Goblin Slayer II (Episode 2) – The Red-Haired Wizard Boy
They’ve signed up for another goblin slaying quest, but this time Priestess will take the lead and the Red-Haired Wizard Boy will accompany them. However, they soon realise it’s a big job and bringing a rookie might not be wise!
Goblin Slayer II (Episode 2) – The Red-Haired Wizard Boy
What did you watch?
Not long before watching this episode, I picked up the latest volume of Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana and was instantly reminded of it during the OP. Dai Katana is the adventurer who looks like a samurai and has the same look of vengeance in his eye as Goblin Slayer. I’m curious to see if he pops up in this series as he was in the same party as Sword Maiden way back before she became the high priestess. I’m excited for this season in general, but seeing Dai Katana gave me something else to prepare for. I already think this is going to be an amazing season. Anyhow, let’s look at what happened in this epsiode.
What happened?
Goblin Slayer’s party too on a job to take care of some goblins that had been stealing tools from a construction site. Someone followed them back to a mausoleum which gave them a place to start. As Priestess was leading the team, she was the one to ask the questions to the dwarf that hired them. She then had to relay everything to the team and decide how they would proceed. As an added complication, the Red-Haired Wizard Boy was in the party. He furiously wanted to kill goblins and was struggling to accept anyone’s guidance. Once inside the mausoleum, they quickly took care of several goblins. They checked some doors but found one that appeared to be a trap. The Red-Haired Wizard was infuriated by their pace, especially since a party of five had already gone missing. They needed to rescue them quickly. He rushed forward and opened the door…
The disfigured bodies of several adventurers hit the ground with a splat. The Wizard screamed, alerting the goblins to their presence. Then, he heard another scream and ran off to help whoever it was. He found a girl tied to a chair with nails hammered into her hands. He burnt the goblin responsible but soon found himself facing an ogre and a horde of goblins. Luckily, the others caught up with him and fought them back. They picked up the chair with the girl tied to it and ran. Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer held off the goblins. Despite Goblin Slayer’s efforts, the ogre followed them, forcing Goblin Slayer to try a new trick.
What did you think?
Well, now we know why Priestess felt uneasy around the Red-Haired Wizard. His older sister was in the same party as Priestess… Yes, that one! The one that Goblin Slayer saved Priestess from. When he realised, he walked outside, unsure of what to do with himself. I loved that Spearman could tell that something was up just by looking at his body language. He obviously didn’t get it from Goblin Slayer’s face. It’s sad that Goblin Slayer feels so responsible for every person killed by a goblin. He takes on the pressure of saving everyone, which must make each quest that much harder because, by the time he gets involved, someone has usually died. To make things worse, I feel like the Red-Haired Wizard blames Goblin Slayer for not saving her. This is going to get tough!
What was your favourite moment?
I love the way Goblin Slayer is always looking for new ways to kill goblins. One of my favourite moments in the first season was when he opened a portal to the bottom of the sea, knowing that the water pressure would burst through like a weapon. Well, now he’s taken the knowledge of how to make ice cream and turned that into a weapon. Everything in life can and will be used to kill goblins. His ingenuity is incredible, especially how he puts his plans into action when they are already under a massive amount of pressure. He appears unflappable and that made the scene at the end when he threw his helmet that much more significant.
Who was the most impactful character?
It has to be the Red-Haired Wizard Boy but for all the wrong reasons. I get that he wants to kill goblins. They killed his sister. Goblin Slayer can relate to that, but Goblin Slayer has learnt that you simply don’t charge into a goblin’s nest without any planning or preparation. I can see why the pace they moved at was infuriating, but they are alive because they are careful and considered about their actions. We’ve learnt that underestimating goblins is a surefire way to get yourself killed or worse. We almost got to see it first-hand when the Wizard ran off on his own. The big problem, however, is that he doesn’t appear to have learned anything. He did say that it was his fault, but is that enough to save him on future quests?
What have you learned?
I talked in the last episode about the distinct voices that the characters have and how that makes it possible to know who’s talking without using dialogue tags. In this episode, we got to see how the characters are able to reveal so much about themselves simply through their body language. The expressiveness of the characters in this series is amazing. Despite Goblin Slayer’s stoic approach to life, it’s actually really easy to tell how he’s feeling. We know when he’s scared or angry. You can see when his confidence takes a hit. In this episode, you could feel the burden he was carrying from that ill-fated quest when he first met Priestess. This really is a well-made series and that’s largely thanks to the characters.
Other posts 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! |
