Goblin Slayer Gaiden 2: Tsubanari no Daikatana
Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana

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0 Recommended

2 Mixed Feelings

2 Not Recommended

Apr 22, 2025

gwarisgodly

If you want to know about the group of platinum heroes that defeated the dungeon of the dead that were kind of mentioned once or twice in the main story, or about Sword Maiden, you're in luck! This has SOME of the charm of the main series and SOME of the intensity of the other, much better side story, but is it bad? Not especially. Not as far as I've read, at least. The main downside to this is that if you've read the main story you know the party will be fine. If you haven't read the main story... What's wrong with you? Put ... this down and go read that one.

Pretty necessary if you love Goblin Slayer but if you're kind of meh about the franchise you miss nothing by skipping this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 3, 2025

Dhemereon

This is a tough one...
I think that Dai Katana (DK) is worth reading, if you are interested in the world of Goblin Slayer (GS) and the adventurer party of the Sword Maiden, which slew the unknown evil that lurks at the bottom of the Dungeon of the Dead.
It serves as a stark contrast to the main story: whereas GS focuses on an "insignificant" adventurer somewhere far off in the four corners of the world, DK picks up the story of the legendary adventurer party.
A smart move by Kumo Kagyuu (KK): those who want something unique receive it through GS, and those who are interested in ... the usual are catered to as well with DK.

Positive Aspects
The story in itself is interesting and the characters as well, not in the least because they provide a fresh wind to the GS series. I specificaly liked the in-between moments of characters talking about life in the four cornered world, surviving in it, the tragedies of the past and if they might repeat themselves.
The art style is quite unique, too, and I am specifically referring to the characters, the environment and highlighted objects.
In addition, every volume receives an interlude or bonus panels, and a little written story in the end. Such little add-ins are always welcome to see.

Negative Aspetcs
Sometimes some of the panels lack quality regarding the art. Characters are shown with less details than usual and I do not know if this is by design or if the artist was under time pressure or did not care. Nevertheless, the result is that it feels unpolished.
I am no artist, but the anatomy of certain faces or expressions looks weird as well. This could just be me, however.
Regarding the story, the pacing seems to be a bit too quick. Instead of fleshing out certain events and the characters involved in them, like the different floors of the dungeon in interplay with the party of the Diamond Knight, KK pushes further ahead.
And I know that Sword Maiden is, next to the MC, the most important character, but I find it sad that we do not gain much knowledge into the interiority of other characters (Scout or Monk).

Closing Thoughts
I remember that DK had a problem with the release schedule in the past. You had to wait a long time for new chapters to come out, which definitely put off some people who were reading the manga. The first edition of DK was even dropped by the then-publisher due to "various circumstances" (Source: Anime News Network).
I've also read that there was a discrepancy between KK and the then-artist. This is speculation, but when you take a look at the chapters of the first edition and compare it to the current version, it might be true; the design of the main characters looked softer, had more detail and were "sightlier", but they also felt less unique and some side characters as well as the environment had less detail than the version now.
Whatever the case, I am happy that DK was able to persist and be serialized instead of getting axed like other mangas.

Also, I do wonder: why does KK have for each of his mangas - GS, DK and GS: Year One - a different artist?
Is it because of different publishers? Too much workload for one person? Or is it because he'd like to offer multiple people a chance to prove themselves?
Although I like the art style of GS: Year One more than the others, I still find it commendable if the last point marks the reason.
And again: I do like the uniqueness of this art style. It just feels like the artist doesn't realize his full potential. If he does so in the future, it might even trump the other art styles of GS.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 3, 2021

Sasukemkz

This is a goblin slayer spinoff manga that focusses on the back story of sword maiden, I'm not really sure if this manga is complete because to my understanding it only has 8 chapters. The manga story of the manga is kind of boring tbh, the characters are uninteresting to say the least and the ending is so average. The story doesn't really explain more on the dungeon and just shows the characters entering and leaving unharmed without any regrets of entering which is just frustrats me a lot, like the dungeon is supposed to be the scary place in which once you enter you're ... in of a life of hell and truma. What i don't understand is that when sword maiden first entered the dungeon all her party was killed & the was ripped by goblins giving her truma and regret for entering in the first place after surviving, the same can also be said for the woman whose first party is killed and she's the last one standing. This shows how the dungeon is a dangerous place which you enter at your own risk, But for some reason the party enter and leave with no major damages both physically and mentally which doesn't sit right with me. Overall
Story 4/10
Characters 3/10
Art 6/10
Enjoyment 4/10
Overall 4/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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