I don’t know what to say. I think i’m gonna have to drop the show because I will just sound like a broken record at this point. It’s not like I won’t go into specifics as to why this episode was so awful like I did last episode. But in the broad scope of things- the same problems I bring out here is the same problems that appeared in the last episode. It has nothing to do with the premise; albeit I am not a fan. It’s some masked dude killin’ goblins. Of course, i’m not interested.
Also, I know I say “It’s just this” but I am not saying it as if I don’t understand the theme behind the character. I understand, very well, that he’s crazy! That he’s a mad dog of vengeance that only seeks the blood of those that rid him of his Family! That he has become nothing but a monster who lives solely to do what he’s been doing. When I say “it’s just this” I say it as a reminder that the theme doesn’t change that fact. It is what it is. Picking apart the pieces and trying to make it seem deeper than it actually is by stretching out the context doesn’t make it anything more. Because, inevitably, you have to put the pieces back together. Anyways, small tangent. The premise is still fine. It just doesn’t appeal to me.
The problem is in the execution. First of all, nothing happened this episode. Similarly to last episode but… God I keep trying to want to justify last episode but I can’t fuckin’ come up with an excuse. I guess i’m a little biased in favor of episode 2 because I slightly appealed to the intricacies of the daily life of Goblin Slayer but it doesn’t matter because they aren’t gonna do anything with it. Shit! This episode completely throws last episode away because Goblin Slayer decided not to go home and check the fucking ground for footsteps so he doesn’t actually care if the one place he sleeps at gets destroyed. There’s so many tangents I think i’m going to spiral out of control! I have to stay focused… Okay… Second of all, the newest set of characters are stereotypical down to the core!
The dragon’s a dude that acts all wise n’ stoic. Once he discovers something as simple as cheese; he hails it as God’s own piss for the sake of a bit of comedy. To be fair, this stereotype is probably one of the most bearable. It’s not super intrusive and can be amusing on occasion. Unlike the other two who are VERY fuckin’ intrusive. Y’got the elf girl who’s a thousand years old but is bratty, emotional and naive because why not. The dwarf who likes teasing. Mainly the elf because they’re mortal enemies. Overall, he’s a bit of a clown but he’s serious when it comes to the gruesome game of BATTLE!
Safe to say, I don’t care about any of them. I understand perfectly well how their dynamics work. There’s nothing appealing about them. I especially hate the elf girl because she was featured in two scenes of her slamming her hand on a flat surface in a single episode. That annoying bitch! I mean there was plenty of scenes and key poses that were very derivative all across the board so no surprise I didn’t like them. Next, the interactions of these characters… They did not seem natural. Like, you could tell they wanted to inform the viewers of the purpose for which they kind of do the things they do but it came off as peculiar. For example, the dragon guy. I wanna call him dragonborn so… The dragonborn says out loud that he wants to raise his status and become a full-fledged “dragon”. What preceded him stating this was the priest girl asking everyone “why they became adventurers”. But in-between these bits of dialogue there was a bunch of dawdling with the dwarf saying he’s an adventurer to eat delicious food! (obviously not true) and the elf wants to explore the world outside of her forest (sadly, true) but halfway through her dialogue she was ignored by the dwarf, who was the one that asked her, because he wanted to mess with her a little bit. The dwarf said the food was delicious! The dragon, who was the one that made it responded with gratitude etc etc.
And then after a whole conversation unfolds that he took part in; he says his reason for adventuring. I don’t know how to explain it in text but it was odd. It was like being asked a question; ignoring it for a whole day only to answer it tomorrow. In fact, it was literally that except I exaggerated it a little bit. Still, it felt very disjointed. I think the intention was simply to make him… seem… weird? But… Why? Not everyone has to seem like the most exotic, unorthodox creature in existence. And this bothers me because I know it’ll still be prevalent within the anime medium because it is a medium directed towards an audience, despite their introversion, that want to believe they are special or are watching stuff that are special. And it completely contradicts the point because humans; creatures, in general, are all different. This is exactly what Hayao Miyazaki meant when he, famously, criticized anime which I fully agree with. Another example is when they all turned towards Goblin Slayer; as if in wonderment. As he begins to state his reason for adventuring they’re just like “No, we already know”. Like, I don’t know… It’s weird whenever characters just turn to one person like they did and it happens often in anime. Not only that, but the scene is contradicted right after by one of them simply saying “they already know”.
Let’s wrap it up! Goblin Slayer drinking wine is contradictory to his whole character. One moment he’s stating, to a drunken elf, that he keeps his helmet on at all times in case of an ambush. Says it makes sure he doesn’t fall unconscious. By the way, he falls asleep by the end of this episode. Anyways, he drinks wine. Alcohol. Something that temporarily handicaps his mental faculties. Seems like something he would actively avoid. Don’t know what made tonight so special. In fact, it was a little transparent how they were making Goblin Slayer open up ever so slightly to the rest of the party. Feels like we’re reaching a redemption arc rather quickly.
Oh! I almost forgot the witch-looking lady. The one that smokes a pipe. I really don’t like her because she exists for very obvious reasons. Not just fan-service but she presents a dilemma to the priest girl that was already pretty apparent. “Goblin Slayer just slays goblins! You’re not gonna get much progress with him after awhile”! Yeah, no shit! And explaining the obvious is singlehandedly Goblin Slayer’s biggest flaw. Because it wastes so much time and it makes me care less. Again, just the same problem I talked about last episode.
Her character is equally stereotypical to the rest. She acts like she’s the smartest person in the world and she can just blow a smoke in the priest girl’s face like that’s supposed to make her hot or something but it just comes off as blatantly arrogant. That whole interaction was nothing but dirty and a waste of time. I hated the 3D graphics integrated. They seem to think they’re using it in a way that doesn’t look jarring but it gets progressively worse each episode. The first episode it was bearable. Now, every time I see the 3D version of Goblin Slayer I feel less n’ less hopeful about Japan learning 3D.
Lastly, I do have a minute positive to end this off of: I like the sole fact that the characters in the party interacted in such a way that it is subtly telling that they were a recently put together group. I thought that was executed well enough. I don’t know if I will drop this. I feel like I can push through a little bit longer but I don’t know how much more interesting these posts can be. Fundamentally, the show will remain the same. There is 0 reasons for it to change. So, even if it might wiggle in positive moments it will still be just as bad as it will always be… I don’t know. Let me know if you think I should continue. If not, I drop it here. I make the video, say my peace and move on. I pretty much have everything I need to make a fully informed video even if the anime isn’t done airing. There’s only so much this plot can change.
My Anime Storybook 