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EP. REVIEW: Goblin Slayer [2018-10-14]


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Stampeed Valkyrie



Joined: 10 Aug 2014
Posts: 825
Location: PA
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:14 am Reply with quote
3rd episode down and I'm still liking it.

The fact that people are still butthurt about it is just a bonus.
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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2858
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:33 am Reply with quote
Grimvice wrote:
Of course it's striking when we've gotten nothing but generic shiny-looking armor in every single lame-ass isekai for the past five years. To us the audience it looks striking, but to the adventurers in the world it looks gross and strange.


adding to your point, and this must be the anime failing, the armour is supossed to always be dirty, covered with goblin blood and fat, as GS wants to smell like a goblin so he inflitrates better. if the aniem is showing the armour as something clean , it's understandably the reviewer does not understand the comments by the adventurers, since the anime is not properly conveying that.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:35 am Reply with quote
Quote:
The scene actually sneaks in some world-building details we haven't heard already, speculating on the space-based origins of the goblins in a way that feels somewhat natural


Wait...what?
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:48 am Reply with quote
belvadeer wrote:
Quote:
The scene actually sneaks in some world-building details we haven't heard already, speculating on the space-based origins of the goblins in a way that feels somewhat natural


Wait...what?


Goblin Slayer (the character) believes goblins come from the green moon.
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belvadeer





PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:19 pm Reply with quote
zrnzle500 wrote:
Goblin Slayer (the character) believes goblins come from the green moon.


Goblins coming from space would be weird considering they're a stock fantasy world race, though I suppose it's not any less weird than FFVIII's crazy plot point about how monsters on Squall's world all came down from the moon.
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#844391



Joined: 09 Sep 2015
Posts: 517
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:25 pm Reply with quote
The only reason he thought they were from the moon was because his sister had said that. All the other party members had their own theories but they were all pretty speculative. Unless this series really wants to pull something out of the far left field I don't think they actually came from the moon unless maybe the world lore involves the gods creating the world and all races in it and the green moon is the goblin god of something.
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jdnation



Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 1994
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 12:26 pm Reply with quote
Started watching this series.

I have to disagree with the reviewer on several things people have already discussed.

I'm not a fan of being overly explicit with regards to sex or rape on screen, particularly by non-humans that pushes it into grotesque territory. But thankfully the show cut away and only spent around 10 seconds on that. So the idea is presented and it was effective enough, and providing this sort of thing isn't exploited visually over and over again as mere shock value without any significant new context, then so far it's fine.

And as shocking as it was, I can see that that was the intent. The first episode intentionally sets that up that this ain't your typical light-novel fantasy world, and that there is a real cost and struggle in this series.

The intention is to make you HATE the Goblins and see them as a threat that needs to be put down. At the same time as the priestess feels sympathy for the Goblin kids, the show also highlights that the world isn't a simple place of black and white morality can apply.

As for the character of Goblin Slayer himself. Yes, he is 1-dimensional so far... I don't see why this is worth complaining about 2-3 episodes in. Quite clearly he's broken and been through some traumatic stuff that made him this way.

Think of the Marvel character - The Punisher. Another 1 dimensional character. but for anyone who's read Garth Ennis' Punisher MAX series, this works very well providing the development given to characters surrounding him for which the Punisher and Goblin Slayer are a force of nature that enters the scene. Goblin Slayer is akin to that sort of genre.

So the 'unstoppable badass' trait isn't a problem. And also unlike most other unstoppable badasses/protags, this one is smart and methodical, and the show's main strengths are in showing how he goes about things that he's learnt through experience. And again, 3 episodes in, we don't actually know that he's unstoppable except when it comes down to dealing with minor goblins, and given how methodical he is, he doesn't actually consider himself an unstoppable badass.

Finally I really don't get the reviewer's confusion about the goblin issue where the gobs are not considered worth dealing with. As others have pointed out, there are bigger problems to deal with, and it makes sense that people can ignore the plight of the lower cast - outer village boony areas. Perhaps the reviewer should take a stay in a developing nation and see how often there are many issues that the local police and politicians don't give a care about - and yes these things include drugs, gangs, theft and rape.

And as usual there are only a minimum amount of people or small charities and agencies that try to raise awareness, but are largely unsuccessful. There's a lack of interest, money and even volunteers. So just as in real life, only very few bother and they do so not out of self-interest because there's nothing much to gain from it.

Just as you'd have rich doctors looking down on someone who could've built a big career studying how to defeat cancer at a big fancy institute with federal funding, but instead chose to work for chump change to help people on the outskirts for 'simple' things like dysentery, leprosy, and poor hygiene, dehydration and other medical complications that people in the big city can overcome with suitable drugs and rest on a weekend or don't have to worry about at all.

It's certainly not glamorous.

And such people can be looked down on either out of ignorance of the good work they do, or a form of inner guilt because they know they could do the same but chose a different path, or simply some social stigmas and prejudices that're part of the climate.

The Goblin problem will likely have to grow more significant than just the rural areas and some village women to be taken note of.

All of this makes sense. The reviewer on the other hand doesn't get this and is confused that the show is presenting and contrasting two points of view.

Why would the other adventurers care if some lower ranks got taken down by Goblins? They're all mercenaries. They all know the risks. So if some soldiers got taken out and or raped/eaten in the process, then that comes with the job and lifestyle. Why would the world suddenly turn on its head to consider the goblins a serious problem because a few soldiers got taken out in the process of doing their job, knowing the risks, especially if they were idiots who got ahead of themselves, and as far as they were concerned, probably meant less competition in the Quest market?

Even Goblin Slayer doesn't care that much and accepts it as their fate. The priestess, being new and still green and naive obviously has to come to terms with this.

The reviewer just brushes all this aside and thinks this is all some cheap writing-gimmick to make us feel sympathy for the character who is misunderstood by his peers... But it all makes perfect sense. Why aren't we allowed to sympathize with him and those he helps? Why aren't we allowed to think differently upon the fact that there are self-serving adventurers acting in a world with real-economics and self-interest and prestige?

I'm entirely puzzled as to why the reviewer sees any of this as a negative. It's not a contradiction in the story or writing.

If anything, it only goes to prove that the shocking events depicted in Episode 1 were effective enough to make the reviewer actually see that the Goblins are a horrendous threat - and this is important - WHEN EXPERIENCED THROUGH THE EYES OF THE VICTIMS.

But for the masses, for those who've never been near or experienced it first hand, the Goblins are a page 9 article in a world where there are bigger political global threat events occurring and also likely after celebrity news and movie reviews.

Goblin Slayer - BEING ONE OF THOSE VICTIMS - AND KNOWING ONE OF THOSE VICTIMS - obviously is devoted to what he does, and obviously in an obsessive way that makes him an oddball and not the most social one, which naturally makes others weary of him and likely to speak badly of him as a co-worker. Even the priestess sees this in his gruff nature although he doesn't mean to be.

But at the same time as we see, there are some who do recognize him and praise him. So it's not that everyone is totally oblivious or ungrateful. But given Goblin Slayer is not one to go around building a name for himself by getting acclaim that naturally comes from top-tier jobs, those who don't know any better have come to some misguided conclusions about him.

As for him being cautious, and yet getting drunk and falling asleep - this only goes to demonstrate that, aside from humour, he is not the perfect unstoppable badass the reviewer is trying to build a case towards. He can make mistakes and poor judgements, and also become more vulnerable when he has allies around him. Which is likely why he prefers to work alone. And why he keeps the other adventurers at length. These are not mistakes in story-writing, they are further developments of a character that one would obviously think is not going to be completely encapsulated within the first couple of episodes...

This is why I think this whole episodic-reviewing thing makes no sense outside of just following along with someone like a reactions video. So outside of rating the episode for its animation craftsmanship and quality, to make broad sweeping judgements or generalizations about a character portrayal or an overarching plot point or the world in which its set, outside of just general passing first impressions, it'd be better to judge things as a season where there is more context to the whole. Rather than just dismissing it off the bat as some lazy written super badass who's misunderstood in a world where everyone is clueless about goblins for some convenient sympathy reason, as this reviewer has done.
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 14 Dec 2012
Posts: 1380
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:41 pm Reply with quote
#844391 wrote:
The reviewer keeps bringing up goblins and how it's unbelievable no one takes them seriously. Goblins are like rodent infestation in major cities today, no one cares about the issue until it gets to be a visible problem.


OK but uh...rat infestations don't purposefully raid neighborhoods, murder dozens of people, raze buildings to the ground, and then kidnap and rape the survivors. Also that comparison doesn't hold when you immediately follow it up with

Quote:
People only care about high visibility issues like terrorism or getting murdered


because terrorism aside, Goblins sure do seem to get up to a whole lotta murder.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2532
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:05 pm Reply with quote
lossthief wrote:
Quote:
People only care about high visibility issues like terrorism or getting murdered


because terrorism aside, Goblins sure do seem to get up to a whole lotta murder.


Ah, but, and I believe the infamous Superman #500 said it best, "That's 'over there', and 'over there' has to deal with its own problems."

Yes, it's a stupid line, but it is a general behavior most people, & countries even, tend to have sadly, i.e. if it's not something that relates directly to them, then they don't care about it as much, if at all. Sure, goblins do a "whole lotta" raping, pillaging, & murdering, but since they're so low on the totem pole compared to other, more looming threats, then those places should be able to deal with it themselves. Unfortunately, when one of those places can't & winds up getting assaulted by goblins, those same people who didn't care in the first place would likely just think of it as natural selection, i.e. those places weren't meant to stay around, because there are bigger & larger things to focus on. If anything, goblins are smarter than most people think by focusing on taking advantage of places were they can, effectively, get away with their actions. I haven't seen anyone bring up how, later in the manga or novels, goblins actually start attacking places that CAN protect themselves from a sudden goblin attack, for example, so it seems like the goblins know exactly where they stand on the totem pole, & are taking advantage of the ignorance & purposeful obliviousness of those in higher positions, like those who have "better" things to do than just go after goblins.

Yes, it's a completely horrible way of thinking, but it's not exactly unrelatable, inconceivable, or even unrealistic, because it's done all over the world, especially in places of higher standing & "world". Sure, there will be people who do care, and there will be those who will be completely dedicated to a cause that others might look at as absurd or pointless when compared to other, more important (in the grand scheme of things, at least), problems, but there will always be more people who simply don't care & will even look down on those who care so much about something that they themselves don't find relevant to the way they see the world.

Granted, I haven't seen any of Goblin Slayer, but I do find the conversation here to be interesting, so I just wanted to bring up my observation about what's being talked about from an outsider's perspective.
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MajinAkuma



Joined: 15 Aug 2014
Posts: 1199
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:22 pm Reply with quote
The zoom on Witch's breasts are actually Priestess's point of view, who envies her for her bust.
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durask



Joined: 20 Jan 2012
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:23 pm Reply with quote
#844391 wrote:
The reviewer keeps bringing up goblins and how it's unbelievable no one takes them seriously. Goblins are like rodent infestation in major cities today, no one cares about the issue until it gets to be a visible problem, and if it doesn't affect you personally and is someone else's problem a lot of people still won't care, even if it can result in entire blocks being overrun and being made unlivable.


Actually it is more like crime in a "bad area" of town. There are shootings every day and no one cares as long as it does not spill over into the "good area".
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durask



Joined: 20 Jan 2012
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:24 pm Reply with quote
Did not like the Sorceress she sounded like she was on drugs...wonder what was in that pipe...
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#844391



Joined: 09 Sep 2015
Posts: 517
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:40 pm Reply with quote
durask wrote:
#844391 wrote:
The reviewer keeps bringing up goblins and how it's unbelievable no one takes them seriously. Goblins are like rodent infestation in major cities today, no one cares about the issue until it gets to be a visible problem, and if it doesn't affect you personally and is someone else's problem a lot of people still won't care, even if it can result in entire blocks being overrun and being made unlivable.


Actually it is more like crime in a "bad area" of town. There are shootings every day and no one cares as long as it does not spill over into the "good area".


That is a better example. I used rodents because I had to personally deal with that once and nobody cared. I do think it is relevant though as level of problems in their world are on another level than ours. We don't need to worry about demons wiping out humanity or mythical monsters destroying our home cities. Against threats like those goblins would be comparable to rodents when compared to what we consider major threats in the modern day which would be high crime rates, low wages or increasing cost of living.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 3:50 pm Reply with quote
durask wrote:
#844391 wrote:
The reviewer keeps bringing up goblins and how it's unbelievable no one takes them seriously. Goblins are like rodent infestation in major cities today, no one cares about the issue until it gets to be a visible problem, and if it doesn't affect you personally and is someone else's problem a lot of people still won't care, even if it can result in entire blocks being overrun and being made unlivable.


Actually it is more like crime in a "bad area" of town. There are shootings every day and no one cares as long as it does not spill over into the "good area".


Right and when a cop enlist with the goal of cleaning up that part of town everybody look down on them. Rolling Eyes
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#844391



Joined: 09 Sep 2015
Posts: 517
PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 4:07 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
durask wrote:
#844391 wrote:
The reviewer keeps bringing up goblins and how it's unbelievable no one takes them seriously. Goblins are like rodent infestation in major cities today, no one cares about the issue until it gets to be a visible problem, and if it doesn't affect you personally and is someone else's problem a lot of people still won't care, even if it can result in entire blocks being overrun and being made unlivable.


Actually it is more like crime in a "bad area" of town. There are shootings every day and no one cares as long as it does not spill over into the "good area".


Right and when a cop enlist with the goal of cleaning up that part of town everybody look down on them. Rolling Eyes


The bad neighborhoods tend to the most hostile to cops. I saw a news story a month or so ago of ambulance medics being chased off by the family and friends of a shot man because they hated any kind of government authority presence.
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