Goblin Slayer – Anime First Impressions

Studio: White Fox

Episodes: 4 (ongoing)

Director: Takaharu Ozaki

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Mature

Summary:

“In a fantasy world where monsters, demons and magic exist, one traumatized adventure sets out to exterminate all Goblins. The Silver Ranked adventure dubbed the Goblin Slayer is joined by a Priestess and other ensemble casts of non-humans venturing into the world slaying goblins. They meet other adventurers, visit cities and mostly dungeons to eradicate their fantasy world from goblins.”

What you need to know about Goblin Slayer

1. The anime is rated mature as it contains violence and rape scenes that may cause some viewers to feel uncomfortable. This is intentional as the story tells a realistic view of the fantasy world where not everything is rainbows and sunshine.

2. The Goblin Slayer is thought to be of lower rank due to his equipment but is actually a Silver Ranked adventurer. He only takes on Goblin slaying quests but because of this, many of the other adventurers look down upon him for this.

3. The story takes place in a time where the Demon Lord has unleashed his army upon the world and the monsters run rampant thus the need for adventurers.

4. Although Goblins are considered the lowest forms of monsters, they breed quickly and their nest can cause a lot of trouble to nearby villages thus there are a lot of requests for Goblin extermination.

Trivia about Goblin Slayer

1. Both the anime and manga is based on a light novel. Other than the manga, there is also an origin manga which acts as a prequel called Goblin Slayer: Side Story Year One.

2. Goblins are considered male only and they require females from other races to breed.

3. Most of the characters in the light novel are placeholders thus you may recognize some characters from other manga or anime like Gantz from Berserk or Cú Chulainn from Fate series.

4. Many of the skills and abilities in the world abide to Dungeon & Dragon’s rules set where certain abilities and skills can only be used once a day or only after a certain period of rest.

5. The reader has not seen Goblin Slayer’s face (kinda like Master Chief John-117).

Verdict: Watch it!

I have been following the manga series since it was first published and I love the different take it has on the fantasy genre. Other than one other I know of, Berserk, not a lot of manga or anime dare to go this far to show the realistic view of the fantasy world which is full of violence and crime. This anime so far has stayed true to both the manga and the light novel, and has a lot of potential to be as great as Overlord turned out to be.

Although some may get tired of the overall theme of just slaying goblins but as the latest episode has shown, the Goblin Slayer won’t just be slaying goblins. He will venture out and open up more as the story progresses therefore I advice that viewers stay with the anime till the end. Overall, the anime has great story, music and characters.