Goblin Slayer II

So after this season finale today I decided to write a review for this. So season 1 I enjoyed it a fair bit enough to wanna watch season 2, but i'm giving this season a 4 overall because I felt like the whole show was watered down and kinda felt more like a "FeelsGoodMan" show. Season 1 left me with a gritty and realistic view on fighting goblins and stuff. Season 2 IN MY OPINION had a lot of filler and I kinda got bored and stopped watching for a few weeks then binged the rest of it. I understand seasons can't have the same kind of drama if that makes sense, but still I got rather bored with most of the episodes. There were maybe 2-4 I enjoyed and watched the whole way through. I understand the season was for growth for some of the characters, but we go from most of the characters were able to handle their cool in tough scenarios to freaking out and needing the Slayer to do the heavy lifting. I get that he's the main MC and needed the spotlight, but come on... I feel like growth isn't good in season 2 when you showed us how strong some of the supporting cast can be in season 1. I probably won't watch another season, if I do. Hopefully they find a way to take us back to what season 1 felt like. Again, I understand that seasons and character growth is important, but season 1 felt good with how everything played out, then we got handed a watered down season. THAT IS MY OPINION. Thanks for reading.

The first episode of Goblin Slayer season 1 is one of the most iconic episodes in anime history. An extremely traumatic experience for many that set the tone for one of the generation’s premiere dark fantasy stories. In the 7 years since that episode, we’ve waited patiently for more of the story(movie aside), and I’m personally really content with this second season. It’s not as edgy and gory as season 1, but still retains much of the same charm that made me fall in love with this series. So right off the bat I’ll let you know that Goblin Slayer season 2 is quite different from the first. Whereas the first season had a clear narrative thanks to the wild first episode, that Goblins were evil and needed to be eradicated for the good of the world, season 2 kind of floats all over the place. It’s a lot more slice of life oriented, has more fan service and does a better job of showing the human side of Goblin Slayer. That’s not going to be for everyone, but I enjoyed it a lot more than season 1 actually. Yea, killing goblins is cool and all, but getting to know the side characters on a more intimate level has really taken my enjoyment of the series to the next level. I felt like after season 1, I still didn’t even know priestess and high elf archer were, now I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of what makes them tick as people. Goblin Slayer himself feels more human and down to earth in this season too. We see a vulnerable side of him that makes him a more compelling character. There’s an arc in the beginning of the season with a new character, where we actually see the big guy breakdown and shed tears! I mean, for someone who seems so robotic and hell bent on a revenge mission, it can be easy to forget he’s a regular human fighting to protect those he cares about in a seemingly nevernding struggle. For those who don’t know, the Goblin Slayer books are pretty episodic. There’s not a continuous overarching arc other than the theme of GS wanting to eliminate Goblins. The second season really reflects that with 4-5 major mini arcs over the course of the season. I enjoyed all of them, some more than others, but on the whole they were all pretty good. The action does feel a bit toned down compared to the first season, which I had a feeling would happen with the studio change, but it’s still pretty good as well. Speaking of the new studio, on the whole I think they did a good job of replicating White Fox’s look and feel. Production quality is very solid, in fact I believe some of the old staff still worked on this so the transition wasn’t as jarring as it sometimes is. The world of anime has changed a lot since the first season dropped. There’s more dark fantasy shows than ever now and so GS might not stand out as much as it once did to some people. The lack of an overarching story could also be a turn off for some. For me, I just love this world, I love GS as an MC and clearing out a Goblin hideout never gets old. I enjoyed this season and I’ll miss it a lot. GS II gets 8, out of 10.

Decent art/animation -- not bad but nothing crazy. Decent audio/sound quality -- good voice acting and sound effects; little to no soundtracks throughout the episodes; solid opening and ending songs. It was nice getting to know new characters this season, but there wasn't a lot of development. I'm not attached to any one of these characters, which is a letdown for me. There also was little to no character development. In fact, my perception of Mr. Goblin Slayer has perhaps went down, just b/c of how stagnant he is. At least he knows what he wants and continues to chase that? (Slaying goblins) Moreover, I actually really liked season 1 b/c of how intense and fast-paced it was. Season 2 was a lot slower, which again, is a bit of a letdown for me. Overall, this was a fine sequel -- nothing crazy but not bad either. But I do think this deserves a watch if you're a Goblin Slayer fan. And the last episode actually sets up season 3 pretty well. (The not revealing of the face of two new characters.)

Goblin slayer season 1 was nothing legendary but it was a decent watch with a good idea that was well executed. The second season in comparison feels like a drag to watch. It feels filler-ish even when the main story is taking place, the character interactions are decently fun to watch, the action is pretty mediocre compared to season one. the one saving grace is the final arc, which is also pretty mediocre compared to season 1.i dislike long and draggy reviews so to sum it up: Animation: 6/10 Story: 2/10 Characters: 6.5/10 Pacing: 5/10 Sound: 7/10 overall: just skip, its a waste of time.

With the change of studio also came a change of direction and I really don't like it. The changes are overwhelmingly bad and some downright bizarre. Of course, what they were trying to accomplish with these changes became apparent almost immediately. They tried to turn Goblin slayer into a much less edgy, more generic and family friendly fantasy without realizing that those qualities were what made the first season good. The first and most obvious change would be in the artstyle. Most of the character went through a completely unnecessary redesign. I don't think that a single character looks better, most are about on par and there are some real stinkers. By far the worst would be the Lizardman. His body looks fine, but what the hell did they do to his face? He looks like he got run ower by a road roller. Some of these changes even have unwanted character implications. Case in point, why the hell is Goblin slayers' armor so fucked up? In the first season, the armor had clearly seen some heavy use, but it was still in good shape. Does the preparation autist no longer care about his gear or what? The voice acting went through a similar change and, once again, some are more affected than others. Keep in mind that these are the same people who voiced the first season, so this clearly is a direction problem. The worst offender would be the Witch. In the first season she comes off as the femme fatale seductress, but now, because of her design getting severely nerfed and her voice actress completely toning it down, she comes of as mentally retarded since ... she ... still ... speaks ... slowly ... like ... this. The rest of the show doesn't fare better. The brutal violence and gore has been severely toned down and many of the edgier effects (like the famous glowing eye) don't get used nearly as often and when they do, they are nowhere near as cool as they used to be. The soundtrack is similarly disappointing. Both the opening and ending are complete ass. I am honestly shocked that Mili produced a song this boring. The rest of the soundtrack is fine and there were a few tracks I would consider to be above average, so it's not as bad as the rest of the presentation, but man, the opening really stings. So what about the story? The second season continues with the episodic approach, covering three separate arcs. The first arc is about helping some newbies. In all honesty, this arc had some potential. Goblin slayer helping people (albeit indirectly) was a thing in the first season, so him taking a more hands-on approach could have worked. The wizard boy having a connection to the party and becoming a new member of the cast could have worked. Sadly, it doesn't. The Wizard boy is way too annoying and up his own ass to take him seriously. His connection also never gets revealed to him and fundamentally leads nowhere. The arc ends with some goblin slaying as is the tradition, and then the newbies fuck off to bother someone else. In short, this arc had some potential but it doesn't go anywhere with it. The other two arcs cover an elven wedding and a missing princess. Both of them are complete waste of time with little redeeming about them. Another problem with season two would be the world in general. In the original, goblins were a weak but cunning race that mostly just killed farmers and beginner adventurers. The silver adventurers didn't fight them, not because they couldn't handle it, but because they simply didn't give a fuck. Goblin slayer wasn't some big shot adventurer who overwhelmed everything he fought with raw stats. He was in fact quite weak when compared to people of similar rank, and he mostly got by simply because he had his preparation down to a fetish-like level, and he fundamentally knew what he was doing. It wasn't exactly competence porn, but it was close. This, combined with the occasional thinking outside the box, made him really fun to watch. He also had his "Florida man too angry to die" moments, but there were relatively few of them and they were very much the exception. He was an intelligent but mentally broken /pol/tard who knows goblin on farmer crime statistics by heart and can't help himself but think about goblins every waking hour of his life. Now, even the first season wasn't exactly blameless here and the conga line of women who can't wait to get it on with a mentally deranged creep was a bit awkward at best. The second season pretty much completely gives up on this premise. The goblins are now a nation-destroying threat that everyone ignores because they don't like being alive, I guess. This is by far the worst in the third arc when a princess gets abducted by goblins, and they hand this job to Goblin slayer. They try to explain why the army can't interfere (although very poorly), but it's not like they can't hire some higher-ranked adventurers. I mean, it's not like the king himself is a super ultra legendary turbo knight megalodon 3000, who could solo the entire thing in a minute or anything like that. What a shame. Goblin slayer has also gone through some changes. No longer the cunning professional, he has turned into the one stat checker to rule them all, putting old Aatrox and Sion to shame. Even the studio realized that this simply wasn't going to work, and so they attempted to give him some 200 IQ moments, but they were lacking at best and completely nonsensical at worst. I mean, I am not exactly a font of practical knowledge, but even I know that drinking alcohol to get warm during a blizzard would not only not make you warm, but seriously speed up your death. How that scene made it into the show is beyond me, but I guess it might be in character for the new Goblin slayer, since he had a personality change as well. No longer the anime version of Doomguy (or that chaos dude from Final Fantasy), the new goblin slayer could be described as a mentally unstable boy with a dark past from Tumbler. Of course, the ladies love this new version of him even more than the old one, with Sword maiden pretty much throwing herself on her knees and begging him to fuck her. It's bewildering. In short, the second season of Goblin slayer has abandoned its own premise and did away with most of the more "problematic" parts of the story in order to appeal to a wider audience. This resulted in the season turning into a gray fantasy sludge with its only distinguishing feature being the name of a once beloved franchise. Not recommended.

Almost-perfect sequel, 9/10. Goblin Slayer Season 2, like Vinland Saga Season 2, focuses a lot more on the philosophical-esoteric aspects of the story and main cast rather than the fights. That being said, the sequel may not be for everyone who came for the fights - don't get me wrong there's still plenty of cool fights but the combat was more intense with higher stakes and cooler set pieces in Season 1. However, this change allows more of Goblin Slayer's party, personality, and history to be fleshed out, as well as more of the DnD setting to be explored. He gets to explore elven lands, go to the royal capital, etc. with my favorite running gag being him casually and efficiently dispatching monsters way above his weight only for him to nonchalantly brush it off and state how goblins are more troublesome. Meanwhile characters such as the Priestess and Elf Archer get their own side stories focusing on themes like Priestess' struggle with her faith in her earth goddess, her inexperience and maturity relative to her party, and the Tolkienian theme of mortality and love between a long-lived race and short-lived race. The show communicates this pivot towards more DnD worldbuilding by showing off races we never saw in the first season, which was very human-centric, such as a centaur waitress at the guild within the first episode and more exotic monsters. The show also makes Goblin Slayer experience a Ryan Gosling moment by the end of the second episode but he bounces back by the end of the arc, reminding viewers he's only human and though he makes mistakes he's still a real hero. This alludes to the more mature themes this show later explores in detail regarding our protagonist's gradual re-humanization, his long term goals, his dreams, his larger macroscale impact on the world around him, etc. On the surface, the premise is simple but the worldbuilding and themes this season explores gives it a lot of depth, just like the novels. The ending (credits animation) places a lot of emphasis on Cowgirl, Elf Archer, and Priestess highlighting their increased presence in the spotlight this season. The opening alludes to this a bit with that closing shot of Goblin Slayer walking towards Cowgirl and the farm as a place of peace and refuge similar to how Russell Crowe's character walks the Elysian fields in Gladiator, but I digress. I can go on analyzing every frame, episode, etc. but just watch the show and/or read the novels - you'll see what I mean. All in all, this sequel is a perfect follow-up to Season 1 in my professional, biased, but based opinion as it places more of a focus on the human aspects of Goblin Slayer, his party, and the side characters they interact with. People from Season 1 (and the movie) make reappearances and contribute to the story, Goblin Slayer gets to kick goblin ass in fashion, and his folk legend status grows ever more. Basically if you like mature stories with depth, good worldbuilding, and goblin genocide, then this season is right up your alley! Reviewer’s Rating: 9

The charm of the first season disappeared with the animation studio, the first season was made without censorship and was cruel this season was externally boring As much as I liked Goblin slayer for the first season, I missed season 2, but it's good that the anime got a sequel, but it's gone They censored it so now I could have my 8 year old cousin watch it. Goblin Slayer season 2 is simply disappointing not awful, The only thing Lidensfilm brought was at Some fight phases with Goblin slayer no longer use CGI as they used in the first season but honestly I would have preferred a little CGI than this censorship.

To quote Goblin Slayer himself from this series: "Nothing changed. We accept a quest, head to the location, slay goblins, save any prisoners, and go home. That is everything. [...] This road doesn't end. It's neverending. [...] That's all there is." I enjoyed the first season of this show, it had a lot of promise. However, everything in this season is filler, you could skip to the next season when it comes out and you probably wouldn't notice much difference. It isn't a spoiler to say so, because there is nothing to spoil. Whenever a new plot element is introduced, it is immediately resolved with no lasting consequences, usually not even through the work of the main cast. We even had what was effectively a beach episode, AS WELL AS a bathhouse episode this season, further showing the author's complete bankruptcy of imagination. Having irrelevant minor details that no one cares about carry over between episodes is not a narrative through-line, it can't even really be called connective tissue, especially when it sets up nothing and leads nowhere (other than one good joke, even if the setup was very forcibly shoe-horned in and doesn't really make any sense to have been brought up in context). The show's strengths at its peak were some aspects of the worldbuilding (the goblins in particular are great antagonists), as well as the creative combat tactics and well-done fight scenes. However, even these aspects of this season were mediocre compared to past instalments. Most of the characters were always shallow, but had potential and could've been made into something more with actual development. - I have more affection for Lizardman this season, whose weird sayings and philosophising are endearing. - Goblin Slayer himself is generally quite intelligent and his struggles at socialising are somewhat compelling, even though he doesn't make any real progress beyond hinting that maybe he is starting to want something more than just killing goblins. Shocker. - Priestess had (note the past tense) grown so much by the end of Season 1, yet here she is flanderised and forced to relearn what she already learned, and fails to develop further. - Dwarf and Elf pretend to do the Legolas-Gimli thing as always, but they're just running through the motions without any substance behind it, and are basically there for their fight utility rather than bringing anything to the table as people. - Musume the farmgirl redhead is very wholesome, but does nothing new. - Blind Archbishop Chick is pathetically needy and loses what was left of her mystique, boiling her down to the sole character trait of "horny for the protagonist". None of the other side characters have anything useful to contribute, and in many cases are just boring or annoying (especially the Mageboy Lemming who insists on being incredibly obnoxious) and therefore are a detriment to the show. Oh, and of course, it's not just the Archbishop; all of the female characters take it in turns drooling over Goblin Slayer. I wouldn't mind if it was one, or two, or even three of them. But all of them? Really? It gets a bit much after a while, no other men exist in this show apparently. Nor does this infatuation cause any complications for them. There are no rivalries between them, no drama, no bad decisions, just a couple of pining monologues while they stare longingly at our favourite Goblinslaydalorian from afar. And the goblins just follow them around everywhere, even when they leave their initial zone and travel to a distant land. There isn't any variety in enemy types, or really even in action scenes. It's just "wow, we stabbed and clubbed them goblins real good" for the umpteenth time, with occasional gimmicks that are a bit weaker than past instalments. Shame. I hope the author gets their act together, because it's a waste of this show's potential to carry on like this.

Ever since I watched the first season of Goblin Slayer, I knew I heavily disliked it, but the exact reasoning behind it kind of eluded me. I obviously had some grounds for this strong distaste towards it, but only now, after finishing the second season, I attempted to fully understand this repulsion and list all the things that bother me. It was easier to do so as this season showcases all the faults with the series way more jarringly, as well as introduces some new ones. - In the 2nd season, it is already made implicit that goblins are the biggest evil in the universe because the 1st season presented it so much that it doesn't need any further explanation. We know that goblins bad and our main guy wants to slay them. And a few years ago when the 1st season came out, I've already found this aspect of worldbuilding very cheap and one-dimensional; it was enough to prevent me from immersing myself in the story because of how shallowly the main focus of it was treated. Goblins harm people simply because it is in their nature to do so, and they devise many devious tricks to ruthlessly carry out their vicious deeds. We have seen multiple times that they are not weak creatures and their minds are fully capable of well-planned, dangerous attacks. There is more than enough ground for everyone in the world to realise that, and yet, there is still this continuous pattern of people underestimating goblins and thinking of them as weak creatures who you just laugh at and look down upon. How the hell has no one else besides the main party and some other individual characters come to the conclusion that goblins are the real shit? Especially after them straight up invading villages and injuring or killing so many adventurers in plain sight? It's very easy to just blame that on people's misguided prejudice, making everyone aside from the main cast ignorant of reality when it comes to this one aspect for some reason. If the problem in question was approached reasonably, the anime would lose its main driving force - an autistic dude and his friends who are the only ones who know the truth about the goblins and try to get rid of them - because it didn't give two fucks about carefully establishing it in the first place. - Another problem I had with the anime even while watching the 1st season was the emptiness and the lack of personality of the characters. They seem to possess a few traits only, and literally everyone feels like a caricature without any depth. I think I can describe the main party with a few words for each of its members - Goblin Slayer is a cool loner who wants to carry out his revenge and eradicate goblins while being inept at social interaction; the Elf is playful, impulsive, and adventure-seeking; the Priestess is shy, naively kind-hearted, and she looks up to Goblin Slayer, wanting to better herself based on her high opinion of him; the Lizard is a polite Stoic who loves cheese and his religion; the Dwarf is a cheerful old man who likes to drink. There is very little to them besides that, seriously. There is a small arc at the elven village, but no further information about the Elf came out of that. - Speaking of the elven village, I really wished for the anime to focus on how their lives and perspectives differ from other races, which would build on the fantasy world it is set in. I wanted it to say something actually interesting and informative, and expand upon its setting. But unfortunately, Goblin Slayer didn't do that, and the elven village ended up being used simply as a background for the goblin slaying. The things we are told about the elves are superficial, and the anime does not delve into the subject but merely scrapes it instead and calls it a day. Apart from learning virtually nothing about them, and certainly nothing worthwhile, we are also left with having no idea what part they play in the entire scope of things. And I feel like the same thing happens with every single character or place introduced - we get a surface-level exposition treated with no care which only purpose is to somehow connect them with goblins. No insight into the geopolitical and biological landscape, no effort in establishing the relations between the characters, nothing. I don't understand it, what's the point of any attempts at constructing plot elements when they are only used as a vapid stage for an epic Call of Duty montage or a cringy and lifeless slice of life? - Complaining about the story a bit more, it is fragmented and doesn't feel like a continuous experience. The characters do one thing, there is a short conclusion of an arc, and then they just start doing something else. I know some shows like to have it episodical, but I don't think this was the aim of Goblin Slayer, at least it doesn't seem to be that way for me - I think it's just awkwardly glued together without enough content to link the events. Shit just happens, but I don't find it connected; something might as well be taking place years before or after. It's like everything was haphazardly placed without any thought behind it. - When it comes to the atmosphere of Goblin Slayer, I still find it hilarious that the controversial sexual assault at the very beginning of the 1st season tricked everyone into thinking that this was going to be the most brutal and realistically (for the presented setting and its intrinsic rules) dark anime out there with a cruel and unforgiving world that doesn't care about your feelings. After that tasteless introduction made purely for shock value, the series began to show its true colours - dullness, repetitiveness stemming from the lack of ideas, and an overall subpar uninspired fantasy anime shit. Another thing I also found very irritating was this almost mechanical division between the happy-go-lucky moments, with the main characters engaging in the most unnatural and unfunny banter you'll ever hear, and the precarious battles. - With the studio change from White Fox to LIDENFILMS, the animation quality takes a dive. A lot of the sequences look very cheap, with, for example, repeated, unnatural movements to lazily fill the space when characters talk. The backgrounds are very simple, but in a bland, underdeveloped, and uninteresting way. I particularly remember this one scene where the gang arrives at a big city near the end of the season and the priestess is in absolute awe of the place, but when I saw it, I thought it looked like shit - Steam Workshop-like textures of bare-bones and boring buildings without any style to them make up the entirety of this city's random ass and ugly urban planning. - The attempt at introspectiveness at the end was a laughable icing on the cake. It provided no insight whatsoever and amounted only to a dumbed-down reiteration of the premise, making the caricatural Goblin Slayer look like an even bigger caricature of himself. The last words uttered in this season are "I go on adventures and slay goblins. That's what I chose to do. And then... Nothing will change.", and I think this is very fitting in regard to the whole series. With even so many of the fans disliking it, the second season of Goblin Slayer is an even more unlikeable creature devoid of any substance, the initial popularity of which I completely fail to understand.

Goblin Slayer huh? While I’m always up for giving shows a second chance (the movie doesn’t count), this season of TV proved once and for all that this show just isn’t the stuff. When writing fantasy stories, I believe it’s of utmost importance not just to change one singular thing about the already existing formula. Multiple unique or interesting ideas/concepts need to be featured in your story in order to distinguish yourself from the exhaustive ocean of run-of-the-mill, lazily thrown-together fantasy shows that this medium boasts. Goblin Slayer, in my opinion, does absolutely not check any of the boxes here, but instead constantly and awkwardly falls back on the ONE selling factor that the show has: Goblin Slayer himself. There is nothing special to the world presented in the series, none of the characters are ever intriguing, and the story never goes anywhere. I mean, the characters are even named “Elf”, “Lizardman”, or “Dwarf”, like Jesus Christ, this just makes it look like the author themself have no respect whatsoever for their own work. In short, the writing is an absolute mess, and it doesn’t really get any help from the team who produces the show, considering the uninspired art style, janky animation, non-existent directing, and forgettable music doesn’t do it any favors. The one praise I can give the show is that you sometimes get presented with some pretty neat techniques that Goblin Slayer uses in his goblin slaying, as opposed to always resorting to his brute strength, which many other stories would’ve done. This actually somewhat elegantly conveys his expertise and experience in the field, but as soon as you start to take things seriously, “Cow Girl” shows up again and shatters whatever little immersion you had in the story up until that point. Like, am I supposed to take the show seriously, or is this one where you just enjoy the cool fights and move on? The action is extremely lackluster, so I sure don’t hope that’s the case. Maybe I’m missing something, but I think that it’s really evident that this show still runs on the fumes that the first, “controversial” episode of season 1 produced, not delivering anything new for the consumer or content of value.

Goblin Slayer 2 for the amount of time we had to wait for it... Could be better. There are parts of GS2 that I welcomed, but as a whole it wasn't all that engaging to follow, especially considering the OVA was pretty good and it was fun to watch. Let's get it out the way with the better parts of the show. It does give is a lot of exposition, lots of worldbuilding and expands our (as a viewer) understanding and knowledge of the world. And it always shows how goblins are this menace that you have lurking in the background of the world never to leave it alone and where our band has to fix this issue time and time again while the majority choose to ignore it, until too late. Sounds good and it brings some fun moments and a fresh perspective to the world, however it's not that fun as the pacing of the show is atrocious. It wastes simply too much time on camera pans, static shots and slow routine dialogues that don't have any deeper meaning. Character development is barely present, besides the Priestess the rest are static throughout and considering we had S1 and OVA it makes not much sense in this regard. Same skills will be used, same weapons and tactics will be applied. Is the MC any different? No, not really. While they had moments of him showing a difference in behavior and some reactions, generally speaking they are far in-between. He, again, doesn't really grow. Are the fights themselves fun and interesting? Sadly they feel all the same, where there are barely any truly dangerous moments for the party, not really any new challenges or interesting solutions. We've seen it before. And while it might make sense that killing goblins is a routine, maybe we should have something more engaging to develop the party as well. I wanted GS2 to actually progress us forward by any meaningful step, but it barely did. With a whole season there was an opportunity to do much more, but I guess this ends up being a budget issue. While not boring it was disappointing.

So, almost everything that you liked about the original Goblin Slayer is completely gone in this season. The rawness, the violence, the craziness of the fights, and the smooth animation that made the first season so iconic and an absolute viral hit is completely gone in this season. You still have all of the pieces there that were there in the first season. That's what's weird about how bad this season is. There isn't any real changes from a characterization standpoint from the first season to this one. It's not like they got rid of half the characters or added in 50 new characters or changed the scenery or anything like that. So why is Goblin Slayer Season 2 so bad and why is it getting such bad reviews, even from people who really, really liked the first one? Well, it comes down to, at the end of the day, this season is, like I said, just not fun to watch. First of all, they've removed all of the action and violence that existed in Season 1 where you thought it was so cool how Goblin Slayer was able to do all this stuff almost entirely alone. And yes, he eventually got help from the party, but he really didn't need it being how high of a rank of an adventurer he is and everything like that. He was able to exist somewhat independently, but use help from other sources because obviously he has to go against hordes of monsters and it'd be very difficult to do everything alone. That dynamic worked really well for Goblin Slayer and the show benefited from it. It wasn't a one-man-kills-everything sort of power fetish where the guy's unstoppable, but it also wasn't one where he had to rely on a bunch of people for everything and he was weak. Season 2 completely changes this narrative, I guess, and pretty much in every single episode, Goblin Slayer has to have help to successfully complete the mission that he has in the episode. Almost at no time is he able to do anything by himself. This is very similar to when you watch a superhero show or something and in the first season they have the superhero doing everything by themselves, but as they start to add side characters in, the main character starts to do less and less and less and eventually everything they were doing on their own, they just hand off the sidekicks and it happens automatically, making the character seem much weaker than he was in the first season. There's a trope name for this it's similar to how when a villain is introduced in a show he's this big bad unstoppable force, but once the MC beats him he becomes weak and seen as a joke. This is a similar character assassination to what they did to Goblin Slayer. He went from "this guy does this all by himself, all day everyday" to "I need each one of to do exactly what I say or all of us are going to die". That's a crazy reduction in ability from season to season. However, in this season, he's pretty much always helped by his party and even the party at times with the five of them can't seem to beat some simple creatures that they easily could have beaten in the first season. It just feels like they tried to create this artificial difficulty that didn't need to exist. They already had the right tempo and pace in the first season, everything was perfect, all they needed to do was continuously make more episodes that had the same tone as the first season. Since we're talking about tone, let's talk about that. The tone in this season is much, much worse. It is way watered down compared to season one. There's way less blood, violence, and gore, the things that you actually came here for, the things that made this anime famous. There are no really good scenes to note that have anything in them that makes you cringe or maybe have to have a not safe for work warning or something like that. There's nothing in here like that at all. This season doesn't even feel related to the first season in any way. Honestly, I could continue on with this review, but I think you get the point by now. I just want to say I'm extremely disappointed in Goblin Slayer season two, and everything about this was an absolute failure. It's a shame to see one of the animes that had the biggest potential to really change the game completely stutter and fail like this. As I'm writing this review in the middle of 2025, absolutely nobody has even said a word about Goblin Slayer in the past year, year and a half on YouTube or social media. That is how you know the IP is absolutely dead, period. If you think about how popular Goblin Slayer was when it first aired and how you couldn't go anywhere on YouTube or social media without seeing it mentioned, and now you don't even hear it mentioned at all, almost like it never existed. That means that the entire fandom of it has been destroyed. It's really a shame. I can't really remember the last time there was a great first season and then a horrible second season like this, but Goblin Slayer really managed to ruin its own reputation.

This season of Goblin Slayer was about what I expected – a series of adventures centered around killing goblins. It feels like you’re watching a D&D campaign, but with only the good parts shown. There was some more focus on certain characters and their hopes, dreams, fears and so on this season. It was an alright change of pace. That said, each character is still as stereotypical as before and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that to make the series work everyone has a very strong, somewhat simple, identity. Again – not too dissimilar to how some people roleplay their characters. I was surprised at how much the gore was toned down. For some viewers that might be an issue, for me it’s just a neutral observation. This was in general a less dark and violent season. In fact, there was less action overall, but I found the content and storylines engaging nonetheless. The moments I enjoyed watching the most were when Goblin Slayer makes a battleplan and they execute it to achieve victory (with a few hiccups here and there). These situations are tense and the tactics used to defeat their foes are quite clever. I do hope there will be another season.

This season is peak MID, It really exposes where Goblin Slayer as a story and character are struggling. TL;DR - Goblin slayer is boring because once you've watched one plot point, you've watched them all. - The action in those plot points are bad because continuity in shots isn't a thing. - The points in-between plot are extra boring because we're following Goblin Slayer. (he has the charisma of a brick wall) - The world runs on dumb logic. The budget is on the lower end and it kills this show. I'm normally understanding to shows having about 3 shots per minute because of budget in a rom-com or something, But in an action anime its just awful. The show's moments are really held down as fighting scenes will never have more than three goblins on screen at once featuring weird angles so the fight as a whole is never shown. Fights never feel like they take place in a tangible room. Goblin Slayer as a character is boring-sounds odd but hear me out. In S1 GS as a character is this unbreakable unmovable force with only one goal in mind. He's mysterious, badass, and dominates his enemies. Notice how I didn't write any personality defining characteristics. welp, S2 is all about his personality and its empty... In S2 we've grown closer to GS. The mistic has faded and we're all chummy in our 5-man party. So, How does a man with no personality fit in? He doesn't. Even in the downtime GS is a wall, ya can't talk to a brick wall and a brick wall doesn't talk back. No matter how many love interest or character dynamics they throw at GS he will always be a brick-unresponsive-wall. 'Nothing will ever change' is the line they decided to end on, writing on their own gravestone. GS needs to change. He has REASON for being a 'wall' but they never use it or push past it. The plot points are getting tired. The 'dumb girl/s who keep getting kidnapped and need saving' is getting... ahhhhh, the world of Goblin slayer is dumb. Everyone in it is dumb and apparently women are super dumb with their r@pe speed runs.

I simply don't know where to begin, but like Jack the Ripper, let's take it one step at a time. Regarding the animation, it's very confusing. In some parts, it's much better than the first season, but in others, it's far worse. It doesn't stay consistent, fluctuating between declines and improvements as needed, which bothered me a lot. As for the art style, while some complained, it actually looks much better than before. The characters are more well-drawn and appealing, with bolder and stronger lines that enhance their appearance. Now, about the story… here's where the real problem lies. Everything feels very disconnected. This director didn't know how to orchestrate this second season. Problems are resolved without any emotion and out of nowhere. This issue is compounded by the absence of the impactful soundtrack from the first season, making the already weak climaxes seem outright pathetic. The fights lacked weight, emotion, and anything to captivate the viewer. They feel more like turn-based battles where one attacks while the other just waits for their turn. The characters remain fun, which is the main motivation to keep watching, and the manga's premise is genuinely entertaining. All that's left is to bring in a better director, a powerful soundtrack, and ensure consistent animation. In the end, this second season was nothing more than "just okay."

Goblin Slayer II doesn’t really have much of an interesting story to tell. That's mainly because season 1 already did a good job at telling what needed to be told. And things were wrapped up pretty nicely. They pad out the story of season 2 by focusing on things that aren't really that interesting. Like the priestess wanting to go up in rank. Or some new brat who wants to kill goblins but dislikes the Goblin Slayer. Or attending the wedding of some elf. Its just a bunch of different plots... featuring the Goblin Slayer. Season 2 is much more generic and watered down. It adds absolutely nothing to the overall story. Its not bad by any means. But doesn’t need to exist. Even the climax is just whatever.

Goblin Slayer II (Season 2 on Crunchyroll) Everything I said in my first review (yes, dear reader, i did review the first season as well) still applies—but somehow, it’s worse. The second season drags endlessly with unnecessary, nonsensical babbling and even more cringy lewd scenes. Still, NONE of the characters have names, and they haven’t developed in any meaningful way. The priestess has grown a little—she’s less scared and doesn’t wet herself any more—but that’s about it. The other characters remain as static as ever. The Goburin Israieru himself? Slightly more talkative, but he’s still the same troglodyte who refuses to trust his own party members or share his plans with them. Naturally, they continue to follow him blindly, trusting this socially inept, obscene brute with their lives for no apparent reason. The only reason I managed to finish this season is because of a pact with my girlfriend: we swore to finish every anime we start. Out of honour, we carefully pick our shows—but, oh boy, I made a terrible choice here. Wasting my time on this disaster of a series feels like a betrayal of that oath. And to make this train wreck even worse? Furries. Yes, now there are centaurs, bunny girls, cat ladies, and a parade of awkward fan service angles focusing on their anatomy. It’s the absolute worst kind of fan service—cheap, lazy, and pathetic. I get it, some people enjoy this kind of garbage, but we as a couple hated it. I regret every single second spent on this season. By the end, I was skipping through just to get it over with. Do yourself a favour and avoid this disaster.

So here's the thing. Goblin Slayer was a huge success of an anime, and reason being is that you get invested into the story so you can find out what led GS to become an adventurer, what happened to him and why is he so obsessed with goblins? Season 1 wrapped it all up nicely in the last episode and we got a happy ending, nothing left to discuss. It's safe to say this anime didn't need a 2nd season, and the only reason it got a 2nd season is because of its prequel's success. But here's what I don't like about sequels, it completely and utterly destroys whatever the viewer's interpretation of the whole anime and ending was. Adding more frosting to a already perfectly frosted cake doesn't mean it's going to taste better. This 2nd season should be more of an OVA, because there's really nothing else to add to the story. We've already seen this guy kill goblins nearly every episode in the first season, there's no reason to create more story to such a wacky storyline in the first place, the only reason 1st season was good was because we got all the context information we needed in a single season. These are just my personal opinions though so take it with a pinch of salt, if you liked the 1st season and want to give the 2nd season a try then do so, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't get your hopes up because there's really nothing left of the plot to be told, they're just winging it with some more fan service.

From reading the LN's I can say that, Goblin Slayer has pretty interesting world building and lore. Like how none of the characters has actual names. Or the whole goblin slyer thing is kind of a background plot of the Hero's story. It has decent character work and pretty good actions. But unfortunately none of these can be found in this lackluster season. This was in no way a bad season but just a very boring one. The plot didn't seem to advance much. And the few interesting storylines like the one about new recruits didn't quite land well. For the positives I can say that the opening and soundtracks were great. Also this season expanded the world building a bit (But not nearly enough!). If you enjoyed season 1 you probably going to like this one as well.

WARNING: This is gonna be a short review cause I have a life. Concept & Story (5) - The concept was average, and so was the story. The story/concept is about a guy who kills goblins because of his childhood trauma regarding goblins. Characters (2) - Watching the characters felt like watching a group of 1D characters talk. There was no chemistry between the characters. Another reason why the characters were HORRIBLE is the animation. They literally had no facial expressions. They were like Ayonokoji in a HORRIBLE way. Animation (5) - Except for the NONEXISTENT FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, the art was average for an anime in 2023. Overall Enjoyment (2) - This was one of the only shows this season whose episodes are a DRAG to go through. I literally have to do other things while I watch the episodes, so I don't get bored. This may be one of the only disappointments of this year's fall season. Overall Lesson - First season was way better. (If this review looks familiar, it's because it's an old review from my previous account. I just copied and pasted it and fixed some grammatical mistakes.)