controversial – Anime QandA

Caught Between A Sister And A Hot Sensei – ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Full Season Review

Caught Between A Sister And A Hot Sensei – A Full Season Review for ‘Domestic Girlfriend’

What’s the show? Domestic Girlfriend.

And what’s it about? It rapidly becomes a very convoluted series so I’ll try and surmise the essential points. Natsuo is at a mixer, when a quietly spoken but assertive girl named Rui offers herself to him sexually. He agrees (because he’s a guy and she’s cute) but his heart lies with his teacher Hina whom he has an unrequited love for. Natsuo’s widowed father announces that he has met someone and they’re getting married. Turns out he’s marrying a woman who is mother to both Rui and Hina. They’re sisters, they’re about to become his step-sisters and they’re all going to live under the same roof!

Yep, sex in an anime, it’s rare but it happens!

Well that’s certainly a lot of coincidences for sake of dramatic potential, isn’t it? And that’s only the first episode! The number of plot convolutions that this show throws at its audience is tantamount to long-running soap opera! But it never (at least for me) wades into the cheesy, trashy depths of pure soap opera because of the level of restraint this show has with regards to its overall execution. Yes it has a few comedic moments that elicit an eye roll or two, but these feel like real human characters going through an unreal situation.

Hot for teacher (To be fair she is *very* hot).

And about the characters? They’re mostly very good, despite the questionable things they do to one another and get caught up in you can never hate them for it and in some instances they’re even more relatable for their flaws and poor relationship decisions. Rui is best girl though—there’s no denying that!

And what’s something that you didn’t like about the show? As I mentioned both in my first and second episode reviews there’s a noticeable difference in emotional maturity between the episodes that could initially turn some viewers off as I almost was with episode one. Also, as with any show where the protagonist is making relationship choices that most people would view as counter-intuitive it can get a bit frustrating sometimes but never enough to make it unpleasant to watch.

Anything else to add? Yes, actually. This series actually has a lot of fan-service–it’s just none of it really made it into the series–sure there’s the requisite cleavage shots, beach bikini shots and bath shots that make it into almost every anime. But the manga has nudity, likewise there’s ‘deleted scenes’ that have found their way onto the internet which are ~extremely~ steamy and show in detail Rui and Natsuo’s first time together.

I don’t really know why you felt the need to mention that– So I can show pictures of course!

Nope! Not gonna happen! There’s no way you can justify putting images that aren’t even from the actual season. If you want to post pictures of that put it in a separate post on the subject! Fine, maybe I’ll do just that!

Ugh, you’re the worst, you know that? Anyway, final recommendation and score for ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ please… Know what you’re getting into before watching this, having a certain frame of mind can help overcome what i’ll label as ~problematic~ elements of the show. Also don’t expect Shakespeare from what is clearly just soap-inspired frivolity with an emphasis on character drama. Just watch it and enjoy it for what it is, I know I did! 86 out of 100.

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Don’t Call An Anime You Don’t Like “Trash”

A post regarding the flippant usage of the word “trash” in specific regard to anime

What are we talking about today? Y’know, I think one of my absolute biggest pet peeves with this whole society of ~amateur criticism~ that we find ourselves in (thanks to the internet and mostly social media) is that people devalue the significance of their words.

Oh. Is this about online bullying or something? Not at all, I don’t have the time or nuanced intellect to deal with an issue that large and impactful on society. No, this is about a single word that gets thrown around to describe all manner of media (but specifically anime in the case of this blog post) and how using it is detrimental not only to the media its ascribed to but also the person who uses it.

And that is? Don’t call an anime you don’t like “trash”.

Hmm, okay. And why exactly? Aren’t people entitled to their opinion? Freedom of speech and all that jazz? Absolutely, there’s no greater believer in freedom of speech than I (probably, maybe) but I’m talking about the ramifications of blanket labelling an entire series “trash” without thinking about the consequences of such unspecific language.

Okay, so you want people to elaborate? Like “x anime is trash because y”? That’d certainly be a step in the right direction, but let’s think about the words we use a little bit harder. Calling something trash implies it has no value–it is essentially garbage, refuse, something to be discarded without thought–and I think a lot of people underestimate the power of throwing out a cursory tweet or hurried blog post that labels something they’ve given a passing glance at as “trash”.

Haven’t you ever heard of the expression “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”? I have and that doesn’t change the fact that criticism without critiquing leaves everyone poorer for it. I don’t expect people to write thousand word dissertations about why a certain show rubs them the wrong way or fails to connect with them on any level. What I do expect–at least from the people whose opinions I still hold in some regard–is a degree of self-awareness and too consideration that people might be affected by the negativity they are putting out into the world with such reckless language.

Sounds like you’re being a bit of a precious little snowflake if I’m honest… I don’t know. Maybe I am, maybe this is an absolute non-issue for most people and I’m being especially sensitive to the opinions of others. But here’s the thing, if you want ~me~ an amateur critic existing on the internet amidst a million other voices screaming for attention to take ~you~ a likewise amateur critic existing on the internet seriously in any capacity then you better believe I’m going to hold you to the same standards I hold myself. There’s plenty of times I’ve watched a single episode of a show and thought, “fuck this trash!” but the difference is I at least try and keep that abrasive and unedited thought internalised until I can come with reasons why it made me feel that way and present it against backdrops of personal experience and critical discourse. And at the very least find a place to appreciate the fact that some people out there did find value with the media I’ve reacted so strongly against and let those people know their opinions are not disregarded in the face of my own.

That seems like a lot of work tbh… Sometimes being a respectful human being is a lot of work but being otherwise just doesn’t sit right with me.

Tl;dr? Don’t call anything categorically “trash” without realising the impact of such a shallow summation.

This was a different kind of post for me, not talking about a specific anime but an issue within the anime community that I felt compelled to talk about. Let me know if you want more of this, or alternately if you want me to STFU and GTFO–either’s fine to be honest…

To Catch A Cheater – ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 4 Review

To Catch A Cheater – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 4

What’s the show? Domestic Girlfriend, Episode 4.

So how’s this episode? So last episode Natuso and Rui ‘teamed up’ to try and break-up Hina and the married man she’s having an affair with and through a series of awkward (but failed) meddlings they come up short but by some measure of a coincidence Hina and her boyfriend Shuu show up at the cafe they happen to be at (it’s not really that outlandish that they’d appear as it’s known information that they frequent the cafe) and so a showdown ensues!

A showdown? Well, I mean Natsuo gets angry at the dude for having a family and sleeping around, he’s a bit of smooth talker and explains the situation but it’s Rui who ends up silencing the dude by throwing a glass of water in his face and running away. Natsuo gives chase and comforts her, meanwhile Hina has to make the decision of her family or her lover.

Rui used ‘Splash’, it’s super effective!

And which decision does she make? Well she tells Hina and Natsuo that she chooses them over him but let’s face it, ‘once a cheater, always a cheater’ so I’m not convinced that she isn’t lying to them for the sake of the family harmony. But then again I’m not approaching this like a conventional shonen manga–which it mostly is–and this being the end of the arc it could very well never come up again and this ‘affair’ could ~actually~ be over for good for all I know!

Anything else you wanted to add? I don’t like the way Natuso and Rui went about their whole “plan” especially the stealing of Hina’s phone and having Rui ‘pretend’ to be her sister in an attempt to break them up (it didn’t work because of Rui’s “social awkwardness). I mean I know these are teenagers and their ideas can’t exactly be expected to be stellar, but this was like something a 10 year-old would come up with! But I am at least glad the final decision for the break-up came from Hina and not any kind of forced ultimatum.

Overall thoughts on the episode? It was probably the weakest one so far for me but at this point I’m pretty heavily invested in the series and its characters so I doubt anything it could do would make me jump ship at this point. Overall though this episode does more good than bad and that’s always a plus.

Previous ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Reviews:

Putting The F In Family – Episode 1 Review
Bathed In Secrets – Episode 2 Review
A Family Affair – Episode 3 Review

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A Family Affair – ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 3 Review

A Family Affair – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 3

What’s the show? Domestic Girlfriend, Episode 3.

How’s this episode? This episode worried me a little as it veered headlong into soap territory with one of its plot developments but deftly managed to correct itself by delivering a compelling and emotionally charged series of dramatic set pieces infused with substantial character development.

Pain, frustration, regret. All rolled into one expression.

Wow. Okay then, that’s certainly substantial praise. I made a tweet after watching this episode saying something along the lines of “if you’d told me last year that this show would have been in my Top 3 anime of the season (so far) I wouldn’t have believed you.” Which is as much a comment on the quality of the show as it is the unexpectedness of it considering the zero interest I had in it and the fact it’s continued high quality outshines it’s initial impression.

Okay, so what happens in this episode then? Well through a roundabout way (Natsuo’s friend overhears it while working at the cafe) we discover that the relationship troubles his teacher and new sister Hina has been having is that she’s in a relationship with a married man. He confronts her about it and is again rebuffed with the similar phrase “these are adult problems that don’t concern children”. Then in what can only be described as ‘a very bad idea’ he kisses her. She doesn’t pull away at first, but ~eventually~ does, giving him a slap for his actions—only to be pushed onto the bed where she kisses him.

Oh boy. And he’s taken off-guard by this action on her part, to the point where she’s perched above him and the only thing he can do is look on, shellshocked. She again remarks about him being a “child” and he returns to his room to think on what exactly happened. The next morning his father finds a note saying he’s going to stay with a friend for a while as he needs space and the parents naturally assume it’s because of their hasty remarriage and go into damage control meanwhile Hina knows the truth and the look of guilt on her face clues Rui into the situation too. Rui goes after Natsuo and eventually (and conveniently) finds him, the two are both unhappy with Hina’s actions (the dating a married man thing, not the kissing a minor) and so resolve to get her to change her ways. They return home to the sight of their parents sitting in the dark, contemplating divorce for the sake of their children which they are quick to clarify isn’t the reason for them running away from home. Hina comes downstairs and collapses to her knees in tears.

Sounds very dramatic. It is, and it’s told in a way that doesn’t pander to the audience, there’s no excessive rumination via internal monologues, no amateurish handling of feelings and no dodging difficult questions. I respect this show for its restraint on what could be mishandled into trashy drama but more so I respect the show for just being so compelling on an entertainment level too.

Previous ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Reviews:

Putting The F In Family – Episode 1 Review
Bathed In Secrets – Episode 2 Review

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Bathed In Secrets – ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 2 Review

Bathed In Secrets – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 2

What’s the show? Domestic Girlfriend, Episode 2.

So how’s this episode? There’s a line any given trashy drama can cross where it becomes more than just the surface level exploration of its topic and dives deeper. I call it, ‘When A Soap Drama Becomes A Real Drama’.

Uh-huh… What?

You speak with such authority but truth is you don’t really know anything, right? I mean if you’re going to be like that sure, but let’s just pretend I do for a minute for the sake of getting this review out, aight?

Sure okay. So what did this show do that was so good? I don’t know…

Wow, so much for pretending like you knew what you were talking about? I think this is a ‘Goblin Slayer’ situation (yep, there’s a show I bet you didn’t think I’d be bringing up in these reviews) where the first episode had to entice with the ~big messy angsty stuff~ and then it’s left for the rest of the episodes to calm things down and put things in context and flesh out the characters. So while the first episode of ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ sought to entice through soap opera stylings to grab the audience, the subsequent episode brings things down to earth and as a result feels more realistic and humanistic as a result.

Yeah… she’s gonna cause Natsuo *lots* of trouble, I can pretty much predict that for certain.

Okay that I understood. Why didn’t you just say that from the start? You mean why did I go for a messy opening instead of just getting to the point right away? Almost like I did it on purpose…

You didn’t though, did you. No, it was a happy accident, but here we are!

Problematic line of the episode. I’ll discuss it in depth if it becomes a ~thing~ later on.

So what happens in the episode anyway? So in true anime style Rui transfers into Natsuo’s school and immediately fails the whole ‘making friends’ thing by speaking her mind rather than being polite. Natsuo schools her in the ways of being “sociable” only for that to escalate into a full blown quip-fest between Rui and Natsuo right in the middle of class which ends up doing double duty and endearing her classmates to Rui anyway. I really liked this scene, it showed strong writing and voice acting and managed to show a different side to both of these characters. More of this please!

And the rest of the episode? There’s an intimate scene where Natsuo walks in on Rui having a bath, but rather than admonish him she invites him in and the two have a talk with the bit of information being dropped that Hina is having relationship troubles with her boyfriend. The next day Akihito and Tokiko (their parents, in case I didn’t mention their names) decide to get married at city hall and have dinner at a restaurant afterwards, meaning that it falls to eldest sibling Hina to cook. Or rather that’s what Natsuo presumes, given that she’s the oldest–turns out Hina can’t cook at all and Rui ended up dishing out the delicious meal. More points in Rui’s favour it would seem–not that Natsuo seems to notice, he’s too concerned with wanting to be the shoulder for her to cry on. But Hina’s too committed to playing the sensei/big sister role to offload her “adult” problems onto him. She gets a call on her phone, its her boyfriend, he’s outside and wants to talk to her. An hour later she comes back in on the verge of tears, clearly something happened but before he can get any information out of her their parents return from dinner.

And that’s it? More or less. And this is probably what I meant when I said this show has gone from a ‘soap drama’ to a ‘real drama’–it’s not that anything presented here is suddenly more drama-filled or high-stakes–rather it’s that there’s a restraint and added sense of maturity to the proceedings that the first episode was lacking. And if the series can keep this balancing act up, being ~occasionally~ salacious while telling a compelling story with interesting and well-rounded characters, then I’m all for it!

Gotta include obligatory sexy Rui bath pic, people want those nude anime fan service screencaps! (That oughta be enough keywords to ping this into image some search results!)

Previous ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Reviews:

Putting The F In Family – Episode 1 Review

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Putting The F In Family – ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 1 Review

Putting The F In Family – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Domestic Girlfriend’ Episode 1

What’s the show? Domestic Girlfriend, Episode 1.

So how’s this episode? So this show wasn’t on my initial Winter 2019 Watch List because of stupid reasons (I only saw the Japanese title and confused it with another show) so when some murmurings around this show started to surface under its English title I was like “oh yeah, I’ve heard of that manga! I should watch the show!” Thus ends the exciting tale of why I’m watching this even though it wasn’t on my watch list.

Nobody cares, get to the review already! Okay fine! So diluted to its simplest this is a show about a guy who sleeps with a girl he has no feelings for (and vice versa) all the while crushing on his young and attractive teacher. Next minute his father announces he is getting remarried to a woman with two daughters and guess what his soon-to-be stepsisters are the girl he had sex with and the teacher he has a crush on! What are the odds?!

That seems… Unlikely? Contrived? Ridiculous? Fanciful? Juvenile? Yes it is, all of the above! But since when has that stopped anime from indulging in the realm of the ~never gonna happen~.

So you’re okay with the premise? The premise is something out of a soap opera but whatever I’m not going to disparage a show for being ridiculous with its general conceit. What I can and will disparage is its execution! Despite framing itself as something of a ~serious~ romantic drama (what with the somewhat dull colour palette, minimalist design and emphasis on full face closeups) this is handled with all the subtlety and restraint and pace as a toddler eating spaghetti with a mallet. The entire episode felt like it was in such a rush to get to the place in the story where everyone was living together that it became almost comical to behold. And as such I couldn’t take any of it seriously because the show itself was so impatient.

Yes. Oh wait, you weren’t talking to me? Sorry… (the answer is still yes btw).

Maybe that was intentional though? Regardless of intent it came off as flimsy. But for me the worst thing about the show was that it felt like it was pandering to a very juvenile teenage boy fantasy, the idea of your sexy teacher and the girl you slept with once suddenly living in the same house as yours. And as I said the idea itself isn’t essentially flawed but framing it in such a try hard serious way came across as obnoxious.

Excuse me? Is Mr. Harem Anime trying to shame a series for pandering to teenage boys? I’m not shonen shaming, some of my favourite anime are shonens! The difference is 99% of the shows that I watch that “pander” are either self-aware enough to know that harems are ridiculous and unrealistic and play up to the idea with comic-relief or other kind of shenanigans to offset the “relationship” aspect of the series. Like if there was a bonafide, ‘multiple girls going after the same guy’ harem anime that took itself as serious as this show does I’d have the ~exact~ same complaints as I do with this show.

The bra on/no panties combo is a winner in my book. Wait, what do you mean I’m just putting this in for the sake of getting fan service hits on my site?!

Okay… I think I see what you’re getting at, you don’t like the show because it tries to hard to be serious when its not serious. Did I say I didn’t like it?

Oh, uh, well I just assumed given all the– No, I mean for whatever reason as much as this show has its problems, I still enjoyed the experience. That might seem unexpected but I legitimately did. Well, right up until the end…

Gotta love those close ups where anime characters suddenly have lips.

What happened at the end? Well his teacher is sleeping opposite him on the couch and she’s passed out drunk and lookin’ real sexy with her short little shorts and cleavage spiling top. And Mr protagonist has decided now that the family situation is the way it is, he’s never going to get a short at any kind of romantic relationship with her so he leans in, intent to steal a kiss–one first and final kiss from her unconscious lips… and then other girl walks in catching him mere moments from the deed. END CREDITS!

Oof~ the problematic rears its head again I see! Did you just “oof”? Anyway yes, problematic is one word for it, so is attempted sexual assault. Here’s a lesson for you kids, don’t try and kiss and unconscious person! Even if they don’t know it happened, it’s still assault! And yes, it’s no doubt going to be the catalyst for juicy messy ~drama~ but boy do I hate a male protagonist who only thinks of himself and not the women around him.

So you dislike the show now? I’m confused… No, as it is now the show itself hasn’t glorified, endorsed or even pardoned his actions–we won’t know the show’s stance on what ~almost~ happened until next episode. That said I’m not at all in a place where I could say I even like the main character now so that’s going to be a steep hill (among many) this show has to climb.

…Okay. So overall thoughts on the first episode and a recommendation? Messy, messy, messy in every respect. It’s messily paced, messily handled, with messy characterisation and a very messy protagonist. Also, did you see I went the whole review without actually naming any of the characters? I think that goes a way to telling you exactly how I felt about most of the characters on the show–thoroughly disconnect. Just about the only character I did gravitate towards was the dad and that’s only because he’s shown to be the most endearing out of all of them! As for who I recommend it too… I don’t know, I suppose anyone with messy tastes in anime…

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Master Of Side Quests – ‘Goblin Slayer’ Episode 6 Review

Master Of Side Quests – An Anime QandA Review of Goblin Slayer Episode 6

What’s the show? Goblin Slayer, Episode 6.

So how’s this episode? Well the episode opens with a bunch of new characters we’ve never met facing off against a giant skeleton man who looks like he’s out of ‘Overlord’ and the heroes are a group of wisecracking, badass women and they rescue the damsel in distress and blow the shit out of the skeleton boss man and it’s legitimately the most interesting thing this series has done so far. And then we cut back to reality where one of the adventurers at the guild is telling that story. And I’m like “why can’t we be watching that show! That’s way more interesting than ~generic Goblin Slaying quest #426~”!

This screencap is very strange out of context.

Oh dear. Have you turned sour on the show again? Not exactly. I mean the show’s still good I suppose, I just don’t care about Goblin Slayer killing goblins. And I know what you’re thinking “well then why are you watching a show called ‘Goblin Slayer’ then?” And I don’t have a good answer to that! I think there’s just something incredibly limiting about a show that narrows its scope to what would amount to ~side quests~ in an RPG when there’s battles with Demon Lords going on elsewhere in the world. And I KNOW what you’re thinking, “didn’t you just say last week you’d watch a show that’s ~just~ set in an adventurer’s guild and is about the minutiae of everyday life in such an establishment?”! Yes. I did. I’m a complex individual, cut me some slack.

Come on elf, you can do better than Goblin Slayer…

I, uh… are you alright? Watching ‘Goblin Slayer’ is an exercise in frustration–it’s constantly doing so much right but then backs it up by doing a bunch of things poorly. Maybe I just don’t get this ~style~ of DnD anime. And that is what this is by the way, I had a commenter point out to me that the writer of the light novel is an avid DnD player and based this after one of his campaigns, and that’s fine, more power to him. But it feels like so strictly adhering to a DnD campaign and the whole “only slaying Goblins” shtick has robbed the show of some much needed scope. That said, I’m fully willing to eat my words when the group goes on that other non-goblin related quest that Goblin Slayer promised he would participate in. But it better make up for everything else, that’s all I’m saying.

Okay, so ignoring external influences and promises of future “adventures” what are you thoughts on this episode? Is it good? Yes it’s ‘good’. That’s about as much as I can offer this episode is a hearty ‘good’. I liked that we got to meet the Sword Maiden, she seems… interesting. I like that some of the goblins where clothes and armour… guess that means our party has levelled up and is going against some tougher mobs. But it ain’t over as there’s the boss of the sewer level to contend with next week! Sorry if this comes off as snarky but other than baiting controversy in its first episode this series isn’t doing anything especially remarkable, not with its setting, not with its characters and not with its content. If it had been just another fantasy series amongst the throngs of other I probably would have been liking it a lot more, or at least more forgiving of it. But until it does something more substantial with its subject matter and characters, I’m just left with saying it’s ‘good’.

I like this blindfolded Sword Maiden! What? I swear it’s got nothing to do with the blindfold making me think of something kinky!

Previous Goblin Slayer Reviews:

Dark Twisted Fantasy – Episode 1 Review
Reason and Restraint – Episode 2 Review
Bewitching Beauties – Episode 3 Review
Orcbolg vs Ogre Boss – Episode 4 Review
Slice (And Dice) Of Life – Episode 5 Review

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Slice (And Dice) Of Life – ‘Goblin Slayer’ Episode 5 Review

Slice (And Dice) Of Life – An Anime QandA Review of Goblin Slayer Episode 5

What’s the show? Goblin Slayer, Episode 5.

So how’s this episode? Goblin Slayer is a slice of life anime now.

Priestess got a level up from the previous episode’s adventures!

I know you’re exaggerating for effect but care to elaborate? With the exception of some ~unrelated~ adventures in a sewer with some peripheral characters we don’t care about battling against giant rats and bugs this episode is an exceedingly low-key affair dealing with Goblin Slayer and his “relationships” most specifically with Guild Girl. And you know what, I’m fine with that—I’m not fine with the fact that this show is so tonally inconsistent that I fully expected one of the giant sewer rats to rape the female adventurer—but if this show wants to focus on character development then by all means.

Okay then. So how’s it handled—the ‘character development’ I mean? It’s interesting at the very least, I like seeing the daily inner workings of the Adventurer’s Office—the scene where she had to deal with the adventurer who was expecting a promotion up a rank but instead was being exiled from the town for stealing loot meant for his whole party was great stuff. It was interesting too that Guild Girl mentioned the sexism she faced when working in the capital. I didn’t think this was the kind of series to even care about that so it was certainly a surprise. To be honest I could watch an entire series that’s just set an adventurer’s guild and never once deals with any action or adventure in the outside world—but then again I have weird taste.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Guild Girl make that face before… pretty great to be honest!

You certainly do. So your overall thoughts on the episode? Forgetting for a second what this show is about and how dark it started you could be forgiven for thinking this a relatively light-hearted fantasy show if you just judged it from this. That’s bound to annoy some, heck even I think this show has tonal problems. But taken alone this particular episode was very enjoyable—at least for my particular preferences. I’d much rather rich backstory and character development then another episode of attacking and wiping out a goblin nest—no matter how satisfying it is to see in action.

Who needs a purse when you have cleavage storage?!

Previous Goblin Slayer Reviews:

Dark Twisted Fantasy – Episode 1 Review
Reason and Restraint – Episode 2 Review
Bewitching Beauties – Episode 3 Review
Orcbolg vs Ogre Boss – Episode 4 Review

If you liked my post and want to support my content, please consider supporting my Patreon page, or donating by buying me a coffee on Ko-fi!

Orcbolg vs Ogre Boss – ‘Goblin Slayer’ Episode 4 Review

Orcbolg vs Ogre Boss – An Anime QandA Review of Goblin Slayer Episode 4

What’s the show? Goblin Slayer, Episode 4.

So how’s this episode? I’m always in two minds about this show, there’s the side of me that could absolutely nitpick every little thing I find wrong with it and then there’s the part that’s like “eh whatever, at least it’s entertaining!”

So you have problems with the episode then? Fundamentally they’re more problems with how the show is put together and how it feels. Basically my major complaint is that this literally just feels like someone animated a DnD session—except somehow with less character development than the aforementioned. It’s like “the party stumbles into a room with goblins here, here and here, what will you do?” And then they go about solving it, yes you could level that criticism against any modern fantasy series but it’s never felt as glaringly surface level as it has here. “A boss ogre has appeared, your attacks do nothing to it, what do you do?” “Hey how about that rare item you picked up from the witch?” “The rare item unleashes the power of high water pressure that slices the ogre into pieces, congratulations!” This is how the episode felt to me, it was exciting and technically impressive but kind of hollow and cheesy.

You mentioned it has “less character development than a DnD session” what did you mean by that exactly? I’ve already mentioned it so this’ll be the last time I do so but not giving these characters names and just referring to them as their job title/race/class is the ~worst~ decision this series ever made because no matter how much I get to know these people there will always be this awkward distance in having them unnamed. It was like this series was written by someone who doesn’t know how normal humans interact—or maybe even by Goblin Slayer himself… hang on a second, I’ll be right back…

Wait? What?! Where did you go? You can’t just leave in the middle of a review! Can you believe this guy?… so, uh, how are all you doing today? I’m back, I’m back! Sorry, I just had to check something.

Do you have to personally visit the place you link a gate scroll to? If not why not just link it to outer space and blow all the goblins into the sun?! See this is why I can’t play DnD…

What was so important that you thought you needed to leave in the middle of a review? I read a bit of the light novel to see if it was told from Goblin Slayer’s first person perspective—which would pretty much explain why it’s so impersonal as he’s an exceedingly impersonal guy. But nope, it’s a third person narrative, so the only excuse now is that the writer himself is a very detached person. But we’re not reviewing the author now here, are we?

So are you done with the nitpicking portion of your review? Can we move onto the “eh, whatever, at least it’s entertaining!” part? The action is exciting and well thought out, there’s a requisite level of menace and ingenuity to the encounters and it delivers a satisfying pay-off to the ‘mini boss’ fight. I don’t know if it needed to devote a whole episode to this as it didn’t really feel like it contributed to the overarching plot, but it was still an enjoyable time overall. Also I don’t know that I buy the idea that Elven Ranger has lived 2000 years and still didn’t know that all Goblins are rapists? But whatever, maybe she’s been living a sheltered life. Damn it, this show is making me write ~normal~ reviews, how boring is that?!

Don’t worry, I’m sure some boobs will show up next week and you’ll be back to your usual perverted self… Let’s hope so!

Previous Goblin Slayer Reviews:

Dark Twisted Fantasy – Episode 1 Review
Reason and Restraint – Episode 2 Review
Bewitching Beauties – Episode 3 Review

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