Goblin Slayer Episode 1

Goblin Slayer Episode 1

Introduction

I only heard about the Goblin Slayer series when the anime was announced, but from the start it sounded like something I would be interested in. Well, now that the first episode has aired, I can safely say that Goblin Slayer is my early pick for best anime of the season.

Originally I wasn’t sure how this series would translate to anime because I know it covers a variety of dark themes such as murder, rape, and genocide, just to name a few. This would normally mean that the series would be rated R-17+, but it’s instead rated PG-13, which made me think it was going to be a watered down version.

Luckily, White Fox, the studio behind Goblin Slayer and other hit anime such as Steins;Gate and Re:ZERO, have succeeded in making another good, if not great, anime. So with that, let’s get into today’s episode.

The Fate of Particular Adventurers

The first thing I want to mention (mainly because I feel that I’ll forget if I don’t write this now) is the OST (original soundtrack). I’ve talked about music in anime a couple of times, and even have some posts dedicated to it, but the reality is that most anime soundtracks aren’t anything special.

There are three different kinds of anime OSTs: Those I notice and appreciate while viewing, those I rediscover and appreciate after viewing, and those I never even notice to begin with. Of these three, Goblin Slayer’s OST belongs to the first category. I seriously can’t wait for this entire soundtrack to be released.

But, the music wasn’t the only thing this first episode had going for it. I’m all for dark anime, and within the first half of the first episode, Goblin Slayer established itself as a dark fantasy which subverts (at least some of) the classic fantasy tropes. It looks like it’ll still follow some major tropes later on, but the first episode, at least, was unique in much the same way that Re:ZERO was.

Our female lead, Onna Shinkan, is introduced as a beginner adventurer at the guild and is instantly recruited by a seemingly competent party of rookie adventurers who plan to go rescue some girls who were kidnapped by goblins. This is pretty standard, and a normal fantasy would probably continue on with that story.

Unfortunately for the rookie adventurers, this isn’t a normal fantasy. The party soon learns that while goblins are dumb creatures, rookie adventurers are even dumber. After entering the goblin’s cave, the party is flanked by a group of goblins and all but wiped out.

The fates of the four party members are as follows: The first girl is stabbed with a poison dagger, sexually assaulted by goblins, and then killed by Goblin Slayer. The guy is hacked to pieces by the goblins. The second girl is raped by the goblins and seems to have PTSD from it. And the final girl, Onna Shinkan, takes an arrow to the shoulder before being rescued.

But who really cares about any of those no-names, am I right? The one we’re all really here for is the titular protagonist himself, Goblin Slayer.

Despite what you might expect, Goblin Slayer actually isn’t the highest rank of adventurer, nor the lowest. Typically fantasy protagonists seem to fall into either of those two categories, but Onna Shinkan takes the role of low-ranked newbie in Goblin Slayer’s place.

Instead, Goblin Slayer is a Silver ranked adventurer, which is third from the top. In comparison, Onna Shinkan is Porcelain ranked, which is the 10th and lowest ranking. After seeing him in action, Goblin Slayer would likely be able to rise to the top rank, but there’s one small problem.

As his name suggests, literally all he does is slay goblins, which are among the weakest kind of monsters.

Goblin Slayer from the anime Goblin Slayer
Goblin Slayer

But just because his prey is weak doesn’t mean Goblin Slayer himself is. As we see in this first episode, he doesn’t seem to have a signature weapon that he uses, or any kind of special skill that makes him deadly in a specific situation.

Instead, Goblin Slayer is a well-rounded adventurer who uses anything and everything at his disposal to kill goblins, including goblin weapons. He’s also not above setting traps or using tricks to defeat his opponent either. To him, it doesn’t matter how the goblins are killed, what matters is simply that they’re dead.

He also appears to be extremely practical. When a weapon gets too much blood on it to the point that it becomes useless, he simply tosses it aside for a new one he picks up off a dead goblin. By doing this, he never has to worry about purchasing new weapons or paying for weapons to be repaired.

It seems he also isn’t afraid to get dirty, as we see him cover himself in goblin guts to mask his smell. He really knows everything there is to know about goblins and how to kill them.

Although we don’t yet know why he hates goblins so much, we do learn that he has an unconditional hatred for them. When asked about “good” goblins, he replies that there may in fact be “good” goblins, but he doesn’t care because he just wants to kill them anyway.

While this, along with his slaughter of the goblin children, may make Goblin Slayer seem like a villain, I think he actually believes he’s doing the right thing by wiping out all of the goblins without remorse. He probably thinks that since goblins don’t care if humans are good or not, he shouldn’t care if they are.

Or maybe he’s just a psychopath with a thirst for goblin blood.

At the end of the episode, we see Onna Shinkan join up with Goblin Slayer once again to go on another quest. With Goblin Slayer by her side, it’s unlikely that Onna Shinkan will have to go through the trauma of losing her comrades once again.

And, as expected, the quest they’re going to complete involves slaying goblins.

Conclusion

Have you watched the first episode of Goblin Slayer yet? If so, let me know your thoughts on it in the comments down below. If you enjoyed this post, you can also let me know by simply clicking the like button down below as well.

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My review of the second episode is available here.

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