Goblin Slayer II (Episode 3) – The Training Grounds on the Outskirts of Town
Goblin Slayer and the other experienced adventurers are taking some time out of their schedules to train the rookies. However, Goblin Slayer has another reason to be involved and it’s not all about slaying goblins!
Goblin Slayer II (Episode 3) – The Training Grounds on the Outskirts of Town
What did you watch?
I’ve just picked up the first two books in the Goblin Slayer: Year One series which follows a younger Goblin Slayer as he learns to fight goblins and I think it ties in perfectly to this episode. Not only are we seeing the rookies going through some training, but it all ties back to Goblin Slayer’s roots. I’m excited to get into both, but for now, let’s just talk about the anime. I wonder how annoying the red-haired mage will be this time?
What happened?
Several of the experienced adventurers have taken it upon themselves to train the rookie adventurers. They were getting paid by the guild, but it wasn’t nearly as much as they could get from taking on quests. Of course, those quests needed to be done too or the monsters would quickly get out of control, which is why they needed to train the rookies. Dead adventurers can’t take quests. After a day of training, Lancer invited Goblin Slayer and Heavy Warrior out for drinks. Goblin Slayer was surprised to be included but accepted. There they all revealed what they dreamed of when they were kids and how difficult it was to achieve those things now.
Day after day, the adventurers mixed training with adventuring. It meant that Goblin Slayer was out more than usual, which was noticed by Cow Girl. However, she realised that there was more to it than simply training and ensuring that the next group of adventurers were prepared. The training was taking place on the land that his old village occupied before it had been attacked by goblins. She mentioned it to Goblin Slayer and told him that they needed to move on, however, he wasn’t ready to let go just yet. Well, it looks like he’s going to get a chance to exorcise those demons as goblins attacked the training ground while they were still training.
What did you think?
It’s easy to get excited about the epic fights that take place in this show, but there are also lots of fascinating moments. I’ll get into those in a moment, but the reason I bring it up here is that thanks to these moments, we can go an entire episode with barely a goblin in sight and it’s still fantastic. It feels like a real epic fantasy where the adventurers go to taverns and ogle a centaur’s shapely bottom. They can sit in fields eating cheese and pondering the implications of life. Seriously, Lizardman is almost ready to become a dragon with all the profound lines he keeps dropping. This episode showed why I love this series. It’s more than just rampant violence and killing goblins. That’s a big selling point, but it’s not everything.
What was your favourite moment?
So, there was the scene with Lancer, Heavy Warrior, and Goblin Slayer after they came out of the tavern. They were a little drunk but still able to hold a conversation. It was this conversation that I loved. It was interesting to see what each of them hoped to achieve from life and how they had each come to accept that they would never reach those lofty goals. Goblin Slayer tried to help, but he understood. After all, he had hoped to be an adventurer… Well, not an adventurer who is obsessed with killing goblins. He hoped to be the hero. He wanted to save the princess and defeat the dragon. He wanted to save the world. This was a very real conversation that anyone who is not at the beginning of their career can likely relate to.
Who was the most impactful character?
So, I’m going to talk about the red-haired Mage again. We learned in this episode that they can only cast Fireball once a day and that it’s the only spell he knows. So, when he ran off and then cast it in a panic in the last episode he was basically useless from that point on… more so than normal. So, given that he isn’t prepared for goblin slaying in the slightest it seems odd that he has such a negative view of Goblin Slayer, especially after he saved him and put him up in his barn for a night. We know that his sister was killed by the goblins in that ill-fated quest, but does he somehow blame Goblin Slayer for not being there to protect her? It’s bad enough that Goblin Slayer blames himself, the last thing he needs is this guy piling on too!
What have you learned?
So, for all the fantasy stories out there, Isekai or otherwise, this is how you handle a school arc. Basically, you don’t stick fantasy characters into a school and have them sitting around taking lessons. It’s a fantasy story. They need to be sparring and learning things from the experienced adventurers. They need to go into dangerous situations and be prepared to do the grunt work. They need to learn about magic from a drunk dwarf or a stoned witch. If you want to survive an adventure, you need to survive the training first. Again, the realism in this series is amazing and I think that’s what rubs some people the wrong way. A fantasy epic is just as much about those tavern experiences as it is about killing the monsters.
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! |
Nice post
Thanks
The mother in me wants to backhand the red-haired brat. I, too, am confused as to why he chooses to not recognize Goblin Slayer. I enjoyed this episode. As you said, not every episode has to be blood and gore. You need a bit of downtime to explore another side of the character. The training grounds showed that Goblin Slayer is more than his namesake.
Yeah. He doesn’t make much sense.
Red-haired mage: I hate that guy. All he wants to do is kill goblins.
Also Red-haired Mage: I just want to kill goblins…
He was handing out advice in the first season and would regularly follow rookie groups into the caves or try to get there before them. It’s nice to see him get some recognition for that sort of work too.