Goblin Slayer (Episode 2) – Goblin Slayer
He may be cold a ruthless, but the Goblin Slayer hasn’t always been this way. He has a home with his childhood friend and her uncle. A home that he protects and watches over, but above all he has the thirst for vengeance!
What happened?
A young girl wakes early on her farm and prepares for another busy day. She looks out her window to find the Goblin Slayer doing his morning checks. Goblins always scout out the location before attacking, so he checks for any signs that would warn him of their intentions. So far, all is clear. He’s lived with her for five years now and every morning he diligently completes his checks. She offers to make him breakfast. The Goblin Slayer doesn’t even take off his helmet to eat, he’s always reader or is he hiding from something?
He heads into town to visit the guild. She comes too as she has deliveries to make. At the guild, she notices the other adventurers making fun of his armour, his appearance, his desire to only take quests that involve goblins. She’s surprised to see that the party he formed recently included a girl. Finally, after all the adventurers have taken their picks of the quests, the Goblin Slayer steps up and takes all the goblin quests, regardless of the meagre rewards.
The young girl returns to her farm and waits for his return, but he doesn’t come back that night. Or the night after that. The Goblin Slayer is busy exterminating goblins. He spends every waking moment thinking of ways to kill them. Otherwise, the memories of his sister and depraved things he witnessed while he remained hidden, waiting to die will resurface. He hunts down every last one of them. The priestess struggles with his unrelenting pursuit to kill and others a prayer, possibly for his soul!
What did you think?
This was an insanely effective episode. In the first episode, we pretty much saw it all from the priestesses point of view and for the most part, we follow the Goblin Slayer’s childhood friend who he now lives with. I think she feels guilty for not being there when the goblins attacked and that’s why she can’t give up on him. It’s amazing just how completely broken he is. I loved it when he said that to the goblins, he would be a monster and that certainly seems true to some of the people around him.
However, even in this brutal world where his every waking thought is of killing, there are those that appreciate him and hope for the best. He may be lost for now, but there could be the chance of redemption. I think they do an amazing job of showing just how lost he is.
What have you learnt?
So, we knew that goblins were evil and it was obvious that they would feature in the Goblin Slayers past, but I loved how his desire to kill is the only thing keeping him going. Without that, he would be a shell of a man, destroyed by what he witnessed in the goblin attack on his village. I also love the juxtaposition of the priestess and how she is full of pity and sorrow for those that they are killing, but most of all I think she prays for the Goblin Slayer.
He’s not nearly as much of a black and white character as you may think. Some of the characters around him can see that. The receptionist at the guild sees the work he does and the lives he saves, but to everyone else, he’s just a filthy goblin slayer, taking the easy jobs and bringing shame to their level. However, like all heroes, he doesn’t do it for the recognition, he does it because he has to. If you gave a character this sort of drive, you better give them something to counter that. His lack of social skills make perfect sense when all he’s focused on is bigger and better ways to kill goblins.
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! |
