So I just read ANN’s review of Goblin Slayer for episodes 1-2, and I have to say: what the actual fuck? Let’s take a look at one paragraph in the first review that particularly set me off:

Original Article: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/goblin-slayer/episodes-1-2/.138152

I don’t want to get all pedantic, nitpicking every plot hole and inconsistency, but there are still some glaring issues that mostly come as a result of the disparate fantastical sides of this story being at odds with each other. This is primarily evident in the case of the goblins themselves. One central conceit of this story is that other adventurers look down on the Goblin Slayer for only taking jobs exterminating weak monsters that no one takes seriously, which flies in the face of what the grave danger we’re shown that these goblins present. Inexperienced heroes getting caught off-guard by the horrors of trying to face goblins doesn’t work when we’ve already seen how clear it should be to any adventurer worth their salt that there’s plenty of danger to the prospect of confronting a goblin horde. It makes the lack of regard that the denizens of this world have for goblins and the Goblin Slayer come off as arbitrary, just to force him into the role of misunderstood loner.

ANN’s reviewer, Mr. Christopher Farris here, has apparently never heard of biased perspective before. Indeed, the first and second episodes of Goblin Slayer are indeed structured to illustrate the danger that comes with fighting goblins, despite the public’s consensus otherwise. But the reviewer then goes on to question that if this is the case, why then does the public not re-evaluate their threat?

At first glance, this criticism may appear to be sound, but it ignores a several key details. Christopher said he didn’t want to get “pedantic”, but I’m going to have to do so to illustrate why he’s wrong.

Part 1: Biased Perspective & Negligence

Let us first consider that in the first episode, Priestess and her party of 4 are almost all killed if not for the timely arrival of the titular protagonist, Goblin Slayer. But in the second episode, a similar party of novice adventurers, this time numbering 3, set out off-screen on their own goblin extermination quest and all 3 return alive. This is anecdotal proof that goblin slaying can indeed be handled by a group of novices, a conclusion that is then affirmed by the narration. They may not always succeed, but it is clear the feat is within the realm of plausibility.

Contrast this with Priestess, who on her first adventure was almost killed by goblins. She insists to Goblin Slayer that they try and save the 3 novice adventurers upon hearing that they’ve accepted the quest, which in hindsight was unnecessary. Priestess is generalizing her personal experience and Goblin Slayer’s caution, much like how ANN’s reviewer is choosing to generalize the depiction of a goblin extermination quest in Episode 1 to all goblin extermination quests. This similar trend of vast generalization is also mentioned by Goblin Slayer himself, who recalls the statement made by the male fighter episode 1:

“I chased away a goblin that came to my village once! They’re weak! They’re easy to deal with!” The goblin that the proud youth of the village had chased away was no more than a goblin that had been smoked out and was trying to escape. This gives them confidence, and they become adventurers. Meanwhile, the goblins that survived and gained experience become Wanderers and continue to grow. Eventually, the Wanderers become the leaders of the bodyguards of nests.

So clearly, we can see that goblin slaying is context dependent. There are times when the opposition will be scattered and weak, and there are times when adventurer’s will unfortunately encounter goblins which have grown, as we saw in the case of Episode 1.

The environment is also shown to be a significant factor in the endeavor, with the male fighter making the mistake of bringing a long sword inside a cave, and the entire party missing an alternate route due to a visual trick. Considering that goblins are shown to sometimes attack villages, it should be obvious that not all encounters will take place in a cave.

So having said all of that, we should see clearly that goblins are, in general, weak monsters, and their danger is primarily associated with the carelessness of novice adventurers. In that case, you may make the follow-up argument: why do more experienced adventurers then look down on goblins and disregard quests associated with them? Why would they not be as cautious then as Goblin Slayer?

Once again, the anime answers these questions, something the ANN reviewer disregards. The reason why is demonstrated clearly at the beginning of Episode 2: the reward is poor, to the point where no experienced adventurers would find it worth their while. But money is not the only motivating factor- other adventurers place emphasis on glory and prestige. Experienced adventurers that rank among Goblin Slayer are looking for “bigger prey”, they want to slay dragons, orcs, etc. Small monsters like goblins which can be handled even by the lowest of novices clearly are not in their sight. If we take this information in stride, we can see the clear message: goblin slaying should be easy, but the people best equipped to handle it are not interested. This attitude trickles down to even the novices, who take it for granted that goblins are weak.

Of course, Guild Girl still takes the matter seriously. She actively warns rookie adventurers that goblin slaying is sometimes more dangerous than one might expect, advice that some adventurers do take (as in Episode 2) and others that do not (as in Episode 1). So it’s also clear that the issue is not being overlooked, but simply neglected because it is low in priority.

At this point, the only thing you can criticize is that maybe the government should take goblin raids more seriously and dedicate guards for exterminating them. Of course, this point is concretely answered in Episode 3, as we learn of a demon king B-plot taking place in the background, but even without that information, you could have inferred that the government had other priorities based on the setting, which is clearly inspired by D&D. But I digress- questioning any farther than this will be questioning the realism of fantasy settings in general, which would obviously be a waste of time.

Part 2: Biased Analysis

Now that I’ve established that the basis of Christopher’s review is faulty and negligent of the facts, I want to move on to the conclusion he makes based on it:

This brings me to my major takeaway from Goblin Slayer so far. So much of it revolves around playing up a misanthropic power fantasy. The hero is looked down upon by society at large, but he gets to be an unstoppable badass in his chosen role of goblin-slaying. The elaborate social revenge angle is hilariously palpable in one scene where he’s being mocked by other adventurers, and you can practically hear the story bitterly seething over whatever graphic goblin-based fate should befall anyone who doesn’t respect this underappreciated badass. At least he’s understood by his cute companion Priestess who helps him slay goblins, his cute childhood friend who loves being protected by him, and the cute Adventurer’s Guild clerk who doesn’t judge him for taking goblin-slaying jobs. Goblin Slayer isn’t subtle about pandering to the fantasies of its target audience.

This paragraph actually disgusts me, because it illustrates just how much Christopher has no idea what he is talking about and is just using reviewer lingo to criticize a show that he thinks doesn’t have any substance.

But let’s first break down what a “misanthropic power fantasy” really is, using example. The Irregular at Magic High is the literal definition of a “misanthropic power fantasy” because the protagonist, Shiba Tatsuya, is both a loner and is secretly the best at literally everything. Seriously, he can raise the dead and disintegrate entire peninsulas, all the while being surrounded by beautiful girls who praise him for his genius intellect. But despite his “obvious greatness”, the rest of the magic community discriminates against him because he is bad at moving a box across the floor with his mind (thx scamp).

Now, do we see any similarities with Goblin Slayer? Well yes, we do! The protagonist is indeed a loner, and he is indeed admired by three beautiful girls. Christopher is right to say that Goblin Slayer is pandering to its audience in this way, especially in regards to Goblin Slayer’s childhood friend and the shots of her nude body. Their fondness for the protagonist is indeed a nod towards audience desire, so Goblin Slayer definitely meets some of the criteria that defines a “misanthropic fantasy”.

But does this point support Goblin Slayer being a power fantasy? Absolutely not! In shows like The Irregular at Magic High, Sword Art Online, Accel World, and most isekai anime, the protagonist always has a special power unique to them! In the case of Shiba Tatsuya, he can decompose and reconstruct anything of his choosing. In the case of Kirito, he is the only duel wielder and has superhuman reactions. In the case of Silver Crow, he is the only avatar can fly! And isekais just let the protagonist cheat altogether!

So what is Goblin Slayer’s “special power”? What makes him better than everyone else “in his chosen role of goblin slaying”? The clear answer is experience, and imagination. As Christopher points out in his review, Goblin Slayer’s methodology is simple and mundane. His proficiency comes from learning from failure and long hours of practice; that is to say, all of Goblin Slayer’s abilities are replicable by anyone, even normal human beings.

This is how Goblin Slayer as a series differentiates itself from other fantasy novels/anime. Goblin Slayer does not break the rules. He does not have super strength. He does not have snap reactions. He can’t even use magic, nor does he have special equipment. He is just someone is very dedicated to his cause, who is constantly innovating using scientific methodology to improve his craft.

This is in contrast to Goblin Slayer’s fellow silver ranked adventurer’s, who take pride in their ability to combat “bigger prey”, slay dragons, and solo orcs. Meta-knowledge of the setting implies that these adventurers are powerful thanks to their enhanced strength, fantastical equipment, and martial skill- whereas Goblin Slayer has been consistently portrayed as only about as powerful as a normal man. Because of this, Goblin Slayer is realistically powerful in his chosen field and not very strong outside of it, whereas his peers almost certainly would not have trouble with goblins except in the most extreme of situations. It means that the other adventurers have a reasonable basis for questioning Goblin Slayer’s qualifications, while Goblin Slayer himself pays no mind because he has a different set of values from his peers.

That is to say, Goblin Slayer’s theme as a character is the single-minded pursuit of a goal through hard work, creative thinking, and unyielding tenacity in the face of failure (hint: it’s Batman). He is someone who does what needs to be done, when no one else wants do it, much like a plumber who takes care of the sewers.

This is why Goblin Slayer is not a “misanthropic power fantasy” with a “social revenge angle”. Goblin Slayer is unappreciated by the masses, but so are many hard-working specialists like sound technicians or passionate bloggers. This is not to say that society will suffer (as Christopher likes to imply) for not appreciating these specialists, but simply a gentle reprimand that we should be more aware of efforts of others instead of degrading them for not being a CEO. The fact that Christopher overlooks this nuance is, frankly, indicative of his reviewer bias and gross negligence. He looked at the surface of the show and dismissed it just off of that.

Part 3: The Takeaway

Digibro made a great point at the end of his video review series, The Asterisk War Sucks, where he criticizes audiences for being incapable of differentiating between hot garbage like The Asterisk War and mediocre series like Chivalry of a Failed Knight. I’m levying this same criticism towards Christopher here, because his review of the first two episodes of Goblin Slayer overlooks so much of the nuance of the show that he comes to a conclusion that its agenda is the same as that of an isekai. That isn’t to say Christopher is always wrong; reviewers can make mistakes, and everyone (including me) is the subject of their own bias, but I expect more from a review than this.

Goblin Slayer isn’t for everyone. I get that. There are many other fair criticisms you can levy at this show, such as the pandering and the titillating portrayal of rape, but that’s under the assumption that the criticism is fair. What Christopher wrote in his review was unfair because it neglects key details from the anime, and as a result, his conclusion was generic and biased.