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Slayers (Anime) add (All reviews)
Nov 3, 2014
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 food and 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).
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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