He does not let anyone roll the dice. 
Creative Staff
Story: Kumo Kagyu
Art: Noboru Kannatuki
Translation: Kevin Steinbach
What they say
There’s never a dull moment for Goblin Slayer, as this time, his enemy seeks to strike where it’ll hurt him most—Cow Girl’s farm! Though he’s hopelessly outnumbered, Goblin Slayer prepares to make his final stand. Of course, he could ask his guild mates for help, but who would take on a request with such a high risk for such a low reward? Will they rise to his call, or is this the end for Goblin Slayer…?!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After the harrowing journey in which Goblin Slayer, Priestess, Dwarf Shaman, High Elf Archer, and Lizardman Priest were nearly killed by a creature that wasn’t a goblin, Goblin Slayer is taking it easy back at Cow Girl’s farm. He isn’t wearing his signature armor, which is currently being repaired. We also see him helping out around the farm.
I think one of the most interesting facets of this beginning is how we never see his full face. At most we see his chin and mouth. However, the top half is always cut off, perhaps as a means of helping readers put themselves into the role of Goblin Slayer. It’s an interesting choice considering the light novels are in third-person omniscient as opposed to third-person limited or first-person. What’s even more amusing is that many of the people who know him don’t actually recognize him without his armor. He has an entire conversation with Lancer, who actually hates Goblin Slayer, and the man doesn’t even realize he is talking to his rival for Guild Girl’s affections.
Goblin Slayer runs into Priestess, Dwarf Shaman, High Elf Archer, and Lizardman Priest again. He has donned his armor once more. The interactions between Goblin Slayer and his new party are always interesting. Goblin Slayer is very taciturn. The amount of words he uses are limited, normally to simple phrases like, “I see”, and “is that so?”, or, “that would be a problem.” While this does make his own voice seem mild and almost unseen, it allows the other characters to shine. It also shows Goblin Slayer’s problems with social interaction. He comes across as being uninterested in people (or rather uninterested in anything that isn’t goblins), which makes him seem awkward and unsociable.
The distinctly reserved nature of Goblin Slayer makes me wonder what sort of future developments he’ll have. A story with a protagonist who never changes is boring. Goblin Slayer will need to change at some point. Will he go on to continue slaying only goblins? Will he become a proper adventurer? How will his change—if he does change—affect the characters surrounding him?
While the first few chapters seem to be cute, the ones after it are not. Goblin Slayer has discovered over a dozen goblin tracks. That means a horde. He tries to convince Cow Girl to leave the farm, but she refuses, ultimately leaving the task of slaying this horde of at least one hundred goblins to Goblin Slayer. Personally, the idea of not leaving when you know a horde is coming seems stupid, but the setting is sort of a medieval fantasy. Historically, a person’s land was their livelihood. A girl who no longer has her farm to work on can no longer earn money to make a living. Of course, it’s hard to earn a living if your dead—and goblins tend to treat their captives so horribly any woman unlucky enough to be caught by them would wish they were dead.
Because an army of goblins is too much even for him, Goblin Slayer goes to the guild, where he makes a request of the adventurers: Help him slay some goblins. While this might seem odd considering his reserved nature, Goblin Slayer has always been a logical fellow. Well, at least when it comes to goblins. He knows that a single human cannot protect the farm and slay goblins on an open field when there are that many, and so he makes the request. After getting some help from Guild Girl (the guild decides to offer 1 gold coin for every goblin slain), the adventurers agree.
The following half of this volume is incredibly gory and dark. Brutal in ways only stories like Berserk and Claymore are. I’ve mentioned it before, but this series is hard to stomach if you’re faint of heart. There was a scene during the beginning of the battle where the goblins use meat shields (naked women bound to wooden boards) because they know humans hesitate when confronted with the idea of killing their own. There are also flashbacks that detail the Goblin Lord’s past, which does a really good job of reminding me why I hate goblins and makes me sympathize when Goblin Slayer and his single-minded desire to eradicate them.
In Summary
Goblin Slayer volume 3 is an enjoyable addition to the latest dark fantasy series being published by Yen Press. The artwork of Kousuke Kurose is excellent. The strange blend of incredibly cute artwork mixed with overly gory scenes gives the series a strange dichotomy that makes the darker and gorier moments seem somehow more horrifying than if the artwork had been more like Berserk’s manga artist. More than the artwork, however, I enjoyed the ending where we see how Goblin Slayer appears to be changing thanks to his companions. Also, Priestess is still adorable.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 19th, 2017
MSRP: $13.00
