After a misunderstanding regarding some bandits, Lina Inverse runs into Naga the Serpent, a rival of hers, and they end up going to a famous hot spring together. The hot spring itself is located on a mysterious island, shrouded in mist, that only seems to open for visitors once a year. Soon, Lina finds out that something terrible happened on this island many years before, and it's up to her to right the wrongs committed by the evil being that still lurks.
Hot springs? Sounds like an excuse for some fan service! Well, say what you want, but there's an amazingly small amount of “ecchi” in this film. The bulk of it is provided by Naga's outfit merely existing. It's basically a bikini, and more or less a reference to how female warriors are pretty much nude in a lot of fantasy comics and games. The outfit itself is handled quite tastefully, and there isn't much in the way of perverse camera angles obviously meant to monopolize her skin-tight threads.
As for the story itself, Slayers Perfect starts off comedic, dabbles in a bit of mystery, and ends off with a short battle and some celebrations. You can even find a bit of a moral in the last five minutes of the movie if you squint. Slayers: The Motion Picture may not have a bad idea for a plot (far from it), but it does suffer from being a bit rushed. Some scenes have awkward transitioning and the movie's pacing alternates from being too slow or too fast at varying points during its runtime of about sixty-five minutes. It really ought to have been more competently planned out, or been longer (by, say, at least thirty more minutes perhaps).
Speaking of competence, the movie is written well enough that at the very least, you don't need to be familiar with the television series to watch it. It could even serve as a window to help deciding whether you want to give the original anime a go. Aspects that are explained or referenced in the television series are also explained or referenced in the movie where pertinent, and the film doesn't treat you as if you are already familiar with Lina or Naga (the latter of whom doesn't appear in the first season of the anime anyway).
The primary protagonists of Slayers Perfect are, of course, Lina and Naga. Both are proficient sorceresses. Lina acts much the same as she did in the television series – for the uninitiated, a gluttonous and money-loving teenager. We don't get much out of Naga this time around, but at least she is amusing with her arrogance and manages to be quite intriguing. Rowdy Gabriev joins Lina and Naga as a hero, although he mostly passes on advice and cryptic messages and his role as a whole can't truly be explored in a review without digging up some spoilers. The side characters exist and serve their purpose, but unlike the first season of Slayers, none are particularly memorable or striking. Character development is nonexistent in this film. There isn't much to say about the subject other than that.
The animation of this film was handled by J.C. Staff as opposed to SoftX, so we can see some subtle character design differences and a general change in art style. The colours are a bit darker and muted, and the movie has an overall grungy, dirty look despite its material. The animation is nothing to sneeze about, though. It's pretty well-done and good quality for a film; however, it would have certainly benefited from using the same sort of palette as the television series.
Hayashibara Megumi shines again with her song Midnight Blue, which serves as the movie's ending theme and has got to be my favourite track I've heard from her yet. It is haunting albeit melodic and I love listening to it. The rest of Slayers Perfect's soundtrack could use some work. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not something to really write home about. Hayashibara does a good job as Lina Inverse as per usual, and the rest of the Japanese VAs are adequate. Kawamura Maria deserves special mention for her role as Naga, and that amazing laugh that almost rivals Sumeragi Hokuto's (Tokyo Babylon).
Slayers Perfect wasn't necessarily a letdown, but it certainly wasn't anything to write home about, either. It's a nice little stand alone addition to the Slayers franchise, and it gives us some curiosity to deal with regarding Naga and her relationship with Lina, but that's pretty much it. Don't expect to be blown away by it; it's just a little taste of what the first season brought us.
