Goblin Slayer – Ep. 5

An episode without dead goblins? I’m out.

In all seriousness, this episode is pretty good albeit unfocused. What you have here is a series of scenes where Goblin Slayer runs into all his friends while running some errands, all of which are pretty self-contained from each other. I suppose the intent is to offer a better glimpse at Goblin Slayer’s everyday life though it wouldn’t surprise me if this were all just scenes, original or adapted, that got cobbled together to form an entire episode. While that does make things scream filler, I don’t think any of these scenes are necessarily bad. I’ll admit that the action has been gradually earning my approval but it is nice to see Goblin Slayer take a breather and just let the characters interact with each other.

I swear, Cow Girl is becoming my favorite character in this show. That has nothing to do with the fan service (for the most part…); I just really like her chemistry with Goblin Slayer. Childhood friends are a dime a dozen in anime but Cow Girl being one feels rather purposeful. She’s the last connection Goblin Slayer has to his old life not to mention one of the few people who can get inside his head. I really enjoy her conversation with him at the beginning of this episode. She reminds him to get some proper rest and helps him realize that, deep down, he does want to team up with High Elf, Dwarf, and Lizard again. You can just tell that she cares a lot for him and wants him to find some sort of happiness even when he’ll never stop his quest for revenge.

Guild Girl has a pretty noteworthy scene as well. Some promotion exams are happening and she needs an adventurer to observe them for security purposes. Oddly enough, she asks Goblin Slayer to fulfill the role. A bit of a gamble considering that there is no goblins for him to kill. Hell, he was about to walk out the door until he decided to hear her out in earnest. It’s an interesting scene in a couple of ways. For one, I am surprised that Goblin Slayer ultimately agrees to help and observe. Maybe he truly does have time to kill but perhaps he thinks he owes Guild Girl that much since she has treated him with complete respect and even pull some strings for him on occasion (i.e. paying him without getting a detailed report). As odd of a choice it is to seek Goblin Slayer, I can see why Guild Girl picks him. If I had someone like him on my side, I’d probably feel safe too. Even though that scene where he punches that rude adventurer is imaginary, there’s no doubt in my mind that Goblin Slayer would’ve actually done that.

Some of the other encounters are pretty simple though still pretty enjoyable. Priestess reveals she’s been promoted to Porcelain to Obsidian and thanks Goblin Slayer for helping her get there (and you know, save her life in the first place). High Elf asks Goblin Slayer if he wants to help her, Dwarf, and Lizard survey some ruins. I think Dwarf is just there to tease her while Lizard just wants some free cheese (his glee is legitimately charming). There’s not much to really analyze here but these scenes do affirm Goblin Slayer’s newfound relationships.

Maybe I’ve been watching too much anime (oh who am I kidding? That’s just fact) but I haven’t been able to shrug off how many female characters surround Goblin Slayer. For real, is this a harem? Guild Girl and High Elf seem pretty attracted to him from the way they behave. I hesitate to call it a harem though since Priestess and Cow Girl just seem like really good friends at the moment. That and I’m pretty sure Goblin Slayer’s one true love is revenge. Who knows, maybe this is something to look out for. I imagine plenty of shippers already have. Oh and for the record: the post-credit scene introduces yet another female character who’s interested in Goblin Slayer’s services. The list just keeps growing, doesn’t it?

The only part of this episode I’d really consider weak is everything involving those rookie adventures (whatever their “names” are). It’s fine enough; nice to see some characters look past their preconception of Goblin Slayer being some freak. I just wonder why exactly we’re following these two extras killing all of a sudden. Come on, those are rats and bugs they’re killing. Give me my goblin slaying, damn it. Frankly, they look a little too similar to those newbies back in Episode 1. In other words, very disposable. I read somewhere that this plot is actually from a spin-off to the light novel but that only makes me question its inclusion in the anime even more. Do these characters have a fanbase and I just didn’t know about it? That’s really the only reason I can of for why these scenes are here. If not, well, I hope someone watching is at least happy.

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Thanks for reading!

Goblin Slayer is officially available on Crunchyroll.

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