Goblin Slayer, Vol. 1

Leave a reply

By Kumo Kagyu and Noboru Kannatuki. Released in Japan by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Let’s just get this out of the way right now: Goblin Slayer is filled to the brim with rape, rape threats, forced impregnation, and murder. Every single woman in the book is a target, and while we never see any explicit scenes, we see the aftermath. Combining that with the quite fanservicey artwork, emphasizing boobs and butts, and I feel confident in saying that this series’ entire audience is men, and I can probably narrow it down to young single men in their teens and early twenties. If this sort of thing bothers you, don’t even try purchasing this series. That said, I did actually manage to finish this book, and it is not without some merit, so let’s delve into it.

The series takes place in generic fantasy world X, and I’m not even being sarcastic this time. It’s so generic that no one in the book has a name. Goblin Slayer is the eponymous hero, but the girl on the cover is simply named Priestess, and we also have Guild Girl, Cow Girl, Knight, etcetera. The adventurers in this book take on fantastical creatures in order to protect the land, but also more importantly for money – these adventurers are not interested in the small, minor tasks. Tasks like goblin slaying, for example. Goblins are small and somewhat weak, so no one cares about them. But in groups they’re vicious, and many young adventurer teams have gone out to kill some goblins only to find themselves murdered (men) or raped, bred, then murdered (women). Priestess is the sole survivor of one of those newbie groups, having been saved by Goblin Slayer. Now she assists him in taking out more goblins, as they keep multiplying, and are no longer just the weak mi nor enemies everyone thinks.

The ‘titles instead of names’ thing is meant to be an aesthetic, and I get it, but it also serves to make everything that much more impersonal. I certainly hope they actually do have names and we just never learn them through narrative conceit, otherwise it would make finding your vocation quite easy, I imagine. (I also wish “Cow Girl” had been translated to “Farm Girl”, which would also be accurate and would be a bit less “lol look at her udders”.) That said, as the book goes on, and particularly once Goblin Slayer and Priestess team up with a party of an elf, a dwarf, and a lizardman (who sadly do not walk into a bar, thus ruining the joke potential), we do end up getting more involved in the storyline, and the fights, while excessively violent, are quite well written. There’s a terrific sequence at the end where Goblin Slayer asks the adventurers to help him protect Cowl Girl’s farm from a Goblin raid, and all the seemingly uncaring and selfish warriors gradually all agree because, well, they like Goblin Slayer and he’s asking nicely (and also offering a small reward). It’s a nice scene that shows we can all get along and work together after all.

All of these nice fights and good scenes can’t quite make me recommend the book, though. I think the modern fan term “edgelord” was invented for characters like Goblin Slayer, and the world he lives in is just as “edgy” in a teenage fanfic writer way. Basically, this series is too impersonal and there’s way too much raping. It makes an effort, but I don’t believe I’ll be reading more.

Bloom Into You, Vol. 1

2 Replies

By Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru” by ASCII Media Works, serialization ongoing in the magazine Dengeki Daioh. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jenny McKeon. Adapted by Jenn Grunigen.

One of the benefits of having been around in any fandom or genre for a while is the delight you find when someone takes what would appear to be another old, cliched take on an old, cliched premise and manages to breathe some life into it. I had already heard a lot of positive buzz about this title, but from what little I’d read about, I wasn’t sure what the fuss was about. The premise sounded like Maria-sama Ga Miteru clone #2,739, and the cover, featuring the cool black-haired sempai staring into the eyes of her no-doubt adoring kouhai. What I thought might be the reason it was catching on was the apparent lack of fanservice and “we need to lure in male readers”, which has been very common with the yuri genre lately. then I read the first volume, and I think I know why it’s so popular: Yuu, the main character.

Basically, while Yuu looks to be the main stereotype of the first-year yuri student, complete with handy uniform ribbon that will no doubt become crooked at some point, her personality is nothing like what you’d expect. She was confessed to by a guy who she’d been friends with in middle school, and takes a while to answer him as she’s trying to figure out the best way to do it. Seeing Nanami (the other main lead) forthrightly rejecting someone confessing to her, and getting further advice, gives her resolve, and she is able to say no. The interesting part comes when Nanami confesses that she’s fallen in love with Yuu… and Yuu spends most of the volume realizing she DOESN’T feel the same way. Her heart isn’t pounding. This is a nice reversal of the usual, where it’s the younger girl’s earnest, persistent efforts that eventually make the older girl fall for her (seemingly, usually the second girl will admit she was in love all along.)

Yuu isn’t exactly emotionless, but she’s very placid and calm much of the time, and it shows in her actions and her reactions. I really liked the scene where, after Nanami forces a kiss on Yuu to show that she’s not talking about the “admiration” kind of love, there’s an awkward silence and Nanami asks “what should I do?” Yuu, who knows her yuri cliches clearly, looks away as she asks “shouldn’t I be the one asking that?” As the book goes on, we learn more about Yuu (who has a very normal family who run a bookstore) and Nanami (who has a classmate and best friend who I’ll lay you two to one is secretly in love with her, though that seems difficult to say given how this title has caught me off guard so far), and deal with the Student Council Elections, which Nanami wins with the help of Yuu, who proves to be an excellent campaign manager. Throughout it all, Yuu continues to calmly and somewhat sadly realize that she ISN’T in love with Nanami, and she seems a bit puzzled by the fact that Nanami is seemingly OK with things being one-sided.

Basically, the story and characters here are excellent, and while it may seem like your typical high-school yuri romance, I was surprised several times throughout. Definitely recommended.

No Game No Life, Vol. 5

Leave a reply

By Yuu Kamiya. Released in Japan by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Daniel Komen.

I was not quite as grumpy with this volume of No Game No Life as I was the previous one, despite the fact that it has many of the same problems. It could be that it had more interesting things happen – one fight takes up well over a third of the book – or that the denouement of the Siren thing was slightly amusing, which it was – emphasis on slightly. I suspect, however, that the main reason is that this volume was delayed and delayed and then delayed again, to the point where it now hits nine months after the last. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? More likely I was able to settle in after having forgotten literally everything about the last book, and it took a while to recall. The publisher may have figured this out as well – Vol. 6 has already been delayed a month or two as well.

I’ll start my mentioning what I didn’t care for, and then move on to what I enjoyed. As I observed in the previous volume, Sora and Shiro’s development continues to annoy me, mostly as the author has seemingly forgotten that the dichotomy between “invincible gamers” and “social incompetents” was what made them so fascinating. Here, as in Book 4, they almost never have a breakdown or completely lose it. Part of that is the nature of the game they’re playing in the first half – it requires them to be touching, basically, as they have to function as a pair of wings. But I suspect it’s more that the author just enjoys writing them as smug winners. We do get a little bit more time in their heads this volume, which is both good (Sora) and bad (Shiro’s incestuous feelings).

There’s also the resolution of the Dhampir/Siren plot, which was all right, but I wish more had been done to overcome the “Sirens are bimbos” stereotype. As it turns out the way to solve the riddle and wake the princess is simply not to do what she asks for – if you’re an unattainable love that she can never have, you win. Naturally, this is done with a lot of mental and emotional abuse, supposedly justified because she was so annoying, really. And then there’s Plum, whose surprise reveal wasn’t much of one, but whose other revelation – being a secret mastermind manipulating things – worked much better.

And then there’s Steph, who remains the main reason that I’m reading these books. I sympathize with her over the top suffering, of course, but more to the point, she’s developing more and more into a leader and keen observer every book, and people are starting to take notice – particularly Izuna, who is able to get past her verbal tic to realize that Stephanie is not as dumb as she thinks she is, or Sora and Shiro make her out to be. Of course, in the long run, I suspect this is shaping up for Stephanie to rule over everyone once Sora and Shiro win the game. I also liked the backstory with the Flugel race, and how imagination, curiosity, and the desire to create are what they desperately needed – but only Jibril had. There’s hints of some intriguing backstory, which I’d like to see more of.

So overall a mixed bag, and I think those who have been grumpy about this release won’t stop being so. But it’s still worth a read if you can tolerate twinked-out protagonists and their slangey dialogue.