This Fall season of anime is a rough one. There are plenty of good returning shows and ones continuing from summer. But in terms of new content, it’s lacking. Usually I try to pick 3 new shows to recommend and I really struggled this time around. There are things I could easily tell you to watch, but its not the same as “Oh my God, you HAVE to watch this new anime”. And I’m not going to suggest a show that I feel is watchable but ultimately ok at best. So rather than force myself to pick a show that I really don’t care about, I’m just going to cut down to two and know that I made the right decision because both of these shows are fantastic and should be all you care about in terms of new series anyway.
1. Goblin Slayer (Goburin Sureiyā)
Goblin Slayer is an ongoing dark fantasy light novel and manga series on top of this new anime debut. The light novel is written by Kumo Kagyu and illustrated by Noboru Kannatsuki while the manga is done by Kōsuke Kurose. The anime is written by Hideyuki Kurata and Yōsuke Kuroda, and directed by Takaharu Ozaki.
We begin our story in a way many of us are very familiar with, a young Priestess has just finished her training and is ready to join her first adventuring party. She meets a friendly group of rookies like herself, save the one brooding and highly trained member and off the go on their adventure. You probably assume you’ll see them bond and maybe things will get a little intense but mostly they’ll laugh it off and continue to grow together. And if you assume that, you would be very, very wrong. Because our heroine and her group are almost immediately thrown into a dire situation, until a man only known as “Goblin Slayer” comes to her rescue and after that first experience, Priestess decides to continue to group up and learn from this mysterious, ruthless individual.
Unlike most of the anime we picture when we think of “fantasy”, Goblin Slayer falls in the same tier as Berserk in royally f*cked up. Goblin Slayer isn’t the hero you’d be expecting. In fact, he really isn’t a hero at all. As his name suggests, that is his objective, to eliminate each and every goblin from existence. He doesn’t show to save anyone, he comes to kill goblins wherever they may be.
Now, if there are people there, he will save them, but what I’m saying is he doesn’t go out of his way to. He may come off as cold, but his logic isn’t wrong either. Mostly. That’s kind of where Priestess comes in. She is still young and a bit naive, but its also clear that she is a necessary voice of compassion and reason that Goblin Slayer needs sometimes. Likewise, he is the voice of cruel reality that she needs to hear as well. They make for a really solid duo.
PLEASE BE ADVISED: this show is rated R for a reason. It’s not like “oh there’s lots of blood and death and some nudity”. No, it’s much more than that. While I think the show is excellent, it’s very intense and warrants a trigger warning due to violence and sexual violence. If that is something you feel confident you can handle, I highly recommend you watch this show. I can see it easily becoming the next Berserk but hopefully with less hiatuses lasting for multiple years at a time.
2. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei Shitara Suraimu Datta Ken)
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was originally a novel series written by Fuse that ran from 2013-2016, but it has been adapted into an ongoing light novel and manga series as well as receiving an anime adaptation. The light novel is written by Fuse and illustrated by Mitz Vah, while the manga is also written by Fuse but illustrated by Taiki Kawakami. The anime is written by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu and directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi.
Our main character was once a normal 37-year-old salaryman (though we don’t know exactly what his job was), that is until he was stabbed by a robber and died. But his life doesn’t end there, it begins anew as he is reincarnated in another world…as a blind blob of slime, but with some really cool, unique abilities. In particular, when he absorbs something, he can either break it down and learn how to mimic it. For example he kills and absorbs a snake and is then able to morph into it. He’s able to use its poison breath ability. Or he can absorb it and store it for later, like when he absorbs healing herbs and turns them into potions which he keeps stored within his body…somewhere.
The first friend he makes is a catastrophe-level Storm Dragon Veldora, one of four true dragons in this world, and it is Veldora who names our hero “Rimuru”. Thus begins the life and adventures of Rimuru the slime, as he ventures out into this new world and begins to change it into one of peace and acceptance.
One of the best things about this show is its ability to acknowledge the fourth wall breaking without actually breaking it. There are certain things Rimuru talks about, such as comparing this new world to a video game, and using this knowledge to better understand and adapt. There is also the concept of skills, improving them and learning new ones that work almost as if Rimuru is communicating with a game AI.
You know when you earn a new skill in a game and it’s like YOU LEARNED THE SKILL BLAHBLAH and then tells you what the skill is? A voice literally appears and does that. He can also ask it questions like you can with NPCs that grant you abilities. Basically there are video game elements but it isn’t a video game world like Sword Art Online or Accel World. The premise and title sound silly, but so far it’s one of the best new anime I’ve seen this year and definitely should be on your watch list.
Make sure you check out both of these amazing shows and more on Crunchyroll or wherever you watch anime!
