Gobta

Gobta (ゴブタ) is a Hobgoblin who belongs to the first group that was named by Rimuru Tempest. He is one of the first martial art students of Hakurou ever since the latter evolved into a Kijin. Gobta lives in the Capital city of the Jura Tempest Federation: Rimuru City.

Appearance
In the anime, Rimuru notes that Gobta did not change the same way as the other Goblins during the evolution to Hobgoblin and actually retains his physical appearance; he is described as looking like a Goblin child. That does not seem to fool other monsters, however, as Gabiru correctly recognized Gobta as a Hobgoblin upon their first meeting, rather than mistaking him for a Goblin. One of the many goblins named by Rimuru, and the only one who still looks like a regular goblin after evolving into a hobgoblin.

Personality
Though he's considered a fool, he proves to be a very competent individual when the situation calls for it. His prowess on the battlefield surprises many. He is a natural airhead and an idiot but is a hidden genius. As the Goblin Riders' vice-captain and later captain, he is actually unexpectedly brilliant. He is a heavy sleeper. While he and Rimuru are detained in the Dwarf Kingdom, he sleeps through the entire imprisonment. In the anime, during his fight with Gabiru, Rimuru wonders if Gobta isn't actually a prodigy of some sort. Not only does he still look like a goblin after being named, but his head and nose are also more round-shaped.

Gobta shares some of the traits of Rimuru, as trusting his friends above everything, this was seen when Gobzo was falsely accused by Kirara Mizutani.

Background
During his journey to Dwargon, four months prior to Rimuru's involvement, he was beaten black and blue, then he got picked up by a group of Kobold merchants. If they hadn't found him, he might have died. However, during the entire journey, Gobta showed a great amount of good luck.

Plot
Gobta was one of the Goblins Present in the Goblin Village after the Direwolves attack their Village and was named by Rimuru Tempest. He went with Rimuru to the Dwargon Capital City to find people that could help them rebuild and make improvements to their Village. While visiting the Dwargon Capital City, both he and Rimuru were imprisoned by the Dwarves because of a minor confrontation outside the City. During his imprisonment he learned how to use shadow magic to summon his Direwolf.

After escaping imprisonment from the Dwargon Capital City, he returned alone to the Jura Forest because he was left behind by Rimuru. Some time later Gobta became the Vice Captain of the Goblin Riders. When Lizardman Prince Gabiru came to the Goblin Village to recruit them into their growing army Gobta was dragged into a duel with him. After been threatened with eating something Shion made if he failed, he won the duel embarrassing Gabiru in the process. When the Orc Lord attacked the Lizardmen, Gobta and Ranga helped them by rescuing Gabiru. Gobta also took part in the battle against the Orc Lord army General.

During the Charybdis attack Gobta and the rest of the Goblin Riders were fighting one Megalodon, but couldn't manage to finish it off until Hakurou intervened. Then he said that Gobta and the rest needed a more severe training.

Gobta was present when Kirara falsely accused Gobzo of touching her, so he apologized and implied that Kirara was lying. Things escalated and he tried to defend Tempest against Falmuth's attack, but because of the barrier summoned over the city he couldn't keep up against Kyoya and got injured. A couple of days later he was healed by Rimuru. He took part in Tempest assault against the West Crystal Barrier, where he and Rigur managed to kill almost a hundred soldiers themselves, before tearing it and returning to Tempest.

Trivia

 * Gobta is the fourth strongest of the Heavenly Kings; which is understandable considering Shion, Diablo and Benimaru's superior power.
 * Gobta is one of (if not the only) Hobgoblin to retain his original appearance after evolution (or experience no real changes).
 * Rimuru was running out of ideas when naming him, so his name derives from "goblin."
 * Gobta is the first Hobgoblin who was able to summon his Star Wolf companion.
 * During his fight with Gabiru, he uses the same kick that Rimuru used on him a few episodes prior which is an example of his fighting genius.
 * During his fight with Gabiru, Gobta manage to utilize Shadow Step just from seeing it a few times, showing that Gobta can easily learn Skills if he subconsciously deems them necessary.
 * A running gag in the light novel (and to a lesser extent the manga and anime) is that nearly every time Rimuru turns away from Gobta when he turns back, Gobta's taking a nap. This leads directly to Gobta being the first goblin to be able to summon his wolf companion, which he did so because... they left him tied up as a punishment for sleeping and he really really had to pee.