When did the trend of powerful slimes come about in Anime?


Slimes are commonly known as the weakest creatures, but more and more I'm
seeing powerful slimes show up in anime. When did powerful slimes become a
thing? Or have they always been a thing and I just haven't seen them around
before?

Earliest example I can think of:

  * Overlord - Solution Epsilon. Anime 2015, novels started in 2010.
  * Konosuba - Season two finale, Hans. Anime started 2016, Novels in 2013.
  * Reincarnated as a Slime - Anime 2018, Novels in 2013.

I'm sure there's plenty others as well.




Well, your listed examples are all from worlds with [RPG
Mechanics](https://tvtropes.org/Main/RPGMechanicsVerse), and most of them are
central to the plot, so they are usually literally high-level.

They also all have humanoid forms, which is a measure of power, instead of
them just being blobs.

While slimes are treated as weak in the _Dragon Quest_ games, in tabletop
RPGs, they usually have some liquid durability and acidic powers that make
them formidable.

And monsters need monstrous traits like that, so, when reasoning it out, a
durable, sentient, blob of acid is very dangerous.

Then there's the ability of sapients to learn magic... And gain levels, etc...

