A young priestess fresh out of the temple is excited to start her life as an adventurer. On her first day, she joins an adventuring party to go slay some goblins. However, like so many young adventure parties before them, they underestimate the goblins. It ends with two dead, one viciously raped, and the priestess saved from fate by a man whose only mission in life is to slay all the goblins.

Goblin Slayer got off to a controversial start for reasons I can’t quite comprehend, but if you became a fan, then consider these similar anime recommendations.

For Fans of Dark Adventuring

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

Thrown into a fantasy land with no memories of their previous life, the strong among this new group of people bind together while the weak are left to fend for themselves. Grimgar tells the tale of the struggles of the weak as they pick up combat skills and fight the creatures of the world in order to earn a living.

Of all the other anime series on this list, Grimgar is probably the most similar to Goblin Slayer. They both start off in the trope of happy fantasy adventure series. However, then you see what the other happy adventure series don’t show you. People die, make mistakes, and fail. All of this has real, devastating consequences for those left behind.

Made in Abyss

The Abyss is an enormous cave system and the only unexplored place in the world. No one knows how deep it goes, but generations of bold adventurers have descended into it. In the town at the edge of The Abyss, an orphan named Rico dreams of raiding, as her mother did before her. One day while exploring the murky depths, she meets a boy, who turns out to be a robot, kicking off the start of her epic adventure.

Both shows are not quite what they seem. You see the priestess in Goblin Slayer and think happy adventure series. You see Rico in Made in Abyss and think coming of age adventure series. The both end up diving into darker territories than one would expect.

Re: Zero

When Subaru Natsuki goes out for a midnight snack run, he suddenly finds himself transported to another world. As a bewildered teen in a land of swords and magic, he wanders around and ends up attacked by thugs. After being saved by a mysterious woman, he agrees to help her get back something that was stolen. Unfortunately, it ends in both their deaths. With his dying breath, he finds that he possesses the power of revival, escaping his death by the repeating the last few hours.

The cute thing is that both of these series, in the first minutes of their first episodes start off very bright and happy, even though you know something is coming. When it comes, it is still just as shocking. Their similarities lie in the fact that throughout the whole series, both Re:Zero and Goblin Slayer go from light and happy to dark and brutal often.

For Fans of Gritty Deaths

Akame ga Kill

Tatsumi is a naive boy from a rural village that makes the trip to the city in order to join the military and help his hometown. However, after he is rejected, he ends up joining Night Raid, a group of assassins part of a revolutionary movement to overthrow the government. From there, he must fight a brutal and increasingly bloody shadow war.

There is death in many anime series, but the difference is that Goblin Slayer and Akame ga Kill aren’t afraid to show it in all its detail. Of course, you are made to be emotionally attached to the characters in Akame ga Kill, which makes this more devastating.

Attack on Titan

Facing imminent extinction, humanity retreated behind a series of tall, thick walls to escape their most dangerous threat – massive human-like Titans with a taste for human flesh. With an enemy that eats humanity for fun rather than food, they are at constant threat. As such, it is the duty of every human to defend the species. Enter Eren Yegaer, after his village was destroyed by a Titan breach, Eren and his adopted sister Mikasa join the Survey Corps, a faction of the military that scouts and combats Titans outside the walls. After joining in the brutal war, Eren discovers a brutal secret about himself that could unravel what the world thinks they know about Titans.

For all the many praises that people can give Attack on Titan, what made it popular is what made Goblin Slayer one of the top anime series of its own season – the brutality. Attack on Titan has a flair for crushing and brutal deaths, Goblin Slayer started off with a bang, but while it continued to hold hard truths, was less shocking overall.

Gantz

Kei Kurono is an apathetic young man that, while waiting for his train, runs into a childhood friend. When a homeless man falls onto a track, his friend coaxes him into helping save his life. Unfortunately, the train comes in and they both die. However, they both wake up in a strange room with other recently deceased and a big black ball that tells them to kill aliens to gain their freedom.

Gantz absolutely adores its brutal and shocking deaths. It is what has made so many a fan of the series to begin with, even with all its other flaws. Furthermore, like Goblin Slayer, you also watch as the protagonists are given one goal – to kill aliens.

For Fans of Kill All the Things

Berserk

Knowing nothing but death and battle since the day he was born, Gutts wanders from battlefield to battlefield as a solitary mercenary. Caring for nothing and no one, his only goal is to become stronger. However, after a fateful encounter with Griffith and his Band of the Hawk mercenary group, Gutts finds himself rising through the ranks of their prestigious organization and learns to care for his fellows.

Much of Berserk that we see in animated form is about journey towards what Gutts will become. In Goblin Slayer, you don’t see this journey. However, what they become is one in the same. Goblin Slayer kills goblins. The Black Swordsman kills demons.

Drifters

While forming the rear guard for his uncle’s escape, Toyohisa Shimazu manages to mortally wound I Naomasa, but is critically wounded himself in the process. While trying to limp back home, he finds himself transported from the field to a hallway lined with doors. There a mysterious man sends him spiraling into another world. Dragged into the forest by two young elves, Toyohisa is patched up from two others from the Land of the Rising sun that turn out to be Yoichi Suketaka Nasu and Oda Nobunaga. From there, Toyohisa and his fellow historical figures, named “drifters” must save (or conquer) their new world.

Goblin Slayer is simply put – kill all the goblins. In Drifters, the path becomes simply put as well – kill the enemies and conquer the world. The show even makes it seem like a relatively simple process even though there is much at play. However, what these two shows really have in common is they don’t shy away from controversial subjects.

Ninja Slayers

In years past, ninja would commit honorable suicide to strengthen their souls for resurrection, now in the future city of Neo-Saitama, resurrected ninjas from thousands of years ago cast a shadow over the city. After having his wife and child killed in a ninja turf war, Kenji Fujikido is possessed by an enigmatic ninja soul that craves only vengeance.

Though an older anime, it has a simple premise like Goblin Slayer – kill the ninjas. So that is what they do in this series. However, unlike Goblin Slayer that remains simple, there are various complications that arise in Ninja Slayer that make the path less clear.

Do you have any more anime recommendations like Goblin Slayer? Let fans know in the comments section below.