LeatherKitten

Goblin Slayer is one of those animes that made me glad that I ignored the harsher critics and watched it for myself. This anime was controversial as soon as it dropped, with people claiming that it was a gross r*pe-fest anime that glorified deviancy and objectified victims, and that’s absolutely not the case.

....Sooo where to start? *semi-spoilers*

This story is set in a world where vicious monsters and beings roam the land, and it’s basically up to renowned heroes or adventurers from various guilds to take care of the problem. However, there’s one monster genre that gets underestimated constantly, and that’s the Goblins, who are notorious for killing, stealing, and yes, assaulting. There’s one guy who’s sick of it though, and that’s the Goblin Slayer.

Honestly? I feel that this series is very much one big anti- sexual assault psa....and it works. Despite how much assaulting and kidnapping the Goblins do, the quests to hunt them down are constantly deemed too boring and trivial by the more skilled adventurers of the land, and are ignored for “bigger” problems like dragons or demons. This kind of attitude oddly enough mirrors our real world and how society will often minimize the plight of real victims and deem sexual assault cases as unimportant compared to other worldly issues. I’m not exactly sure what the word is to describe such parallels between fiction and reality, but I think the message comes through quite clearly. However, the show doesn’t just consist of that. Beneath the gore and mature themes, this series is quite charming at times and the MCs are pretty likable...even the enigmatic Goblin Slayer himself, who one can easily sympathize with despite his candid personality. There are some strong female characters who actually do help and contribute to the plot, and it’s a very well animated series. It’s not super perfect, but it’s far from a terrible show, and overall I’m happy I watched it. I do hope that we can get a second season soon. It’s well warranted.