A while ago I rewatched Goblin Slayer with the expectation that it could then be inducted into my top anime rankings, but after rewatching it I decided it wasn't good enough. It was that close to being ranked. But I find now, with the added value of season 2, I must revisit that conclusion. Now it is good enough.
Season 2 looks great and already has interesting new twists that aren't simply 'how do we kill goblins today?' Now we're talking about characters' internal struggles with feelings of inadequacy. It feels like there's potential for character development this time around. Season 2 has already impressed me with its first two episodes so who knows how good it will get by season's end. Furthermore, there's a high chance the series will receive a third or fourth season since it's a popular property, which would of course raise the value of the anime yet again.
Goblin Slayer didn't have to do much to win a spot in my rankings, all it had to do was replace the nonexistent, not even announced as greenlit anime of Summer Pockets. By eliminating this phantom entry I now have a fully represented top 200 anime -- all 200 ranked series have actually aired an actual product that people can watch. It isn't an anime wishlist but an anime ranking. This is something I've wanted for a long time and thanks to Goblin Slayer I can now finally have.
It's been a bumpy road for Goblin Slayer and for my anime rankings, but now everything has worked out. Like my music hall of fame I can now say my anime hall of fame is complete.
Because all honored anime deserve a spot in my fictional character hall of fame, I also replaced Guile with 'Orcbolg.' Since Goblin Slayer has no name in human but does have a proper name in Elven, I went with his Elven name. I'm sure Christopher's son would be much happier to be named Orcbolg than 'Goblin,' or 'Goblin-Slayer,' which sounds ridiculous. (One of the reasons I didn't want to rank Goblin Slayer to begin with, but the anime has become too good to ignore.)
Guile has the problem of looking good and having a cool fighting style, but having next to no characterization. I can list off many virtues of Orcbolg, he's ingenuitive, resourceful, dedicated, strong, protects the vulnerable at risk to himself, and his suit of armor looks badass. But what can I say about Guile? He shoots sonic booms? He has blonde hair? I know next to nothing about him. He's just a character design and a fighting style. He's an airman who wants to avenge his friend Charlie. That's not a person, that's the skeleton of a person, an outline. Orcbolg is a role model, he says, does, and thinks things I can point to as awesome and worthy of emulation. If I told someone to model themselves after Guile, all they could do is learn how to kick while upside down.
You could say the same thing about Ryu, but there is a difference. Ryu is the poster boy of the entire Street Fighter series, and thus has been given a more in depth characterization across various mediums. He's also just plain cooler than Guile.
Since Umineko and Higurashi are loosely connected within the plot of the two franchises, I connected the two in my franchise listings, so even with the addition of Goblin Slayer I stayed at 300 honored franchises. Another clever trick up my sleeve.
As another benefit, this now puts my top anime rankings at well over 10,000 episodes again. It helps to have 200 actual series ranked instead of fake farcical entries. Surely this time I'll never fall below 10,000 again. From here on the question is whether I'll ever reach 11,000.
In other anime news, Dragon Ball Daima has been announced for Fall 2024. What happened to Dragon Ball Super? There's plenty of manga they could have adapted, but instead this random story from left field. But it is canon, Akira Toriyama is heavily involved in the project, so I can't ignore it. Like GT Goku is going to be shrunk, but unlike GT the plot is written by Toriyama, so it ought to be a lot better this time around.
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