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REVIEW: Goblin Slayer BR/DVD/Digital


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Scalfin



Joined: 18 May 2008
Posts: 249
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 11:10 am Reply with quote
Seif wrote:
SilverTalon01 wrote:
Seif wrote:
It's okay for people to not like shows.


Perfectly ok. However, some of those crossed the line from attacking the series to attacking the people who liked it.

Unfortunately to doctordoom's point, that has resulted in some people then being attacked for not liking things, but that is almost unavoidable when the well is poisoned from the start.


I don't believe any of them are the aforementioned other critics at ANN.


There was a good bit of it from the preview guide, veering into suggestion that any depiction of rape is an endorsement in the vein of "since you're such a big fan of murder" from Hot Fuzz. The general opinion went beyond the switch from light novel to visual medium making a depiction of how dangerous and repugnant goblins are be more uncomfortable for the viewer than likely intended into decrying the series' existence as immoral.

It probably would have died down, but then the same reviewers decided to interpret a show that featured a woman lying as a statement that all women are liars and deserve to be raped and it became a trend.
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Ashabel



Joined: 16 Feb 2010
Posts: 350
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 12:24 pm Reply with quote
SilverTalon01 wrote:
Perfectly ok. However, some of those crossed the line from attacking the series to attacking the people who liked it.


Eh, I find that claim really hard to believe in a topic that has a statement like this:

Quote:
The more people bash this show the more I like it.
It's no award winning masterpiece, but the number of people it managed to piss off definitely makes it anime of the year!


The truth of the matter is that fans of the Goblin Slayer anime adaptation have been actively trying to pick a fight with absolutely everyone they could find, regardless of which part of the show their target didn't like, including other Goblin Slayer fans who didn't like the anime specifically because, frankly, it was more than a bit shit for a whole number of reasons unrelated to its fetishism of sexual assault. The show attracted entire hordes of edgelord kids from the alt-right corner of YouTube who for some reason decided it's the perfect vehicle to "own some libs", to a degree where their behavior surrounding the show ended up being considerably more memorable than the ugly forgettable slop that the show itself was.

It's actually really unfortunate because the original novels are very good and the manga has also considerably improved ever since someone in the editorial has slapped the artist around for showing off his rape fetish at every turn. They didn't deserve a badly animated adaptation with an embarrassing sloppy mess of a script, neither did they deserve a fandom that could give Voltron: Legendary Defender's fandom a run for its money.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 12:45 pm Reply with quote
I rather enjoyed Goblin Slayer due to how the fights in it weren't composed of simply mindlessly slashing with swords or what-not. The anime had some actual tactical combat in it which for me is something that is greatly appreciated and something I was sorely missing from anime since Log Horizon's raid battle. Also enjoyed that they didn't make any of the characters seem ridiculously overpowered. It felt like an actual D&D party adventure.
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Seif



Joined: 16 Nov 2004
Posts: 456
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 1:06 pm Reply with quote
Scalfin wrote:

It probably would have died down, but then the same reviewers decided to interpret a show that featured a woman lying as a statement that all women are liars and deserve to be raped and it became a trend.


That's not at all what they said but you seem to have a particular axe to grind so whatever.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 1:12 pm Reply with quote
It was pretty plain to see that D&D was at least somewhat of a reference to this. The anime did a pretty good job of adapting the source material from what I have read so far. I'm still fairly early on only starting the 7th book now.

@Ashabel... LOL
I question if you have read ANY of the novels with that last statement of yours.
Again this title isn't for everyone, but I stand by my statement. If that makes me ALT-RIGHT... then too bad.
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Ashabel



Joined: 16 Feb 2010
Posts: 350
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 1:30 pm Reply with quote
Stampeed Valkyrie wrote:
@Ashabel... LOL
I question if you have read ANY of the novels with that last statement of yours.
Again this title isn't for everyone, but I stand by my statement. If that makes me ALT-RIGHT... then too bad.


I'm currently up to volume 5. Not that the content of that volume matters, given that the anime only covers the first two volumes while the manga is currently skirting around the climax of volume 3.

I'm not even sure what you're trying to prove with your quip, given that it's very common knowledge that the novels' content is drastically different from the anime both in presentation and tone.

EDIT: Actually, I need to correct myself. Now that I double-checked the manga, it's finished with volume 3 and currently going through the early chapters of volume 5. Volume 4 is a collection of short stories and has been adapted into a separate manga called Goblin Slayer: Brand New Day.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 3:13 pm Reply with quote
I was reading the manga before the anime came out. I liked the manga, and the anime was pretty decent. The anime was an enjoyable adaptation, and did the series good. Especially now that a couple other of my other favorites destroyed themselves out of the anime gate.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:12 pm Reply with quote
Ashabel wrote:

I'm not even sure what you're trying to prove with your quip, given that it's very common knowledge that the novels' content is drastically different from the anime both in presentation and tone.



Interesting.. it's been more then a few months since I have read the first 2 Novels.. but the only glaring discrepancy is the fact that the anime rearranged the chronological time between water town and the Farm Raid. Tone, Humor, and style were the same..

Going by memory the Farm Raid was covered in Vol 1, while Vol 2 was almost completely focused on water town. With some additional banter with his party and I believe some details about the Hero and her party scattered in between.

Water Town is where the 2nd Novel does go into more depth, more so then the few episodes the anime uses to cover it.

Prattling on about how the anime is some horrendous re visioning of the source material reeks of light novel snobbery at best.

Labeling people alt-right because they don't share your view.. well lets just say that makes you sound like something else altogether..

As for the Manga.. haven't had much exposure but from the little I have read.. it's a pretty good adaptation so far.
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Black_Kenshi



Joined: 24 Nov 2013
Posts: 20
PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 11:02 pm Reply with quote
My main beef with the anime is that the brutal murder and rape scenes were only there as a vehicle to hook people in with controversy, and as a very cheap way to show how bad the bad guys are. I was really hoping that, at the very least, the first episode would be a way to show the overall setting about how horrible the world is, or at the very least, show a juxtaposition between the dark underbelly and the people above ground that would eventually would come together.

In the end, I felt like it was a generic fantasy series with the violence thrown in just to show how "adult" the show can be.
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Ashabel



Joined: 16 Feb 2010
Posts: 350
PostPosted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:13 am Reply with quote
Stampeed Valkyrie wrote:
Interesting.. it's been more then a few months since I have read the first 2 Novels.. but the only glaring discrepancy is the fact that the anime rearranged the chronological time between water town and the Farm Raid. Tone, Humor, and style were the same..


That is simply and completely not true.

None of the graphic sexual assault scenes exist int he novel. At most they are given a single sentence along the lines of "something horrible happened in the dark," if even that. All of the POV introspective of characters other than the Goblin Slayer has been removed from the anime, and even his was severely reduced and completely rewritten.

The scene in the novel's second chapter with a villager submitting a report to the guild turns from a 5-page introspective from the Guild Girl that explains the economic circumstances behind goblin quests being unpopular, is turned into a 10-second "lol villagers amirite" comedy skit in the anime.

The scene with the Goblin Slayer ranting about how he is to goblins what goblins are to humans is handled in the novels as something completely embarrassing and ridiculous, a showcase of how badly detached the character is from common sense. He is admonished for it by Guild Girl, who threatens to stop giving him goblin quests altogether if he ever goes on another tirade like that in her presence. The whole scene is very clearly sold as parts of the novels' sense of humor.

In the anime it's reframed as a Dramatic Edgy Dialogue of Awesomeness played alongside GS slaying goblins.

And that's only the first three chapters and how they translate into the first two episodes. The anime is consistently embarrassingly clueless about the tone it's trying to set, desperately trying to sell the audience its own edge while at the same time blunting it by replacing key scenes with generic cartoon slapstick. As a way of translating the original books into generic edgelord action fantasy with harem elements for a broader audience, sure, it succeeds by a mile. But it's in no way an actual line-for-line adaptation of the novels' tone in any way.

Stampeed Valkyrie wrote:
Labeling people alt-right because they don't share your view.. well lets just say that makes you sound like something else altogether..


I never labeled anyone as alt-right because they "don't share my view", rather I attached the term to a very particular scenario that has occurred in the past. You might want to carefully read other people's posts before you attempt to insult them based on their content next time.
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Tanteikingdomkey



Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 2345
PostPosted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:13 am Reply with quote
Black_Kenshi wrote:
My main beef with the anime is that the brutal murder and rape scenes were only there as a vehicle to hook people in with controversy, and as a very cheap way to show how bad the bad guys are. I was really hoping that, at the very least, the first episode would be a way to show the overall setting about how horrible the world is, or at the very least, show a juxtaposition between the dark underbelly and the people above ground that would eventually would come together.

In the end, I felt like it was a generic fantasy series with the violence thrown in just to show how "adult" the show can be.

I would just like to point out how each adaptation of the original light novel LN-> Manga-> anime. how the scene in the first episode is made more sexual then the previous version. I am not saying that the LN is tame, but it is pretty far into the horror territory. mean while the adaptations keep pushing it much farther into titillation territory then keeping it straight horror. Mothers basement actually does a good video on this issue.

Personally, I would have REALLY preferred that like berserk they actually spent a good amount of time and did WAY more about how that trauma affects the cast and how they deal with the fall out from that trauma. I know series puts in some effort in that sense but it feels way more like dan machi 2 or SAO then berserk (or other series that deals with trama actually well).
In the end I wanted this series to feel like it was tackling things it could actually handle talking about, rather then feeling like one of those asexually frustrated DnD campaigns.
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Ashabel



Joined: 16 Feb 2010
Posts: 350
PostPosted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:29 am Reply with quote
Tanteikingdomkey wrote:
I would just like to point out how each adaptation of the original light novel LN-> Manga-> anime. how the scene in the first episode is made more sexual then the previous version. I am not saying that the LN is tame, but it is pretty far into the horror territory. mean while the adaptations keep pushing it much farther into titillation territory then keeping it straight horror. Mothers basement actually does a good video on this issue.

Personally, I would have REALLY preferred that like berserk they actually spent a good amount of time and did WAY more about how that trauma affects the cast and how they deal with the fall out from that trauma. I know series puts in some effort in that sense but it feels way more like dan machi 2 or SAO then berserk (or other series that deals with trama actually well).
In the end I wanted this series to feel like it was tackling things it could actually handle talking about, rather then feeling like one of those asexually frustrated DnD campaigns.


I'd like to point out in response that both Goblin Slayer and DanMachi novels actually do spend a lot of time on dealing with their characters' personal traumas and how they are affected. Both series are actually pretty grounded heroic fantasy in the original books, but have been altered significantly for broader appeal while being translated into anime. Goblin Slayer decided to cater to edgelords by adding lurid rape scenes and scenes of gruesome violence, while DanMachi went the opposite direction of making things considerably tamer (Bell is much sassier and hornier in the novels than he is in the anime).

I overall understand why changes were made from a marketing standpoint, but that doesn't mean I have to like them.
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Tanteikingdomkey



Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 2345
PostPosted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:49 am Reply with quote
Ashabel wrote:

I'd like to point out in response that both Goblin Slayer and DanMachi novels actually do spend a lot of time on dealing with their characters' personal traumas and how they are affected. Both series are actually pretty grounded heroic fantasy in the original books, but have been altered significantly for broader appeal while being translated into anime. Goblin Slayer decided to cater to edgelords by adding lurid rape scenes and scenes of gruesome violence, while DanMachi went the opposite direction of making things considerably tamer (Bell is much sassier and hornier in the novels than he is in the anime).

That is pretty surprising to hear about dan machi. in the anime bell comes across as a I don't know what a boob is flustered at any possible mention of sex protagonist. And him touching let alone dancing with eiz is portrayed as a huge step forward in their relationship.

Maybe the book for the haruhime arc is way better, but to me that snapped dan machi world and tone in half to me, ESPECIALLY the ending to that arc. spoiler[Hand waving away her sexual slavery is a HUGE WTF NOPE moment to me. The constant bell is going to be raped jokes, and other we are evil because we like sex and will force it everyone (Hi hermes) and not touch on it again, while the good guys are going to be the pure virgins on white horses to save the day is the type of SAO level writing that bugs the crap out of me when I see it on such a sensitive topic.]
Point being if you aren't going to actually talk and deal with the topic well then just don't. It is not a short cut to make people hate someone, or make the hero look good. There are other ways to do that, that don't bring up some really terrible real world trauma in escapist fiction.
maybe the books for goblin slayer actually dial down the material so much that the incident to fall out makes it actually work out, but this is about the anime.....which oh boy that is not the case.
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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:06 am Reply with quote
Quote:
That is simply and completely not true.


Whatever there bud.. the fact is the Anime is still a pretty good adaptation of the source.
If you want 100% read the Novels.. The crying foul over the first episode is getting more and more droll the more I hear it. The novels reference what happens several times beyond just one line, so I'm not sure how an animated medium is supposed to handle what is inferred when its using animation to tell the story.. not Words.. Try Again.



Quote:
But it's in no way an actual line-for-line adaptation of the novels' tone in any way.


If you can name 1 anime that is line by line of its source I would be impressed. I shouldn't need to repeat myself again, but that anime still does a pretty good job capturing the overall tone of the source material.




Quote:
I never labeled anyone as alt-right because they "don't share my view", rather I attached the term to a very particular scenario that has occurred in the past. You might want to carefully read other people's posts before you attempt to insult them based on their content next time.


Right.... again LOL. (Insert Piccard Face Palm here)


My statements haven't changed.. the Anime is still a pretty good representation of source Material (3rd time). It's not perfect, and I still find endless amusement in watching the Salt come from people who maybe shouldn't be watching if they can't handle it.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 2:21 pm Reply with quote
Ashabel wrote:
. . .while DanMachi went the opposite direction of making things considerably tamer (Bell is much sassier and hornier in the novels than he is in the anime).

Er. . . what? I've read all of the DanMachi novels to date that have been published in English and haven't seen that at all. The anime version of Bell is quite consistent with the novel version.

Tanteikingdomkey wrote:
Maybe the book for the haruhime arc is way better, but to me that snapped dan machi world and tone in half to me, ESPECIALLY the ending to that arc. spoiler[Hand waving away her sexual slavery is a HUGE WTF NOPE moment to me. The constant bell is going to be raped jokes, and other we are evil because we like sex and will force it everyone (Hi hermes) and not touch on it again, while the good guys are going to be the pure virgins on white horses to save the day is the type of SAO level writing that bugs the crap out of me when I see it on such a sensitive topic.]

Actually, the anime is an improvement on the point you're referring to; the hand-waving is even worse in the novel. And I'll disagree that the spoiler["Bell is going to get raped"] stuff was purely played for humor.
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