English Dub Review: Goblin Slayer “Unexpected Visitors”

The Fellowship of the Desolation of Five Livers with Alcohol

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Word of Goblin Slayer’s accomplishments spread fast, so much so that a party consisting of a High Elf Archer (Mallorie Rodak), a Dwarf Shaman (Barry Yandell), and a Lizardman Priest (Josh Bangle) arrive to recruit him for a quest. A demon king has resurrected near the capital and is gathering forces to take over the world. GS refuses outright since he’s not into fighting anything but goblins because they are the bigger immediate threat. That is until they mention the demon king is also using goblins, after which he quickly changes his tune.

The Priestess wants to go too as she has on every goblin mission lately, but GS tells her she should rest. She gets discouraged by this, though talking to a witch helps her to understand how necessary his work is, which strengthens her resolve to keep adventuring with him, even when he initially plans to go alone.

The party makes camp for the night and everyone gets to know one another, sharing food and talking about their reasons for adventuring. The Elf wants to see the world, the Dwarf merely wants to eat new food, and the Lizardman wishes to become a dragon by doing good deeds. When it comes to GS, it’s naturally because of goblins. Eventually, the topic turns to wonder where exactly goblins come from, with many differing theories. Maybe they come from underground or appear when people misbehave, though GS believes they come from the green moon above them and envy people on the ground.

At the temple where the goblins reside, the Elf takes the first arrow shot, killing the guards and allowing the party to enter.

OUR TAKE

It’s just worldbuilding upon worldbuilding this week, no doubt in part to the clear D&D influences, especially the opening narration’s reference to gods using dice to determine outcomes. They’re prevalent in the Opening, but this was the first time it really felt like a campaign as I’ve heard of them. I’ve never really gotten into it myself, but recent tabletop gaming shows have made me at least more acquainted with how they work, and this felt basically like a game the author had played, or maybe even written, in the past but now applied it to an actual story. Though something tells me that these new characters’ prevalence in the Opening probably means they won’t be rolling any 1’s in the near future.

As for how they are AS characters, they all effectively fill out usual character archetypes like being stubborn or stoic or jokey, and that’s all they really need to be for now. Their main purpose here is to give Goblin Slayer a bigger group of people to work off of, as well as a highlight to just how low-level his work is in comparison to bigger dangers. We learn here that there’s a demon king who’s trying to take over the world, but it’s really just something disconnected from the focus of this story. For some other hero, that’s their big battle to conquer, but this is about the people who fight the smaller battles we normally wouldn’t consider.

GS only cares about goblins, and his life almost exclusively revolves around fighting them. Meeting these three new companions who have their sights on greater threats and goals highlights his uniqueness as a protagonist, but also how depressingly limited his life is in terms of fulfillment. These three are all representatives of bigger armies who have made an alliance to stop a world-ending crisis, but he is just some kid who has made it his sole purpose to fight one kind of monster until he dies. At least he has this chance to make new friends this time, or strengthen a bond with someone like the Priestess, but his existence is a pretty solitary one, at least for now.

That said, his sole focus on goblins also shows how he is a necessary force in a world where most might only look to fighting something like a demon king. Defeating something that plans world domination is important, but many people get caught in the crossfire of that and then get ignored because their sacrifice was deemed necessary. I don’t know if this means GS is necessarily a “hero of the people”, but next week should prove how much his view of the world could benefit his new friends.

Score
8/10