Last season’s Goblin Slayer is an exciting fantasy tale following a broken man who has focused his entire existence around a singular goal: killing goblins. While other adventurers level up and move on to stronger and stronger monsters, he alone continues to fight only goblins–i.e., the weakest of monsters. This has earned him the name “Goblin Slayer.” To the other adventurers, he is a freak at best and crazy at worst. To the common man, he is a hero taking the jobs that other adventurers turn their noses down at. But to the goblins, he is genocide incarnate.

Over the course of the anime, we see how Goblin Slayer evolves due to his interactions with the people he meets and the companions he travels with.

At the start Goblin Slayer is alone in his work. However, circumstances eventually puts him in a party with four others–Priestess, High Elf Archer, Dwarven Shaman, and Lizard Priest–as they work to clear out Goblin-related problems that not even Goblin Slayer alone would be able to handle.

Image source: 「ゴブリンスレイヤー」/ Goblin Slayer公式 on Twitter

Goblin Slayer’s companions are amazed by his knowledge and skill while at the same time shocked by his brutality. To him a quest isn’t something “fun,” it’s a job to be done as efficiently as possible. Yet, by the end of the anime, he starts to wonder if this whole “adventuring with a party for fun” thing might be possible for him.

While thematically, it’s a great end for the anime that showcases how much he has grown now that he’s gained a place in the adventurer community. It’s also guaranteed to leave you wanting more–especially with the promise at the end of the final episode that more Goblin Slayer is on the way.

But what to do in the meantime–especially if you’re weary of spoilers and don’t want to just read ahead in either the manga adaptation or the original light novels? I recommend checking out the two currently serialized spin-off manga Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One and Goblin Slayer: Brand New Day.

Image source: Yen Press on Twitter

Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One

Based on the spin-off novels of the same name, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One is, as the title suggests the story of Goblin Slayer’s first year as an adventurer. Set five years before the anime, it shows how he became the death machine we’ve all come to know and love.

The story does everything you’d expect from a prequel. It details his first meetings with the Guild Girl and the other adventurers who he encounters many times over the following years. It also shows how he comes to live with Cow Girl at her ranch and re-establish their friendship.

At times, the story moves away from Goblin Slayer himself to show what the other adventurers were doing during this time, fleshing out all their back stories as well.

Image source: Yen Press on Twitter

Most of the action is built around showing how he learned the various lessons he would later impart to Priestess and his other companions. And watching as he learns all those lessons the hard way is both exciting and enlightening–helping to explore the mindset of our young, inexperienced hero.

Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One is currently being released by Yen Press in English the same day new issues come out in Japan and is available on Amazon (as well as numerous other online stores).

Image source: Yen Press on Twitter

Goblin Slayer: Brand New Day

Based on the fourth novel of the series, Goblin Slayer: Brand New Day is a series of side stories focused not on Goblin Slayer himself, but on those around him.

One story follows a young peasant boy living with his sister in a small town. Another the catgirl waitress working at the local tavern. Yet another follows Cow Girl and Priestess on their day off. There’s even a chapter written from the point of view of a goblin.

Some of this manga has already appeared in the anime–namely it’s first chapter which follows two beginner adventurers losing their only sword in a dungeon and trying to figure out how to clear the quest anyway.

Image source: Yen Press on Twitter

This series of stories serves to flesh out the various characters. By showing their thoughts and points of view, we get a glimpse beneath the surface that informs how we look at them from now on when they pop up in the main story. And while most of the stories are light and fluffy, some are just as rough as the first episode of Goblin Slayer.

Goblin Slayer: Brand New Day is currently being released by Yen Press in English the same day new issues come out in Japan and is available on Amazon (as well as numerous other online stores).

Top Image Source: 「ゴブリンスレイヤー」/ Goblin Slayer公式 on Twitter