Goblin Slayer II

Episode 5

After weeks of puttering around with the Goblin Slayer and his stupid new hanger-on Wizard Boy, I'd almost forgotten about how I enjoyed the actual cast of this show well enough. They may not have names, but they still embody effective characters. Most importantly, they convey the all-important dynamic of an adventuring party (tabletop or otherwise), sharing rapport and feeling familiar enough that their effective teamwork is believable. Sometimes, it can be enough to make me wish Goblin Slayer wouldn't bother so much with the rinse/repeat goblin confrontations, and let these dungeoneers hang out for a bit in a sitcom setting.

Thus, I appreciate how that's basically what this week's episode of Goblin Slayer II does. The Ranger's sister is getting married, so everyone gets to excitedly prepare to attend that once-in-a-very-long-lifetime event that is an elf wedding. The initial misdirect that it's the Elf Archer herself getting married does go on a bit too long. But again, it's Goblin Slayer, and I welcome levity. You don't get much lighter than the friggin' Goblin Slayer planning out a vacation, with all the fantasy setting logistics that entails.

Part of the value of the Slayer's party is that they're enjoyable fantasy series archetypes. The audience likes them, and they like the Slayer, so it feeds into sympathetic humanization all around. The team pushes for this vengeance-fueled walking meat locker of man to take a vacation for the sake of all the trauma he's unhealthily hauling around, and that seems perfectly sensible. Will the Slayer attend the wedding in actual formal wear, or simply hot-glue a bowtie onto his armor? These are the burning questions that ought to be answered alongside the writing's suggestion of hiring a goblin-slaying temp while our hero is on his trip. He even gets pushed to bring the Guild Girl along with him!

With the Cow Girl also accompanying the crew on this would-be leisure trip, it sets Goblin Slayer II up to remix its dynamics more than that preceding arc actually did. Sure, noncombatants like both Guild and Cow Girls add an extra layer of worry to the situation once goblins inevitably attack. But they also provide a fresh perspective for the accompanying characters and thus the viewers to see this fantasy setting through. It's not always gearing up for the next goblin-slaying session. There's a time to shop for fun personal items as well or investigate research materials looted during adventures. I'm even decently receptive to the ever more blatant competing affections that the girls are feeling for the Slayer. He is ostensibly cool, after all. Plus there's something inherently amusing about how he's put so much effort into being a stoic sentinel for the Cow Girl while she's simply become more obviously desperate for that sweet, sweet Slayer D. Ganbare, Cow Girl.

Not to say this episode of Goblin Slayer II is entirely the party following fantasy Google Maps while engaging in awkwardly one-sided flirting. Like any responsible employee getting ready to go on vacation, the Slayer has to wrap up some of his previous projects. That's not even really a reductive gag; The heroes clearing out a goblin-captured nunnery honestly is played with all the motions-going of a day at the office. That's in line with the show's usual style of slaying, after all. And to his credit, the Slayer comes off as more pensive about the tragedy and ordeal endured by these nuns compared to the more flippant reactions characters had to the violence last week. It's all matter-of-fact in a way that works this time to sell the reality inhabited by the characters.

It's not a bad way to spend time with these characters while the show is setting up for the next arc. Goblin Slayer is a show that exists at the behest of multiple degrees of "reality" interfacing with fantasy campaigns. So it's nice to have a reminder of one of those facets being the simple, enjoyable interactions between party members. Bringing guests along helps that, acting as a reminder that these people have lives outside of their goblin slaying, waiting for them to return from those potentially lethal adventures. Now if only they could get some names to go along with them.

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Goblin Slayer II is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

You can just call Chris the Goblin Slayer Slayer. You can check out his other adventures over on his blog, or brave the grungy goblin cave that is Twitter.