The fantasy series Goblin Slayer gained an absurd amount of popularity for a number of reasons: The high-quality animation and dark fantasy setting tend to be at the top of the list. But the lead character is just as necessary to the show’s popularity, as people found it easy to like him. The Goblin Slayer remains laser-focused on his goals and tends to let his actions speak for him more than his words.
For this list, we look deeper into the Silver-ranked adventurer, covering how he got to be so talented at killing goblins, as well as why he seems to have so much money but always wears the same generic battle equipment, and more.
10 USES GENERIC WEAPONS ON PURPOSE
After killing who knows how many goblins on countless different quests, you’d think Goblin Slayer would update his gear. Instead, he sticks to the same short sword, light armor, and shield. The swords are often so cheap he can throw them away even in the middle of the quest and use a goblin’s weapon instead.
It’s not because he’s cheap or can’t get anything better—it’s by design. Realizing the likelihood of him dying while doing one of these quests, Goblin Slayer decided to only use regular weapons so the goblins wouldn’t gain any advantage by killing him, making it harder for the next group to take them down.
9 HAS TAKEN ON A TON OF QUESTS
After watching a single episode of Goblin Slayer, you’d think all of humanity would rise up en masse and exterminate anything that was so violent and unforgiving and presented such a threat. But such is not the case. On the contrary, goblins only threaten settlements that are far from major cities; as a result, the people who ask for help rarely put up much money, making them looked down upon both by the guild and adventurers alike.
For Goblin Slayer to have reached the Silver rank means he would have had to take on a ridiculous number of quests to be considered worth promotion.
8 TRAINED UNDER A BURGLAR
Hopefully, no one thought he got so talented at his job on his own. No, a Rhea known as Burglar actually came along and saved Goblin Slayer from his fate. He spent five years training Goblin Slayer, helping him figure out the best way to slay goblins but also training his mind.
He forced the slayer to think about situations, making him solve riddles to keep his intellect as sharp as his body. After being sure he’d trained him enough, the grizzled older man moved on and left Goblin Slayer on his own.
7 HIS FIRST ADVENTURE DIDN'T GO TOO WELL
In case the Batman analogy wasn’t clear enough, Goblin Slayer’s first adventure also went poorly, mirroring how Bruce’s first night fighting crime almost always goes bad. On his very first adventure, he has to exterminate goblins in a cave...and winds up facing a goblin shaman and a giant Hobgoblin.
While he narrowly wins, the slayer not only gets poisoned during the fight but has the antidote to the poison smashed and has to suck the remnants out of the bag to stay alive.
6 WILL GO TO NO END TO DESTROY GOBLINS
Goblin Slayer’s vendetta against goblins is pretty much endless. We’ve seen him kill goblin children, we’ve seen him slay injured goblins begging for their lives. He’s even acknowledged how he must be viewed as evil by them but knows what he does is necessary.
As such, he’s constantly seeking out new ways to beat goblins without putting himself or others at risk, like sealing off their home and lighting it on fire. He’s even dissected goblins before to see how they work, wanting to figure out any possible weaknesses, though he was discouraged from doing so again after the guild learned of his actions.
5 IS ACTUALLY REALLY NICE
One might expect Goblin Slayer to be someone that prefers to work alone rather than in groups and be rather mean to those around him. Surprisingly, this couldn’t be further from the truth. We’ve actually seen him offering to work with people who want to slay goblins multiple times, and has had no problems working with his current party.
He’s polite to the Guild Girl who gives out the missions, as well as his childhood friend Cow Girl. Though his reputation precedes him, it doesn’t tell his entire story. It’s a shame more beginner adventurers don’t partner with him.
4 INSPIRED BY BATMAN
Creator Kumo Kagyu did an interview with The Anime Man where he claimed he got the inspiration to create Goblin Slayer from characters like Batman, the Punisher, and even Kick-Ass.
It’s not hard to see where the Punisher inspiration comes from, as Goblin Slayer has no issues murdering anyone in his path and in his world, it’s necessary. But the Batman inspiration makes even more sense, as we consider he saw his family slain by a cowardly lot (of goblins), then spent years in training before going on an endless crusade against everyone who ruined his life.
3 IS LOOKED DOWN ON
Despite Goblin Slayer being a decent guy who seems to have no problems working in groups, he seems like more of a pariah during the beginning of the series. Cow Girl’s uncle only allows him to stay because he pays good money, but he’s positive Goblin Slayer isn’t sane anymore.
Meanwhile, the guild all seems to believe he’s a weirdo because he’s never moved on to “better” quests more befitting an experienced adventurer. Though it feels like a random change, by the end, they make it seem like the adventurers simply don’t know what to make of him, but still support him when he truly needs it.
2 HIS SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
What’s a Batman analogue without at least a few toys in their utility belt? Though most of his equipment is pretty standard stuff for obvious reasons, it’s not as if he doesn’t have anything special. He carries a Breath Ring around which can allow him to breathe in any environment.
It doesn’t fit a goblin’s finger so the slayer has no qualms using it. He also has a Gate Scroll which he’s linked to the bottom of the ocean, and he’s used the intense water pressure to kill monsters or wash goblins away on a couple of different occasions.
1 ONLY CARES ABOUT SLAYING GOBLINS
The character’s name is about as literal as it gets. He’s only interested in slaying goblins. He’s actually walked off from fairly important conversations that involved killing other monsters because there weren’t any goblins involved.
This makes it all the more hilarious that of late he seems to be fighting and killing a lot of enemies which aren’t goblins at all. Though the slayer was convinced to kill an ogre once because he was goblin adjacent and kept summoning more goblins. Can’t say he doesn’t stick to his brand.