In the kingdom of Xoana, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev unexpectedly come across their old companions, Zelgadis Graywords and Princess Ameilia Wil Tesla Saillune. Upon their reunion, the friends end up easily foiling the King of Xoana and his daughter's dastardly plans of world conquest.
Soon after, it is revealed that Zelgadis is in search of the world's most valuable magical tome, the Claire Bible, hoping to discover a method to recover his human body among the many secrets sheltered within it. Despite his protests, the rest of the group decides to join in the quest after hearing of his mission. However, just when they were wondering where to start looking for the legendary book, they stumble upon a mysterious priest by the name of Xellos, who claims that he may be of some help in their pursuit.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Archaeon
One of my pet gripes with multi series anime is the tendency to make major production changes from one season to the next. The main issue I have with this is simply that there is a lack of continuity in the look and feel of the show once this has been done, even if the different series are equally as good as each other (Top wo Nerae 1 & 2 are great examples of two equally good shows that look and feel completely different). Thankfully, Slayers Next doesn't suffer from any of those problems, and it's great to see chief director Watanabe Takashi (who alsodirected both seasons of Shakugan no Shana, Shin Hokuto no Ken, Boogiepop Phantom, and almost all the Slayers anime series and movies), continue to work his magic with the show.
Slayers Next is a little different from the first series in that the show has a bit more bite to it than before. This time around Lina and the gang are searching for an item called the Claire Bible, a book that supposedly contains knowledge imparted to man by the Mazoku, and that Zelgadis believes has information on how to return him to normal. Aside from that Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis spend their time fighting, playing tennis, getting kidnapped, destroying castles/towns/anything that makes Lina angry, dressing in drag, and generally making nuisances of themselves.
The "bite" that I referred to stems primarily from the fact that all of the character and scenario introductions were done in the first series, so Next can simply crack on with the story. As with the first series, there are some pretty obvious holes in the plot, but once again the comedy comes to the rescue, and while the humour will be familiar to anyone who's watched the first series, it retains a degree of freshness thanks to the overall feeling of continuity and the acting talents of the seiyuu. The one area where the plot is actually better than the first season though, is in it's development of Lina.
As a character, Lina Inverse was pretty one dimensional in the first series. That's not to say she isn't fun and approachable, especially in terms of female leads. During the course of the first season though, there was very little in the way of development for her, and while she and the other characters had some very good characterisations, the development on her part doesn't really begin until Next. While she remains as happy-go-lucky as she was before, certain events in Next serve to temper her personality and actions, giving her character a more rounded persona. That said, these changes are also the cue for some laughs, and become an important factor to the climax of the series, so it was nice to see this tempering process handled in a manner befitting the show.
I will be honest though. As much as I love the characters it should be noted that Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis receive only token development, however in the case of Gourry this can be forgiven since he's an idiot (all brawn and very little brains, like any good fantasy "hero"). However, the characters remain as good as they were in the first series, and fans will find that they like them even more come the end of Next.
After all, character development isn't always necessary, and can sometimes ruin a great show, especially one as action oriented as this is.
In terms of art and sound, there's very little that's different from the first series - both have aged fairly well. The biggest plus points are that Next retains the whole cast from the original TV show, and that the director and production company are the same as before. This gives the show feeling of continuity in terms of how it looks and sounds, and while one can watch Next as a completely separate entity, it's advisable to watch the first season of Slayers in order to fully appreciate the second.
Slayers Next is a little different from the original series, but only in terms of how focused the show is this time around. However, the series retains all the charm, humour, action and adventure that made the first season great. Next takes the adventure one step further, and where the first series liked to show Lina as almost god-like at times, Next isn't afraid to show some of her weaknesses (slugs, for example). While the characters are as likeable as ever, Next gives them a little more room to get themselves into trouble.
Suffice to say that Slayers Next is at least equal to the original Slayers, and is one of the few occasions where the sequel not only adds to the whole, but also improves it (much like Ghost in the Shell: SAC 2nd Gig, and the Aria: The Natural & Origination).
If you're a fan of Slayers, then this is a must. If you're a fan of wanton magical destruction, then this is a must. If you're a fan characters getting into trouble just because they have "a bit of a bad temper and a complex about their breast size", then this is a must.
If you're a fan of action, adventure, romance (the off-the-wall kind that sometimes involves crossdressing), tennis, and magical hijinks and shenanigans, then Slayers Next may be up your street.
qrdel
Before we start I'd like to have one thing cleared and settled... I'll be reviewing this series WITHOUT comparing it to up-2-date standards. Why? I don't think that the series deserves to be mashed because of some quality flaws, that's one... and secondly... Well, there isn't a single series that could stand up to Slayers, even today. But let's go off from the beginning... NEXT is a direct successor to the first SLAYERS tv series, and a much better series at that. It gives you much less fillers, more action, funny gags and tons of enjoyment almost every episode. The story circles around an old and incredibly powerfulartefact - Claire Bible. As it contains some old-school anti-demonic magic, Lina wants to get it, no matter the cost. The whole season then focuses on finding the *book* and eliciting 'the most powerful spell evar' from it. The plot may seem cliche and quite simple, but as it is 'The Slayers' we're talking about I would not say my last word on it. And neither did the authors.
Very quickly the main story goes off track to some more serious business involving the Mazoku race, kingdom of Seyluun and eventually also Sairaag which you probably remember being destroyed by Copy Rezo at the end of Slayers TV. Our fellow company, this time consisting of Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Zell goes off to different places to find out, why are the monsters so interested in Lina and her magic. Occasionally we will also have some cameos of old characters and a considerable amount of new ones introduced too... Xellos, Martina, The Demonic Lord Gaav and his henchmen or Philionell, this is just a tip of an iceberg and believe me, by the end of the series the list of antagonists will grow much bigger and someone *important* will appear too.
The series still is a classic Slayers successor though. It makes you cry when there is a need to, gives you chills the other time and eventually will make you die while laughing at Zelgadis being used as an anchor. The fantasy elements are omnipotent, yet they do not stand in your way like they did in the original Series. Here, everything is so cleverly designed that you won't even notice that something is actually going on behind the scenes until the scriptwriter allows you to.
The same cup of tea goes for the characters. Those are simply splendid. Lina is as vicious, clever and *cute* as always. Gourry is the very same block of brainless muscles as in the original series and Zell... well, this guy gets a lot of screen time in NEXT and it's one of the best parts of the crew. The way the group manages to put him off and joke about his prejudices is simply hilarious ;]. The same can be said about the antagonists. Most of them have their own stories to tell and those stories are neat enough to explain why the given character goes this way and not the other one. The final boss is a masterpiece on it's own. Imagine an overly powerful and demonic Lina combined with unbelievable cunning skills and non-existing self-control... Yes, I know. It's short to impossible to imagine that ;]. Moreover, finally we get to see some people coupling and talking about relationships. It's something new in the series and I gotta say it fits superb. Especially since the final cluster of episodes bases on one of those relationships strongly.
Overall, in terms of story and characters this series is second to none and you can look for better fantasy/rpg stories but you won't find them. It beats the first Slayers viciously and leaves no quarter to Slayers TRY!
The art and music are both something completely else. Although the animation may sometimes seem a bit awkward and outdated (even for 1996 when it was released) it still fits the tone of the series perfectly and does its job without a flaw. You won't get some picturesque sceneries here though, simply because this series focuses on the people, not backgrounds. Fits me.
The music is, on the other hand, flawless. I sincerely admire the person who wrote the ambient sounds and the score for the series - it fits naturally into every scene you see there, does not disturb you and makes you turn up the speakers. I especially liked the one particular OST track - "The person I want to protect the most in the world" - or so it went. It fits particularly into one single scene close to end of the series, and, well, it's unforgettable.
Megumi Hayashibara did great job in voice casting Lina, as well as preparing some of the background sounds. The seiyuu work is great in the series. You won't find a single voice that does not fit the character's personality.
All in all, a strong point of the series, although like I said in the intro, if I were to compare to the up-2-date series... well, the art would suffer some heavy strikes... :(.
The series is enjoyable like hell. You may have seen it several times but you will always want more. The whole picture is accompanied by very good opening and ending sequences which you'll never skip.
Summing it all up. Slayers NEXT is a must for all who have watched the original series and enjoyed it as well as anyone and everyone who likes good comedy multiplied with friendship and love factor with some drama elements aaaaaand a flashy finale.
Perfect 9 from me and a recommendation!
Jin_Kaze_Tsukai
I never watched the first Slayers series, and yet I was so adamant about buying the Next box set. I had seen more media of it online and therefore became more curious about this season. I am so happy I picked it up too because Slayers Next is THE best of the three seasons. Characters are more fleshed out than in the first series, animation quality went up, and the music is catchy. For fans of the fantasy genre I give you a nudge towards this. Depending on whether or not crack!comedy is your thing. If it is however than you will fall head overheels for this comedy-fantasy series. Believe me when I say a lot of moments will have you clutching your sides laughing.
As far as the dubbing goes, I am partial to both Japanese and English. They both have voices that fit and don't fit characters. However that is the beauty of dvds is you can pick and choose your language preference. Aside from that Give a Reason the opening has to be the most popular anime song ever. I hear it everywhere! Also it should be noted later in the series things get slightly more serious, so that is a refreshing change of pace.
Linaeris
Have you ever played a RPG or Dungeons & Dragons? You know where a group of adventurers gathers in a tavern to plan an attack on a nearby bandits hideout to retrieve a stolen treasure, treasure that may perhaps be desired by many influential - not necessary - people. Or maybe to rescue the damsel in distress that was kidnapped. Or to free a small, oppressed village from the clutches of an evil monster. Or would it be perhaps slaying a dragon that terrorizes the kingdom. Yes, that would be the world of Slayers. A perfect, balanced group of adventurers, a team consisting of a mightywarrior unrivaled in swordsmanship, supported by a noble, righteous priestess to cast healing and protection spells, with a skillful rogue hiding in the shadows ready to backstab any potential troublemaker and a beautiful in both body and mind sorceress to throw a fireball or two if needed. Yes, that would be the characters, our heroes...
...but only for those who have just heard of this series without actually seeing it. Anyone who have seen the first season of Slayers would add:
- our mighty warrior is indeed mighty and smart like a retarded ogre
- our noble, righteous priestess is indeed noble and righteous to the extent that her "love and justice praising" speeches would make a devil vomit a rainbow
- our skillful rogue is indeed skillful and is skillfully hiding in the shadows just beacuse he is afraid that someone would think he looks like some kind of chimera or a guinea pig of an incompetent alchemist
- our beautiful in both body and mind sorceress is short-tempered, flat-chested, greed-possessed... I mean indeed powerful.
With the basics covered lets move further. Slayers Next is a fantasy comedy. A second season of Slayers. It is better in every aspect in comparison to its predecessor. I am not only talking about a technical issues which is natural but also: story, characters and atmosphere. It is better thought out and balanced. Balance - that's the keyword here. The amount of funny moments, action, serious stuff, character development, suspense, plot twists even romance is perfectly dosed. All this happening in a beautiful medieval fantasy world.
Story:
The story of Slayers Next is revealed step by step as the events happen. It's not a sort of thing when you know at the start that "he is a bad guy, we have to kill him, end of story". It is well thought out, but not very complicated. There are a few lesser stories which in most cases are tied to the main plot. Sometimes our group of heroes may: lose the track / have a short break / be misleaded which - taking into consideration characteristics of our heroes with special emphasis on our sorceress - guarantees a lot fun.
Don't worry there are plot twists, surprising turns of events, and epic moments.
Art and animation:
It is significantly better than in first season. Animations, spell casting, backgrounds, characters and locations look good. Maybe not very detailed but just enough. Everything is rather bright and colorful but not to extend to make your eyes or head hurt, of course that doesn't apply whenever the action takes place: at night, in a dungeon, dark room, under the ground, etc.
It may seem a little rusty-dusty now but I think it suits the series better this way. Even if there are some very minor faults it is nothing disturbing.
Music and seiyuus:
Music and sounds are overall relevant to the events happening. We won't experience any sensations or eargasms but a very solid craftsmanship. In case of voice acting it's great, it really is. If someone prefers the English dub I would say it's quite good too. Japanese version is better, but generally English isn't bad.
Characters:
Besides our epic main four we have quite a few others most of them which we haven't seen in the first season. Some of them are friends, some are foes, some are episodic, some will live long enough to tell the tale.
Although we should focus the attention on main heroes for obvious reasons, I would like to point out that secondary characters are also very intriguing.
Characters are likable, original and have their own personalities.
Enjoyment:
Criterion which - in case of a great work - is not affected by time, while in the same time, the time being a criterion of a great work. In my opinion Slayers Next is an example of such a work.
Overall:
It is a well balanced fantasy comedy set in a typical RPG world with characters that are not your usual superheroes and a nice story that isn't very complicated nor simplistic. I think it even was supposed to be a parody of fantasy series like Record of Lodoss War. Give it a chance although I guess it doesn't look very appealing in the world of blu-rays and super high definitions...
...but there are some things in life that you simply like to get back to. They don't have to be perfect, they may have flaws that you are aware of, but when you get back to it you know that all of them will disappear.
YuYuDragon
Slayers Next. I had heard good reviews and I enjoyed season 1 (Slayers) so I could not wait to dive into Slayers Next and my oh my what a improvement from a pretty decent season 1. Story- Season 1 had bad pacing, season 2 paced itself so fluently and everything flowed. It's only 26 episodes just like season 1 and everything works, there's even more comedy in this season which I thought impossible but this season was hilarious. There was better battles and more of them. It was an upgrade I have nothing bad to say about it. If I have nothing bad to say youmay be wondering why I didn't rate it a 10. That's because I do not like to rate anything a 9 or 10 unless it has a WOW factor that will last on me forever and frankly only a couple anime, movies, and OVA has given me that WOW factor. It was a really good anime without any WOW factor to put it up there with the FMA Brotherhoods or the DBZ's but it did a hell of a job and came so close to convincing me but not quite there yet; still a solid story and enjoyable one.
Art- You can see the improvement from season 1. The fights and spells are so much more colorful and pop out at you it's really good and once again a nice upgrade.
Sound- Well this was interesting. Slayers repeated a lot of their soundtracks and Slayers Next kept the same soundtracks and added more to them so it wasn't a constant repeat of scores so that was nice. The Dub cast was phenomenal once again and I really think having most of the cast from Pokemon helped a lot. My one problem is some effects are the exact same effects from other anime I have seen. I sat there to myself thinking "wow did someone go super saiyan?" but no such luck they were just powering up. But in the end it got to me to a point where I couldn't go higher than a 8.
Character- Well what can I say, the returning cast from season 1 was great along with their development. The new characters were amazing mostly the "mysterious priest" Xellos, he was bad ass. The villains though were the key to making season 2 awesome. There were two major villains and they were so ruthless and powerful that it had me on the edge of my seat.
Overall there's not much to hate about Slayers Next. There was no WOW factor that stood out but it was such a fun ride to watch. The battles were amazing, the characters were funny and Slayers Next had outdone Slayers in every single category and this is such an easy binge watch show. Once your hooked you can finish it in a day or two. I literally cannot wait to watch season 3 but if you enjoyed Slayers to a point watch Slayers Next because it is that much better and I promise you will have a great time watching it...
kawaiimisato
Note this is reviewing season two of slayers. Slayers Next continues on after the happenings of Slayers. We have our returning cast of amazing characters, but we are also introduced to some new ones that do not disappoint. Again the character section gets a 10 because of the witty, comical, and entertaining personalities that all the cast possess. The story of Next is (in my opinion) far surpassing of that from the original series which is one overall Next scores a 9. As the plot develops, we are faced with mysteries and adventures that lead to new and exciting revelations. Along the way,we get a good dose of back story and lots of made of mythology, which i believe to be one of the most interesting aspects of Slayers.
The artwork is the same as season one, although there is improvements in colors and other small details. It probably doesn't deserve a 9 but again I am biased towards the hand drawn/colored style so that is why.
Sound is pretty good again, with the introduction of new characters and magic, we get some pretty nice tunes and effects so its definitely a plus.
i've seen both the sub and dub of it, and i have to say i think the dub is done very well, each voice fits perfectly, it was just kinda hard to get over listening to Gourry at first since he is voiced by the same person that does Brock from Pokemon, but its all good. The sub is great too, but i think its funnier to hear a lot of the puns and jokes in english as opposed to reading them.
Excellent series. if you like it, there is a third and final season afterwards that you can look forward to.
Just_Matt_
In 1989, nearly 40 years before The Legend of Vox Machina and Konosuba, The Slayers came out and showed people how a Dungeons & Dragons animated series is actually done. It was, in a nutshell, the opposite side of Record of Lodoss War's coin, embracing the sillyness that comes from an unhinged magician, an extremely dense paladin and a chuuni-esque white mage being put in situations that can and will be solved by blasting the room with a Fireball. In 1995, 6 years after that, The Slayers Next came out and blew the original series out of the fucking water. A near-perfect 26 episode run withouta single dull moment, missed joke or flat emotional moment. It is the Dirty Pair of fantasy anime, and if you know anything about anything you're probably sold on that premise alone.
If you're not, nothing I can say here will appropriately convey how much of a perfect wild ride The Slayers NEXT is. So stop browsing these stupid fucking reviews and go watch it.
ktulu007
I've talked about Slayers multiple times. The films, OVAs and the first series proper. Now we're going to look at the second series, Next. This one aired mid to late '96, shortly after the first series. Story: We open with Lina and company meeting up in the Kingdom of Xoana where they're all trying to get a peek at their pieces of the Claire Bible manuscript, a magical tome of great power. This results in the group traveling together, along with the enigmatic Xellos, searching for pages of the book. On their way they stumble upon several strange plots by various monsters that seem to beconnected.
There's one part of the narrative that I'm really not super fond of and that's the climax. Slayers Next has one of those endings that borders on being an ass pull. Yes, it's more acceptable in a series like this that's largely comedic than it is in something like Fate/Stay that's completely serious, but it's still not a great look.
With that being said, the comedy in this one actually holds up a lot better than the original. The comedic elements are amazing. Seeing Lina and Amelia put on a musical number, Gourry's tone deaf comments when his brain finally processes something, basically everything with Martina, it's all fantastic. The series also does a good job of introducing the elements that are used in the climax as it goes so it's somewhat arguable whether or not it actually qualifies as a Deus Ex ending, as opposed to the aforementioned Fate/Stay that's definitely a Deus Ex. The series also does an excellent job of incorporating some moments that are actually pretty tense. It kind of does the same thing Claremont did with his X-men run where neither tonal element goes too far to the point where they undermine each other.
Characters:
All the major players return from the fist series. Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis and Sylphiel are all back and just as endearing if not moreso. They have their quirks, the elements that imbue them with some depth and strong interactions that play off of each other very strongly whether the episode is more comedic or going a bit more serious.
Let's move on to the major additions to the cast, Xellos and Martina. Xellos is an excellent character. He incorporates into the cast really well and certainly makes for a strong addition. He's the enigmatic type of character who seems very good-natured but you just know he's got a twisted side. Martina is decent enough. She's the princess of Xoana who wants to take over the world in the name of Zoamelgustar, a monster she made up. Which would be a bit like me starting a cult for the Demi-Goddess Inez, daughter of Poseidon.* She's mostly used for more comedic moments, for obvious reasons, but she does get a few more serious moments that work surprisingly well.
The antagonists also work pretty well. Both Gaav and Phibrizo have motivations, plans and they actually demonstrate some intelligence in pursuing those goals.
The only slight issue I have with the relationship dynamics is that the ones that are supposed to come across as somewhat romantic are a bit trite, at least when the series is pushing that aspect of them. The big dumb dude and the brilliant, highly capable woman. The naive princess type and the stoic but good-natured guy. Etc...
*See Athena's Wellspring
Art:
The art looks roughly the same as it does in the first series. The character designs are still excellent. The action sequences are great. The backgrounds and visual gags work really well. With that being said, it still has recycled moments and the hands continue to be awkward in multiple frames and we aren't talking about, "if you pause it at specific moments you'll see it." No, this is just really noticeable if you're looking at the screen.
Sound:
The acting continues to be legendary. Hayashibara Megumi, Suzuki Masami, Midorikawa Hikaru, Touma Yumi & Matsumoto Yasunori all reprise their roles to great effect. The legendary Ishida Akira joins the cast as Xellos while Ishimura Tomoko, Ikura Kazue & Nakata Jouji join as Martina and our antagonists. And they all put on amazing performances. The music is stellar. The background music is strongly tailored for the series and the theme tunes, Give a Reason & Jama Wa Sasenai, are phenomenal.
Ho-yay:
There's a little bit. There's an episode where Zelgadis kind of develops a thing for a cross-dressing guy and one of the eyecatches looks like a scene from a shounen ai anime.
Areas of Improvement:
The climactic battle and direct fallout thereof definitely could have been better executed.
They would have been better off downplaying the idea of romance within the main cast and keeping things platonic.
The artists could have used some really good hand references.
Final Thoughts:
This anime is fantastic. Does it have some relatively minor issues? Yes. But the comedy, voice acting, music, characters, and overall story telling are all superlative. My final rating for Slayers Next is going to be an enthusiastic 9/10.
Lil34
Slayers Next was good in this installment of the Slayers series, OVAs, and movies. I found myself being wrapped up in the story more as it became reviled. While at first it seems like a light comedy it gets darker and darker towards the end satisfying my needs for fun, excitement, action, and drama. The art was okay for it being from the 90's era. However, I noticed a lot of noise and possibly dust that got stuck when they were taking the frames for the animation so it's not a clean picture. I can't knock on that too much because it's a totally differentway of animating a show compared to today's standards and computer graphics.
The same can be said for the sound. The dub audio sounded better than what I listened to for the sub. Once again, there is an age and technology factor so I can't complain too much.
The characters were good. Ones that came in for their second roles still kept the same flare that they did last time. The new comers added an interesting twist. Of course there are always the ones that you can't stand but I guess they did their job.
The show kept me going. I wanted to marathon it straight but I didn't have a chance. Still, I enjoyed it a lot and had fun on the ride. I can't wait to see the next installment of the series.
I'd highly recommend the series. It is one of those good classics that every fan should check out.
ratchet573
If you loved The Slayers, you’ll love Slayers Next. Okay, end review. But here’s more review in case you wanted it: The first season of The Slayers introduced us to a mostly likeable cast of morons who together formed one of the most memorable parties in anime. They fought some empathetic villains, engaged in generally hilarious antics, and this was all within a very 90’s package. The second season keeps pretty much all of those aspects intact. We follow Lina, the impulsive, rude, and some might say evil lead whose goal this time is to get a Claire Bible manuscript. Following her are Gourry, the moronic swordsman and Amelia,the hero of justice. Zelgadis also joins the fray, hoping to find a way to cure himself of being a chimera.
Not much has changed with these guys from before so let’s instead take a look at the new characters.
First we have a princess named Martina who is the frienemy/stalker of the series. She’s a lot like Team Rocket in Pokemon in that she randomly shows up to cause trouble but is mostly harmless. She submits herself to a made-up deity and has it out for Lina after the sorceress destroyed Martina’s kingdom. As the comic relief she’s actually really funny. I wasn’t annoyed at all by her antics and felt that having someone so like Lina as the silly antagonist worked well.
slayers_martina007Xellows on the other hand I found to be weak and boring. He’s another character who follows the party around but he’s only there as the clue giver. Later on it’s revealed why, but that doesn’t excuse his flimsy, boring personality. He’s about as dull as Sylphiel.
And speaking of her, she makes a random appearance toward the end of the season along with Zangalus. If it had been earlier in, I wouldn’t have felt so put off by their presence, but as it stands it’s shoehorned fan service.
So we have a lot going on here but we’re still focusing our attention on Lina. Lina is meant to be slightly unlikeable. She’s greedy and power hungry, much like RPG main characters can be. Rather than have a complete goody-goody at the helm, we get someone who could be a villain in anything else. it’s a prudent point that people with power who fight for “good” can still be assholes.
And all the other characters are spoofs of Dungeons and Dragons players and the characters that show up in fantasy anime. Gourry as the tank is a moron who only thinks with a sword. Amelia is the goody goody who can’t shut up about being good. The point of the series is to spoof the genre and Slayers always does a pretty entertaining job at doing so.
We have to take into account that the characters are spoofs when discussing them because it’s unfair to take them seriously. And it’s hard to anyway. But nonetheless we can take Lina seriously because she’s the one we’re supposed to root for. Which is so strange to me. I feel that if she were a singular character going on adventures, the show would fall apart and nobody would be able to stand it. It’s her interactions with Gourry (her obvious love interest) and the other members of her group that make the show bearable. And I think it’s commendable that a show can make a pretty unlikeable bitch into a decent main character.
The story of this season is much more overarching than the previous but has the same structure overall. The first arc is an introductory arc getting everything set up. This arc runs into what I’d say is the second arc, concerning the Seyruun royal family and a power struggle within. This is followed, at basically the same time as the first season, by a handful of filler episodes. I never mentioned these in the last review because they actually fit in despite being obvious filler. In fact, these are (and were in the first season) the funniest episodes in the series so definitely detract nothing.
The final act is where The Slayers fell apart, stretching out a battle that wasn’t that exciting and exchanging the comedy aspect for a more serious tone. Thankfully the last arc of this season manages both the humor and the serious action pretty well, and also throws in a few tugs of the heartstrings for good measure.
The bad guys of this season, though, aren’t as memorable as the first season’s. Something I loved about the first season was how likeable the baddies were and Next’s pickings are slim. They’re bad guys intent on world domination and destruction who have little personality aside from being evil. It’s why including Martina as a rival is so welcome. It brings back the humanity of the people we’re supposed to want to see defeated (or more accurately, shown the light). Martina isn’t really a bad guy, nor is she very harmless. She’s just another misguided moron. I felt bad every time Lina beat her up pointlessly. Compared to Lina, Martina has nothing. It shows how spiteful Lina is and makes Martina, despite being such an idiot, kind of empathetic.
On the technical front, the animation is slightly better than the first season with a lot less imperfections scattered throughout. The eyes can get really derpy and the shadow effects on faces are downright strange at times, but it’s overall a pleasant show to look at.
The music I was so fond of in the first season returns, at least, within the show. Next’s opening is nowhere near as good as the first season’s, nor is the ending that great either.
In conclusion, Slayers Next is a worthy follow up to the first season and manages to do a lot of things just the same or better, though falls short in others areas. In fact, it’s pretty much the same quality of everything (and the few complaints are outweighed by what was done right).
Next is definitely deserving of a viewing
Zelkiiro
Slayers NEXT was, for nearly 7 years, my favorite anime. And even now, I still have nothing but fond memories for this series. Over time, the luster has faded away, but I would still consider this to be a damn fun series. So let's get this MAL-style review underway, shall we? Story: 6/10 Eh, not the greatest thing the series has going for it. It's all well and good that there's a central goal for the cast (find the Claire Bible and learn all the things), but Slayers NEXT's road to that end is nothing short of rocky. The second half of the series does feature anice return to Sairaag and a lot of the filler episodes are among the best filler episodes ever made, but the first half's main story arc is inexcusably boring. We're introduced to two mysterious figures, Kanzel and Mazenda, who take advisory roles in the kingdom of...Seyruun? Saillune? We'll go with Saillune, as that looks nicer. Anyway, the mystery behind them is shattered the instant you see them--they're clearly evil as hell--so there's no surprise when they're outed as being evil. Which is boring. It's also kinda lame that the story is all about what Lina wants to do, and the others have no real agency--they're just along for the ride, apparently. Despite my griping, as I mentioned before, the second half's still classic stuff and the fillers are funny as hell, so the pros outweigh the cons.
Art: 6/10
I love these character designs to bits, but BOY HOWDY do they not animate well. If it weren't for the fact that the artwork is super-detailed basically at all times, you'd be forgiven for thinking this series had no budget whatsoever. Also, if you don't like 90s anime character designs, then, well, you're gonna have a bad time. The studio also got pretty lazy with the stock animations and lousy particle effects, so that's a bummer.
Sound: 9/10
Love it, love it, love it. The Japanese cast has heavyweight seiyuu Megumi Hayashibara and Hikaru Midorikawa (among others) absolutely killing it. The English dub, while obviously of lesser quality, still manages to perfectly capture the series' snarky charm and I love hearing Eric Stuart and Lisa Ortiz bicker. Oh, and, y'know, Our Lord and Savior Crispin Freeman is here, too. The music is classic stuff, from the absolutely iconic opening and ending themes ("Give a Reason" and "Jama wa Sasenai," respectively), to the super memorable insert track "Otome no Inori," and the delightfully pulpy background music. The only downside is the English dub also has an unfortunate disease blighting it named David Moo. Who ruined my favorite character in the franchise. BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY CAST HIM FOR MY FAVORITE CHARACTER.
Character: 10/10
Here it is, folks. The reason everyone remembers this humble little franchise. The 90s were chock-full of fantasy action/comedies, but not a single one of them could even hope to compare to the Slayers franchise, and the incredibly iconic cast of characters it possesses remains the reason why. Lina Inverse was rocking the proto-tsundere all-powerful sorceress mantle before Rin Tohsaka was even the faintest of pipe dreams, and she carries the show like nobody's business. Her sidekicks are no slouches, either, though: Gourry is a lovable moron, Zelgadis is hilariously straight-faced in a series that perfectly frowns upon straight-facedness, Amelia is so annoying and punchable that she circles back around to being super-endearing, and Xellos' limited-information tomfoolery could carry a show all on its own. And together, they form a dynamic that is unforgettable and make for a good time all around.
Enjoyment: 9/10
Yep, I sure did enjoy it.
Overall: 8/10
Slayers NEXT is not perfect by any means, but if you've already seen the first season, then this is mandatory viewing. Even if the first half has boring antagonists and the animation's not the best, fans of 90s anime have no excuse passing this (or its predecessor) up. Fun-filled action/comedy fantasy anime just aren't being made anymore, so you have to cherish what's there, ya nerd.
