WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of The Slime Diaries "The Air in Spring and..." now streaming on Crunchyroll.
There's a wide variety of monsters in The Slime Diaries, the new spin-off of That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime. From the Ogres all the way to the Lizardmen, there's quite a range of characters with different backgrounds, abilities and ways of life. Yet one little Hobgoblin named Gobta steals the show quite often, having been around since Rimuru's early days in the new world. In fact, the goblins were the first group of monsters named by Rimuru.
In The Slime Diaries Episode 2 "The Air in Spring and...,", we get to see how truly personable Gobta can be. It's his ability to be relatable that allows him to consistently steal the show from other great characters.
In Episode 2, Rimuru gets an unexpected day off and he doesn't know exactly what to do with it. So Gobta eagerly helps him out, taking him around their town and showing him all the new stores that have recently opened up. Gobta shows Rimuru how easy it is to enjoy a day off in Tempest, from fruit stands to snack stops. But when they see Hakurou and Rigur, Gobta's combat instructors, Gobta runs away as fast as possible, Rimuru tagging along. Gobta complains about how hard it is to enjoy a day off and Rimuru realizes that Gobta is just playing hooky. It's a great scene that brings Gobta the Goblin down to Earth -- after all, who hasn't thought of playing hooky every now and then?
Gobta also tends to be one of the main sources of comedy in both the original anime and this spin-off. Playing hooky seems almost out of context in a fantasy world, but it proves that monsters are just like humans, with the same wants and desires, like getting out of work for example.
Later on in the episode, Rimuru is ecstatic to hear that there's work to be done: tilling and seeding the new farm fields. Many people from Tempest come to join, including Gobta. But when we see some other Goblins working hard in the fields only to find Gobta under a shady tree, towel over his eyes and smile on his face, it's hard not to appreciate what's happening. Even though Gobta is clearly slacking off, he claims he's training in the art of meditation. Two workers join him sleeping in the shade quickly after that.
Shortly after, Gobta is approached by Kurobei with a gift from Rimuru for his win in a recent fight. Gobta is expecting an incredible weapon but is gifted a sturdy hoe instead. While his first reaction is obvious disappointment, he puts the hoe to good work, plowing the fields with vivacity and speed. But from the beginning of this scene to its culmination in his actual working of the fields, Gobta is incredibly real. From his reactions to how he suddenly becomes motivated by a new, shiny gift, Gobta embodies both comedy and real honesty in the face of new challenges.
Because the spin-off spends more time on daily life and side characters, Gobta will only get better the more we see of him, especially on a day-to-day basis. It's Gobta's perspective in the anime that keeps viewers keyed in to how bananas the plot actually is -- how Gobta reacts is, more often than not, how we react when we see what's happening. Without him, it would be more difficult to get invested in Slime's isekai world.
