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Slayers Genre: Action Comedy Fantasy Year Made: 1995 Year Dubbed: Don't Know Format Reviewed: DVDs Rating: PG (Mild innuendo, explosive action) Length: 26 eps, 2 sequels, and a crapload of OVAs and movies |
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Plot Concept Animation Characters Development Music Sound Voice Acting: Japanese English Overall |
 
89%
96%
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89%
97%
96%
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91%
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Plot Summary Lina Inverse is a sorceress with immense power; her only weaknesses are her underdeveloped body and extreme appetite. (These weaknesses however, seem to screw her over in many occasions.) Teamed up with Gourry, master swordsman and blithering idiot, the duo, confronted by massive armies of bandits, monsters, and the like, are only concerned about one thing: wherever the nearest restaurant is. That is, until a dark sorcerer named Zelgadis attempts to steal Lina's magic-embedded Orihalcon statue (which she steals from a group of thieves, mind you). Rumors have passed that Zelgadis is attempting to revive the lord of all darkness, Shabranigdo, and Rezo, the Red Priest, proposes to ally with them. But what is Rezo's true intention? And what is Zelgadis REALLY up to? And where's the damn bar? Intro Ah, yes - a true classic in the otaku world. This was one of the first anime I watched, and it was definitely one of my favorites as well. Plot: 89% The plot may seem simplistic at first (I'm pretty sure that's what you're thinking if you read the plot summary and have never seen Slayers), but just give it a few episodes. After episode 6 you are shown the true nature of Zelgadis and Rezo as well as who Lina's real enemy is, and by episode 19 there are quite a few plot twists involving one of Rezo's disciples. The addition of Flagoon just makes things twice as interesting. Given its age, I'd say the plot, if not exactly original, suits the anime well. Development: 89% At first, Slayers didn't seem to go very far. After a few episodes, though, the plot really starts to build up at a good pace. After episode 18, the development of the plot really intensifies. What hinders the development is the strong tendency to throw random filler episodes throughout the series, many of which have nothing to do with the current events. The ending also drags on a bit too long for its own good. Characters: 94% "It's an anime about sorcery." "Okay." "The main characters are a smart-ass, a dumbass, a tight-ass, and a cold ass." "Well, th...WHAT?!" Yes, it's true. The characters I'm referring to here are, in order from left insult to right: Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, Amelia wil Tesla von Seyruun, and Zelgadis. This is where the charm of Slayers truly plays in. The one true charm of this series is watching the characters' complex personalities unfold one by one, as you discover many things about the characters you didn't know. And even at the start, the cast is a laugh riot. Never before has a team of warriors ever been so incompetent; they end up destroying cities more often than saving them. Lina is a fiery-tempered sorceress who would gladly launch a Fireball down the throat of anyone who would mock her breast size. Gourry is a complete moron in more ways than one...thousand. Amelia is the princess of Seyruun, but acts more like she's the leader of the Power Rangers. (She even insists on jumping from high places to the battle because it's "heroic".) And Zelgadis is...well, aside from his wretched past, he's probably the only one who can be considered normal - the perfect scapegoat for Lina to use when she's pissed off. All the characters are loveable, albeit more critical anime watchers may find Amelia to be quite annoying. Character interaction is just plain funny, and the facial expressions are some of the funniest you'll ever see. Concept: 96% We have your standard elements here: intense action, a world of fantasy, and an outright hilarious comedy routine. What really makes Slayers an unconventional concept is their excessive (VERY excessive) usage of food. When normal anime characters are hungry, they may fantasize about food, carry on, groan, etc. But not only does the cast of Slayers have a huge appetite (Lina goes through about 5 family-size meals a day), but when THEY get hungry...well, let me just lay it down for you. Lina starts killing everybody, robbing everything in sight, has serious hallucinations, makes very odd facial expressions; basically acts like she's on ecstasy, marijuana, AND cocaine at once. Gourry has serious hallucinations and/or becomes a zombie - both literally and figuratively. Amelia tends to sing a lot, may start laughing insanely, and also has serious hallucinations. And Zelgadis...now that I think about it, he doesn't eat very much. Audio: [Music] 97% [Sound] 96% Nearly all the music is done by Megumi Hayashibara, so, not surprisingly, the music is of excellent quality. Although maybe 1 or 2 of the tracks are boring, the music really blends in well with the anime. The sound effects are okay, although the sound that accompanies the Dragon Slave is satisfyingly destructive. Voice Acting: [Sub] 94% [Dub] 75% Slayers sports a well-talented seiyuu, featuring the ultra-cute Megumi Hayashibara as the main character Lina Inverse and the versatile Midorikawa Hikaru as Zelgadis. The voices blend in almost perfectly, yet the Japanese voice actors for Rezo and Eris seem to be missing something. The Slayers dub really is a mixed bag; either you like it or you don't. With this dub, being in-between is pretty rare. Personally, I've heard better. Animation: 75% The Slayers series have a reputation for working on a notoriously low budget, which explains the bad animation quality. The animation, although cutesy, is really nothing that deserves to be treated as eye candy...or great art, for that matter. Often the art is fuzzy, the character movement a bit choppy, and the forest backgrounds are even bested by those of POKéMON. Seriously. I really expected better from a 1995 anime. Conclusion Slayers is a great series very deserving of its popularity. Its popularity spawned 2 sequels and a crapload of OVAs and movies, and after watching the series, you can see why. With a fun (if simple) plot, a smooth combination of action and humor, and enough breast jokes to (insert stupid phrase here), Slayers is a fun anime enjoyable in every way. Well, maybe except the animation. Summary Strengths: Fun plot Outright hilarious humor (The usage of food leaves me laughing my ass off) The action scenes aren't that bad either Great voice acting (Megumi and Hikaru sound great together) Characters are a blast Weaknesses Low-budget animation Mediocre ending Amelia and Eris tend to be annoying Random Facts You Probably Don't Care About Lina Inverse would make a really good terrorist. |
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Thanks to Annland's Slayers Screenshot Gallery for the pics! 
 
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