Goblin Slayer II (Season Two)

Goblin Slayer continues his personal mission to kill all goblins, but why does he do it? He’s not even that sure anymore. Maybe, there’s something else he could do. Something bigger and more impressive. If only there weren’t so many goblins!
Goblin Slayer II (Season Two)
What did you watch?
The first season of Goblin Slayer blew me away with the gritty, dark realism of the adventures, the monsters, and the Goblin Slayer. I’ve watched it several times, seen the movie, own all of the manga, and read several of the light novels. Basically, when I saw that the second season was airing, I had to watch and review it as it happened. And, now after twelve weeks, it’s over once more. At least, I have the side stories to dive into so that I can keep the adventure going. Anyhow, let’s see what happened in season two!

What happened?
It’s been one year since Priestess first met Goblin Slayer on that ill-fated quest that decimated her party. Since then, she’s been attentively learning the ropes from him. She’s grown a lot, however, not enough for the guild to consider promoting her yet. To be honest, being the lowest-ranked member in a party of silver-ranked adventurers doesn’t get her as much credit as she might deserve. She gets a chance to prove herself when a rookie mage crashes into the guildhouse. He gets under everyone’s feathers, but Goblin Slayer gives him a chance. There’s something about him that speaks to him. Little did he know that the mage is the younger brother of the mage that was killed in Priestess’ first quest.
The senior members of the guild put on some training for the new recruits in the hopes that they don’t all die on their first quests. However, a group of goblins attack the training grounds and force them all to fight for their lives. Priestess saves many of them and is rewarded with a promotion. Soon after, they are invited to High Elf Archer’s sister’s wedding in the Elven kingdom, but on their way they encounter goblins and Goblin Slayer is called into action to save the wedding… and maybe the world.

What did you think?
Firstly, I enjoyed this season. However, it was not the same as season one. Not even close. If anything, it felt like it had been sanitized a little. One of my biggest issues was that none of the quests felt as dangerous as the ones they took on in the first season. There didn’t seem to be the same level of threat. Even when they found themselves up against the hand of a Higher Demon, it never really felt like things were out of hand… Compare that to the ogres in season one, the goblin champion in season one, or the goblin king with his army that attacked the farm. Each one of those quests felt like it was a battle to the death where they put everything on the line. By contrast, this season was a little too easy.

What was your favourite moment?
I think it has to be the quest surrounding the Dungeon of the Dead, although if I’m completely honest, the flashback where we saw Dai Katana and Sword Maiden battling two Higher Demons in the lower levels was insane. I could watch an entire season based on their adventure without any hesitation. That felt more like the old Goblin Slayer. Other than that, I liked the way they fought the goblin priest and the Higher Demon’s Hand. It was the most threatening of the situations, especially with Lizardman reduced to nothing because of the cold attack.
I would have liked to see them attempting to fight through the goblins when they came out of the dungeon before being saved by Sword Maiden. That would have been an incredibly tense way to end the season. They could have made it look like they were all about to be finished, fighting with their last ounces of strength when Sword Maiden saved the day. This season had a lot of potential, but it never really reached the heights of the first season.

What was your least favourite moment?
I often find myself wondering if Goblin Slayer really is completely oblivious to the interest from the girls around him. I laughed it off in an earlier post when I commented on Cow Girl giving him a chance to basically marry her, but he didn’t consider it because there was no way to kill goblins with it. Then, of course, there’s Guild Girl who couldn’t make it any more obvious. Not to mention Priestess and High Elf Archer. And then, there’s the Sword Maiden who has been reduced to pretty much throwing herself at him, but still, all he can think about is killing goblins.
The realisation of what is actually happening hit in the final scene of the series. Goblin Slayer was walking back to the farm pondering his life. Earlier in the season, he had said that he wanted to be the hero who fought dragons and saved the princess. Now, he felt like he was trapped hunting goblins because no one else was taking them seriously. However, at the very end, he seemed to be cursing the fact that no matter where he went or what he was doing, goblins showed up. He seemed quite resigned to the idea that he had no choice but to fight them or they would take everything from him. And the less he has, the less they can take.

Who was your favourite character?
I love Sword Maiden and really want to see more of her, however, this season’s absolute star for me was High Elf Archer. I loved the moments when we got to see her and Goblin Slayer alone. There was one in the Elven Kingdom where they almost seemed playful together. There was some real chemistry between them. More than we’d seen from any of the other girls. High Elf Archer has always been tough and particularly snobby, which you tend to expect from elves, but she really came into her own and made a lot of this season more enjoyable than it probably was.

Who was your least favourite character?
Now, this is the easiest section in the season to write about. It has to be the Red-Haired Mage, the younger brother of the mage killed in Priestess’ first quest. He was a barrel of contradictions. All he wanted to do was kill goblins. Also, he hated Goblin Slayer because all he could do was kill goblins. A lot of his actions followed a similar pattern. He was annoying from start to finish and I’m so glad that he left after four episodes. If I’m honest, he was lucky to make it out alive. I don’t think anyone would have been upset to see him go out in a less glamorous fashion. I don’t mind a character who rubs everyone the wrong way, but I hate it when they seem to make no sense. Sure, people don’t always make sense, but unless there’s a good reason for it, I don’t think it needs to be in a story.

Would you like some more?
Absolutely. Sign me up for the next season and the one after that. I’ll even take some side stories. I love this world and the characters in it. My only real gripe is that we really need some names for them. It was fine in the beginning, but Cow Girl was the final straw for me. Otherwise, bring me everything you have.

What have you learned?
When I first started writing, I had been reading a lot of advice from legendary pulp fiction writer, Lester Dent. He wrote a lot of books and one of the main things he believed in was that to keep the story moving, he would keep piling on more danger. Each time, the threat would have to be more and the stakes higher otherwise why would anyone care? This is the biggest issue with this season. Not one of the quests they went on felt as dangerous as any they took in season one. It felt a bit pedestrian. Everyone just walked through the season and came through unharmed. I was hoping for something bigger and more dangerous than season one. So, to summarise, I believe Lester Dent was right. Add more pressure. Make it harder and harder to win. And when they do, it’ll feel so much more important.

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! |

“If anything, it felt like it had been sanitized a little.” THIS. I felt the exact same way.
Absolutely. I’m not sure why because it’s the second season. Anyone that doesn’t want to be here wouldn’t be. It’s a shame that they’ve caved to the outrage of a minority that probably didn’t even watch it.
“He was annoying from start to finish and I’m so glad that he left after four episodes. ”
You just convinced me to finish the season. I gave up after two episodes because of that character.
It wasn’t just that he was a bad or annoying character, but he also made no sense. Was glad to see him go.
I just watched the first episode of the second season. I need to continue it
Nice. It’s not as good as the first season, but still very enjoyable. Just needed a little more danger…
Well I’ll have the rest a shot tho
Well I’ll give the rest a shot tho