Goblin Slayer: Goblin’s Crown Review

Recapping Season 1

Goblin Slayer: Goblin’s Crown (ゴブリンスレイヤー -GOBLIN’S CROWN-) is a sequel movie to Season 1 of the Goblin Slayer anime. It comes after the first season and before the second. And, that’s why I finally got around to watching and reviewing it — Season 2 is coming in October.

I’ll go into why you should watch this movie before Season 2 in a bit. But, what should you do if you forget what happened in Season 1? Should you rewatch it before watching the movie? No, because the first third of Goblin’s Crown is actually a recap of Season 1.

Goblin’s Crown only has a run time of 1 hour and 25 minutes. And yet, the first 25 minutes is a recap. So, it’s not a very long movie if you choose to skip that part. But, if you’re like me, you watched Season 1 way back in 2018.

Because it’s been five years since I last watched this series, I didn’t skip the recap. And, it actually reminded me of a lot of things I forgot. So, that was good. However, I can’t say that I approve of the first third of a movie being a recap.

If you’re going to watch a movie, don’t you want the entire movie to be new content? If I paid to see Goblin’s Crown in theaters when it released back in 2020, I’d be pretty mad about that. It’s really not much more than two to three episodes stuck together.

It would have been a better option to have the recap separate from the movie as a standalone episode. I probably wouldn’t have watched the recap if that was the case. But, at the same time, it’s not like the recap was that important for the plot of the “movie.”

Noble Fencer’s Party

The main reason I’d recommend watching the movie before Season 2 is for the new character. Goblin’s Crown introduces Noble Fencer, a girl from a noble family who wants to be an adventurer. I doubt she’ll be an important character in Season 2. But, I do expect her to make an appearance.

Noble Fencer leads her own adventurer party that includes four other members. Despite being relatively young, it’s clear why she’s the party leader. She’s charismatic and wants to make a name for herself and her party. And, of course, as a noble, who’s going to say no to her?

Female Warrior is the only other woman in Noble Fencer’s party. She has red hair and, based on the shape of her ears, she’s an elf. There’s really not too much else to say about her.

Dwarf Priest is the third member of the group and appears to be the oldest. However, due to the nature of elves, it’s entirely possible that Female Warrior is the oldest. I’m going to assume Dwarf Priest is the oldest, though, because he acts like he is.

Mage is the only other human besides Noble Fencer. He seems to be the second-in-command of their party. And, the feeling I got was that he’s been with Noble Fencer the longest. I don’t remember getting any confirmation of this. So, take that as my own theory.

Rhea Scout is the final member of the party. At first, I thought he was a girl. But, due to how the goblins Noble Fencer’s party fights treat him, it’s clear Rhea Scout is male. Also, Rheas are kind of like halflings or something.

So, here’s your first major spoiler of the review: The only party member to survive this movie is Noble Fencer.

Slaying the Goblin King (Paladin)

Based on the title of the movie, you’d expect Goblin Slayer and his party to slay a goblin king, right? Well, they don’t. The main villain of the movie is a goblin paladin whom they slay before he becomes a goblin king.

And, the slaying of the Goblin “King” wasn’t all that exciting. The majority of the fight involved Goblin Slayer and his allies running away. They ran around the fortress the Goblin “King” was residing in. Then, they ran away from the fortress and back down the mountain, while being chased, of course.

In the end, Goblin Slayer delivers the finishing blow to the Goblin “King.” And then, a strategically timed avalanche comes down and wipes out the rest of the goblin horde. It’s not exactly the flashiest way to take down a boss. But, that’s also kind of what makes it work in this series.

Goblin Slayer isn’t really about the epic battles. Sure, there are a few good ones throughout the series. But, most of the time, the battles in this series are pretty mundane. And, that may be because it reflects how Goblin Slayer himself feels about what he’s doing.

Remember, Goblin Slayer isn’t a character who’s out on some grand adventure. He’s not trying to create the best party around and go take down the demon king to save the world. For him, slaying goblins is a job and it’s personal.

Also, keep in mind that Goblin Slayer is a very resourceful fighter. He’s always looking to slay goblins in the most efficient way possible. That’s why he moves from weapon to weapon as he fights. And again, that’s why this final battle is such a classic Goblin Slayer moment. Using an avalanche to take out the goblins is very efficient.

Goblin’s Crown: 6/10

As far as movies go, Goblin Slayer: Goblin’s Crown isn’t great. It’s a 6/10. Obviously, the fact that the first 25 minutes of the movie was a recap of Season 1 is a negative. And, even though the anticlimactic ending fits the series, this is a movie. I still want excitement.

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My review of Season 2 Episode 1 is available now.