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

Well if there is no such thing as a free lunch, then there certainly isn't going to be a free holiday! That's what the enthusiastic friends of "Rimuru" discover when they arrive at an idyllic holiday island. A young woman, meantime, is having some problems with a pesky goblin "Gobta" but he turns out to be the least of her problems as she is also being followed by a mysterious group of armed and masked men. Circumstances force the two to unite for some gymnastic combat - but why are are they chasing her? That question is answered fairly swiftly as we discover her true identity and that those pursuing are determined to capture her and her dragon-summoning flute so they can set in train the end of alliances and perhaps provide the whole world with a new and all-powerful ruler. This is a much more self-contained adventure that doesn't really require you to already know so much about the characters or the scenario, which is a plus point for a while. Sadly, though, it doesn't really make much effort to develop any of the characterisations - especially the more nefarious ones, and so comes across as little better than an adequately animated but rather flat story that has too many characters and not really enough meat on it's bones. When you've different timelines and immortalities threading through a storyline, you need to have a stronger purpose to adhere the whole thing. This hasn't, indeed it has a colourful but disappointing inevitability to it that really does pin it's hopes on us engaging with "Gobta", whose prominence will either make the film for you or, as with me, begin to annoy after a while as the narrative gets caught up in a lacklustre whirlwind of it's own. It's not without some humour, thanks to an alcoholic sprite, and it comes alive for ten minutes or so at the end - but for those who stick through the credits we see that this is clearly just another instalment of a theme that really will have to make more of an effort with it's writing if it is to avoid becoming something episodically predictable.