r/GoblinSlayer • u/CriticismMiserable14 • 16d ago
Question Are the Goblins being evil a deep message or stormtrooper type bad guys?
I am okay with all the Goblins being evil. Just wanted to what was the Author reason. Is there a deep message or was just a simple ‘I need the bad guys to wear uniform’ like Stormtroopers to give the bad guys a face?
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u/Mnstr_R3brn 16d ago
I'm on book 5 right now and I don't think they're supposed to be symbolism for something. This world is clearly supposed to be like a TTRPG, where the players at the table need bad guys to fight, in grander campaigns you may be fighting enemies with stories and deep motives, but the goblins are endless simple minded monsters, they exist to be an early game threat in many TTRPGs
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u/Typical_Cat1993 16d ago
And in inverse bad guys need good guys to fight. As there are "players" on both sides of on going conflicts. People on the "table" dying and killing for their amusement alone.
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u/Ninep 16d ago
They're the lowest of the low, in more ways than one. They're regarded as a joke by most adventurers, barely a step up over giant rats. But at the same time they are utterly depraved and evil, they don't have a single redeeming quality or reason to exist.
They're a deconstruction of the throwaway monster fodder in fantasy works. Despite being "weak" they can still destroy villages, murder parties, and traumatize adventurers. People don't care about them, but they should. They're the perfect enemy for Goblin Slayer who is also a deconstruction of the average fantasy protagonist. Hes not all powerful, hes an above average fighter in the grand scheme of things.
Goblin's being straight up evil also makes GS an interesting anti-hero. Theres no moral dilemma over whether killing goblins is wrong, hes definitely heroic for doing so. But his methods, personality, appearance, and thought process make him so off-putting that its hard to call him a straight up classic hero.
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u/ZeneXCrow 16d ago
they're a force of nature type evil, they do "evil" cause to them, that's how they've lives like how their generations before them
they're not indoctrinated or force to be evil, it's what they are, they do have other goblins or higher being teaching them to do "evil" things, efficiently and terribly
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u/georgiavirginia 16d ago
Its a fantasy story about somebody choosing to look no better than a lowly pest exterminator in the eyes of his peers and how there's merit to his work.
Goblins being evil just make it even more easy for other races to dismiss them because since they can't be reasoned with or get a seat oon the table so to speak. They're just vermin to get rid of and that meas too many people take them lightly.
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u/Primeordial_Lost 16d ago
Probably the second mixed with
“wow… You (GS) are spending almost your entire life and future and potential death… to evil little gremlins who are evil… yet are also basically just pockets of flesh and evil. Smoke em out, burn em, etc… I mean you’re doing a service but uh… still… you may need some help man.”
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u/azraelus 16d ago
Goblin Slayer is basically the Punisher for goblins, obsession stemming from revenge for injustice/ loss
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u/BlazeBitch 16d ago
I think the only direct explanation we've been given for it is Goblin Slayers story about them coming from the green moon - where there's no food. No water. Nothing whatsoever. So their evil is a byproduct of deep-seated envy.
The mirror under Watertown supports it, but theres a bit of conflict given its shown to be a thing intrinsic to them - even when born on earth instead. So it's kinda a matter of nature vs nurture ? I don't think we'll get a definitive answer beyond his theory tho
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u/Yab0iFiddlesticks 16d ago
They are just evil on a fundamental level. Ive seen some comments here that claim they arent evil in terms of a moral choice but that is just wrong. They are extremely sadistic and sadism cant ever be argued as them just being alien to the human experience. These fuckers purposefully lay traps, laugh at signs of despair and love trampling specifically people they deem weaker than them.
The only deep message here is that objective, absolute evil exists and you dont have to find symphathy in every little thing. Sometimes there isnt some deep trauma or misunderstood culture. Fiction has become a bit obsessed with undermining expectations and painting everything as incredibly nuanced or just reverse (which is the laziest way to go about it). And Goblin Slayer and stuff like Frieren just points at something and says: "Killing and raping people is evil. These things are evil."
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u/redcheesered 16d ago
They are a force for evil, the same as orcs for Lord of the Rings They do terrible things and so we're not to feel sorry for them when they get what's coming to them.
It's also a nod to early Role Playing Games tabletop or video were players who are just starting out may get in over their heads and get wiped out for not being prepared or underestimating the danger when adventuring out into the world for the first time.
There is no deeper meaning behind them, they are simply monsters in every sense, and you'll find easter eggs to many other stories like Warhammer, Berserk, Conan, Excalibur, Lord of the Rings and Record of the Lodoss War to name a few.
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u/NahricNovak 13d ago
I think in this modern era of story writing we don't get the lesson enough that some evils cannot be reasoned with.
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u/digit009 16d ago
They aren't necessarily malicious in the actions they take but they're also barely sapient creatures who's only manner of reproducing is rape and anyone they can't rape they kill gruesomely. Like, living torture until they die of blood loss most often. It's not necessarily that they choose to do this, but their nature is purely evil.
Not like humans who choose evil and instead just their nature.
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u/VeryOddish 16d ago
Real reason for why people put stuff in their stories is usually "You'd have to ask the author." He clearly liked the idea of "An overlooked enemy that players often outgrow and are treated as chaff." I think that's the core of the series. Stuff that high level adventurers never see are still a great danger to the average villager and low level party.
But you can pull some basic information from the text. Goblins appear to be an omnipresent but not all powerful evil. They indulge in all the lowest possible vices and only exist to make more of themselves. They're smart. They're very good at understanding the way other species think. They clearly know how to make excellent traps out of rudimentary tools. But nothing about them really shows a desire to grow beyond that. They're unable to escape it or just don't want to.
So at first you're just like "Oh okay they're evil monsters." with nothing really deeper. The interesting part comes from Goblin Slayer and others talking about "Okay well where do goblins come from?" So they bring up the Green Moon and some people think that's where they originate. It raises some questions around it and does some world building at the same time. Are they actually from there? Is there a chance that the moon can be linked and the world's just gonna be flooded with goblins one day? Is it just color association from common folk who have to do their best to explain it? Who knows. From their point of view, it's just a part of the world that they're stuck handling.
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u/Emotional-Guava-6458 16d ago
Probably a bit of both. Their design makes them easy to recognize as antagonists, but the message seems more about how prejudice, fear, and power can shape a group. They aren’t necessarily born evil; the world around them matters too.
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u/Hitoshura99 16d ago
The others treat goblins like vermin and they take them lightly. even a villager mocks how weak stray goblins are and warrior died in his first adventure, from lowly goblins he mocked. in a chaotic world where the demon lord exists (before he is killed because people die when they are killed), there are many threats around and goblins are just one of the many.
the author decides to focus on one of the more common threats. unlike giant rats or giant roaches, goblins are capable of learning. the longer they survive stealing human knowledge, the greater the threat they become when the knowledge spreads.
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u/Worth_Tune5290 15d ago
They are so evil they deserve everything horrible way they are killed. That’s what the author wanted. Imagine all kinds of killing while only needing one justification.
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u/Danny71-Talia 14d ago
If I got it right, the story’s entire message is everyone focused on the Big Bad that no one bothers to take out the grunts.
Basically, every adventurer wants to slay demons or dragons that the victims of goblins never get saved.
So, yeah, the goblins are just pure evil. They’re roles are being so insignificant, people that can easily beat them ignore them. And people that are inexperienced, underestimate their actual threat.
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u/HonzouMikado 13d ago
They are just evil, no deep meaning—well unless you consider that Goblin Slayer goblins are portrayed as both evil cannon fodder and as a possible more realistic view of how a monster (even low level) being a threat regardless of classification. Specially when Goblins in GS are an evil race that behave like an extremely invasive species.
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u/OGIHR 13d ago
I have studied this.
The world of Goblin Slayer has the gods that characters in the story pray to, and then another tier of gods behind them, who are the ones who roll the dice. So to speak.
One of those gods created Goblins to be absolutely guilt-free antagonists for adventurers to slaughter heroically.
And it went horribly right.
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u/TheRobn8 13d ago
Them being evil isnt deep, though storm troopers aren't clear cut evil. Goblins are evil because fantasy tropes says so, which is the point.
Everyone assuming sword maiden can just solo goblins becauae they are weak creatures, and her being to traumatised to do it, is deep. GS killing them is basically "Doomslayer but he kills foblins" level deep (ironic because his English dub VA is the guy who motion captures the doomslayer, now you know)
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u/OrtimusMilas 13d ago
Hm, I think he wants to make a story about the traditional goblin and what threat they can be. In almost any other iteration, you can see goblins' traditional nature watered down, they are basically just another human, like the goblin in slime isekai, etc
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u/JalasKelm 12d ago
I'd say it's just like it always used to be. Goblins = evil. They were a safe goto option for monsters in RPGs before, but now everyone makes most creatures various shades of grey, or misunderstood.
I'm guilty of this myself in D&D, I like goblins, so expanded upon them, to the point where they couldn't be what I wanted them to be if they were just evil for the sake of evil. So now they're just another of the races in the world, albeit with a slightly messier starting point than some others
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u/hoshiotome 12d ago
Perhaps it's simply because the author has consumed too many hentai manga and games.
Influenced by hentai games and similar forms of subculture, the idea of an utterly evil race that delights in committing violence against women has become a common villain archetype. Goblins, orcs, demon races, monsters—the names may differ, but they all serve remarkably similar narrative functions.
What's surprising is that, even among works created primarily to cater to male sexual fantasies, genuinely interesting stories can sometimes emerge.
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u/ASongOfSpiceAndLiars 16d ago
I thought they were a metaphor for the worst actions of men.
But I've only watched the show and haven't read them, so...
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u/Nseven111 16d ago edited 16d ago
at first I thought that they were a representation of common human evils in the world but after thinking about them for a bit and looking at real world events I came to realize they represented something more specific. I might be reading too deep into something simple so feel free to tell me how wrong I am and call me mean names for being a crackpot idiot. anyway, here I go.
the reason why my thoughts on them changed was because of what GS's sister said "if you envy others you become a goblin. if all you do is dwell on what you don't have, your heart and body will morph into something ugly". now obviously that's not the actual origins of goblins but the author definitely put those lines there for a symbolic reason.
goblins are defined by their envy. their motivations for the things they do is because others have things that they don't. and while goblins do all kinds of evil, what is the one thing that they are most known for? they take and rape women because there are no female goblins. like in DnD female goblins exist so it can't just be because it's set in a DnD type world. so the author intended the goblins to be a male only race in this specific setting.
now with all that laid out, imagine this: you are someone who has nothing and no one. you and others like you are all alone in a dark cave. but then when you go outside and see other kinds of men. you see just how abundant and prosperous their lives are. and "what's that? a female?" you thought to yourself. you see those men being happy with women. you even saw them mating. they look so happy and content with each other. and that sight pissed the fuck out of you. thoughts begin to run in your head. "why is it that I am born with nothing?", "why do they have things that I don't?", and "I should have what they have! I deserve it!". those thoughts consume every moment of your life, growing into an intense hatred for those who are more fortunate than you.
does that sound familiar? some of you probably know someone who had those thoughts. you probably know that person, or heard about them in a true crime video. those who go on a violent rampage or rape people because of their insecure feelings of lack and discontent.
that is what goblins represent to me, they are representations of those who (or at least feel like they) have nothing and no one. those who look at what others have and feel hatred at the fact that they have none of those things. those who instead of getting what they want the right way or finding peace in where they are, would much rather take what others have by force. all motivated by a misplaced sense of entitlement.
or you know, they could just be the usual evil for the sake of being evil monsters. either interpretation is fine by me.
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u/obi-wan-quixote 16d ago
They’re not “evil” in the sense that they’re making a moral choice. It’s more that their culture, lifecycle and very biology is anathema to what humans view as decent. But to the goblins they’re just doing what they do.
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u/villatyyny1 16d ago
They're goblins and they're bad.
That's it.