Review of Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown
Being naturally biased for anything Goblin Slayer related due to it being my first anime and what got me into anime in general, I'd have given the movie a higher score if it was executed better but it wasn't. It would've been a great special episode in the anime but when compared to other anime franchises' movies like My Hero Academia, No Game No Life, and Fate, it falls flat. Doesn't mean you should skip it tho. The primary flaw with this movie is that it crams an entire Light Novel volume in the span of an hour, meaning the new character introduced in this moviefrom the novels is just not gonna be memorable or as relatable since you literally only get to know them for about an hour. The adaptation of this character wasn't done as well as I'd hope it would. When comparing the Fencer with her LN counterpart, she just falls short. Kind of generic vengeful victim and all that. Reminds me of Last of Us 2's story lmao.
Instead of doing a recap of Season 1 for the first 30 minutes of the movie, they could've used it to expand more on the Fencer's character or some other areas of the arc. I did enjoy the recap since it summed up Season 1 pretty well and since it allows us more insight into Priestess's thoughts and character, but I felt like it should've been omitted and reserved for Season 2. And at the very the least they could've cut it down to 15 minutes since they focused a lot on unnecessary scenes leading up to the current events in the movie, because they spent like 10 minutes on the episode where Goblin Slayer almost died.
Minor flaw: the lighting was pretty bad for certain scenes. They were basically inside a dungeon cell and it was pretty dark to the point where it was hard to make out some of the characters.
Other than that, the fight scenes are done pretty well, the sound design is good, and the character interactions are nice. You get to see how Goblin Slayer has grown as a character since we last saw him in Season 1, and how his party is growing alongside him. Their team mentality and teamwork is a lot more cohesive and in sync. Goblin Slayer actually shows a more human side now and is more empathetic to others, albeit in his own funny little ways. The music used is mostly the same from Season 1 but there's some new tracks thrown in as well. The old tracks were used well and the ending credits song by Mili is really nice (I hope it's reused in Season 2).
I could say more about what I liked but overall, if you liked watching Goblin Slayer you'll like this movie. If you read the novels or mangas, you won't enjoy the adaptation of the Noble Fencer arc or character as much. Skip the first 25-30 minutes unless you wanna watch the recap. Again this is my opinion and thoughts and ultimately my critique and score for the movie. I give it a 7. It was a good watch but it wasn't outstanding enough to be rated an 8 or 9 for what is considered a movie. Don't skip it tho b/c it'll probably play into Season 2.