'Goblin Slayer' Is a Great Character-Driven Dark Fantasy Anime

As far as its fantasy setting goes, Goblin Slayer doesn’t really offer anything special.  It’s a traditional sword-and-magic world where a typical Adventurer’s Guild is functioning.  Guild members take on quests in exchange for monetary rewards; the more dangerous and difficult a quest, the higher the pay.  These adventurers consist of different races and classes, and have varying skill sets.  They are also ranked by the guild depending on their experiences and successes.  The ranks, from lowest to highest, are: porcelain, obsidian, steel, sapphire, emerald, ruby, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.  An adventurer’s rank can be determined by the tag he or she is wearing, which is made out of the rank’s namesake material.

The setup in place is something that we have seen in countless forms before in other fantasy stories. However, in spite of this, Goblin Slayer actually succeeds in offering something remarkable.

The pilot was controversial when it aired.  It’s because there was a part where a female adventurer was raped by goblins.  There were other dark moments, but that rape scene was what really caused a stir.  However, the rest of the series is not quite as dark (i.e. not too many explicit raping) as the pilot.  Thus, in a sense, there was some lying involved.  The pilot painted Goblin Slayer as this extremely edgy and shocking anime, but actually, the intensity of its mature content down the line turned out being standard anime fare.   Some fans feel that the rape scene is just a distasteful gimmick.

In my opinion, though I agree that there’s a bait-and-switch that happened, it’s not completely thoughtless with its shock-and-awe pilot.  First, it’s not a cheap, gratuitous rape scene.  It’s in accordance to its mythology; there are no female goblins in this world, and thus, goblins require females to procreate.  Second, it’s sickening, yes, but the point was not to glorify rape.  Rather, it’s to emphatically establish goblins as these vile, dangerous, evil creatures that deserve to be taken seriously and gratifyingly massacred with extreme prejudice.

As for why nothing as disturbing as that scene was ever showed afterwards, well, there’s no need.  There’s no real reason why we had to be constantly reminded of this aspect about goblins.  The purpose of that rape scene is not to be a benchmark for more horrible scenes like it, but to plant in our minds what’s the reality in this world – specifically, the despicable deeds that goblins regularly do.  So, even if nothing of that sort is extensively shown again, we know already from the back of our minds that such things are happening out there in this world.

The bottomline is, the choices for what things to show or not show in the pilot and the episodes afterwards are perfectly sensible at a storytelling standpoint.

Besides, what really makes this anime a standout is not the shocking scenes, but its protagonist, the eponymous Goblin Slayer.  He’s a silver-ranked human adventurer who only takes quests relating to, well, slaying goblins – a job that isn’t popular among adventurers because it’s dirty and low-rewarding (it’s because goblins commonly affect poor folks).  Through the years, he has become a complete expert on what tactics and weapons are to be used against goblins in specific situations.  However, he’s still dedicated in collecting knowledge and skills that he can somehow apply in his grim work.  He’s fully clad in armor, and a helm completely hides his face – which is only fitting for his stoic, reserved, loner personality.  When it comes to killing goblins, he’s terrifyingly calculating and ruthless.  However, in normal situations, he can be amiable and caring, albeit still withdrawn and undemonstrative.  And because of his cold, unsociable exterior, he’s not quite widely well-liked by his guildmates.  On the other hand, because his exploits typically affect the grassroots level, his reputation has spread across the land, particularly through songs made about him.  Among the elves, he becomes known by the name “Orcbolg”, while it’s “Beardcutter” among the dwarfs.

Prior to the start of the series, Goblin Slayer’s MO is to work solo.  However, a Priestess – a rookie adventurer whom he saved from goblins in the first episode – begins to accompany him.  Later, they form a party with a High Elf Archer, a Dwarf Shaman, and a Lizard Priest.

Throughout the anime, we get to see Goblin Slayer be a total badass.  It’s just so exhilarating to see him be the goblins’ worst nightmare.  In fact, I can see how many who have seen the pilot would get the idea that the rest of the series would stress on brutal action set pieces.  However, those who had such expectations might get disappointed.  There are notably gritty set pieces, and Goblin Slayer did pile up a body count, but the focus of the plot isn’t really on these.  Rather, above all else, Goblin Slayer – or, at least, its debut season – is actually a character-driven show.  A majority of the plot concerns itself in setting up well-thought-out scenarios and interactions that will peel off his layers, revealing his tragic past that the audience may comprehend the motivation behind his curious vendetta, and ultimately providing him a worthwhile arc.  Yes, Goblin Slayer’s badassery makes the show riveting, but equally riveting is his character development.  Indeed, by the end of episode 12 (the season finale), he’s quite a different character from the one we first meet in episode one.  It’s so heartwarming to witness his cynical, reclusive outlook slowly thaw due to the influence of the comrades and admirers that he somehow gained.   And this is a big reason why its season finale is one of the best anime season finales of the year.

Another thing that this anime did that I appreciated a lot is selling the likelihood that Goblin Slayer and his comrades are beatable.  They aren’t obnoxiously OP.  Although they are competent, they aren’t invincible or superhuman.  They get hit.  They get swarmed.  Their spells take time to cast, have limits to how many times they can be used in a day, and don’t yield overwhelming, BS benefits.  For lack of a better word, they are the antithesis of the dominating Sanzo’s Party (who, for the record, I love).  And thus, there’s a real threat to their survival, enhancing tremendously the tension of the narrative.

I’m also fascinated by the narration’s implication that Goblin Slayer is not just patterned from a Dungeons & Dragons world, but is actually a bona fide Dungeons & Dragons game being played out.  It mentions “gods” who are “rolling the dice” for this world – the “gods” suggested to be the players.  But what makes this more fascinating is the assertion that, even though Goblin Slayer is just a disposable piece in this game, he’s apparently refusing to be dictated by the outcome of these gods’ dice rolls.  I don’t know what this means, or where this is going.  It might just be an attempt to be poetic.  But it nonetheless adds an intriguing layer to the story.

In relation to this, there are also delightful references to Lord of the Rings.  One example is the dynamic between the Elf and Dwarf, which is similar to that shared by Legolas and Gimli.  Another is this unforgettable dungeon scene that is reminiscent of a part in Fellowship of the Rings where the Fellowship battles a horde of orcs plus a cave troll.  As a big fan of LOTR (both the books and films), these nods please me greatly.

Overall, I had a blast with Goblin Slayer.  In my opinion, it’s well-written, well-conceptualized, and well-executed.  Although it’s not widely beloved, I consider it as one of the best anime of 2018.