Goblin Slayer (Episode 5) – Adventures and Daily Life
After sleeping for three days, Goblin Slayer returns to the guild in search of his next job. Before that happens a couple of porcelain adventurers ask him for some help with fighting giant rats without a weapon.
What happened?
A couple of porcelain ranked adventurers were on a quest to exterminate giant rats that have infested the sewers, however, while fighting them they lost their only weapon and had to flee. With no money to buy new weapons, they ask around to see if anyone can lend them one. The only help they get is from Majo who pulls a candle out of her “magic chest” that can help them find what they are looking for. Still, without a weapon, they won’t get far.
Goblin Slayer arrived at the guild and helped unpack supplies before going to check for goblin quests. There, he is approached by the two rookie adventurers who ask him for some advice. He recommends they use a club. It will be easy to find a good stick and they should be able to beat the giant rats to death. Armed with the candle and club, they head back into the sewers in search of their sword.
Meanwhile, Goblin Slayer is asked to sit in on a ranking appraisal and reluctantly agrees. He’d much rather be killing goblins. The adventurer that is being assessed is a scout who found a treasure chest and didn’t let his party know, keeping all the loot for himself. He is to be demoted and banned from taking quests in this town. He’s furious and thinks about attacking, however, the presence of Goblin Slayer seems to be enough to stop him from acting.
Before Goblin Slayer leaves the guild he finds a letter with a quest that specifically asks for him. Who could it be from and what do they want to be done? It better be about killing goblins!
What did you think?
It was a big change of pace from the last episode, but I think it did a great job of fleshing out the world and showing us that not all porcelain adventurers are doomed from the start. Things could have gone badly for those two rookies down in the sewers, but they asked around and learnt from the more experienced adventurers. It was a stark contrast to the group that recruited Priestess in the first episode.
There were some funny moments in this episode too. The image of Goblin Slayer sitting in the appraisal as an observer in his full battle armour with his arms crossed was pretty funny. I also enjoyed how he commented on how he was seeing everyone after running into Priestess who had been promoted. Overall it was just a more relaxed episode, other than the potential ruin for two young adventurers…
What have you learnt?
And it’s those two young adventurers that I think I’m going to talk about here. The fact that we saw what can happen to rookie parties in the first episode was enough to make their adventure that much more tense. Thankfully, they survived, but it would have been pretty dark had they not what with giant rats and bugs looking for their next meal.
After recovering their sword from the belly of that giant bug, they were welcomed back to the guild and their achievements celebrated. I like that there are moments like this where the small victories are recognised. It also shows just how dangerous it is that just coming back alive is cause for celebration. I feel like some will look at this episode as being too easy-going for the world that Goblin Slayer has shown us so far, but the subtext is there. This was by no means an easy win!
Other reviews in the series
Series Information
| English Title | Goblin Slayer |
| Japanese Title | Goblin Slayer |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Dark Fantasy |
| Demographic | Seinen |
Anime
Season One
Movie
| English Title | Goblin’s Crown |
| Japanese Title | Goblin’s Crown |
| Released | Winter 2020 |
| Animation Studios | White Fox |
Season Two
Manga
| Series | Side Story II: Dai Katana |
| Author | Kumo Kagyu |
| Artist | Shougo Aoki |
| Volumes | Ongoing |
| 1 | The Fortress City |
| 2 | There’s Always Tomorrow! |
| 3 | Help and Help Alike! |
| 4 | I Can Smell Blood! |
| 5 | If You Let Your Guard Down, You Die! |
| 6 | Be Thankful to Everything! |
| 7 | Let’s Go Shopping!! |
Indeed, it was not an easy win for the two youngsters. Moreover, their situation showed that the strongest weapon is good advice from a trusted source. In direct contrast to the rookie party in ep 1, these two listened to their seniors and took the time to parse the valuable from the mundane where advice was concerned. “Forewarned is forearmed,” indeed.
Absolutely, unlike the first group they took the advice. There’s nothing more sure to get you killed in a world like this than being cocky and overconfident.