Goblin Slayer now has a party. No seriously, he has a party! Alongside Priestess, an elf, a dwarf, and a lizardman join him in his quest to kill the despicable goblins!
Ok, if you’ve been reading any of the Goblin Slayer works, you know this happened the other way around.
Hearing of Goblin Slayer’s talent for slaying goblins, High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Priest venture to the guild to request his services. Why? Well, a pack of annoying goblins have entered elven lands and set up shop. They need him to eliminate a goblin nest as politics potentially could surface if the elves moved to do it. Once the word goblins was breathed, however, Goblin Slayer didn’t even hesitate to take this job. However, what should be a goblin slaying quest might just provide an unexpected challenge.
I could be wrong since it’s been a while since I’ve read the light novels, but it feels like the demon invasion/Dark Gods plot is slightly heightened in this manga. Now, it’s only because of a line that High Elf says as she pleads with Goblin Slayer to take their quest, but I think seeing it in comic format is a factor. The LNs, at least the first two volumes, touch upon the gods and other events, but does maintain a smaller scale by focusing on goblin slaying. That said, for the manga I don’t mind this shift since it’s brief and moves on to what the series is known for.
Which is of course seeing the good (the creative deaths of goblins) and the bad (the goblins leaving a naked elf girl tied up in a stench filled room) of goblins in manga form. Though if you thought they’d dominate Goblin Slayer Volume 2, you would be wrong! This volume has lots of character exposition that takes a bit too long to sift through. You’d think since this dialogue was also in the novel it wouldn’t be a problem, but it feels very ordinary and lengthy. The pacing also feels off during the party’s getting to know each other moment. So it’s not just a text issue; it’s an interest one as well.
The later half of volume 2 finally gets to the Ogre battle, and the artwork kinda disappoints. The battles should be messy, but it feels far too messy to be enjoyed. At one point it was hard to tell what was slashed or diced off. I’m not gonna lie, the battle with the Ogre might be tough to draw, but the way it was executed felt a bit confusing. There are some awesome drawings too (Ogre using his magic was good), but overall the battle didn’t feel quite as intense/terrifying as the light novel.
Despite all of that, the material in itself is fascinating solely due to Goblin Slayer’s obsession with killing goblins, and some art concerns aren’t enough to really slow it down. I’m also pleased it ended at a good spot too, so between that and it staying overly clean in aspects, I’m still sorta down with this adaptation of the series. I just hope things can be cleanly executed next time.