Slayers

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]

Inverse, Lina Main

Hayashibara, Megumi Japanese

Graywords, Zelgadis Main

Midorikawa, Hikaru Japanese

Gabriev, Gourry Main

Matsumoto, Yasunori Japanese

Saillune, Amelia Wil Tesla Main

Suzuki, Masami Japanese

Nels Laada, Sylphiel Supporting

Touma, Yumi Japanese

Rezo Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

El Di Saillune, Philionel Supporting

Anzai, Masahiro Japanese

Zangulus Supporting

Shimada, Bin Japanese

Noonsa Supporting

Shioya, Kouzou Japanese

Dilgear Supporting

Kakegawa, Hirohiko Japanese

Kobayashi, Noriko Producer, Associate Producer

Haigney, Michael Producer, Script

Watanabe, Takashi Director

Iwasaki, Yoshiaki Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Oct 16, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

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 approach ... the 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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May 28, 2013

angelsreview

Mixed Feelings

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 an ... old 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 26, 2018

Imaishi

Not Recommended

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, join ... her 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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