Powerful, avaricious sorceress Lina Inverse travels around the world, stealing treasures from bandits who cross her path. Her latest victims, a band of thieves, wait in ambush in a forest, thirsting for revenge. When Lina is about to effortlessly pummel her would-be attackers, the swordsman Gourry Gabriev suddenly announces his presence. Assuming Lina to be a damsel in distress, the foolish yet magnanimous man confronts the brigands in order to rescue her. After defeating them posthaste, the oblivious cavalier decides to escort Lina to Atlas City. Though not very keen on this idea, she ends up accepting his offer.
However, without realizing it, Lina has chanced upon a mighty magical item among her most recent spoils. Now two mysterious men are hunting the young magician and her self-proclaimed guardian to obtain this powerful object for apparently nefarious purposes. This way they begin their adventure, one where the fate of the world itself may be at stake.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Archaeon
The mid 1990s were a bit of a special time for anime, kind of like a mini golden age. Akira had opened the doors to the West and, after a taking a little rest, the second great expansion of anime began to gather pace. Titles like Ghost in the Shell, Martian Successor NADESICO, Fushigi Yuugi, Golden Boy, Escaflowne, Macross Plus, Giant Robo, and the ever contentious Neon Genesis Evangelion became firm fan favourites and cemented the media's place as a viable form of entertainment in the West. In amongst all these great shows came a fantasy series that would literally change the way studios would approachthe genre for years to come. With its irreverent humour, memorable characters, and a story that was more about getting rich than going on quests, it possessed an appeal that was almost universal.
I am, of course, talking about Slayers.
The saga began as a series of light novels written by Kanzaka Hajime (with illustrations by Araizumi Rui), which were adapted for manga from 1990 onwards. In 1995 the series was then re-adapted for anime, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The series follows the adventures of the notorious Lina Inverse, a young sorceress whose name strikes fear into the hearts of, well, pretty much everyone (even though she's petrified of slugs and her older sister). She is joined in the first episode by a wandering swordsman named Gourry Gabriev, the wielder of the Sword of Light (which Lina wants for herself), who initially believes Lina to be a lost little girl and decides to become her bodyguard.
Many shenanigans ensue from that fateful meeting, and things only get worse when the pair are joined by princess and perpetual justice freak Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, and the man with a huge chimera chip on his shoulder, Zelgadis Graywords.
The story is, at heart, a fantasy adventure that on the surface resembles many other sword and sorcery romps. The big difference though, is that Slayers doesn't take itself too seriously, mainly because of the characters themselves. Although the plot follows a pretty straightforward route through the series, there are many occasions where the narrative plays second fiddle to the comedy, especially where Lina and Gourry are concerned. Whilst there are some obvious holes in the story, the comedy more than makes up for it, and more often than not the viewer will find that they simply ignore any inconsistencies just so they can see Lina lose her temper and destroy something else.
The humour is pretty formulaic for the most part, however that doesn't mean that it's bad. The comedy sequences are actually very good throughout the series, and some of the running gags are well thought out and executed. It's strange, but there are very few comic fantasies out there, especially those of the sword and sorcery type, and most of the shows that include a degree of comedy often treat it as an afterthought to the main, and often serious, storyline. Slayers approaches things from the other direction, and the main aim of Lina and Gourry isn't to save the world, but to get as rich as possible for the least amount of effort (and we won't even mention how much food the pair can put away).
This is perhaps the main reason why the franchise has become a benchmark for the fantasy genre, and many shows will, either fairly or unfairly, be compared to Slayers. It would be fair to say that the most common question asked about almost every fantasy anime since is "Is it as good as Slayers?". The uniquely defined characters, the lack of any real "quest", the explosive humour, and the underlying tone of sheer anarchy all serve to separate this show from the rest of the pack.
It's the characters in particular that draw people into the series though. Lina Inverse is, without doubt, the most notorious female lead in fantasy anime, and one of the most well known in the entire medium. Her vivacity and explosive (and often destructive), temperament, together with her streetwise savvy and tremendously powerful magical ability, all serve to provide the viewer with all manner of entertainment. Gourry is very much like Lina in that he provides the audience with much of the physical humour whilst never becoming a part of the visual "furniture". An added bonus is that he is also a play on the stereotypical knight, being handsome, brave, strong, virtuous, and as dumb as a brick.
That said, some may find Amelia and Zelgadis to be annoying at first, but due to the combative relationship they have with both Lina and Gourry (and with each other), viewers may find themselves warming to the pair. It should also be noted that because Slayers tries to avoid the inclusion of stereotypical fantasy characters, the writers had far more freedom to make trouble for Lina and the gang to get into, and they seem to have approached this task with some enthusiasm.
As the series progresses the characters do actually develop to a degree, however this is usually masked by some action or comedy so it doesn't really get pushed to the fore. This may seem a bit odd at first, but given the nature of the plot, this method is actually better for the franchise as a whole. This may not sit too well with some viewers though, especially those who believe that character development is one of the most important aspects of a show. That said, Slayers has some particularly strong and complex characterisations, in particular Lina herself. Because of this, the series doesn't actually need any unnecessary development, and the door is left open for the characters to go off and do other things (like arguing, eating, destroying monsters/bandits/towns/mountains, trying to kill each other (only as a joke - honest), looting treasure, etc).
Given that the series is from 1995, it's actually aged pretty well. The colours are bright and bold, especially with backgrounds and settings. The characters themselves are designed to be unique and expressive, although much of this comes from their actions rather than their faces. Animation is a big plus for the show, and it's to the credit of J.C Staff and SoftX that the series has held up rather well over the years. The animation by modern standards may not be exceptional, especially as it tends to add a more cartoon-like quality to movements, but it is extremely well choreographed for it's time and genre.
Sound is another big plus for Slayers, especially the fact that the series has been dubbed into over seven different languages (including Japanese and English). In all honesty I prefer the Japanese dub, however that is no reflection on the quality of the English version, and is nothing more than a personal preference. The Japanese seiyuu are very good on the whole, and are able to express a wide range of basic emotions, as well as humour. The English cast are pretty good as well, however I did find Lisa Ortiz' voice to be a little too high pitched for my tastes.
The music is pretty decent throughout the series, and while the pieces generally work well with the on screen action, there is a degree of repetition that can become annoying for some viewers. The sound effects are well timed and choreographed, however the more complex combinations can become a little too heavy on the ears.
Even with its age and obvious flaws Slayers is an absolute joy to watch, and it's truly rare to find a fantasy series that has such memorable characters or humour. There is a certain amount of formula to the plot, however the blend of comedy and action, together with the unique take on the characters, ensure that cliches don't feel out of place in the story.
This is a series that is worth watching by, well, everyone, especially those who prefer fantasy and comedy. There are very few shows around even today that can be called comic fantasies, and most of those have the name "Slayers" somewhere in the title.
Islaya
This is my first review, so please bear with me ^_^ Slayers, based of of the novels of the same name written by Kanzaka Hajime, is the story of a young sorceress named Lina Inverse and her 'protector' Gourry Gabriev as they travel the land in search of anything that can get them treasure. Inspired by one of the original Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, fans and players of the game can step into the series with ease as it feels just like the game. Even if your not a D&D player or a RP'er in general, the characters alone are enough to pull you in andkeep you enjoying the series from beginning to end.
Story: The story, though in my opinion not the main driving force, still moves the series alone nicely and evenly. It sets up the same style all other Slayers series that come after follow, starting fairly light hearted and movie along until eventually the fate of the world is at stake. Though sometimes it does seem like they try to make it funny at a time when the humor could be left out, it doesn't effect the flow that much. The only thing I really had a problem with story wise is there are two main story arcs. The story gets going, builds up to a climatic battle, then falls back to ground zero again and has to build up some more to get back to that high point again. Though the two arcs are linked together overall, those few episodes in the middle are somewhat of a let down after all the action from the previous episodes.
Animation and Sound: The series first premiered in 1995, so the animation and sound reflect that. Though I feel this series got the short end of the stick, because other series from the same year (Gundam Wing and Evangelion to name a couple) have much better animation and sound quality. Though not as good as it probably could of been for it's time, it still doesn't take away from the overall thrill and enjoyment of the series.
Character: I said above that I felt the story wasn't the main driving force of the series, because that role is filled by the characters. Lina's short tempered and violent nature make her an instant iconic anime character. Her and her alone could make an entire series with just her misadventures and it would be a masterpiece. Throw in her 'protector' Gourry, a superb swordsman with, as Lina would say, "the brains of a jellyfish," Zelgadis, a Chimera adept with both a sword and magic, Amelia, a "Justice-Happy" princess, and Sylphiel, a ditzy shrine priestess, and you have a well rounded cast of characters that excel in both comical and serious situations.
Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this series from beginning to end, and was hooked from the first episode all the way up to the last, and couldn't wait to get more, and thankfully theres 3 sequel series, several prequel OVAs, and 5 movies to keep someone occupied for several weeks (or days if you decide to marathon them like I did)
Overall, in my opinion, one of the best series from the '90s, and a anime classic that will stand the test of time. And thankfully, Slayers Next (The second season) takes everything lovable about the first season and takes it to a whole nother level.
Imaishi
As a person who is actually quite a lot into old anime, in fact even stuff much older than Slayers, I'm honestly bewildered by the amount of praise this show gets, and I think its status of an old classic might be heavily influenced by nostalgia. The anime is severely lacking in multiple areas, most of all it's just boring and completely devoid of anything unique. Slayers tells a story of Lina Inverse, a powerful yet inconspicuous magician who travels around, kills monsters, fights bandits and robs them of their treasure. Over the course of the show, new adventurers, starting with a travelling swordsman Gourry, joinher party and together they explore the fantasy world. You know the drill, and have probably heard something similar many times, because this is nothing new. Nevertheless, this extremely popular idea can definitely turn out very nice and become its own thing, if the authors bring their new twists and details to it. Sadly, this is not the case with Slayers.
Everything, starting with the setting, is bare of nuances and unique ideas. The anime is set in a generic medieval-fantasy world, with magic, creatures like trolls and dragons, princes, knights and the like. Philosopher stone and sword of light. Old and boring. There is also the demon-king sealed long ago and sought to be revived by his followers. You have never heard of something like that, have you?
While this could still allow for a great and compelling story, with brilliant and interesting characters, Slayers definitely doesn't deliver, it actually doesn't even seem to try.
The plot progresses in a pretty messy pattern, and despite not being very long, brings to mind 300+ episode shounens. It randomly jumps back and forth between important events revealing old mysteries, and completely meaningless, inconsequential fillers that shouldn't even be there, because they are neither interesting nor funny.
The story just lacks direction. The characters don't pursue any real goal to drive the plot. Something is happening, our adventurers just get dragged into it, do their job to solve the problems, rinse and repeat. Some of it can be pretty cool , but it all feels kind of pointless.
The mood and atmosphere also swing in completely unnatural manner, and it does stand out sometimes. Two characters are killed shortly after finally uniting with the main party, and you know what? Not even a minute later, the main trio is back at an inn, stuffing themselves and laughing out loud joking. There is not even a moment of grief or sadness, just a few shocked faces for a second.
Speaking of jokes, the humour is one of the weakest points of Slayers. It's extremely repetitive, childish and ham-fisted, appearing regardless of danger or situation at hand, and is at fault in the show rarely having the proper atmosphere. Lina has small breasts. That is the joke, hahaha... I won't be discussing wether this alone is funny or not, as that's purely subjective, but repeating this time and time again, episode after episode, is definitely boring and actually gets quite annoying, even if it could be funny at first. Gourry is stupid and doesn't understand the simplest of explanations, Amelia is clumsy, trips over and falls on her face. Oh, there was another joke with Lina, you know, she's on her period and can't cast powerful spells then, isn't that funny? You know, it's THAT time of the month, wink wink, haha...
This humour is also detrimental to characters themselves, because it's all around, and in fact pretty much defines them.
While there is focus on Lina, and she does get enough screen time and characterization to be more than just her breast size, it's a real problem with other characters. It's hard to say anything meaningful about Gourry other than that he's stupid and has bad memory, and Amelia being also silly and clumsy, because most of their scenes are either fighting or reusing the old jokes. Most of the characters are just very poorly characterized and thus it's hard to truly care for them. They're not unlikeable, but they definitely are forgettable and undeveloped. This should never happen in a show that wants to be more than a silly comedy.
The arstyle is mediocre, and character designs, save for Lina and Zelgadis, seem effortless. The animation is poor even considering the time it was made, and just screams low budget. Overall the anime doesn't look terrible, even if it's aged, but the visuals definitely don't help to make up for other aspects of the show either.
The music is actually pretty good and fitting, and few of the tracks are especially good and memorable. It's nothing spectacular, but it does its job well, and in my opinion, is the strongest aspect of the show.
Overall, Slayers is a very disappointing experience. It's a huge cluster of overused ideas and tropes. The story has weird pace and goes nowhere, the characters are basically running jokes, and at times just annoying. It's full of bad, repetitive humour and lacks fresh air, making the whole show pretty boring.
It's not the worst watch ever, it's not offensively bad at anything, but it doesn't really have anything going for it either, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, because there are shows better at everything Slayers does. It's just completely mediocre.
I really can't see why it achieved the status it has now, and personally see it as just another, uninspired fantasy adventure, severely lacking in character. I would only watch it if you want to see what one of the most popular 90s anime is all about.
literaturenerd
Overview: Time for another wonderfully nostalgic anime review! Slayers was a very popular anime in the mid 1990s, but most young anime fans in 2015 either haven't heard of it, or they are only familiar with the less spectacular later seasons. After 5-6 seasons of the same formula, Slayers has sadly become like the Simpsons of anime. It is one of those series that older fans love and younger fans are baffled at how the franchise ever gained fans and can't even imagine a time when it used to be good. To truly understand what made Slayers special, we have to go back to 1995 andlook at the state of the anime industry.
Story and characters: 7/10
Slayers was written in 1995, which was the year when DBZ and Yu Yu Hakusho had just ended. The most popular anime of that year was the surprise smash hit Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, Eva was an exception to the rule and most anime still used a very generic shonen formula with very paragon protagonists. Slayers was created to parody many of the tropes and cliches of shonen anime of the time, early JRPGs, and D&D. Slayers was a "tongue in cheek" action/comedy that spoofed all the staples of geek culture, but was also a love letter to that culture. If elements of the story seem generic, that is because it was actually done on purpose to add to the comedy. The main character is Lina Inverse, who is a fire sorceress and one of the most beloved anime characters of her era. The reason is that Lina was NOT a moral paragon and instead a "loveable jerk" whose morally questionable acts were played up for comedy. Lina uses her fire magic to slaughter bandits, then keep the bandit treasure for herself. She rather cheerfully murders people with her fire spells and is insanely greedy for gold, jewels, and shiny treasure, making her like a "moe girl" version of Smaug from the Hobbit. Lina is accompanied by a brainless, extremely ADHD swordsman. Together they go on many hilarious misadventures.
Art: 6/10
The art is a bit dated, but truly not bad for 1995. If you compare it to other anime of the time like Yu Yu Hakusho or the original Hunter X Hunter, you will see it compares quite favorably.
Sound: 6/10
The soundtrack is nice, although not my favorite. The English dub gets extra comedy because it has all the 4kids voice actors from Pokemon, but it is uncensored and they are allowed to swear and commit not so kid friendly actions.
Overall: 7/10
Should Slayers have had 6 full 26 episode seasons? Probably not. However, the original is a charming little series with great comedy, fun characters, and great use of parody. It is a series that older fans can look back on fondly and younger fans should try out! I give Slayers a well earned 7/10
running_lemon
Slayers is a comedy/adventure/fantasy anime directed by Takashi Watanabe (directer of Kino's Journey and Boogiepop Phantom) and in many ways it can be seen as a parody of conventional RPG video games. it revolves around Magician Lina Inverse, and Swordsmen Gourry Gabriev as they travel around meeting new people, fighting demons and monsters, and getting into various predicaments along the way. Story: In my opinion the best aspect of Slayers. The events flow nicely into one another and they frequently recall past events, making it feel as though nothing watched early in the series was a waste of time. Although the plot is quite linear, itis still very enjoyable. Reversely however, the atmosphere in many places is compromised by the shows non sequitur and random humor. So at times when the mood is serious, it can be quickly destroyed with a random crack about Lina's chest size. Additionally, although in many cases genuinely funny, there are alot of times when it feels like they are trying to hard in getting a joke across.
Animation: Being a few years old, the animation of Slayers reflects that. Although overly it is good. The anime has a medieval setting and the characters apperances do a good job to match the setting.There are a few parts with recycled animation, like when a character is casting a spell or attacking. On downside is that, although they have a numerous amount of magical spells, many of them have similar animations to one another. Only things like "Fireball" and "Dragonslave" get unique animation. Alot of the Shamanist spells used by Zelgadis just look like bright white light.
Sound: Nothing really spectacular about the music. Seemed to match the anime well and I enjoyed it. No major complaints.
Characters: The characters worked well with the story, but they either didn't really stand out or were fairly generic. Lina is a quick to anger and selfish female lead (think Bulma from DBZ). Gourry is your typical slow yet powerful male lead (I don't think an example is really necessary). The other characters seem pretty bland that way as well.
Enjoyment: I did enjoy it overall, however, it wasn't anything all that spectacular. There was a time during the middle where the plot lulled a little and it got a little boring, but the beginning and end were very interesting and fun to watch. check this out if you like the fantasy/adventure genre. Definatly not something to watch if you are looking for comedy primarily.
Cryptic-senpai
Slayers is an anime based on a series of light novels by Kanzaka Hajime, and it was by far one of the most popular series of the 1990s, spanning several anime seasons, OVAs, movies, video games, and other merchandise. How does the anime fair nowadays? Pretty well, I'd say, but I'm easily hit by nostalgia and have been wanting to see Slayers since I saw the trailer for one of the movies when I was a wee little thing, so the verdict's ultimately up to you, dear reader. The anime follows the adventures and misadventures of Lina Inverse, a sorceress with a lust for foodand money. Along the way, she meets up with several other characters who join her party and end up forming the bulk of the interactions while simultaneously carrying the story afloat. Evil strikes, and it's up to Lina and her companions to save the world from sure destruction. It's not necessarily compelling, but it makes for a nice premise that's easy to swallow, especially if one is a fan of fantasy series such as The Lord of the Rings and the Shannara saga (J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Brooks, respectively).
Slayers is primarily a parody of the fantasy genre, so there's substantially more comical than serious moments, although the last eight or so episodes really pump up the drama. That being said, don't go into this anime expecting deep and provoking themes and symbolism. You'll be sorely disappointed. It's primarily an anime to kick back and enjoy the antics of the characters – of which there is a fair good amount. Back to the plot, however. Slayers doesn't necessarily follow shounen formula to a T, but it does abide fairly close. Meet the big bad villain, fail trying to beat him, get a power up, rinse and repeat. (To its credit, however, the first time around Lina and co. faced the villain, Lina didn't necessarily “power up”.) The show is almost completely aware of it, however, thanks to the occasional breaking of the fourth wall, and rarely takes itself seriously. It definitely helps that the power ups don't feel contrived. A lot of the twists and turns are predictable, but I think that that's a part of its charm.
We've got a fairly variable cast of characters, and the main four are especially likeable. Lina, our token sorceress, is quite adept at black magic and infamous for her deeds. Loud and gluttonous, she has periodic flashes of genius which are either hindered by her avaricious nature or by the actions of one of the other characters. The first character she comes across, and her most constant companion, is Gourry Gabriev, an expert swordsman who lacks brain power but makes up for it with his more endearing qualities. His bickering with Lina are some of the amusing moments of the series. Our second male hero is Zelgadis, a chimera who specializes in shamanic magic. He definitely adds the “straight man” dynamic to our haphazard group, usually being the sane voice of reason. Our final main character is Amelia, a goodie-two-shoes who believes in justice prevails over all else. She's a bit of a mixed bag as far as magic goes, seeing as she is a priestess but is also quite proficient in black magic and shamanism.
While the characters don't develop too much over the course of the series, they definitely don't feel like cardboard cut-outs of archetypes, and they are quite acceptable as heroes. At the very least, they don't encompass the traits of stereotypical fantasy heroes and heroines. Since Slayers goes on for several seasons, I'll put faith into the assumption that they might develop later in the anime's run, but I won't necessarily be put off if they don't. Slayers is, after all, a comedy-parody series that borrows some shounen aspects, and character development is not necessarily the highlight of such genres. It's amusing to watch the characters' antics, and every time I felt the need to take a break from the anime, Amelia or Lina kicked the charm or humour up a notch and sucked me back in again.
As is the case with most anime, side characters are present. These range from endearing to annoying, and some are surprisingly fun to watch. Special shout-outs for Sylphiel, whose relationship with Lina actually didn't become stereotypical rivalry, and Phillionel, whose appearances were sometimes surprising but never necessarily unwelcome.
Slayers was primarily animated by SoftX, and it has definitely aged well over the years. Hand-drawn and cel-shaded, the palettes are quite warm and pleasant to look at. The backgrounds are also nothing to sneeze at, given that they do have some amount of detail put into them. The animation is fluid and well-done for its time, and I definitely don't think I'm just being biased toward the art style (which I like quite a bit). Some people might find the character designs off-putting (mostly since Amelia and Lina have quite large eyes), but it's something I easily became used to. The characters don't change uniforms or clothing much throughout the twenty-six episodes, but they make up for it by adding some iconic value to their getup, particularly Lina, who has quite the flashy uniform. The magic of Slayers is handled quite well, albeit with a few inconsistencies here and there, but I can look over it easily (rose-tinted glasses, after all). I enjoy the chanting scenes and appreciate the fact that enemies actually realize they can't let our sorcerer and sorceress heroes finish their spells.
The soundtrack is good but occasionally repetitive. I could guess what type of scenes were coming up based on the track being played in the background, but that's not really a bad thing. The opening and ending themes are where the music of Slayers really shines. Both are sung by Hayashibara Megumi (the VA of Lina Inverse) and Okui Masami. Get Along, the opening, is quite addictive, and Kujikenaikara, the ending theme, is a pleasant end to the episode. As for the VAs themselves, I'd say they do a pretty good job. I haven't seen the English dub, but I like the Japanese voice actors for all the characters, particularly the main quartet. Yanaka Hiroshi, voice of Brumugun, gets special notice for having an extremely irritating, warbling screech.
The tale of Lina Inverse and her companions definitely deserves to be taken notice of, and it's definitely stood the test of time as being an enjoyable anime to experience, with likeable characters and a good dosage of humour to bring the chuckles along. I, for one, certainly won't mind diving into the rest of the franchise, and the first season is worth a go for the first three or so episodes to test your interest (or, alternatively, patience).
ktulu007
I've talked about The Slayers franchise on several occasions with films and OVAs. Well, the time has come for me to talk about the anime series proper. It aired mid to late '95 and was brought to us by E&G films. The whole series was based off of a light novel series and proved popular enough that it spawned five anime series along with video games, OVAs and films. Today, I'm looking at the first anime. Story: We open with a group of bandits revelling in their ill-gotten gains when a fireball rains down and our heroine, Lina Inverse, makes her appearance. She beats the bandits,helps herself to some of their treasure and goes about her life. Unbeknownst to her, one of the treasures she's acquired is greatly desired by some powerful people and she, alongside the dimwitted swordsman Gourry, soon finds herself embroiled in a battle that could impact people all over the world.
The only real issue I have with the series is that some of the jokes don't really hold up well. The homosexual sea dragon being a prime example. The series also does overdo it a bit with the gags about Lina being flat. To be fair to the series, most of its jokes are really funny and work well, but you do get the occasional one like that that just isn't.
One thing I appreciate about this series is that, in spite of being primarily comedic, it does put a lot of intrigue into its plot lines. You get good hints about what's happening but they manage to hold back just enough information to keep things interesting. The series is also good at getting just serious enough with its big moments that they're really compelling without ever taking things too seriously. And the comedy does land pretty well a good ninety percent of the time.
Characters:
A part of what makes this series work so well is that the cast is really well tailored for it. A big part of that is that the characters do have complexity. Lina is greedy, petty and arrogant but she's also determined, surprisingly moral when it comes right down to it and can be very self sacrificing. Gourry is a moron but he can also be strangely insightful and he's loyal. Amelia is obsessed with justice and doing what's right but she's also naïve, easily fooled and doesn't always think her actions through. Zelgadis is pragmatic and opportunistic but he's also a kind and caring person in spite of seeming stoic.
They all have facets that make them wok when the series gets a bit serious but that also work well when exaggerated for comedic effect.
Art:
Overall, this is a great looking series. Especially given the limitations animation had at the time. The character designs are great. The action sequences are superb. The backgrounds are nicely done. About the worst you can say about it is that they do recycle some sequences, most notably with spells and that there are occasionally scenes where someone's hands or face will look awkward for a moment. And I'm not talking about the ones where it's clearly being done on purpose for comedic effect.
Sound:
The cast in this is phenomenal. In addition to legends like Hayashibara Megumi and Koyasu Takehito, yo get strong performances from Suzuki Masami, Midorikawa Hikaru, Matsumoto Yasunori & Touma Yumi. The series also has fantastic music, especially with its theme tunes. Tezuka Osamu deserves a lot of credit.
Ho-yay:
There's not much. We have a gay sea dragon, which is played up as a joke. And that same episode features a male character with a thing for Gourry.
Areas of Improvement:
1. Stop obsessing over Lia's bust size. For one thing, the series gives her age as fifteen and fixating on a fifteen year old's chest is just creepy and weird. For another, it's not really a strong reoccurring gag. The occasional joke about her being sensitive about her size is fine but it doesn't work at the frequency they use it.
2. If you're going to have a joke about a gay character, don't use their sexuality as the punchline. It's just not funny.
3. Cleaning up the art a bit would have worked a treat. I imagine the deadlines were the main reason you occasionally get those awkward art moments but the series could have been improved a bit by taking a little more time with the art.
Final Thoughts:
This anime is pretty fantastic. While it has the occasional joke that doesn't work or art fail, it also has superb writing, phenomenal characters, a masterful vocal cast, great music and art the genuinely does hold up well. My final rating for Slayers is going to be a 9/10.
Just_Matt_
Slayers is a show based on a book series about how it feels to play Dungeons & Dragons: 2nd Edition while at the mercy of a level 90, metagaming Black Mage addicted to Fireball. If you have any experience with magic users in tabletop RPGs, this should be enough to sell you on it. If not, here's a few more words to better sell you on it. Much like Dirty Pair, many of its gags involve said metagaming Black Mage, Lina Inverse, causing massive amounts of collateral damage while fighting assorted fantasy goons for one reason or another - so much that I feel like it andDirty Pair work really well as "double feature" shows, for whenever you're in the mood for some surprisingly witty but overall absurd 90s anime comedy.
The characters all play on and with western fantasy tropes in a way that feels retroactively familiar without being stale, and while you'll mostly see this colorful cast of chucklefucks engaged in villain of the week hijinks, the weirdly paced overarching plot eventually reaches a properly engaging final arc, bookended by a surprisingly thoughtful conclusion which tackles issues I didn't expect the Silly Fireball Spam Anime to tackle.
The fact that, despite its classically fantasy setting, many of its more arcane locales and artifacts look like they were ripped straight out the dank tunnels of a Zentradi warship, is a detail that tells me the folks working on this adaptation probably had a lot of fun - which is always a plus in my book.
Daimyo
Bored and lonely, equipped with a strong burning desire to watch some nostalgic shit, led to my chance encounter with Slayers. Story 9/10 Slayers is a long running and popular Light Novel series by Hajime Kanzaka, but if you're reading this review, you probably already knew this.What YOU need to know about Slayers' Story is that it's basically about an overpowered girl named Lina Inverse and her wacky adventures in medieval fantasy Japan. That's essentially, how you should think about it. I know it doesn't really make much sense, but you'll find a strict definition of this show's plot does not necessarily do it justice. Theygo around adventuring and shit. It's almost like some adventure time type stuff, but not quite as goddamn campy. There's consistency in the plot of this show at least. Unlike, other shows I have reviewed in the past and commented on for diverging into too many unrelated story lines and random events. This show for the most part, sticks to the hardcore adventuring and monster killing aspect. The show tries to put in plot twists and other predictable none sense, but it's just so well crafted and engineered, that it's easy to look past these things. Personally, I found the first few episodes a bit slow and hard to get into, but the show easily picks up once the Shabranigdu arc starts. Sadly, after this arc, the show once again slows down and does not pick up its pace until several episodes later. What really gives this show bonus points, is the execution. For instance, they are far from amiable when it comes to securing the lives of characters. And while no major main characters die, if you're a side character in this show or a villain, your life is potentially forfeit. That's why I can appreciate, that despite this show's humour and generally light hearted pace, when the killings are good, the blood is fresh.
Characters 9/10
I mentioned earlier a specific character named Lina Inverse. It would be more appropriate to name her Lina Universe. The whole show revolves around her. This short-statured, short-tempered, avaricious, magical little ginger girl. I must say, she is one of the most interesting female heroines I have encountered in a long time. As the show progressed, not only was I following in love with the series, but I felt as if I was beginning to fall in love with her. That being said, she's not without her own problems. She's completely overpowered. We get the fact that she is supposed to be a magical genius, but give this bitch a toothpick and she'll shove it so deep up your ass, you'll fucking explode. We literally, get the feeling that there isn't anything she can't do. In fact, because of her, no matter how great and interesting we might find the other characters, they have no real purpose. Because anything they can do, Lina can do much better. Lina is the law and you don't fuck around with her. Even Gourry whose specialty is Swordsmanship and light sabers can't defeat her; somehow Lina ends up being that much fucking better when she uses the Light sword than him. Using all sorts of falcon punch level moves like Giga Slave and God knows what else when she proceeds to completely beat the shit out of you. In fact, the only thing that stops Lina from becoming a Mary Sue, is that her personality is intentionally flawed. The other main characters are her fan support group. Still we must at least mention them, especially, if my plan for the future of this series remains intact.
We'll start with my favorite non-Lina characters, Gourry Gabriev. This character had potential. Not to say, he didn't have his moments, but his actions were often overshadowed by Lina's greatness or his stupidity. Once again, I assume this was done intentionally, in order to add that much more credibility to Lina's awesomeness. This lucky son of a bitch had the privilege of first meeting Lina when he saves her from Bandits. That's really the only time he gets to be badass until much later in the series. I know this is completely irrelevant, but his wikipedia entry describes him as an “unmatched swordsman” and “nigh unbeatable”. Yea we must not have been watching the same fucking series. Because the Gourry I saw, was constantly matched and beaten on numerous occasions. Unless he somehow gets a super saiyan level power up in the next few series, I highly doubt that's how he is. That is the Gourry of our ideals. We all wish him to be that badass swordsman that never loses. Shouting beams out of his light saber and shit, saving the day, being hero guys(medarotto). Unfortunately, this is Lina's Universe, not his'. He can be occasional love interest, comedic relief and plot item support. Even in critical moments, you might expect him to do something hardcore, but he's just so motherfucking passive. If a role requires a man to do, he sends it to Lina.
Next we have Zelgadis, the part human, part troll and part demon shaman they meet on their journeys. They introduce him as a bad guy, but he quickly does that whole I'm not really a bad guy type thing and switches sides. He's a pretty complex character. The first series does very little to elaborate on his character. They just chose a quick route to the story. There could have been a lot more character development done to add depth to his character. We can spend all day pondering on what might or could have been but for the sake of brevity in a very dilated review, we will move on.
If you noticed, I am commenting on the characters based on the order they were introduced in the show. I'll leave you guys to guess who comes next. All right, what you need to know about Amelia: she's very clumsy [...]
I always forget the names of these types of characters. These negligible characters that the world or series could do without. Syphiel aka annoying girly shy chick.
The only thing lacking about this show's characters, is that there really is no character development. I guess it's because the characters are already at a certain level, that they don't even waste time developing further. I don't think it would ultimately make a difference though, being this is Lina's Universe. There are a myriad of other side characters I neglected, but for the sake of not spoiling, as I actually do want you to watch this series yourself, I purposely omitted them. Though I must say this, Rezo probably isn't dead.
Music
7/10
Just your generic J-pop here. Some memorable scores, particularly the opening piece. Has all that cool stuff I look for in a Japanese animation. Really matches the theme of the show too. I would score it higher, but it is J-pop after all(all the kool kids listen to k-pop now). Both pieces are by Masami Okui and Megumi Hayashibara; look into it.
Enjoyment And Overall 8/10
I really enjoyed this series. Despite it's simplicity and sometimes corny dialogue. The story's execution and the characters really pulled through on this one. Like I said earlier, there were faults. Lina's role in the storyline is too great even for a main character. I think the author said he has no clear cut favorite characters, but I mean that is obviously a bullshit. He's done a ton of specials and series with just Lina as the main character. It's more than a fascination. Also I felt at times that the series would drag on at times. All that aside, this is one of the best series I suddenly decided to watch. Almost makes me regret all the years I was ignoring it. If this website let you rate things in increments of .5, I would change this score to a 8.5. Personally, I find it closer to a 8.7 or 8.8. Not quite a 9, but definitely something you should watch once in your anime viewing lifetime. I'd give it a 9, but honestly, I can't be assed to do that, I'm not that easily impressed. I mean I love Lina to death, but I won't let her run my life, like she runs the other characters in the show. I'm a main fucking character of my own.
JFresh
Slayers is an anime about a party of characters and their misadventures to kill bandits, get treasure and, eventually, save the world. The story's main protagonist is one Lina Inverse whose blade is nearly as quick as her temper (overshadowed only by her ability with magic). She's considered to be witty, intelligent, the natural leader of the group and also very powerful. It's a refreshing change to see a strong female lead in an anime during a time where this was almost unheard of. Where the show really shines through is in its cast of characters that compliment each other very well. Without rehashing whatothers have said so well already, I will say that of all the anime I've seen, I have yet to find characters that are so memorable. Watching the next couple of seasons is like reuniting with old friends.
As for the main story arc, it's quite good and I don't think anyone would be disappointed. The action as well, when it heats up is also most excellent. I will say that as far as big climactic end battles go, Slayers is definitely among my favorites. They're not too lengthy but not too short either. They are flashy and they are awesome.
Each season of Slayers has a story arc that is started and completed within that season. It is wrapped up nicely so if you're worried about getting into a lengthy series know that you'll be well served and satisfied by watching just one season.
One final note is that the Slayers movies are only play a minor involvement in the Slayers universe and are not nearly as good as the TV series. If, like me, you were hesitant to get into this series because you had seen one of the movies and didn't care for it, let me assure you that TV series is *WAY* better than the movies and you would do yourself a disservice to miss this.
Sylenced1
For me, Slayers was one of the most humorous series to watch. It really starts off with a bang, keeping the mood lighthearted, with plenty of enjoyable, comedic moments. Throughout the series, Lina, the main character, and Gourry, her guardian, work really well together in terms of combat and keeping the mood upbeat. The series has a good deal of action, with sorcery, sword fighting, dragons, you name it. Although the action scenes are nothing compared to what we see in today's anime selection, it held its own seeing as it is an older series. The music in the series was appropriate for thescenes, but it definitely wasn't what I've come to expect in that department. Each character develops nicely, and you learn a good deal about them throughout the series, with enough to keep you wanting more.
I felt that the series had a pretty solid story, but this was not an anime you watch for the storyline. The real enjoyment factor would be the relationship between the main characters like Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis. If you enjoy an anime chock full of funny, with some pretty solid action, character development, and storyline, then I think Slayers would be a good fit for you! Don't forget that there are a few continuations to the series as well if you enjoy the first.
Just as a side-note as it wasn't mentioned - the voice actor for Zelgadis was Dan Cronin up until EP. 18, which transferred to Crispin as Cronin went MIA, apparently.
irish5ive
First let me start by saying that for me, the anime that was released in the 90's, is the best shit around. It broke ground for all the new age, digitally enhanced, CG infused stuff we watch and love nowadays. It was a time where zooming in on a single cel or panning out was top of the line animation. It was a time when no one cared about character development, background music, and a quick glimps of a leading ladies underwear. It was a time where you could sit back, zone out, and just enjoy the antics that were aboutto unfold.
Slayers is one of the greatest anime series to be released from the 90's because it is the apitamy of 90's anime.
The story as a whole is an action, adventure saga, following Lina Inverse on a quest to become rich as fuck with as little effort as possible. She meets a sword weilding hero named Gourry with the same desires as she herself, and with this chance encounter, the most humerous, dynamic duo in anime history is formed.
As the story unfolds before the viewer, you quickly begin to realise that the plot is just as simple as the characters themself. Lina and Gourry meet, cheat, and defeat the evil-doers of the world, then treat themselves to every piece of food within a 10 mile radius. It's simple, it's beautiful, and it's a real treat to watch. Some might claim that the lack of plot makes this series an uninteresting watch. Those people are brainless retards. Whatever is lacking from the story, the humor thoughout certainly makes up for it.
Gone are the days where jokes about glutenous overeating, small breasts, and dumb jocks rule supreme. Gone are the days where facial misformations (ie. bulging eyes, huge sweat beads, a mouth taking up 95% of the face) make the viewer laugh til they pee themself. However, The Slayers capitalize on a time where jokes were funny, jokes were ongoing, and jokes were what strenghtened the plot. The interaction between Lina and her companions WERE the plot.
This being said, Lina and her travelling family might seem on the outside to be nothing more than walking jokes, however, this is not true. We get a taste a humanity out of each and every character that grace the screen. We see the hurt in thier face when one gets hurt. We see the pride in their eyes when one accomplishes something. They cry, there're determined, they fight for what they believe in, but they all do it with such low-class that we can't help but to smile at everything they do.
Lina herself is the reason that the show has become a maga-smashing hit that will last long after the Bible is forgotten. She destroys towns and still asks for payment from the mayor. She'll beat the snot out of her companions and still get them to pay for dinner. She steals from theives. She fucks up the villians who plague the Earth. She can eat more then 10 men together. She is SOOOOO loveable.
The rest of the cast all have their quirks which make you smile and root for them too. Gourry is exactly like Lina just in a dudes body. Zalgadis is rude and right to the point. Amilea is the enbodiment of truth and justice in a bumbling little girls body. Each and everyone will make you crack a grin or 10.
As for the animation, we are also talking about yet another grade A+. The use of brilliant and vibrant colors throughout is obvious. The characters are uniquly drawn with outfits and uniforms that will stand the test of time. Side note: The characters will remain in their outfits throughtout the entire series, and never change clothes. I love the 90's :) The veiwer can easily distinguish between goblins and werewolves, socerers and knights, kings and commoners. Just as much detail is spent of the backdrops as well.
The fight scenes, for animation purposes, might be a little lacking. It usually follows a bright magical spell and is followed a huge explotion. This is the only thing about The Slayers that I think could have used a bit more detail. But regardless, the spells are bad ass and the explotions are HUGE.
The music that accompinies the series is a nice piece of work as well. Usually single keyboard strokes, it sets the mood perfectly. You know when something funny is going to happen with the lighthearted little dingles and you know when trouble is near from the thudding bass. On top of that, the catchy OP and ED really keep par with the awesomeness. It's a poppy-rock song that you will find yourself humming too even after the episode is over.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it until I turn everyone over to my side. As much as I enjoy the anime being produced today, we owe it all to our groundbreaking fore-fathers like The Slayers. There still is very few action-adventure series that focuses on humor as heavily as this title, and certainly none that come even close to being as awesome as this series. If you're on the fence about reliving the good old days or are curious about what anime was like before it became the prefabricated clones we watch today, start with The Slayers.
ghostintheruins
Slayers is a really funny fantasy comedy. It's the story of Lina Inverse, the flat chested underdeveloped sorceress extraordinaire and her friends the ditzy swordsman Gourry, steadfast do-gooder Amelia and the stoic chimera man Zelgadis. This show never gets boring and fluctuates from a over the top comedy to a dramatic series on the fly. It never takes itself to seriously though and frequently breaks the 4th wall (Lina sometimes complains about her screen time, or Gourry about the episodes being too serious). It's truly one of my favorite Anime. All of the sequel series are awesome as well. Also PrincePhilionel's oxymoronic attacks are hilarious! I just can't get enough of Slayers.
Luquillo
Whenever I was asked which time period I found to be anime's finest hour the 90's has always been my answer and I don't see my take on that changing any time soon. I find this time period the most ambitious as anime became quite more innovative expanding on multiple genres. Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Berserk, and various others are directly responsible for boosting the genre's credibility; and as a result anime was no longer something one had to be ashamed to admit they were actually fans of. Many series had plenty of depth and characters people could relateto and hold dear to them. However, some of these titles like the one's I mentioned took themselves very seriously. Eventually Slayers was introduced containing a well enough written story and a plot with some nice twist; but these elements clearly came second to the one thing that truly defined the series, and that was its comedy.
Slayers is one of the few anime series that can actually make one laugh each episode without over the top toilet humor. It rarely, if ever attempts to appeal to the sleazy part of the mind, and this simply wouldn't have been possible if not for the characters. Honestly, the characters aren't completely developed; it's their personalities that will win over viewers and I personally find it near impossible to come away disliking any of them.
The series follows a young sorceress named Lina Inverse, the bandit killer, whom is known for stealing from others and giving to herself. She doesn't follow the usual shonen hero stereotype. In fact, she considers dying for the sake of honor completely stupid and would rather look for any other option which includes spells capable of mass destruction. Plus she needs to be paid to help people no matter their situation. She later meets a dim-witted swordsman whose stupidity is simply classic, and the two take off to another town. The plot begins to take form when she learns that one of the treasures she had stolen is quite important to another party, and this begins a series of encounters where she makes new friends and new, relentless enemies.
Slayers is a barrel of fun through out its duration with Lina encountering other magic wielders and powerful enemies. The plot isn't completely straight forward since new objectives come into play to keep the characters busy. I can't stress enough how important the characters are because they're clearly the glue holding this thing together, and the stellar voice acting for the English dub has that "it" factor going for it. The dialog is witty and overall entertaining, it's definitely a highlight worth mentioning.
Unfortunately, Slayers is far from perfect as certain jokes become quite redundant and it clearly takes its time making it to the end. On top of this, there are several encounters that lead no where and after awhile any type of interest for a certain rival battle is all but gone. The animation is a mixed bag by today's standards, and even for its time it wasn't among the best either. There really isn't much for choreography during the battles, but what is present can be very good as they battle with huge, epic attacks. The character designs work into the comedy at times as well and everything is fairly good to look at. I especially like various backgrounds as some castles and dungeons differ from one another. This series also has some great music that works properly for each segment, and they give battles that extra bit of life.
Slayers is definitely an old series to check out and it's a breath of fresh air from the overly bloody type packed with pure sexual humor and overtones. The laugh out loud moments definitely overshadows the boring ones. I highly recommend it to the fantasy, magical girl, comedy, and action fan bases.
Highs: Memorable characters, great soundtrack, funny comedy, and plot twist
Lows: Decent animation, mild redundancy
YuYuDragon
Well, Slayers; what an interesting anime. I think it was a trailer from a Dragon Ball Z movie that got me interested. And a couple of years later when I became interested in all sorts of different anime and step out of my one or two likes Slayers was on the top of my list. Story- The story is diferent I must say. It's unique and this is one of the older animes from the 90's and do to popular opinion, it is part of the 2nd "Big 3". The reason why the story wasn't incredible is that the pacing seemed way off. I don't wantto give any spoilers but something happend in the beginning of season 1 (Slayers) that could have waited until the end of season 5 (Slayers Evoulution-R). Everything happens fast; it's not quite as jam packed as SAO and that may be a good thing but there was deffinatley room for more. There were some filler that did not belong and those were the really boring episodes that almost made me drop the anime. What really makes this anime worth your time besides a couple of good boss fights is the comedy. It is the funniest anime I have seen because of the interactions between characters, but i'll get to that later. But, if you are a kind of person that hates filler and will drop an anime because of it this may not be an anime for you. If you are considering dropping it after the first arc and little bit of filler a little word of advice... don't. Give it a shot, the second arc is much better and the pacing along with the bad guy will really leave you with a good taste in your mouth. Also, if you stick out season 1 and say "Ehh wasn't my style" that is totally fine because it doesn't end in a cliff hanger. Some animes that are "ok" make you go to season 2 because of the way season 1 ends and here if you don't like season 1 you won't lose sleep over it. (Cough Cough season 2 is 100X cooler and bad ass cough cough) so you might wanna stick it out.
Art- This is all preference. It is an older anime and looks older. If an older art style bothers you it really might not be a show for you because it does look old almost oil painted but I don't personally care when I watch a show. There are many other important things but if you care, take caution.
Sound- They reuse the same tracks over and over again and that can get annoying not going to lie. Good thing the 1st season is only 26 episodes long because they needed to come up with new tracks. The ending and opening were forgettable. Nothing too special but they didn't suck so that was a plus. I watched this in Dub and it is a little off like most anime Dubs are but i'll touch on why the Dub is still better than the Sub when it's time for the character review.
Character- These characters make the whole series worth it. They are extremely funny and are so interesting. Their attacks are so bad ass and so original. Not one character would survive without the others prescence with them. And the Dub cast is better than the Sub cast because the Dub cast is basacally most of the original Pokemon cast. It really is a nostalgic trip when they speak and you can hear the connection, it just flows better, the jokes are that more funny because of them. And the bad guys.... wow. If you like good solid bad guys that don't go down easily and keep you on the edge of your seat because of their power, this might just be an anime for you. Especially the second arc bad guy, it really made me enjoy the show that much more.
So a re-cap. Slayers has problems. The start has pacing issues and a couple of boring filler. The soundtracks repeat, and for some, the art may be too old. But, the characters and their witty jokes and the overall comedy and story cancels out the issues. Slayers has been considerd a Cult Classic but that's including the other 4 seasons which I have not finished them all. I can say, Slayers is worth your time if you are on the fence about it. I enjoyed the comedy and the fights. No anime is without problem but I have seen worse. Overall 7 out of 10. Give it a chance, if you don't like it don't fret, it may not be for everyone but it was a fun ride for me...
angelsreview
This show doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s what I love about this. It’s much like a dungeon and dragons game where you’re just with a group of friends who jokes around. Even Glass Reflection has said (want more of that, go to the other reviews) and each character has there own personality.We follow two characters most of the times, Lina who is a sorceress with a chip on her shoulder and Gaurry, a rather bumbling warrior. The two work rather well together from the moment they met and are the main reason why the show keeps going on. The two argue like anold married couple but its Gaurry’s heart and Lina’s knowledge that makes the dual work so well in every little case they go. Sure you have some of the stereotypes that happen once in a while, like the ‘stupid’ blond haired Gourry and the little loud mouth girl Lina, but I never found them predictable. I believe one of the reasons why they made him like that is because then we have a sort of open book to help us get into the world. Since he doesn’t know the world (or plays dumb) we get a reason for Lina to explain the things we won’t understand.
Zelgadis is a rather interesting character as he is half stone in his whole body (immature jokes aside fokes). (Kurai: “Ha! Hard as a rock even in bed!” Angel: *smacks him hard on the head* “What did I just say?”) He is also a sorcerer and in the first half, we see him as a protagonist. Now, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything when I say he ends up turning around and teaming with the other characters. Amilia was more annoying then the others but her character sort of grew on me. Lets see, I believe Zelgadis is Chaotic good and Amilia is really Lawful good if you want to get into D&D.
The storyline isn’t really a one directional storyline but it actually changes halfway through. It’s not that it goes into a completely different storyline but it does throw a couple twists and turns. Sadly though, we never get a full sense of the world they are in. They throw things in on last second and then take a little bit of time trying to rectify the change of the world. Now, they have really good luck though in this because most of the explanations actually seem to work but that’s because they didn’t put a standard to the world in the first place.
The artwork does show its age but this was made on cells. Even though its classic, it’s rather clean and when they do stray away from the artwork, its mostly to show a gag rather then just a whim. We do get some still images and overused footage but I never was bothered by this. I have to say their costumes are really ridicules though but that’s a norm for any fantasy style show. The whole magical jewels on magical jewels for a sorcerer, the armor that actually doen’t look like it would protect him to well on his legs, it’s just one of those things. IT is like they made this a stereotypical fantasy but then joke about that same thing at times.
Lina’s English voice was one that I had to actually grow to like, hers and Amilia. They were a little too high but not as high as the Japanese version. I couldn’t get into the Japanese version sadly because of Lina’s voice but the English is another matter. I think some of the jokes also work better in the English but again, it might be regional for this. They talk about lots of items that really aren’t in there time frame like cheeseburgers and such. It gives another layer to the show.
Zehria
The Slayers series for me is very interesting- I don't know exactly what made me start watching it but there is some hook that just pulls you in. I would reccomend though that most people maybe start with Slayers Next instead of this, mostly because unless you are a hardcore old-school fan, it takes a while to get into (especially since Crispin Freeman~, playing Zelgadis, doesn't come in for quite a while). By the second season (next) the show has definitely gotten much better, and it starts off fresh so you don't need to have seen the first season to enjoy it or follow theplot.
But enough with that, the plot. It has a very classic medieval-magic-and-swords theme, where you follow the characters as they travel across the land in search of... well, several things. I'm bad at explaining plots so I'm going to stop there. The series is a nice mix of adventure and humor, and often has filler episodes, although I wouldn't really call them filler, because most of the show is the characters getting into amusing situations during their quest.
It's very hard to explain, but if you don't mind how cliche it feels by todays standards, you should definitely go watch it.
Rage-The-Dragoon
After watching Slayers I think the easiest way to say it is this. "Slayers is one of those anime that I WISH I could have watched as a kid." It was one of those classics that was part of the great anime boom of the 90's. just a year before DBZ made it's debut in the west. And while it may come across as cheap because of it's obvious budget restrictions. Slayers is very self-aware on multiple levels and try's to make the most of what it does. and frankly it does a lot of things better then most modern day shonen. For Example: lets take ..."Bleach" AShonen that feels the need to throw buckets of dialogue and exposition about HOW attacks work and WHY someone was able to dodge a certain attack. which just break the flow of the scene instantly and just makes me shout at the screen. "FIIIIIGHT ALREADY!"
None of that in Slayers. if there's combat, IT'S JUST COMBAT and details surrounding the scene are handled either before or after the matter at a campsite or an Inn. Which isn't only more satisfying to look at, but makes more sense. Nobody interrupts a life-threatening fight scene to explain how an attack works or extensively compliment their adversary on how smartly they dodged their magic-super-beam!
Slayers DOES things and SHOWS things. and only explains things if it needs to! I don't need to know how Lina's Dragon Slave works. I see what's happening right there on the screen. she uses an incantation that summons the forces of dark magic and launches it in an all destroying ball of energy. I don't need a single word of exposition to come to that conclusion.
The same is done with the jokes in the show. it's the 90's so we're bound to get some more cringy material here and there but they never linger on them for too long. making the fast pacing work for the jokes that do work. the lesser are more easily forgotten and the more memorable ones have more impact.
Moving on to the Characters.
How do you even put this...our main character Lina is special (especially in this day and age). In a current anime world where Moe is the norm and self confident girls in anime are either blank slates, tsundere's and other stereotypes. Lina is one of those Spunky happy go lucky types that you rarely see anymore.
She has a few stereotype staples like the "Food-lover" gimmick but she is very multilayered beside that. with genuine emotional shifts and opinions. She's a greedy treasure hunting adventurer, but would shove all of that aside if a hairy situation requires her expertise. even her Goofy moments are balanced well with moment where she's alone in her bedroom processing and monologueing about how to handle a situation they have to face.
Goury on the other hand is relatively simple. but contrasts Lina pretty well. I've alway's felt that people who watch the show actually experience it through Goury, he's a simpleminded warrior that regularly needs explaining about whats going. so as Goury is getting information so are we, which creates a natural form a exposition. he's capable, and likable but not really deep. I would have liked to see him a little more worked out.
The remaining main cast members are quite enjoyable as well. and they don't play into the obvious pitfalls like making Zelgadis Lina's Rival. I was especially worried about Amelia being the whiney little brat type but...she's actually pretty fun to watch. she's may be the over enthusiastic kid in the group BUT she isn't useless! not as powerful as Lina but still is a capable mage that can hold her own.
I would say only the villains hold a bit of a weak spot, you don't really get to know them as well as the rest of the cast and they leave a lackluster impression. even when certain heartfelt moments take place on the villains side. it...doesn't leave a strong enough imprint for one to really care. then again drama isn't the strong point of Slayers.
And that also ties in with the Story of Slayers. because...well there isn't a real grand scheme or goal for our cast collectively, It's more problems they face on the way and try to overcome. making things feel a bit episodic...but they're not. which is actually quite smartly done, every episode usually has a problem that occurs and is solved. but also ties in with the overarching plot. not everything though sometimes it's just complete filler, still...it's enjoyable filler.
And that is probably Slayers greatest strength. even if you know the episode has nothing tied in with the overall arc it's still fun to watch. without giving to much away I was very skeptical about the episode where Lina would get married. the whole setup just screamed "dud-filler-episode" and I was proven wrong, they played it out great!
In overall Slayers is a fun ride for anyone interested in a classic DnD, Medieval Fantasy adventure.
ratchet573
The Slayers is considered one of, if not the, most popular anime of the nineties. Based on a huge series of light novels (over fifty) The Slayers is a comedic response to the more serious fantasy anime of the time, most notably Record of Lodoss War. This first season of Slayers came out in 1995 and I feel it’s only right to watch and review this series as we approach its’ twentieth birthday. So for the next few weeks, we’ll be exploring all five seasons of the show, as well as the movies and OVA’s. Lina Inverse is the star of Slayers, a dark magic user whofloats around in search of treasure and monsters to slay. After stealing from a group of bandits she meets up with a knight named Gourry, an absolute moron despite his skills with the sword. Together the two battle monsters and bad guys as a man named Rezo wants a statue Lina stole in order to awaken a dark lord and get back his eyesight.
Slayers has a very simple plot that allows it to be episodic while still carrying over a story. What I just described is the first arc, about eight episodes. In the second arc the characters are framed and being hunted by bounty hunters while in the third they have their final battle against the bad guys.
The first arc does a really good job of getting you into the show, providing great introductions to characters in a wonderful blend of comedy and nonstop action. The second arc is a little rougher, with a Pokemon-esque game of cat and mouse between the bounty hunters and our heroes. There are some hilarious episodes scattered in here but these, for the most part, feel like filler. The final arc is the biggest offender for me as it slows the show down considerably, loses the humor, and spends much of it in a shonen-esque fight that goes on way too long.
While the pacing and plot can be a minor issue, the world itself is the interesting part. While the unnamed fantasy land is pretty generic in look and legend, the characters that populate it are all so interesting, perhaps the main reason anyone will want to watch Slayers. While not all the characters are three-dimensional (in fact, I don’t think any of them are), they’re such good company, no matter if they are part of our good guys or one of the baddies.
Lina Inverse, our heroine, is a loud, annoying, and really selfish person. As a main character she is completely unlikeable and the opposite of the fantasy heroes the viewer is used to. She uses dark magic for her own gain, is only friends with certain characters because it benefits her, and treats everyone as a stepping stone. She still does some good, though in the end I feel that she only does it to save her own ass and perhaps become a hero.
Gourry is a knight and a complete moron. He joins up with Lina as her bodyguard and she later learns he carries the mythical Sword of Light, which she hopes to get from him despite the fact it is his family heirloom. In fact, we’re given to believe the only reason she follows Gourry is to get the sword from him (though there is a hint of a romance brewing between the two). He’s the comedic relief for the most part but he does, occasionally, get to be a complete badass.
Later on we meet Amelia, a “hero of justice” who’s pretty much the clumsiest girl in the world. Her father, Phil, is the prince who looks like a barbarian and is a staunch pacifist (unless you get him mad, then get ready for his Goodwill Toward All Creatures Kick). Zelgadis is the son of Rezo who was turned into a Chimera and banished by his father. He’s probably the most level-headed character with the best motivation. Then near the end we’re introduced to Sylphiel, a girl in love with Gourry who is only there to make sure the heroes win the final battle.
Then we have the bad guys. Rezo the Red Priest wants to resurrect a demon lord in a bid to get his eyesight back, something that has driven him crazy for years. He was a good guy but his search for sight made him go nuts, leading to his eventual death. Later, he returns as a clone created by a woman named Eris, one of his followers who loved him and wants to see Lina and the gang die for killing her beloved master.
The bad guys are all competent people with good intentions and backgrounds who are thrust into crappy situations. There are a ton of much lesser bad guys strewn in but the main villains may be more sympathetic than any of the heroes. I felt especially bad for Eris who couldn’t understand why the man she loved was taken from her. Rezo and Eris are just misguided.
Meanwhile the “heroes” are all idiots, which leads to a lot of great comedy situations but doesn’t make you care about their well-being. One of my favorite examples of the stupidity of our heroes is when Amelia asks Lina to blow up a hill using her magic so that the townspeople don’t have to walk over or around it in order to get to the next town. Thus, Lina uses her magic selfishly to blow the hill into a crater, and accidentally unleashes a hoard of malicious ghosts sealed within.
Hell, in the first episode Lina, in order to defeat a dragon, winds up blowing up the entire town she’s supposed to protect. She’s out of control and is the kind of character that in any other series would be the bad guy.
And that right there is why Slayers is so damn good. It’s making fun of traditional roles and tropes in fantasy. The good guys are selfish morons while the bad guys are the ones you feel empathy towards. Does that mean that the series as a whole suffers because we aren’t as impressed by the heroes? No. It actually makes it more fun.
So you’ll watch this show for the characters and not the plot, but I’m sure you’ll be stuck to the show for two more reasons.
First, the animation is so wonderfully nostalgic. The character designs are cute and nearly everyone gets those massive shoulder pads so prevalent in 90’s anime. The animation screws up occasionally with bad lighting effects, graininess, a small part of the frame not colored, any number of issues you can think of. But I feel that lends it charm, something I’m sure people don’t like to hear a critic say (imperfections are so cute!) but I think looking at something from a nostalgic perspective, it shows the leaps and bounds that have been made in animating anime.
The second reason you’ll stick? The music is so damn good. From the opening (a super cheesy, totally nineties theme) to the closing, every piece of music helps make an entertaining package all the more fun. Some of the music sounds Scooby-Dooish, lending that child-like feel you want from a good cartoon.
And that’s what Slayers really is; a cartoon. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all and manages to give even an older viewer a sense of childish nostalgia.
A lot of newer anime fans don’t understand where I come from when I talk about the eighties and nineties and how different anime was compared to now. Anime treats itself a lot more seriously nowadays than it did twenty years ago. In fact, I hesitate to call anime cartoons anymore because the medium has carved its own niche. Comedy anime nowadays aren’t comedies in the way of cartoons but in a more realistic sense, using words and realistic actions rather than silly faces and slapstick. And this is alright, it makes anime a unique medium. Hell, from the outset there were anime that weren’t like cartoons and saying that anime nowadays is different from back in the day is pretty obvious. Cartoons in America are a lot different too; as time goes on, things change.
But an anime like The Slayers is very rare nowadays and watching it after some more recent series, it comes as a breath of fresh air. It’s not at all an amazing anime in any way, but it’s a lot of fun and memorable. It’s a great escape from the monotony of modern anime and, even without comparing it to anything, still stands as a good show worth a watch if you haven’t already seen it
