, also known as ''Regarding Reincarnated to Slime'' and by the contraction , is a Japanese fantasy

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

series written by , and illustrated by Mitz Vah. The story follows Satoru Mikami, a

salaryman The term is a Japanese word for salary, salaried workers. In Japanese popular culture, it is portrayed as a white-collar worker who shows unwavering loyalty and commitment to his employer, prioritizing work over anything else, including family. ...

who is murdered and then reincarnated in a

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...

world as the titular

slime Slime or slimy may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slime coat, the coating of mucus covering the body of all fish * Slime mold, an informal name for several eukaryotic organisms * Biofilm, or slime, a syntrophic community of micr ...

, who goes on to gather allies to build their own nation of monsters. It was serialized online from 2013 to 2016 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Micro Magazine, which published the first light novel volume in 2014. Twenty-two volumes have been released as of January 2025. The light novel has been licensed in North America by

Yen Press Yen Press is an American manga, graphic novel and light novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published '' Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, ...

, which published the first volume in December 2017. It has received a

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptation published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

along with five manga spin-offs published, by Micro Magazine and Kodansha, respectively. It has received an

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation, produced by Eight Bit, which aired from October 2018 to March 2019. A second season of the anime series aired from January to September 2021, and an anime adaptation of the second spin-off manga aired from April to June 2021. An

anime film is a hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Japanese, describes all animated works, reg ...

was released in November 2022. A three-episode

original net animation An original net animation (ONA), known in Japan as , is an anime that is directly released onto the Internet. ONAs may also have been aired on television if they were first directly released on the Internet. The name mirrors original video animat ...

spin-off, titled ''Visions of Coleus'' was released in November 2023. A third season aired from April to September 2024. A fourth season has been announced, along with a second film, which is scheduled to be released on February 2026.

Plot

Satoru Mikami is an ordinary 37-year-old corporate worker living in Tokyo. He is almost content with his monotonous life, despite the fact that he does not have a girlfriend. During a casual encounter with his colleague, an assailant tries to stab his friend, and Satoru pushes his friend out of the way and gets stabbed instead. While succumbing to his injuries, a mysterious voice echoes in his mind and asks a series of questions. In response to Satoru's answers, the voice grants him various gifts and powers to use in his next life. After regaining consciousness, Satoru discovers that they have been reincarnated as a Slime in an unfamiliar world. At the same time, they also acquire newfound skills, particularly the ability called "Predator," which allows them to devour anything and mimic its appearance and skills. They stumble upon Veldora, a powerful 'Storm Dragon', who has been sealed for the last 300 years for reducing a town to ashes. Feeling sorry for him, Satoru befriends the dragon, promising to help him in destroying the seal. They decide to exchange names, Veldora bestows upon them the name Rimuru, and he receives the surname Tempest in return. Rimuru then consumes the dragon together with his prison in order to analyze the spell and eventually free Veldora. During their journey, they gain a human form after devouring a deceased human named Shizue Izawa. The disappearance of Veldora's aura creates a power vacuum, which eventually makes Rimuru the leader of all beings inhabiting the Great Forest of Jura, who accept them as a ruler and together, they establish the nation of Tempest. With Rimuru's strength, wisdom, and idealistic vision, the new nation quickly grows in strength and influence. Soon Rimuru and their subjects draw the attention of nearby foreign powers, from monarchs and legendary heroes to demon lords, some seeking to become their allies, others intending to take advantage of or destroy them completely.

Media

Light novels

Fuse originally serialized the series as a web novel on the user-generated content site Shōsetsuka ni Narō between February 20, 2013, and January 1, 2016. The series was acquired for print publication by Micro Magazine, which published the first

, with illustrations by Mitz Vah, under their GC Novels in May 2014. On April 15, 2017, English publisher

announced during their panel at Sakura-Con that they had licensed the series for release in North America. A spin-off web novel series set between the ninth and tenth volumes of the light novel, titled ''Toaru Kyūka no Sugoshi-kata (How to Spend a Certain Holiday)'', began serialization on Shōsetsuka ni Narō on February 20, 2023.

Manga

Taiki Kawakami launched a

adaptation in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine '' Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' on March 26, 2015.

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, US, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 1st 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and man ...

announced their license to the manga during their panel at

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...

on October 6, 2016. A spin-off manga, titled , with art by Shō Okagiri, was serialized in Micro Magazine's ''Comic Ride'' web magazine between July 28, 2016 and March 1, 2021. The series was later cancelled due to the poor health of the artist. A second spin-off manga, titled , with art by Shiba, has been serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' since March 2018, compiled into seven volumes as of January 2024, and licensed in English by

. A third spin-off manga, titled and illustrated by Shizuku Akechi began serialization in

Niconico , known before 2012 as , is a Japanese video sharing service based in Tokyo, Japan. "Niconico" or "nikoniko" is the Japanese sound symbolism, Japanese ideophone for smiling. As of 2021, Niconico is the 34th most-visited website in Japan, accordi ...

-based ''Suiyōbi no Sirius'' manga web platform on September 26, 2018, and has been compiled into two volumes as of March 27, 2020. On June 3, 2020,

announced that it has licensed ''That Time I Got Reincarnated (Again!) as a Workaholic Slime''. A fourth spin-off manga, titled , with art by Tae Tono began serialization in ''Suiyōbi no Sirius'' on March 14, 2019. On March 18, 2020,

announced their license to the manga for a print release under the title ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Trinity in Tempest''. A fifth spin-off, a

yonkoma is a comic strip format that generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requiremen ...

titled , with art by Chacha, began serialization in ''Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' on February 26, 2019. This story differs from the main one after Rimuru's encounter with Shizu, when they learn how to mimic a human body. However, the body they create is that of a three-year-old. A sixth spin-off manga centered around Demon Lord Clayman, titled (''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Clayman's Revenge''), with art by Wataru Kajika began serialization in ''Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' on April 26, 2022. A seventh spin-off manga, titled ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Gourmet Legend: Peko and Rimuru's Cooking Notebook'', with art by Chika Nakatani will begin serialization in ''Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' on April 26, 2023. A manga adaptation of the ''Toaru Kyūka no Sigoshi-kata'' web novel illustrated by Yuzo Takada began serialization in ''Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' on July 26, 2023. The manga is set to end serialization on May 26, 2025.

Anime

television series adaptation aired from October 2, 2018, to March 19, 2019, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

and other networks. The series is animated by Eight Bit and directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi, with Atsushi Nakayama as assistant director,

Kazuyuki Fudeyasu is a Japanese anime screenwriter. He debuted in 1997 and has worked on numerous series since, including ''Black Clover'', ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime'', and ''By the Grace of the Gods''. Fudeyasu usually spells his name with kanji. ...

handling series composition, Ryouma Ebata designing the characters, and Takahiro Kishida providing monster designs. Elements Garden is composing the series' music. The first opening theme is "Nameless story", performed by

Takuma Terashima is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actor. Terashima graduated from Tokyo Announce Gakuin, voice training school. He had initially belonged to Holypeak until December 2008, and then to Production Baobab up until September 2011 when he swit ...

, while the first ending theme is "Another colony", performed by

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

. The second opening theme is , performed by Terashima, while the second ending theme is , performed by

Azusa Tadokoro is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is affiliated with the talent agency HoriPro International and signed to record label Lantis. She participated in an audition sponsored by this agency. Her notable roles include Aoi Kiriya in '' Aika ...

. The series is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

with

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

streaming an English dub as it airs. The first season ran for 24 episodes. An

original animation DVD , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

was originally scheduled to be released on March 29, 2019, bundled with the 11th manga volume, but it was delayed to December 4, 2019, bundled with the 13th manga volume. A second original animation DVD was released on July 9, 2019, bundled with the 12th manga volume. Three more original animation DVDs have been announced, with the third OAD being released on March 27, 2020, bundled with the 14th manga volume. The fourth OAD is being bundled with the 15th manga volume, which released on July 9, 2020. The fifth OAD was to be bundled with 16th manga volume, which released on November 9, 2020. A second season was announced to be a split-season anime, but the first half was delayed from October 2020 to January 2021, and the second half was delayed from April to July 2021 due to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Japan The COVID-19 pandemic in Japan has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths, along with 33,728,878 recoveries. Government of Japan, The Japanese government confirmed the country's first case of the disease on 16 January 2020 in a ...

. The first half aired from January 12 to March 30, 2021, and the second half aired from July 6 to September 21, 2021. Eight Bit animated the series, with the staff and cast members reprising their roles. The opening theme is "Storyteller", performed by True, while the ending theme is "Storyseeker", performed by Stereo Dive Foundation. The second opening theme is "Like Flames" performed by MindaRyn, while the second ending theme is "Reincarnate" performed by Takuma Terashima. A spin-off anime series based on the ''Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime'' manga was scheduled to premiere in January 2021 but had been delayed to April 2021 due to COVID-19. The series aired from April 6 to June 22, 2021. Eight Bit also animated the series, with Yuji Haibara directing the series, Kotatsumikan writing the script, Risa Takai and Atsushi Irie as character designers, and R.O.N composing the music. The opening theme is "Brand new diary", performed by Akane Kumada. Following the airing of the second season's final episode, it was announced that the series will receive an anime film, titled ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Movie – Scarlet Bond''. The film premiered in Japan on November 25, 2022. Crunchyroll screened the film outside of Asia in early 2023. A three-episode

(ONA) series, titled ''Visions of Coleus'', was announced on February 19, 2023, and premiered on November 1, 2023. The staff from the second season reprised their roles along with Toshizo Nemoto handling series composition. The opening theme song is "Hikaru Hanatsu" performed by

, while the ending theme song is performed by

Miho Okasaki is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Okayama Prefecture who is affiliated with I'm Enterprise. She debuted as a voice actress in 2017, playing mostly background roles in anime series, as well as playing some roles in a number of video g ...

. A third season was announced on November 9, 2022, and aired from April 5 to September 27, 2024, on the Friday Anime Night programming block on

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

and its affiliates, as well as BS11. The staff from the second season and the ''Visions of Coleus'' ONA series are returning to reprise their roles. The first opening theme song is "Peacekeeper" performed by Stereo Dive Foundation, while the ending theme song is "Believer" performed by Rin Kurusu. The second opening theme song is performed by

Momoiro Clover Z is a Japanese idol girl group, commonly abbreviated as MCZ or . The four members of MCZ are known for energetic performances, incorporating elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies. MCZ is notable for being the first female group to ho ...

, while the second ending theme song is "Miracle Soup" performed by MindaRyn. Following the airing of the third season's final episode, a fourth season has been announced, along with a second film. It was announced that the second film, which is titled ''Tears of the Azure Sea'', will premiere in February 2026. The fourth season has no release date yet.

Video games

At the

AnimeJapan AnimeJapan is a Japanese anime consumer show held annually at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center in Tokyo since March 2014. It was created from the merger of the Tokyo International Anime Fair with the Anime Contents Expo. It is organized ...

2021 special stage for the franchise, a free-to-play

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

app, titled ''Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken: Maō to Ryū no Kenkoku-tan'' (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Saga of How the Demon Lord and Dragon Founded a Nation), was announced. It is developed by

Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

and was released in 2021. The game was released in English under the title ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: ISEKAI Memories''. In August 2024 another game, ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ISEKAI CHRONICLES'', was released. The mobile game ''The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross'' had a crossover event where some of the characters of the series could be obtained for a limited time. A similar event occurred in the Japanese version of the mobile game '' Yo-kai Watch: Wibble Wobble''.

Reception

The light novel series had over 4.5 million volumes in print by October 2018. It was the fifth best-selling title of 2018 with 539,277 light novel sales, and its manga adaptation was the ninth best-selling title of 2018 with 3,460,066 copies. It also became the first manga series based on a light novel with at least 20 million total copies in print. By March 2021, it had over 24 million copies in circulation. In May 2021 it reached 25 million. In January 2022, it had over 30 million copies in circulation. In February 2023, it had 40 million copies in circulation, with 35 million copies in Japan and 5 million copies overseas. In May 2021, ''That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime'' was one of five

isekai is a sub-genre of fiction. It includes novels, light novels, films, manga, webtoons, anime, and video games that revolve around a person or people who are transported to and have to survive in another world such as a fantasy world, virtual wor ...

-oriented anime titles (along with '' KonoSuba'', '' Zombie Land Saga'', '' Princess Lover!'', and '' Nekopara'') that were given a limited ban by the Russian government for their depiction of reincarnation.

Awards and accolades

The light novel ranked eighth in 2017 in

Takarajimasha is a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is known for publishing subculture-oriented fashion magazines aimed at teens, fashion magazines in general, as well as guide books. History The company was founded on September 22, ...

's annual light novel guide book '' Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!'', in the category; it ranked sixth in 2018; and fifth in 2019. In 2017, the manga adaptation was ranked fifth at the third

Next Manga Award The is an annual award for manga series presented by Kadokawa Corporation's '' Da Vinci'' magazine and Niconico streaming website. It is divided into two categories: one for print manga, and one for web manga. Overview The award was originally ...

s in the print category. The manga adaptation (along with its light novels) also won the 2018

BookWalker , stylized as Book☆Walker and BOOK☆WALKER, is a Japanese e-book store that sells manga, light novels, and magazines from various publishers, as well as a few published by themselves. It is based in Chiyoda, Tokyo and was created by Kadokawa ...

Award. It was nominated for the 45th

Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...

in the category in 2021; it won the 46th edition in the same category in 2022. In 2019, Rimuru Tempest won " Best Protagonist" at the 3rd Crunchyroll Anime Awards. The anime was also nominated for "Best Anime Series" at the

IGN Awards ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former ed ...

in the same year. The second season won the award for "Best Fantasy" at the sixth edition in 2022. Rimuru Tempest's voice actor Rosie Yaziji, was nominated for " Best Voice Artist Performance (Arabic)" at the eighth edition in 2024. The third season was nominated for "Best Isekai Anime" at the ninth edition in 2025.

Notes

References

External links

* at Shōsetsuka ni Narō * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 2014 Japanese novels 2018 anime television series debuts 2019 anime OVAs 2020 anime OVAs 2021 anime television series debuts 2023 anime ONAs 2024 anime television series debuts Anime and manga about parallel universes Anime and manga about reincarnation Anime and manga based on light novels Book series introduced in 2013 Crunchyroll anime Crunchyroll Anime Award winners Eight Bit (studio) Funimation Isekai anime and manga Isekai novels and light novels Japanese webcomics Kodansha manga Light novels Light novels first published online Muse Communication Nippon Television original programming Novels about reincarnation Seinen manga Shōnen manga Shōsetsuka ni Narō Upcoming anime television series Vertical (publisher) titles Webcomics in print Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōnen) Works banned in Russia Yen Press titles