Festival Preparations is Rimuru deciding Tempest should throw a founding party so loud the West has to admit it is a country. Potions, an otherworlder chef, a slime-hating viscount, and the first sketch of an arena — Season 3’s second half clocks in wearing a happi coat.
Previous: Season 3 Episode 11 — Reconciliation and Agreement · Hub: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Hook
Festival Preparations is Rimuru deciding Tempest should throw a founding party so loud the West has to admit it is a country. Potions, an otherworlder chef, a slime-hating viscount, and the first sketch of an arena — Season 3’s second half clocks in wearing a happi coat.
This page is the sequential stop after Episode 11 — not a random recap dump. Scores below are for this 24 minutes only.
Quick Information
- Anime: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- Season / Episode: Season 3, Episode 12 (overall #60)
- English title: Festival Preparations
- Japanese episode title: 開催準備
- Runtime: ~24 minutes
- Studio: 8bit
- Original air date: June 21, 2024
- Kagex score: 8.3 / 10
- Where to watch legally: Crunchyroll (region-dependent)
Should You Watch It?
Watch it if you want the festival arc’s why, not only the tournament. It is errands and worldbuilding, low combat. Skip if you are allergic to nation-building episodes; you will still understand the invitations next week. Fans of food, Vesta/Gabil science, and Rimuru’s theme-park brain should stay.
Beginner-friendly? No as a start point. Watch from Season 1 Episode 1. This installment assumes you already know Tempest’s core cast — Rimuru at minimum.
Bottom line: sequential viewers should not skip “Festival Preparations.” Fight-only watchers may feel the talkier stretches; nation-building fans will not.
Spoiler Warning
Spoilers for Season 3 Episode 12 (“Festival Preparations”) follow. Stop above for a clean first watch. This page does not spoil later episodes.
Story Recap
A festival as a flag
Rimuru wants a festival to celebrate Rimuru City opening and Tempest being accepted as a nation. He checks Vesta and Gabil’s potion work, chats with Shion, then hits Yoshida — otherworlder chef — who wants a special dish in exchange for loyalty. The founding festival is not a timeskip party. It is Rimuru’s answer to holy war: if they will not believe a speech, feed them and sell tickets.
Kazak gets kicked
Viscount Kazak talks elf slaves with Gard Mjurrmile. Gard clocks him as a criminal. Rimuru crashes the meeting. Kazak considers enslaving the slime. Gard throws him out and burns the business relationship. Kazak swears revenge. Rimuru and Gard talk festival, restaurants, and putting Veldora to work in a shop with five staff. The episode’s villain is a slaver with a viscount title, which is the West showing its other face now that the Church war paused.
Theme park Demon Lord
Rimuru wants a resort city: fun, theater, an arena like Ingrassia’s. Gard helps because Rimuru saved his life. This is the labyrinth/tournament seed as tourism policy. After two cours of people trying to delete Tempest, Rimuru’s revenge is foot traffic. It is silly. It is also the most in-character power fantasy left: he wants a country people visit on purpose.
Fuze still processing
Fuze is emotionally cooked by the Luminaries reveal. Rimuru hands him invitations for Blumund’s king and hears what Yuuki has been up to. He decides to invite Yuuki anyway, plus Milim, which makes Fuze nervous for excellent reasons. Inviting your suspected mastermind to a festival is either confidence or a trap. In Tensura it is usually both.
Work before fireworks
No clashes, lots of punch list. Potions, chef, arena, Veldora’s future part-time job, slave-trade rot under the guest list. The Hinata cour ended. The festival cour is logistics with a smile. Kazak and Yuuki are the reminders that smiles do not disarm everyone.
Story Analysis
Tone shift, earned. After Luminous’s executions, a planning episode could feel like a different show. The Kazak scene keeps teeth in it. Comedy is Veldora as future shop clerk. Emotion is Fuze overwhelmed by how fake his Church was. Rimuru inviting Yuuki is dramatic irony you can chew.
World-building is Tempest pivoting from fortress to destination. Otherworlder chefs, elf slavery, Ingrassia as the entertainment benchmark. The festival is foreign policy. If that bores you, the rest of the season will too. If it delights you, this is the menu.
Character Analysis
Rimuru is producer-director of a country. Vesta and Gabil are R&D. Shion gets a small human beat between wars. Yoshida is the Earth-brain in the kitchen. Gard is the financier with a conscience. Kazak is disposable evil with a sequel hook. Fuze is the friend who has to live with the West’s new facts. Yuuki is an RSVP with a knife behind it. Veldora is about to be underemployed on purpose. Milim is an invitation that counts as a weather warning.
World Building
Rimuru City as a branded capital. Healing potions as an industry, not a backpack item. Elf slave markets still exist in “civilized” West-adjacent money. Ingrassia’s theater/arena is the template Tempest will copy and then out-monster. Festivals are how new nations get recognized when churches fail. Invites are intelligence operations dressed as courtesy.
Nothing here is later-arc homework. If a name or rule is only teased, it stays a tease.
Animation
Workshops, food, a nasty parlor for Kazak. Comfortable 8bit city life. Gard’s kick should have slapstick weight. No battles. The episode looks like a production meeting because it is one.
Kagex animation score for this episode: 8.0 / 10 — peaks vs average cuts, not a sakuga clip ranking.
Music and Voice Acting
Score 8.3. 8bit’s TV mix leans on Elements Garden sting + silence. Japanese track is the reference for Rimuru’s dual register (cute slime vs office-brain). Dub timing varies by season; don’t wait on it to judge the episode.
Hidden Details
- Inviting Yuuki to the festival is Rimuru keeping enemies inside the tent.
- Veldora’s shop is containment via customer service.
- Kazak’s elf-slave beat is the same rot Masayuki will punch in Episode 17.
Best Moments
- Gard ejecting a viscount for talking slavery in front of a slime.
- Yoshida bartering loyalty for a dish.
- Fuze receiving invitations while still spiritually on fire from the Luminaries.
Pros & Cons
Pros: Specific to “Festival Preparations” —
The festival half’s true start: tourism as diplomacy, plus a slaver to keep the tone honest. Easy watch if you like Tempest errands.
Cons: Requires earlier episodes. Viewers who only want climax fights may call the political / logistics scenes slow even when they are load-bearing.
Final Verdict
Kagex overall: 8.3 / 10 —
The festival half’s true start: tourism as diplomacy, plus a slaver to keep the tone honest. Easy watch if you like Tempest errands.
- Story: 8.2
- Characters: 8.4
- Animation: 8.0
- Music: 8.3
- Enjoyment: 8.4
I love Rimuru’s brain going “we almost died, so let’s throw a fair.” The Kazak scene is the grit that keeps it from turning into a brochure.
What to Expect Next
Invitations hit Dwargon and Thalion, and Ramiris shows up looking for a new hole in the ground.
Next: Season 3 Episode 13 — Invitations for All Nations. Watch legally on Crunchyroll.
FAQ
Do I need to watch Season 3 Episode 12?
Yes if you are watching the TV series in order. Skipping “Festival Preparations” leaves a hole later episodes assume you have.
What is the Japanese title?
開催準備 — Crunchyroll English title is “Festival Preparations.”
When did it air?
June 21, 2024 in Japan. ~24 minutes. Studio 8bit.
Is this Season 3 filler?
No. Tensura’s “quiet” hours are usually nation, diplomacy, or setup — not recap filler.
Where does this sit in the overall count?
Overall TV episode 60 of the main series (S1–S3 are 72; Season 4 continues from 73).
Should I watch Slime Diaries first?
No. Diaries is optional comedy. This review is the main TV track.
Where are character guides?
Tensura characters — Rimuru, Veldora, Milim, and the Tempest officers.
Where are facts / spoilers for the franchise?
Fact and Spoilers on the hub. This episode page stays inside Episode 12.
Keep exploring
- Tensura anime hub
- Season 1 review
- Overall review
- Previous: Season 3 Episode 11 — Reconciliation and Agreement
- Next: Season 3 Episode 13 — Invitations for All Nations
- Characters
- Fact and Spoilers
Your turn
Was “Festival Preparations” a continue episode or a skip-risk for you? Favorite beat? Who should get the next character page?
Sources: Crunchyroll episode titles; Wikipedia list of Tensura episodes; official Tensura anime site.
