2026 is halfway over, and fans have already been introduced to some of the greatest shows of the year. Although isekai is one of the most popular genres, there’s not an abundance of such series. The lack of such releases is one of the reasons why anime with isekai themes often end up grabbing fan attention during each season, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime isn’t any different. While Crunchyroll’s biggest isekai is often considered Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World, this exceptional fantasy has also gained quite a fanbase over the years. PR Times shared a sales ranking of the 50 best-selling titles for the first half of 2026 on its ebook sales service Ebookjapan.
The ranking was divided into several categories, where That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime topped the ranking in the isekai category. The manga has been growing in popularity over the years, and it recorded over 40 million sales in February 2023. The numbers have increased exponentially since then, as Volume 31, which was released in February this year, sold over 345,000 copies in May.
The anime is based on an award-winning manga written by Fuse and illustrated by Taiki Kawakami. The manga began serialization in 2015, and it’s still ongoing. The story begins when Satoru Mikami, an average 37-year-old corporate worker, finds himself at death’s door. Moments before his death, he hears a mysterious AI-like voice and wakes up in the middle of a strange cave as a goop of slime.
He realizes he has been given a new shot at life, which is why he stops at nothing to acquire the skill to absorb anything and obtain its appearance and abilities. As the story continues, he befriends a beast, and in exchange for helping him, Mikami is bestowed a new name, Rimuru Tempest. Hoping to avoid living the mundane life like before, he embarks on a grand quest, not knowing that he will one day change the fate of the world.
Season 4 is the longest so far, with five full cours of episodes planned to air through the next couple of years. The Spring anime season brought the first arc to an end as Rimuru was able to escape from Maribel Rozzo’s plans. However, this is only the beginning as something bigger is about to come in the latest season.
Season 4 takes a bit to get going into the thick of the action as Maribel Rozzo had been using her Greed-powered schemes to work in the shadows. While the first few episodes of the season were more focused on his labyrinth, things get intense soon once Maribel makes her move with the attempt to take control of Rimuru himself.
Naturally, this doesn’t work out in Maribel’s favor, and Rimuru has only become stronger through the attempt. The trailer for Season 4’s second part, which is currently ongoing, highlights the hero that Rimuru once absorbed in the past. It also teases a surprising descendant coming to fruition, so we’ll have to see how Rimuru navigates all of this moving forward.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
