year!"
There were, however, a few complaints about the quality of the animation in the trailer. "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" is animated by the studio Eight Bit, which is also behind the likes of "Blue Lock" and various "The Irregular at Magic High School" projects. Some fans have raised questions about the work being done by the studio based on the first teaser trailer for "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" Season 3. "I'm really hoping they picked the worst shots and frames out of the season to be in this trailer cause where the hell is the movement," Redditor u/_Velgrynd said, while YouTuber user @PCVP4729 said, "The characters are barely moving and the animation looks stiff as hell. Tensura deserves way more than this."
Who is directing That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3?
The third season of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" will be directed by Atsushi Nakayama, a name that will be familiar to fans of the series. Nakayama was an assistant director on the first season and was then bumped up to a director role for Season 2 of the show. He appeared alongside some cast members at the Anime Central convention in 2019, where he revealed his favorite moments from the show so far. "For me, that would be Episode 1, right after Rimuru has been freshly-reincarnated and has no name yet," he said (via Anime News Network). "You see Rimuru in slime form the most in Episode 1 and 2, so that's when I can get the animators to be as free as they want to do 'lightly slime' animation. So I am fond of these episodes."
Nakayama also helmed the 3-episode ONA "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Visions of Coleus" in 2023, which is based on a four-part novella set earlier in the story — the story unfolds during the early stages of Season 2. While it's not as celebrated as his work on the main series, the ONA (original net animation) is still worth your time if you're a fan of Rimuru's adventures. "'Visions of Coleus' is a serviceable little 'That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime' side story," Anime News Network said in a review. "While novel readers will get more out of it than anime-only watchers, this flashback to an earlier time in the greater story delivers a solid mystery with more than a few twists and turns."
Who is writing That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3?
Toshizo Nemoto, who penned the ONA "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Visions of Coleus," has also written the third season of the main series, as revealed in a statement on the show's website. Nemoto is a veteran of the anime industry who made his debut back in the late 1990s when he wrote several episodes of the sci-fi series "A.D. Police." He went on to work on the likes of "Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier" and "Kikaider 01 The Animation" in the years that followed. This led to him being hired as a writer on "SD Gundam Force," which aired 52 episodes between January and December 2004.
Nemoto saw out the decade working on shows such as "Vampire Knight," "Tales of the Abyss," "Shangri-La," and the hit supernatural series "Durarara!!" Set in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district, the series (which is based on Ryohgo Narita's light novel series of the same name) remains as well-loved today as it did back in 2010: With an impressive MyAnimeList score of 8.10, it sits comfortably in the top 100 most popular shows on the website. Nemoto is also known for his work on the "Macross" and "Log Horizon" franchises, as well as the mind-bending time travel anime "Steins;Gate," which is widely considered to be one of the best anime series of all time.
Who performs the opening theme for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3?
As confirmed in a statement on the show's official website, the opening theme of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" Season 3 will be performed by Stereo Dive Foundation, which is an alias used by musician and producer R.O.N (real name Iida Ryuta). Previous openings for the series have been provided by Takuma Terashima ("Nameless Story" and "Meguru Mono"), True ("Storyteller"), and MindaRyn ("Like Flames"), though Stereo Dive Foundation is not new to the franchise, having provided the first ending theme for the second season ("Storyseeker") as well as an insert song ("Sparkles") for the film "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Scarlet Bond."
Ryuta went to school in Germany as a child and got into music early. He took up piano aged four and was a fully realized musician by the time he went to college, as he explained during an interview with Anime News Network. "Being in Europe really gave me the exposure that people in Japan don't normally have. It's a very different upbringing with a lot of multicultural sensitivities," the Tokyo-born artist said. "So I feel like I was able to grow that ability to capture nuances from things like the street scenery, the ambiance, and the environment. I absorb more of the fine nuances of being in an environment that I think really reflects in my music."
Where can you stream the first two seasons of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime?
If you're yet to see "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime," or you simply want a refresher ahead of the upcoming third season, then you can stream Season 1 and Season 2 of the show on Crunchyroll. There, you'll have access to the original Japanese version along with versions dubbed in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic, as well as Latin American Spanish and Portuguese. If subtitles are more your thing, they're available in all of the languages mentioned above as well as Russian. It's free to watch if you don't mind sitting through some anime-related ads, and if you want a more premium experience, there's a couple of options. Subscriptions start at $7.99 a month. If you want access to the Mega Fan tier, that will set you back $9.99 a month.
If you can't wait for Spring 2024 to get your "Slime" fix, why don't you check out the 12-episode spin-off "The Slime Diaries." You can also catch it on Crunchyroll, with almost all of the same sub and dub options as the main series. "The Slime Diaries" is based on Shiba's spin-off manga of the same name and is set mid-way through the first season. A much lighter watch than the main series, it focuses on Rimuru's early days at the helm of the kingdom and follows our heroes as they get on with their day-to-day lives. It might not be your thing if you watch "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime" for action, but if you're partial to some slice-of-life comedy, you should add this spin-off to your watchlist.