When you really want to make hentai, but are too ashamed to do so... Let's begin this review with the elephant in the room. Something that caused a shitstorm around this anime. Sexual violence.

If you don't like thinking about it, Goblin Slayer may not be the show for you. Yes, it also has blood and gore, but who cares these days, right? You can dismember anyone in any graphic details, but showing... \gasp\... rape..? God forbid!

Yes, if for some reason you couldn't tell, it was sarcasm. I personally don't care about anything shown graphically. There shouldn't be any restrictions for fictional worlds. So for me, this part of the show was never the problem. Especially when you stop to consider that it makes a lot of sense story- and lore-wise.

However, after the first episode, it's mostly implied and not shown. And even in the first one it's highly censored, unlike the manga. So... honestly, I wouldn't recommend getting hung up on rape aspect of this show. It's a very minor element, at least as far as actually showing it goes.

Now, about the anime itself.

It's pretty and stylish, but in a very generic way. Meaning every character design is cool, but all the time you keep thinking "I've seen this somewhere before. This one looks like Guts from Berserk, that one is Lancer from Fate"... others just look like generic fantasy characters. And the same can be said about monsters, locations and heck, even the story and its simplicity.

But at the same time, watching all this genericness isn't unpleasant. I believe author perfectly realizes how much of a generic thing he created, and revels in it. The characters don't even have names. "Elf", "Goblin Slayer", "Priestess" are their names. And the protagonist's motivation is a very simple "Vengeance! Kill them all!" type of thing.

But there is something about it. It's like playing a role-playing game with pre-generated characters. Good old "fighter, cleric, mage and thief". No, they are not original, but you can instantly understand what they are and what you can expect from them. And as such, all this show looks like an uninspired, but still warm and sincere D&D campaign. Except if you roll a 1, you get raped.

It is just a good old epic fantasy. And honestly, sometimes you just want exactly that. Pure generic fantasy. Not an isekai where protagonist are thrown into a video game, but just a good old normal fantasy, where characters from that world deal with their problems without use of any modern gimmicks.

Now, where the author actually showed originality is combat tactics. What weapons to use in which situation, the unusual application of common spells, creative interractions with environment etc. This makes every combat encounter unique and memorable, even when compared to other shows.

The soundtrack was epic, made by the same guy who composed for Re:Zero and Golden Kamuy. And the opening is beyond brilliant, both intense and relaxing, capable of catching you off guard, just like the show itself.

Pros:

+ Beautiful characters + Interesting tactical decisions + Unusual opening + Heartful humor and dialogues + Art, in my opinion, is better than in manga, despite occasional CGI. + Drunk elf :P + Everything is exceptionally simple

Cons:

+ Everything is exceptionally simple + The animation leaves a bit to be desired + Quite a bit of censorship

I feel like this is a common theme with my reviews, but... I liked it more than I expected. However, in case of Goblin Slayer, it doesn't mean that this anime is magnificent. I just had very low expectations.
Will I recommend it to everyone without exception? No. But will I watch season 2 if it comes out? Absolutely. Why not? It is a good anime. And it's perfect to just turn your brain off and enjoy a fantasy cartoon.