‘Goblin Slayer’ Sets Itself Up as Anime’s Darkest Series

Kumo Kagyu and Noboru Kannatsuki’s Goblin Slayer is one of the more notable anime releases of the Fall 2018 anime season, but it might be gaining infamy rather than notoriety.

After the first episode of the series, fans are noticing just how dark the series is setting itself up to be as not many will be able to even sit through the premiere.

The series’ MMO-like world paints it similarly to other anime series of its ilk as it begins with a young Priestess becoming an adventurer for the first time before realizing just how brutal the world can be. She joins a young an inexperienced party…before they’re helplessly and ruthlessly massacred by goblins. In many narratives, goblins are seen as the weakest of monsters and the same can be said here. But they act much differently in this series.

The goblins in the first episode revel in murder, rape, and other terrible acts with glee and the unexpected violent nature of the series certainly takes fans by surprise. With the series starting off with such an intense, violent act against the main character, it raises the stakes quite a bit for the future.

This is even all before the introduction of the titular Goblin Slayer, who’s a calculating hunter of cede goblins and kills them without mercy. Before the episode’s end, he even kills a group of goblin children because goblins can grow up with grudges and come back to fight adventurers with a vengeance.

The intensity of the series is belied by its initial introduction and cute character designs, but before too long the series makes its mark as what is possibly the most brutal anime of the Fall season. There’s a good chance that no other series this season will go to the same lengths, and fans would not be remiss if they chose to not continue the series after such a brutal introduction. You can’t discuss the brutal nature of the series’ first episode due to many gross details, but hopefully this serves as a fair warning to those unwittingly stumbling on it or for those seeking out its darkness.

Goblin Slayer was first created by Kumo Kagyu with illustrations provided by Noboru Kannatsuki back in 2016. The light novel series tells the story of Priestess as the naive girl goes adventuring with a party in their fantastical world. However, things go south when the group is ambushed by Goblins. With her party slaughtered, Priestess is saved by a hero known as Goblin Slayer whose goal in life is to eradicate the goblin race with extreme prejudice.

Produced by WHITE FOX, the anime is directed by Takaharu Ozaki (Girls’ Last Tour). Hideyuki Kurata (Made in Abyss, Read or Die) will handle the series composition and is writing the scripts with Yousuke Koroda (My Hero Academia). Takashi Nagayoshi (Girls’ Last Tour) is designing the series’ characters, and Mili is composing the opening theme.