Goblin Slayer [Review]
“A young priestess has formed her first adventuring party, but almost immediately they find themselves in distress. It’s the Goblin Slayer who comes to their rescue—a man who’s dedicated his life to the extermination of all goblins, by any means necessary. And when rumors of his feats begin to circulate, there’s no telling who might come calling next…” -Yen Press
Story:
Here it is, one of the most controversial anime stories of 2018, Goblin Slayer is the epitome of dark fantasy storylines and it holds nothing back. Goblin Slayer takes your beloved fantasy genre and twisted it to bring back the reality of adventuring and fighting monster. What makes Goblin Slayer’s story so powerful is the realism of an injury rather than the drama of an injury. A lot of anime tend to throw injuries around, which raises the tension and drama of a particular scene. In Goblin Slayer if you get injured, you most likely won’t make it to the end of the episode, which makes the tension in the show skyrocket because you never know who’s going to die next. The story itself is both dynamic and static. Static as the main cast of characters don’t travel much through the world and character development is kept to a minimum, besides Goblin Slayer himself. Its dynamics comes from the battles that our characters take part in, each one proving more dangerous than the next.
Artwork & Animation:
Don’t let the cute character designs of the female fool you, the art can get very gory and even disturbing. The ominous eyes of the goblins are no laughing matter. Having said that the background art could’ve been better and more in depth. Part of the reason why it’s lacking is that our main cast doesn’t travel far and when they do, it’s usually in a dark cave or sewer, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for nice vibrant visuals. The biggest problem with the art was Goblin Slayer himself, who kept switching between 2D art and 3D art to the point where it became an eyesore. The changes aren’t subtle and occur very frequently.
Character(s):
Well, let’s talk about the fact that none the character actually have names. Goblin Slayer is Goblin Slayer, but then everyone is referred to as him or her or their class/race. Other than Goblin Slayer, there isn’t a lot of character development that happens throughout the show. The reason for this is, most likely, this season is all about setting up Goblin Slayer and establishing his position in this fantasy world. Character development for other characters is sure to come later.
Sound (OST & Voice Acting):
The soundtrack for Goblin Slayer is one of the most intense and enchanting yet haunting soundtracks I’ve ever heard. The production is both new and nostalgic as there are some traditional tracks that heavily use dark and ominous strings to create atmosphere and tone for a scene but then there are hybrids of electric drums kits along with the strings to create a more intense and upbeat rhythm. Along with those, there are beautiful vocal pieces that are insert songs within the show such as “Aftermath”. Sometimes we underestimate the power of the human voice and its effect on music as much of the soundtracks for anime today avoid using vocals at all in background music (unless it’s an idol anime). Goblin Slayer doesn’t shy away from that and uses a number of choir voices emulating something that sounds almost like a Gregorian Chant, which is both beautiful yet somewhat unsettling.
Enjoyment:
The tension I felt while watching each episode is unreal. The action and potential consequences had me do the guessing game and what will happen next. But I really want Goblin Slayer to go on an adventure with the crew and something tells me that it might happen when the second season rolls by.
“Goblin Slayer will return”. Yes at the end of episode 12, four simple words have confirmed that we will be getting another Goblin Slayer anime, though not quite sure on when that is happening.
Overall: Score 9
Goblin Slayer takes the fantasy genre and gives it a more realistic perspective. And while the story is dark and sinister, it’s much more immersive and engaging. While the art isn’t impeccable, it’s decent and brings the environments that our adventurers explore into life.
Best Girl: High Elf Archer
Aside from being voiced by Nao Touyama, Elf is one of the most dominating characters in the show. Her tsundere personality is also a HUGE plus. Also never forget “ORUGUBORUGU”!
KiritoNarukami 
I liked the series so much that I actually bought the light novels from Amazon. Mind you, I don’t think it’s the best-written series or anything, but it’s sure as heck very interesting.
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I’ve thought about getting the light novels! Are they as interesting as the anime implies?
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