Goblin Slayer (Episode 4) – The Strong
They’ve entered the goblin’s nest, but there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Something is helping them and it’s not going to take too kindly to its army of goblins being wiped out! Will they make it out alive?
What happened?
After using the blood from the goblins the Elf archer killed to mask their scents, the Goblin Slayer led them into the structure. It was a manmade structure that dated back to the time when the gods were at war, but now it was home to a goblin nest. On the discovery of a trap, Goblin Slayer grew concerned, especially as there were no totems which would indicate a goblin shaman’s presence. No, something else must be helping them.
The pressed on and soon discovered a room that the goblins were using to keep their waste. In it, they found an elf girl, chained to the wall. She was naked and covered from head to toe in cuts. For a moment, it looked like the Goblin Slayer was going to end her suffering, but a goblin that was hidden behind her jumped out to attack and was met by his short sword. Lizardman summoned a skeletal warrior to carry the elf to the nearby village along with a letter from Priestess.
They were understandably shocked at what had happened and very quickly bought into Goblin Slayer’s plan to kill them all. At the base of a deep tower, they found the goblins. There were a lot of them. Dwarf used a spell to render them unconscious and Priestess put them to sleep. That gave Goblin Slayer, Elf, and Lizardman the chance to kill them all without making a noise.
Once all the goblins were slain, the boss revealed himself. It was an ogre who was working under one of the Demon Lord’s generals and he wasn’t happy to have his army destroyed. He attacked with a fireball that exhausted Priestess’ spells and hit Goblin Slayer into a wall with his club. It was looking rough, especially as the troll was able to heal himself. However, Goblin Slayer had one last trick to play. It was a transfer scroll that was linked to the bottom of the ocean, hitting the ogre with a wall of high-pressure water, leaving him with unhealable wounds.
What did you think?
This is why I love this show. It’s just a classic fantasy adventure but given a huge dose of realism. Elf encapsulated it perfectly when she said that adventures should be fun, but this was not that. No, I think this is probably more like how it would go. It’s a dirty job full of death and terror. There is no fun to be had here unless you’ve lost your mind.
Another thing that occurred to me is how often people will say that villains are one dimensional and they work best if they are more complex. Well, how many dimensions should a goblin have? As is too often the case, one way or the other is not the answer. It’s about blending the two together. Just like in Akame ga Kill, you use the one-dimensional villains to set the stage, reveal more about the heroes. Then, once things are settled, you can reveal the multi-dimensional villain and raise the stakes.
What have you learnt?
One of the interesting things about Goblin Slayer is that it isn’t concerned with the bigger story. There is a lot of world-building going on here, but it’s all in the background, where it should be. They could have given us a massive back story about the ruins. I’ve seen shows do it before and I’m so glad that Goblin Slayer doesn’t do that. Some people seem to want to be spoonfed their stories, but I believe that most want to fill in the blanks themselves or piece together the clues.
Just like how none of the main characters uses their actual names. Sure, it would be nice for writing reviews to be able to refer to them by name, but it’s not essential. It just adds to the mystery of the series. I think I’m enjoying this series, even more, this time around…
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! |
This was a favorite episode of mine. The Priestess already had an innate understanding of Goblin Slayer’s character, but it was nothing that she would yet be able to articulate well. In this episode, Goblin Slayer showed his companions that he was much more than a rabid animal in armor–he had intellect and cunning, as well as drive. For me, this was the episode that made Goblin Slayer truly human in the eyes of his non-human companions.
Agreed. I think they all realized just how terrifying he was. Rather than use a scroll that was regularly used as an escape route, he turned it into a powerful weapon. He is always thinking and scheming. It makes him fascinating and it’s also a little sad at how much he obsessed about killing goblins. Can’t blame him, but still sad.