For a more visual review; check out this DTube video:
Status: Episode 8
Goblin Slayer - Oh boy, what kind of anti-Goblin propaganda is this show?
If there is any anime this year that deserves the title “Black Sheep”, then you should look no further. So before we talk about what has the show done to earn that title, let us talk about the rest. I'm not avoiding it, I'm only saying that this review is going to focus on the other elements. But oh I promise, we will get to that scene.
Goblin Slayer is fantasy world where the gods plays dice, people and other creature live in a society of ignorance and where Goblins are the worst enemy any beginner could ever encounter. Just look at the little blue mage hood here, she lost her first party to these goblin. And these Goblins doesn’t mess around. Luckily she is saved by not Lancelot. Btw, not Lancelot is our true main character. His main quest is one thing and one thing only, killing all of the Goblins. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too. They're like animals, and HE slaughtered them like animals.
HE hates them!.
Of course not Lancelot is joined by other Not-people who you might recognized as Not 2B, Not Guts and Not Dog.
Now let’s talk about Not-Lancelot, the Goblin Slayer, our main character. He is awesome. Despite what I said about this shows own agenda, he’s a good hunter. He knows not to be too careless, he gets the job done in a efficient way and he is not afraid to finish the job even if it has some moral obstacle. People like to compare him to the Doom guy because of his hatred and attitude against enemies, but that he is more caution and plan ahead. Personally I would say that he is more like a diet Guts from Berserk, since Doom Guy I know is that kind of guy who would turn a pillow into a weapon if he ram it hard enough.
To follow up on this anti-Goblin propaganda, our main character seems to be intentionally building his own harem. Yeah you will see that all the girls he gets contact to him, will start to fall in love for him. I mean he does have a job, but it’s not a job I would see that would attract many wanted attention. I guess it’s true what they say; Fall for the goal and girls will fall for you. But Goblin Slayer doesn’t care of all the thots in thotsville, he just wants to kill all of the Goblin. Which makes me wonder if he ever will come across a female Goblin.
For the rest of the cast, I see them most as supporters than characters of their own. There’s ofcourse nothing wrong with that. What I am saying is that seeing who is the guy who calls the shoots is always the Goblin Slayer, regardless how experience the rest of the other party members are in their area. Maybe I’m too used to teams that everyone is special (question mark)
The animation is decent, yet seems to be not on the same level as the manga expected it to be. Some moments where characters supposedly to have extraordinary reaction has been tooned down. Some of the fights looks more stale and has less things going for them. Even with Goblin Slayer being as a 3D models, he doesn't move as that much. Yet it still noticeable when 3D is switched to 2D. It's not Berserk level but it's not great either. There is also a moment in episode 7 where we stare at some birds eyes as nothing is happening in it’s reflection. Okay...
My biggest concern of the animation or editing is however on this moment, just watch.
[Scene where Rat is smashed]
[Laughs]
They zoomed in on his face! Not like a trick where they changed the shoot, they grabbed their video software and just zoomed on his face like an armature!
I know I do it sometimes, but a professional studio? Da fuck ha [Laughs]
The opening is good, it begins with slow and quiet, until it turns into sharp as the beat speeds up. The ending seems nice as well, I like the helmets point of view.
Okay now that we have gone through the most of it, let’s talk about the scene.
During the failed attempt to slay Goblins in the first episode, one of the party member, who was the female fighter who knew self defence, had her cloth ripped right out off her, bend over in doggy style and raped by goblins. Yes you heard it right, a girl, who was around 15 years old, was raped on screen.
What. the. fuck!
Now I just want to make things clear; this show was aired late night and we didn't see the stick go in the jam. Yet seeing how suggestive this scene was, we can understand perfectly that this was a rape scene.
Let me tell somethings. First; #NotAllGoblins Not all Goblins are depicted as violent, barbaric rapists made of deepest evil you ever can think of. I know Goblins who are hard working, social competence and not at all acting as they are depicted in lore. My goblin friends are offended as hell and no matter of time is this anime ever gonna regain people trust.
Second on a more serious note; First impression is very important. I mean, very important. Your first impression is what people will think of you the first time seeing you in action. If you are running towards the people you’re gonna meat with a hotdog in your hand, you are gonna be known as the hotdog guy. And here, this series will also be known for as having a rape scene in the first episode. Yeah, fans are gonna have a hard time convincing the general public to that this anime isn’t trash from what they heard about the first episode. And if you are going to convince people, please only use this anime in your argument. Don't use whataboutism, it doesn't strengthen your argument consider how other shows are different in story and character. Especially if the show is Berserk.
The point I’m coming across here is that I don’t have a problem with having a rape scene, you can have them. The problem here is how it was handled. Rape is one of the those subject that are very sensitive for the general audience. It’s one of the mines in the minefield that could really blow up if you don’t handled it well. And from the reaction, we can assume that Goblin Slayer didn’t handle it well. I am not saying that it promotes rape, What I am saying that it wasn’t use for anything else than that just to established the goblins naughtyness. Think about, what other points was it to show an onscreen rape? I mean, there must be some purpose other than show it than just imply she was raped. Was it for the female fighter? No, we never see her again. Yeah, as much some like to praise this series for showing character with trauma, they seemed to just cast away this perfect example of a character going through a traumatic experience.
Image people who wanted to see the this gimmick, image going through episodes without seeing another goblin rape scene again? Damn it! I was promised goblins on girl action, why do not serve me more of those scenes? My pants are down now show me the goodie! If you are going to have a gimmick, then you better focus on that gimmick on the first episodes. Sure you kill goblins, but when are we gonna se goblin fuck again? This expectation has made me look at the female cast as potential goblin victims. Oh a new female character, is she gonna be Goblin food? I see a character with big breasts, is she the new plaything for the goblins? And I am not comfortable with this.
Now this wouldn’t had blown up as hard as it did, if it wasn’t for Crunchyroll putting the wrong age-restriction. Now you could say that Crunchyroll wasn’t aware that the anime was going to have that scene due to how they publishes the anime 1 hour after it has been released in japan. That’s fine and all. What I am saying is that the anime is based on a manga and light novel, which is accessible for everyone to see. You see what I mean? If I could find the translated chapters within 4 minutes, then Crunchyroll should had no problem doing the same. This should had been done much earlier than what has happened.
This only stress the problem with that I mentioned before, the story seems to only be interested in Goblin Slayer and none of the other characters if doesn’t involve our hero. Lil mage gets a timeskip after her first encounter, which is direct after she has witness people getting raped and murdered. Btw did I mention this was her first time, and she seems to be fine afterwards. Yeah yeah you get used to it, I understand. What I am concerned about, since I didn’t read the manga or light novel, is that if this series has any chapter or episode dedicated to someone else than Goblin Slayer.
Maybe that the point, question mark?
But hey, it only have been a few episodes so far. Maybe in some weeks it might get to the point of being a dark fantasy deconstruction that some people call it. But as far as I have seen it, it’s too mediocre for my taste. #NotAllGoblins