Goblin Slayer - Episode 10 (Review)
By: Mithrandiel
Miss my review last week? You can find it here!
Spoilers Ahead!
Summary
The adventuring party makes their way back to the main city, following a taxing quest on behalf of the legendary Sword Maiden. On the journey, Goblin Slayer recalls some of his childhood memories, including some childish arguments with a younger Cow Girl, and the wisdom that his older sister had in trying to mend their young friendship.
Once the party arrives, Goblin Slayer quickly begins tackling some important errands, including picking up his repaired armor. It's not long before they're met with some great news: the Hero has successfully defeated the Demon Lord! The prevailing threat against their world has been defeated, for now, and so adventurers are in generally high spirits throughout the city.
There's talk of opening a new training academy for adventurers while things are quiet - and Guild Girl asks Goblin Slayer if he'd be interested in helping to train a new generation of adventurers. Equipping them with the skills necessary for survival means that more adventurers will make it back from missions, grow stronger, and overall improve the strength and capability of the Adventurers Guild. A logical prospect to be sure!
Cow Girl ends up joining Goblin Slayer and his new friends for a celebratory meal, and on the way home later that evening, she comments how it's interesting that he's found such a large group of friends. He writes it off as being necessary to "crush goblins", but Cow Girl, in a bittersweet moment, recognizes that he's forming additional friendships. There's certainly an air of jealousy, but she also seems happy for him.
Later that night, she and Goblin Slayer share a moment under the stars as she encourages him to talk to her more about his thoughts and plans for the future. She worries about him, and for good reason: eventually, most adventurers hit a limit and succumb to their enemies, or retire with serious physical and/or mental injuries.
The voice of her reflections serves as a backdrop of Goblin Slayer's daily patrol as the episode closes. Only this time, there's something terribly wrong:
The prints seem to indicate dozens upon dozens of goblins creeping ever closer to the farm. There's an attack in the works - will Goblin Slayer be up to the task?
Review
Keeping with the previously established pattern of storytelling, this episode served as a brief respite following a handful of action-packed episodes. Unlike the previous rendition of the "day in the life", however, it wasn't quite as entertaining. I did enjoy the talk of establishing a training academy for adventurers, and Guild Girl's attempts to recruit Goblin Slayer were certainly noble...but for an episode consisting of a lot of errand-running, it definitely felt like it.
The brief peeks at the Hero's adventures definitely made me want to see more of that higher-level action, only to realize that focusing on a non-centralized plot is kind of the whole point here. We're not following the actions and adventures of the mythical Hero and her companions. The quests that Goblin Slayer and his party are completing are inconsequential on a broader scale - only of real importance to the individuals putting in the requests. So, that reminder was refreshing to be sure.
The rapport among the central party continues to grow, and the drinking competition between Dwarf and Archer was a fun, if not predictable demonstration of that.
The final scene definitely got the hype train back on track, as fans of the LN recognize that the Goblin Lord arc has arrived - just slightly out of order. The action picks back up next week - how will Goblin Slayer fend off this goblin incursion?
