Slayers Review

Slayers

In all mediums there are pieces that are considered classics, and this is no different in anime. These are anime that every fan should know, anime that are just plain good, that people remember for years after they finish and will rewatch over and over again for many years to come. These are shows everyone has seen or in the very lest should see at some point in their lives. Some anime that fall into this category are Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Gundam, Beck Mongolian Chop Squad, hell, even Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon fall into this category. These are shows that everybody know, and today’s fair is defiantly a member of this list. A classic show form the 90’s, a show of swords and fantasy, of underground passageways and large fire breathing reptiles, but I might be getting a bit ahead of myself. This is Slayers.

Slayers is a sword and sorcery fantasy anime, but it is also a comedy, an action piece, a character piece, and a parody of genre and themes that weren’t even invented yet. The show itself is hard to place down in any one genre because it does them all very well. The comedy is almost always spot on, leading to good laughs and even a welcom bit of brevity during the shows more darker moments. The drama is compelling, and even when you know the outcome you still feel the intensity of a scene. The action scenes are usually quite good, though limited because of both budget, and just the time when this show was created. It’s the 90’s, they didn’t have the ability to make some of the bigger action scenes we get today. But they are still very good, and the use of magic is both creative and a good way of limiting the need for more expensive fight scenes.

Dragon Slave, Just a bit broken...

And with the mention of magic, I go to the world that this show takes place in. You might have heard this before, and let me tell you it is very true. Slayers is Dungeon and Dragons the anime. I play D&D, I have played characters that have been in this show, I know people that have played characters like the characters in this show. When watching Slayers I could see the dice rolls in my head. Now of course it isn’t really D&D, that would be to obvious. There are many differences, but really none that metter. You could play an entire game going through the story of these characters. Speaking of…

The Sword of Light is at least a +2 Vorpal sword.

We follow our main heroin Lina Inverse, the most powerful young mage you will ever see. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but when the girl can successfully use a spell that, when used improperly, would literally implode the universe, you kind of  have to give her that title. She is actually a very well rounded character. She is an action girl through and through, a genius, and has main character eating disorder, the disease that gives main characters the metabolism to eat extremely large amounts of food and actually gain strength form that food, look at Goku for a better example.

Have you been checked out for main character eating disorder?

But with all that, she still feels human, or in the very least like a human playing a D&D character. And that extends to most of the cast also. Lina’s traveling companion is Gourry Gabriev, a dumb fighter who is much more then that. In my anime club, as I am college student and lots of colleges have anime clubs, we have a viewing night just about every Friday.  We watch many different shows, and have fun talking about this stuff and showing new shows to each other. But whenever we see a show with an archetypal “dumb” character, a friend of mine openly groans and rolls his eyes, and for Gourry it is no different. But there is something he always overlooks, that a dumb character can still be a good character. Gourry is a confident, strong, dependable person, always ready to defend someone in need, always ready to do the right thing. My friend has a habit of ignoring the good parts of characters for what stereotype they fall into. And that can sometimes work with pieces of work like books, movies and shows. There are so many, that characters and setting can easily fall into easy genre and stereotypes. But ignoring what makes characters and setting special hurts the work as a whole. But now I’ve gone off a bit, lets get back on track.

In the name of the moon, I'll punch you, in the face.

Another character I should bring up is Zelgadis Graywords, a more shamanistic mage afflicted with a curse, giving him the appearance of a monster and with stone skin. His main motivation is what actually draws the main characters into the main plot. Lina and Gourry kind of just fall into the world saving plot, while Zelgadis is actively fighting against it form the start, even acting as a villain to stop the plans. Zelgadis was actually cursed by the big bad, giving him his appearance and extra abilities, and it is his driving goal though out the series to change back. But that is not really why I have to bring him up. No it is because of a big change they gave to him form his first big appearance to his return. They changed his voice actor. And it was one of the best changes they could make. When we are first introduced to Zelgadis, he has a gravely voice, but still subdued. He is a calm, no nonsense warrior who wants to save the world and himself. When he returns, he is voiced by the magnificent Crispin Freeman, one of the largest names in modern day voice acting and the voice of Captain Taylor. His portray is much more sarcastic, but also much more lively. The change in voice actually allows Zelgadis to become much more of a character,  more alive then he was before. But the whole change is a bit jarring at first.

Sadly this is true.

Like the other characters, the villains are given their fair treatment as well. The main villains all have great motivations for why they are doing what they are doing. And it is impressive that they are willing to give these motivations to characters in a complete fantasy setting, where someone or something can be evil just for evils sakes. There are some complaints that com with show, however. One of the main ones I found was with the dubbing. Not the voice acting, I should clarify. Its actually the lip flaps and editing of all things. You can just tell they are trying to work dialogue in with the lip flaps, and they just don’t always work. And the editing sometimes actually shows when a character is suppose to be saying something, but either no voice is coming out, or just a great yell in lieu of actual words. But it is really just a small gripe, and one that can be forgiven by the fact that the show is from the 90’s. Editing was not always the greatest, especially if a show didn’t start out with a great budget.

As a classic anime, this is a show I recommend to just about anyone. It has a little something for everybody. Its funny, action packed, and just plain good. Seriously, this is a show you should watch, right now. Slayers actually has a bunch of sequel seasons, movies, prequel OVA’s and much more, and I plan on watching them all, and reviewing each succeeding season. Those will be more of a comparison to the original, how they have changed, improved or even worsened. For my next review though, I am thinking something a bit more kung fu related, something more colorful, something more… live action. So until next time, have fun watching.

Ah what fun future adventures will these heroes have?