"the Slayers": Welcome Back, Dragon Spooker

[wayshway]

You know, out of all the genres that make up anime, fantasy seems to be the most underused. Sure, series involving magic have gotten a boost thanks to Harry Potter, but most are like Negima or Maburaho, taking place in the present day. Very few anime series are based on the classic sword and magic, Dungeons & Dragons/Lord of the Rings-style fantasy genre, and even fewer are actually any good. Even after all these years, there are only three series which are actually in the "must-see" category: Record of Lodoss War, The Vision of Escaflowne, and the goofiest of the trio: The Slayers.

In a world where magicians and swordsman are all over place, one of the most feared warriors is a wizard known as the Dragon Spooker or the Bandit Killer. The sorcerer? A fifteen-year-old flatchested little girl named Lina Inverse. One day, while robbing a bunch of bandits and taking their treasure for herself, Lina runs into a brave, but really dimwitted, swordsman named Gourry Gabriev. Gourry proclaims himself to be Lina's guardian and promises to protect her, even after he realizes that she's capable to destroying entire cities in minutes. The two eventually get caught up in a plot to revive the demon lord Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, which will cause the end of the world. As if that isn't enough, Lina's also got to deal with a moody chimera man named Zelgadis, a rather insane holy man known as Rezo the Red Priest, and the hyperactive self-proclaimed Hammer of Justice Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun. With all this craziness abound her, even with the extremely powerful Dragon Slave spell, Lina's in line to get another ulcer.

I remember watching random episodes of Slayers and its two sequel seasons on VHS way back when Dragonball Z was still in syndication (wow, do I now feel old) and absolutely loved what little I saw of it. Eventually I grabbed the first season when Central Park Media put out their boxsets and experienced first-hand the first season's problems. Still, I loved it and wanted to see more of Lina Inverse. However, when FUNimation announced they had acquired the license, I sold my original boxset in preparation, so it's been years since I've seen the series. And you know what? It still holds up. Compared to all the other cookie-cutter shows from the mid-90's (Lost Universe, Sorcerer Hunters, etc.), Slayers stands out in almost all fronts. It hasn't quite the epic brilliance of Lodoss and isn't anywhere near as hauntingly beautiful as Escaflowne, but Slayers is just pure fun, adding its own special touch to the genre that really doesn't get explored too often.

It's the characters that make the series so fun. Whether it be Lina's drive for treasure, Gourry's stupid observations, Amelia's justice-filled speech, or Zelgadis's calling everyone idiots, the four main characters all have excellent chemistry and bounce off one another extremely well. No matter how dire the situation, the characters will realize just how ludicrous everything is and make a cynical comment, usually resulting in a fun gag scene that lightens the show up a bit. With other series, this might be a distraction, especially when it comes in a very dramatic moment when, say, a major character is close to being killed off. However, Slayers manages to avoid that with some excellent writing that allows the jokes to fly even in the most dramatic moments without lessening any of the tension. The characters know that their setting is completely ridiculous and take full advantage of it.

Thankfully, the writers created some nice stories to take advantage of the wackiness. Whether it be the gang starring in a play about the evil demon Lina Inverse or fighting a gigantic transvestite dragon, the stories themselves allow our characters to go wild and just have some fun. Even the bad guys get in on the action. Vrumugun, a super-serious wizard after Lina, has some great chemistry with the Bandit Killer and even a few jokes at his expense, though the true hilarity comes from Zangulus, Gourry's rival. The guy is a serious swordsman but is also extremely cheesy, often going for our