Character Autopsy: Goblin Slayer

This is the character autopsy, where I take a character that I adore and force them down onto the cold and metallic table and cut them open, exploring what about their character that resonates with me and how I can use it in my own writing. Today the character that I will be dissecting is the goblin slaughtering adventurer, Goblin Slayer.

At one point, I imagine that will write about my love for the show Goblin Slayer, the symbolism within that speaks to me and the first episode that was shocking but brilliant. That is not today, instead I will focus on the protagonist of the series, Goblin Slayer himself. He has Batman-esk qualities about him, perhaps that is part of the reason I like him, but I am not going to cover the same point that I did in the Character Autopsy that I did of Batman, I am going to focus on a different quality that Goblin Slayer has, complete dedication and focus. Imagine a world where there are dragons and monsters and an evil demon army seeking to destroy everything and now imagine saying no to helping to fight against all that and instead dedicating your life to killing tiny green goblins. It sounds like something a background character would do, you know, as a joke or as a momentary stopping point before progressing towards the world ending event. That would usually make narrative sense, why stop to focus on something small when the entire world is at stake, but it shows the absolute dedication of the character, that he only cares about goblins, to such a degree that he will blatantly ask if goblins are involved in a quest and if they are not, then he will walk away. Every choice he makes as a character is related to how best to kill goblins, that is all he cares about and I love that. While those around him see him as a freak or just strange, as the audience we see the world how he does. A world ending event is nothing compared to the suffering that the goblins cause to the farmers and their families. It is refreshing to see that, especially as the world ending event can become quite tiresome with its overuse. I also like watching a character who is so dedicated, make difficult decisions quickly and know why they made them. I do not wish to spoil the first episode, but in it we watch Goblin Slayer do something that at first seems awful, but when he explains to his new companion why he must do it, we start to see the world from his eyes. That kind of character is interesting not only to watch, but to write. When the character acts in such a dedicated way, the path for them seems logical and straight in a world where most characters do not see it as such. I feel though, that this kind of character needs to be surrounded by other characters as a contrast, not only to reinforce the dedication but to help add depth. For Goblin Slayer it is the Priestess and their companions, who try to understand him and react how the audience does. I created a character that had that dedication, but unlike Goblin Slayer, I decided to see what would happen when he found himself no longer able to dedicate himself because of his conscience. Though differing from Goblin Slayer, I still surrounded him with other characters who had could humanise him and highlight the issue with his actions. I feel that it made him more human and allowed me to explore him in more depth than if I had kept him isolated. The last point I wish to consider is that a character who is always dedicated cannot grow much, because all of their focus is on one thing. That is not necessarily bad, it could work for the course of a set narrative arc, but for my own characters, and indeed the show Goblin Slayer, if the arc is longer, then the growth needs to be bigger. For me, I have found that redirecting the dedication has helped my character grow. I am not sure what path Kumo Kagyu (the author behind the light novel series that was turned into the show that I like) will take, but I do know that I am excited to see how he grows Goblin Slayer and what I can learn from his chosen path.