That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea Theatrical Review

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is currently back on our screens for its fourth season of TV anime. But this popular franchise is now also back in cinemas with a second original film written by the original creator, Fuse, but does it prove a must-watch? Let’s take a closer look at Rimuru’s latest theatrical outing!

Tears of the Azure Sea takes place after the end of Season 3 of the TV series. With the Tempest Founder’s Festival over, Rimuru and some of his companions have been invited to a private resort where they can let loose and relax before diving back into any more kingdom-running responsibilities.

However, it’s not long before the group find themselves embroiled in yet more trouble! When Gobta gets separated from his friends, he finds himself running into the priestess Yura, who has come to the island seeking help for her people. Yura belongs to the undersea nation of Kaien, which worships an ancient Aqua Dragon and has been getting bombarded with nuclear magic attacks. Someone wants to awaken the dragon and use its power for evil, which would pose a threat for not only Kaien but the entire world aboveground too!

But this isn’t a film that’s about Rimuru in particular; instead, it’s Gobta who takes centre stage. At first, Yura is just using him to reach Rimuru, but as the two spend time together (and he helps protect her from evildoers who are trying to kidnap her), they soon become something resembling friends. Being a priestess, Yura has never interacted with the outside world like this, and Gobta introduces her to all kinds of things that the resort island has to offer. Her homeland may be in danger, but she still has fleeting moments of fun here aboveground.

The previous film, Scarlet Bond, was also a story that took the spotlight off of Rimuru and was all the better for it. However, with that film, I felt Rimuru was too overpowered compared to the enemy, and it ultimately let the whole thing down once he became more involved. Tears of the Azure Sea, however, has clearly learnt a lot of lessons since then. Even once Rimuru decides to help Yura and they get into fighting her enemy, we find that Rimuru isn’t an instant pass to victory. In fact, Gobta still has a major role to play, and he’s undoubtedly the one who has to succeed in the end.

Although Gobta has developed a lot over the course of three seasons of anime, his role has still largely been comic relief. So, it’s refreshing to see him not pigeonholed into that here and instead showing us that he’s not just a gag character. I got really invested in his story and relationship with Yura, and I think other fans of the series will as well. It’s a really good idea to move the setting away from Tempest and put Rimuru aside to tell a different kind of story; it’s one of the best ways to make an original story like this succeed within the constraints of not being able to do anything that would have a lasting impact on the main story.

As with Scarlet Bond, it’s best to watch this where it’s set in the timeline (after Season 3), as there are some references to past events. There’s also a post-credit scene that leads into Season 4, which does make it a bit of a shame we weren’t able to watch this prior to that beginning.

In terms of the production, this is the same studio (Eight Bit) as the TV anime, so everything looks as you’d expect it to. I think overall I found the fights less flashy than Scarlet Bond, but there are more interesting compositions since, rather than using magic, Gobta mainly fights martial arts style. So there are some interesting fight scenes born from that which, while not explosive or colourful, are very fun to watch. I imagine production for this has been a bit of a struggle, given the TV anime was recently announced to be getting 5-cours (with Season 4 running for two of those), so what we have got here is impressive, all that considered.

Music and voice actors continue on from the TV series too. The music largely seemed like rearrangements of existing tracks, which doesn’t make for a bad experience but does mean it doesn’t particularly stand out. This is a chance for Gobta’s actor Asuna Tomari (Kyo Soma in Fruits Basket) to shine, which she absolutely does. And then there’s newcomer Saori Onishi (Ais in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) playing Yura, who also gives a great performance.

The film is also being released with an English dub, but for the purpose of review, I watched it in Japanese with English subtitles. It will be released in cinemas from May 1st, although there are some earlier screeners popping up here and there, so it’s worth checking out your local listings. There’s also a mini site to help you find showings in your area.

Overall, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea proves an entertaining film that’s a welcome addition to this popular franchise. It works considerably better in isolation than Scarlet Bond did, as the power balance is better. And most of all, Gobta is a character that deserved a chance in the spotlight.

Our screener was provided by Crunchyroll.