Synopsis
Lina Inverse, the powerful but cute flame-throwing firebrand sorceress with a hot temper, uses her skills to fight the forces of oppression in the world: wherever monsters rampage, she is there to topple them; wherever treasure glitters, she is there to claim it. On the road to her next fortune, she meets a wandering swordsman named Gourry Gabriev, who is as handsome as he is dim. Above all he is chivalrous and loyal and is determined to guide this young girl safely to her destination.
Together they must face some of the gravest dangers in the world, but hopefully not on an empty stomach.
Impressions
While Slayers hardly boasts the most sophisticated humor in anime, it is chocked full of adolescent fun: from slapstick physical comedy to running jokes about Lina’s breast size to an episode featuring a bishounen-collecting transvestite dragon. There’s even a cameo by everyone’s favorite finger-licking Kentucky Colonel. This, combined with Hayashibara Megumi’s signature performance as Lina Inverse, is what makes up for the cheap animation and repetitive action.
The biggest laughs come from character interplay between Lina, Gourry, and Amelia (who is introduced mid-season). Even if they aren’t especially deep, our heroes are quirky and lovable, each a unique and tasty chunk bubbling to the top of this Chuckle Stew. Their chemistry is unsurpassed, backed by an exuberant and hilarious performance by all of the seiyuu.
On the down side, the animation is excessively skimpy for a mid-90s anime. I don’t find that it detracts from the show, however. What is a problem is the anime’s incessant repetetiveness. Episodes are routinely the same sort of defeat-the-henchmen monster-of-the-day dreck with Lina casting the same half-dozen spells throughout the series. Worse, it is a fractal sort of repetetiveness, scaling up to the show as a whole: the first and second half of the series are essentially the same plot recycled.
Fortunately, this still can’t quash the fun. And the second half proves to be the stronger of the two as it builds to a big finish. But even when the tension mounts and the action threatens to become choked with sentiment, Slayers is quick to let in a little air by breaking the fourth wall. There is nothing subtle about this anime.
There are funnier comedies and more impressive action-adventures, but Slayers is one of the most fun shows around, as evidenced by the franchise’s lifespan, with multiple TV series, movies, and OVAs.
Random Thoughts
Oddly, the dub strips Lina’s famous Dragon Slave spell of references to the dark arts. Instead of “In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness,” Lina is bestowed a gift “in my unworthy hand.” Even without Lina’s spell, the show isn’t going to win fans among evangelical Christians. And any mom who doesn’t mind her children seeing menstruation jokes is probably okay with a little bit of the Dark Side of the Force. So what was the point of this change? Just to make it rhyme?
Neko Factor
Mmmmmm...giant fish with legs.
- 2004-08-06 15:01 -