Akira Yagami is the type of senpai you want to have: He stays late and works with you, and then, learning that today is your anniversary, lets you slip away while he completes the task. He’s such a solid guy, in fact, that it’s unfortunately no surprise when he protects a young boy from oncoming traffic, dying in the process. But all is not lost for Akira! He is reborn in a fantasy land as…well, you’ve seen the title. He’s a goblin. And goblins, among other things, only live seven days. But the goblin skill that Akira is reborn is is “octogenarian,” which allows him to live until he’s 80. In the meantime, other skills are passed on to him, including a particularly powerful one, which will soon come in handy…

Sick and tired of truck-kun, fantasy anime, and goblin stories? Well, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? may be just what you need to reverse that (very reasonably) jaded attitude. Episode one features cute goblins, interesting direction, and smart writing—and all three contribute to making this a series worth keeping an eye on. First, Akira himself has a super cute design, wearing overalls and a winter trapper hat, though all the goblins are drawn very cute—kind of a mix between Smurfs and E.T. That’s a good start, but what’s also immediately apparent is that the director has his own style that’s a little different from what you’d expect out of fantasy anime: He frequently uses split screens during a scene—sometimes up to seven or eight at a time—and isn’t afraid to linger on a scene to build emotion, which he does for about five seconds (an eternity in runtime) late in episode one. But it makes sense—he’s dealing with strong written material here. The power that Akira possesses is clever; a reveal midway through the episode is unexpected; there’s a death that portends epic things ahead; and even Akira’s introduction is handled better than most isekai employing truck-kun. Except for one quick scene about Akira’s libido, I can say I was impressed by the episode from start to finish. This is a fresh breath of air that isekai and fantasy could use here in 2026.

So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? can be streamed on Crunchyroll.