Goblin Slayer’s hatred towards goblins is well-documented in the anime: his village was invaded by a horde of goblins that killed everyone and he helplessly witnessed his big sister getting violated and then murdered. Ever since the incident, he devoted his life as an adventurer to eradicating goblins, and that’s for the best because other adventurers turn a blind eye. Goblins are considered low-tier monsters, so killing them doesn’t provide a decent bounty, and they’re usually reserved for porcelain rank or rookie adventurers starting their career in monster-slaying. Ignoring the potential threat of goblins, many would-be adventurers lose their lives and if they’re women, they’re used for breeding to increase the goblin population. Goblin Slayer’s fixation on goblins, despite his silver rank that qualifies him to hunt higher tier monsters for higher rewards, is a subject of ridicule from his peers, though this notoriety makes his exploits well-known and people go to him when it comes to goblin extermination. Money, fame, or respect; Goblin Slayer doesn’t need any of these as long as he continues to slay goblins by any means necessary.

Ignoring the “everyone will get killed and/or raped by goblins” thing, Goblin Slayer has a great cast of characters helping him throughout his goblin-slaying mission. Yeah, sure, all of the characters literally have no names and they’re only identified by their class like Priestess, Elf, Dwarf, and Lizardman, and their personalities match their class, but it’s the little things that make them memorable and likeable. Elf has fast reflexes and has a bit of an attitude towards Dwarf because Dwarf mocked her for her flat chest. Dwarf is short, is always drunk, and he always gets into petty arguments with Elf because both races are sworn enemies. Lizardman is the one with a carefree view of the world and loves cheese. There is more to these characters than their roles and with season 2 on the horizon, we’ll get to learn more about their backstory. As for the Goblin Slayer himself, he’s a very odd fellow who is unaware that what he’s doing is getting people’s attention. He eats with his helmet on, he can walk around town with the helmet while waiting for his armor to get repaired. Goblin Slayer isn’t the type to converse with people, but he’s showing signs he can change and listen to people. Or maybe he’s just shy?

Comparing Goblin Slayer to Berserk is a disservice to both series, but it’s hard to ignore that both shows are very dark fantasies, there’s blood and gore, sexual violence, and the main characters are specialized monster hunters. Very dark fantasy anime is a niche subgenre and Berserk is the cream of the crop, so if you want a starting point, then Goblin Slayer is a fine example. Get used to the violence, blood, and gore of Goblin Slayer because Berserk is like a window to Hell filled with death, disease, and destruction from both the humans and beasts.