As is usual the case with movies that spawn from anime series, “Scarlet Bond” unfolds as essentially a longer episode in the franchise. At the same time, however, the inclusion of new characters that play a rather significant role, and the impact the story has on the preexisting protagonists, allows the film to stand apart from the majority of similar titles, even if for a bit.
Crunchyroll is releasing “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond” for English-speaking territories and Mexico, starting January 18 in the UK and Ireland
The aforementioned protagonist is Hiiro, a man who thought himself as the last of the ogres, following the genocide of his tribe, and is now in service of the young queen of Raja, who is, however, bedridden for some time. Furthermore, the small nation is under a curse that has caused the lake that is the main source of water to be poisoned. In an effort to find a solution, Hiiro eventually stumbles upon Tempest and Rimuru, eventually finding out that Benimaru, who happens to be his childhood friend, Shion, and the other ogres are still alive. Inevitably, he joins forces with them, not before some intense fighting though, with their orc friends who are perceived as the ones responsible for the aforementioned genocide. Nevertheless, the group moves to Raja, where they realize that an intricate conspiracy is taking place.
The main issue with the movie is the fact that Rimuru has become so strong, that there is essentially no opponent worthy of fighting him, in a concept that definitely hampers the battles, even if the conspiracies do end up posing a significant problem for him and his comrades. The way he gets rid of the curse (as another Moses) highlights this aspect quite eloquently, although it is apparent throughout the movie. In order to move beyond this aspect, the creators have shifted much of the focus of the story towards Hiiro, who emerges as a rather interesting character due to his torment, the way he is exploited by the evil forces taking action in Raja, and his bond with Benimaru which inevitably leads to a clash. This aspect actually carries the narrative for a large part of the duration of the movie, with the ogre being the main source of the rather entertaining dramatic aspect of the movie.
Apart from these, “Scarlet Bond” unfolds much like the series, with the jokes about Shion's cooking for example, and the battles focusing on Rimuru taking on the strongest enemies and the rest of the gang the remaining villains, with the invading countries towards Raja giving plenty of opportunity for action. Ranga emerges once more as the most impressive comrade, with the drawing and the animation by 8bit finding its apogee in the action scenes the wolf and the slime fight together. Particularly the one in the sky, which unfolds like a ‘dogfight' between airplanes is quite impressive to watch, with the overall technical aspects being a level above the series, as also mirrored in the depiction of fires.
The coloring follows the vivid approach of the series, as does Ryouma Ebata's character design follow the pg-13 approach of the original. This time, the violence is a bit more intense, but in general, it remains tame particularly when compared with other titles of the category, as in the case of “Goblin Slayer for example.
“That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond” does not exactly reinvent the tie-in anime movies, but the new character is interesting enough to deem it a title above the average of the category, while the many fans of the series will definitely enjoy the movie.
