Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown

Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown begins with a 25-minute recap of the first season's highlights, preparing viewers for the film's events.

At the end of the recap, the movie begins, lasting an hour. Despite the inviting premise, the narrative disappointed me. After the first season's introduction, I expected a more linear and inspired story, one that would convince us to follow the development of the events of Orcbolg or Beardcutter, the names by which Goblin Slayer is known to the elves and dwarves, respectively.

The Sword Maiden has a new assignment for Goblin Slayer and his companions: a noblewoman swordswoman has decided to abandon her family to become ... an adventurer and has accepted the task of eliminating the goblins that infested a small village lost in the snow-capped mountains together with other companions. However, none of them ever returned from the expedition.

Despite its lack of an elaborate plot, the movie Goblin's Crown is a faithful successor to the first season of Goblin Slayer. The writing is simple and straightforward, without any twists or turns to keep viewers engaged. However, the film's appeal lies primarily in its charismatic protagonist, who remains the fulcrum of the entire work. Goblin Slayer is a serious and dark character, but he occasionally shows an immature and naive side that can slightly undermine his grim charm. Fortunately, there are very few such instances in the movie.

In this new adventure, we continue to see the change in the hero that we witnessed during the main series. This is most evident in the bond he has with his companions, whom he is now able to trust even more. He knows that he can rely on them even in the most difficult situations.

However, the relationships between the various members of the group remain somewhat static, and there is no effective development. This could also be due to the lack of good characterization of the other supporting characters: once again, the Elf, the Dwarf, and the Lizard Man seem flat and one-dimensional, so much so that they feel like they play less incisive roles.

The hero's lack of closeness to the other members of the party, except for the Priestess, could be interpreted as a narrative choice, given his unsociable nature. However, I would have preferred to see the three supporting characters better developed over the course of the movie, especially since it is now clear that they are no longer simply supporting roles, but integral parts of the story.

As for the Priestess, there is very little to say about her development, as she has not changed much since the first season finale. However, the young cleric is now more confident and less afraid of facing hordes of goblins. She is able to be useful to her companions with her defensive and healing magic.

As for the new character, the noble swordswoman in need of rescue, it is quite clear during the viewing that she is suffering from the loss of her companions and the torture she has endured. However, everything is handled in a hasty and superficial manner, so much so that I was unable to fully understand how the torture has specifically affected her. I would have preferred the story to offer a more detailed construction of the Noble Swordswoman, not just through a few sequences, so that we could better understand her feelings when she sees the goblins.

Putting aside a somewhat unconvincing plot and poor character development, the real focus of Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown remains: the cruel sequences, such as torture and nudity, which allow us to understand the depths of depravity that goblins are capable of, and the violent scenes, which often lead to gore.

The visual system is also well-made and contributes to the film's overall quality. While it does not reach the artistic heights of a typical feature film, being more similar to the series, the animation is painstaking and attentive to detail, even if some larger shots have noticeable imperfections. On the other hand, some sequences feature overly conspicuous and wooden CGI.

The sword and magic clashes feature fluid animations that maintain the increasingly pressing rhythm of the action. Short sequence shots in some scenes make them even more adrenaline-pumping.

The fights are also convincing due to their extreme violence, which is not gratuitous but well-suited to the type of production. The anime's plot is not well-developed, so it relies heavily on scenes of Goblin Slayer attacking all kinds of goblins with extreme malice, staining the snow with their blood.

In conclusion:

Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown has the same writing as the series, with no notable narrative twists to encourage viewers to continue watching. However, the film is supported by the characterization of the protagonist, who is still fascinating with his mysterious and aggressive demeanor, but is now more open to his companions. Unfortunately, some of these companions are underdeveloped, despite not being entirely secondary characters. The co-protagonist has remained unchanged since the season finale.

The various plot problems are partly compensated by the technical aspects of the film, which, despite some stumbles and unpleasant CGI, feature painstaking design that allows viewers to appreciate the moments in which Goblin Slayer slices the small green creatures, because, after all, the only good goblin is a dead goblin.

Personal rating: 6.3/10

Short version: Just do yourself a favor and read the manga instead.

Long version: Don't read manga before this movie, because you will probably end up really disappointed(speaking form own expirience).

So much content was cut off and rushed, it really hurt my goblin hating heart. A lot of info, reasoning, thoughts, character interactions was skipped, but the worst definetely is paceing, which is totally off. Like really, without reading up prior manga I would be a little bit lost and confused abut some things. IMO this arc would make a great season 2, but it was squished into just in one movie, what a waste... ...

Story - kinda good, but not as entertaining as in manga, 7/10.
Art - those God damn CGI... 8/10.
Sound - I really appreciate they effort with sound of running in the snow 10/10
Character - Good as always, but some development and info was skipped 8/10
Enjoyment - 5/10
Overall - Painfull to watch after reading manga(I know, I repeat myself, but thats the truth) 6/10

Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown is garbage. I enjoyed season 1, but this was a movie, right? Where is the movie quality? The animation is the same, the story is even worse than season 1. Goblin Slayer seems less of a bad ass than season 1, and the characters are less relevant than even in the first season. This is just a complete downgrade from season 1, and really does not motivate me to watch season 2. This is a waste of everyone's time. Zero passion in your work results in garbage like this.

Animation 7/10
- Solid animation, but ... little to no action scenes worth a damn. Disappointing.
Sound 6/10
- Again, this is a movie, where is the production value here? Nonexistent. Sound aspects is passable.
Story 1/10
- Essentially a short story that I couldn't give 2 shits about. Garbage.
Characters 3/10
- Somehow the party is less enjoyable than the first season, and Goblin Slayer is essentially a side character. I'm confused.
Enjoyment 3/10
- A waste of time

I can't recommend this to even Goblin Slayer enthusiasts.