Goblin Slayer Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Trailer, Possible Plotlines And More Details

The following article mentions sexual assault.

The dark fantasy anime "Goblin Slayer" is based on a light novel series written by Kumo Kagyu and illustrated by Noboru Kannatsuki. The show became the cause of much controversy when it debuted in 2018 because of its graphic content. The titular character has one purpose in life: To slay every Goblin he sees on sight, adults and minors alike. He takes no prisoners on his crusade of slaughter, but it wasn't the extreme violence that caused the backlash.

The goblins in this world procreate by sexually assaulting female victims, and their vile actions are on display from the very first episode of Season 1. "Goblin Slayer" became infamous in anime circles after Crunchyroll added the show to its library without putting a content warning on a particularly disturbing episode, leading to a number of complaints and a public apology from the streamer.

Away from the dark setup, the show offers some compelling storylines. It begins with a young priestess joining a group of adventurers on an urgent quest to rescue girls from some goblins. When her group is decimated the Goblin Slayer sweeps in to save Priestess, and she becomes the first member of a new party that forms around the protagonist during Season 1. But what's next for our adventurers? Here's what we know about "Goblin Slayer" Season 2.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In January 2021, publishing label GA Bunko announced at anniversary event GA FES 21 that a second season of "Goblin Slayer" was on the way. It released a poster and announcement trailer celebrating the approval of the upcoming season, but there was no new footage. This indicates that the production of Season 2 was probably not very far along at the time. Things went quiet on the "Goblin Slayer" front for a while after that, but we now know when the second season is due to drop in Japan: October 6, 2023.

The first people who will get to see it are those with access to the streaming service ABEMA, which will be releasing the premiere a couple of hours prior to the TV debut. The opening episode will air "on Tokyo MX, AT-X, and BS11, before airing on Sun TV," Anime News Network has confirmed. Thankfully, Crunchyroll is running a simulcast of the season for fans in the United States, as well as those in "Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Latin America and Russian-speaking territories from October 6." Dubs will be available in English, Latin American Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

Minor manga spoilers ahead

The "Goblin Slayer" anime is based on the light novels of the same name, so fans of the source material already have a pretty good idea of where the story could head in Season 2. For everyone else, it gets a little confusing. That's because the first season of "Goblin Slayer" covered events up to the end of Volume 2 and then threw a little bit of Volume 4 (made up of short stories) into the mix. The 2020 film "Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown" covered Volume 5, so Season 2 will either go straight to Volume 6 and start from there, or it will jump back to Volume 3. The jury is still out on where Season 2 will begin, though it seems highly likely that it will adapt the events of Volume 6 onward, even if it goes back to the third one first.

A lot goes down in Volume 6 and the entries immediately following it. The Goblin Slayer gang teams up with a young wizard boy to deal with goblins at an old mausoleum. They also head for the Elven motherland, escort the Sword Maiden to the capital, and, a little later, guard a vineyard belonging to the Temple of the Earth Mother, where Priestess spent her childhood. Priestess even takes leadership of the group in the absence of the Goblin Slayer at one stage, which helps her character develop. Because the light novel volumes are largely self contained, any of the above could potentially be factored into Season 2. And it goes without saying that plenty of goblins will be slain along the way.

The voice cast that brought "Goblin Slayer" Season 1 to life are returning for Season 2. The titular character is played by Yuichiro Umehara, who has been very busy with other shows in recent years: The Shizuoka native has voiced characters in over a dozen anime titles in 2023 alone, including the supernatural fantasy "Ayaka," the shonen series "Mashle: Magic and Muscles," and the lighthearted espionage anime "Spy Classroom." Umehara is arguably best known for playing the Goblin Slayer, though they couldn't be more different in real life — a keen guitarist, he's more likely to be found slaying solos. He also takes a keen interest in the stock market, something he got into heavily during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other returning original cast members include Yui Ogura ("Hugtto Precure") as Priestess, Nao Tōyama ("My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU") as High Elf Archer, Yuka Iguchi ("Seraph of the End") as Cow Girl, Maaya Uchida ("The Promised Neverland") as Guild Girl, Yūichi Nakamura ("Jujutsu Kaisen") as Dwarf Shaman, Tomokazu Sugita ("Gintama") as Lizard Priest, Yōko Hikasa ("Dr. Stone") as Witch, and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka ("Sword Art Online") as Spearman. But what about their dub counterparts? Will the English cast be the same this time out?

While it hasn't been officially announced yet, the voice actor who plays Goblin Slayer in the English version has confirmed that he's back as the main character for Season 2 and that the English dub has been done for some time. "We knocked that out like a year and a half ago, it's been in the can for a while now," Hawkins revealed at Rangerstop & Pop Con in August 2023, adding, "It gets even more gory and more disturbing." Hayden Daviau, who plays Priestess, has also confirmed that they're back for Season 2.

The first full-length trailer for "Goblin Slayer" Season 2 all but confirmed that it will be adapting the events of the sixth light novel volume, giving viewers a glimpse of Wizard Boy. The trailer begins with various shots of goblins looking intimidating — marching in unison, hiding in trees, and riding on wolves. Things take an expected but welcome turn when the titular character shows up and starts doing what he does best. Several goblins are slain in brutal fashion before the Season 2 title card appears along with the tagline: "He does not let anyone roll the dice."

After the tagline, the Goblin Slayer's comrades get in on the action, slashing and hacking their way through hordes of onrushing goblins. Lizard Priest is shown in a particularly brutal moment, taking out four goblins with a spinning move. The last attack is given to the newcomer, with Wizard Boy using his Fireball spell from the manga on one unlucky goblin as the rest of the gang look on.

The few trailers that have come out since then have all been pretty similar, opening with shots of the Goblin Slayer followed by his various allies. In one trailer, the titular character says, "I'm not saving the world, I'm just killing goblins," summing up his attitude perfectly. The most recent trailer gives even more hints that Season 2 will be based primarily on the light novel volumes that come after the events of the film. "Everything I see in there goes with volumes 6, 7, and 8," u/Redditor ChronoDeus pointed out.

The first season of "Goblin Slayer" and the film "Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown" were directed by Takaharu Ozaki, who went out of his way to make the movie come across like a continuation of the series rather than a spin-off. "I wanted to leave the feel of the world from the TV anime series intact, but also depict how Goblin Slayer and his party would think, act, and change now that the Noble Fencer would be involved in the story," he explained to CBR. While he will still be involved with the making of Season 2, Ozaki has moved to the position of chief director, meaning he will have more of an overseer role this time around.

The bulk of the actual directing on the series will instead be done by Misato Takada in what will be the biggest gig of her career so far. Most of Takada's work to date has been as an episode director: She's helmed single episodes of shows such as "Love and Lies," "Phantom in the Twilight," and the ecchi comedy "Magical Sempai." She has been building a solid foundation over the last few years, something that's important in the world of directing anime according to her experienced predecessor. "Rather than rushing to do something flashy to be in the spotlight, it's far more important to diligently perfect your own craft and work hard," Ozaki added during his CBR interview. "And most importantly, treasure the people that you meet and the opportunities that come your way."

The first season of "Goblin Slayer" was made by White Fox, the studio behind such celebrated shows as "Steins;Gate," "Akame ga Kill!" and "Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World." While fans of the property were generally happy with the work White Fox did on the first season, the studio's use of CGI to animate the titular character drew some criticism, with some accusing it of cutting corners. "That was the worst part from S1," Redditor u/DestinyHunterGuardia said of the CGI. Season 2 is being made by a different studio, and it seems as though the new people in charge took note of the negative feedback.

Liden Films (best known for the "Tokyo Revengers" franchise, with two seasons currently out and another in the pipeline) has been tasked with bringing Goblin Slayer and his comrades to life for the sophomore season, and fans are loving what they have seen in trailers and key visuals so far. "This looks like movie production," u/Angrykitten41 said on the show's subreddit. "The step up from those horrid 3d graphics to this is just fantastic. We finally eating good this year."

"Goblin Slayer" Season 2 director Misato Takada is no stranger to the studio, as Liden Films also made "Love and Lies," "Phantom in the Twilight," and "Magical Sempai," the shows she learned her trade on. Fans of "Goblin Slayer" will no doubt be hoping that this familiarity helps make Season 2 even better than the first one.

The second season of "Goblin Slayer" will have a brand new opening, and the song is performed by a group that will be familiar to fans of the series. The track is called "Entertainment" and it's by Mili, who have already contributed several songs to the "Goblin Slayer" anime. They did the first ever opening, titled "Rightfully," which is beloved by fans and cast members alike (Hayden Daviau, the English dub voice actor for Priestess, even recorded a cover of the song). Mili also did two ending songs for the show's first season ("Though Our Paths May Diverge" and "Within"), and the five-piece outfit also contributed the song "Static" to the movie "Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown."

Mili formed back in 2012 and they made their first anime song in 2016, recording a track for the series "Bloodivores." They have gone on to contribute to way more than just "Goblin Slayer" in the years since, writing songs for the likes of "Gleipnir," "Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045," and "The Executioner and Her Way of Life." Speaking to Anime News Network, lead vocalist Cassie Wei (who is Canadian) revealed that she and her bandmates are all huge otaku. "Although everyone's into different genres," she added. "When I was in elementary school, I watched so much anime every day, and I'd even read manga in the bathtub."

The ending theme for "Goblin Slayer" Season 2 is called "Kasumi no Mukō e" (To the Other Side of the Mist) and it's performed by Yuki Nakashima, a singer, bassist, and voice actor. She's best known for playing the character Lisa Imai in the multimedia franchise "BanG Dream!" and Mirei Minae in the "Cardfight!! Vanguard" series.

If you want to catch up on all things "Goblin Slayer" before the second season comes out, you can do so on Crunchyroll. All 13 episodes of Season 1 are available to stream for users in the United States, and you don't even need a premium membership — the whole season is free to view, with dubs in English as well as Latin American Spanish and Portuguese. If you want to watch the film "Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown," however, you'll need to sign up for a membership.

Crunchyroll has three different tiers for subscribers, offering more perks the more you pay. The cheapest is called the Fan tier and it will set you back $7.99 a month. For that, you get ad-free anime and full access to the Crunchyroll library of over a thousand shows. You will also be able to watch new shows on the same day as they air in Japan thanks to the streamer's simulcast feature.

Next up is the Mega Fan tier, which costs $9.99 a month and offers the added bonuses of offline viewing and being able to stream on four devices at once. This goes up to six devices with the Ultimate Fan package, priced at $14.99 a month. The top tier also comes with "an annual Ultimate Fan member swag bag, member-only access to the purchase of exclusive merch, and a special benefit for the Crunchyroll Store that provides $25 off a purchase of $100 every three months," the streamer confirmed in a statement.

"Goblin Slayer" Season 1 can also be streamed on Funimation, but it's not free. Membership starts at $5.99 a month, though — like Crunchyroll — there's a free trial for the premium plans. You can also purchase the first season in HD on Amazon Prime Video for $5.39.