Slayers

Who can resist a petite, flat-chested sorceress a.k.a. Dragon Spooker, the Natural Enemy of All Who Live, and Bandit Killer who can single handedly destroy an entire kingdom with a spell?

Not too many.

When I first heard of Slayers, I didn't know what to make of it. It certainly wasn't because I never heard of anime. It's just that I wasn't too sure about an anime parody of RPG. It's a comedy/adventure/fantasy, and if you understand the elements of RPG, you'll find Slayers even funnier.

Slayers opens with our heroine Lina Inverse (yes, the one who can single handedly destroy an entire kingdom) busting some bandits and stealing their treasures. Unlike Robin Hood, Lina doesn't believe in redistribution of wealth. Her philosophy is "Villains have no rights." Therefore, it is OK for her to steal from the bandits when her purse seems light.

The bandits are mad at her for stealing their treasures, and they follow her to regain their treasures. Lina isn't too concerned since she can fry them with fireball. When the bandits attack her, a blonde mercenary warrior shows up and says some cliched lines, i.e. "I will not let you harm an innocent woman, blah blah blah." While the bandits attack the mercenary, Lina decides to play the role right and acts helplessly and screams "Help! Help!"

Finally when the fight is over, the warrior realizes that the damsel in distress is no hot babe, delivering a crushing blow to Lina's ego. He introduces himself as Gourry Gabriev, and they travel together since Gourry feels obligated to act as a guardian to the "poor helpless" Lina. *snicker* And thus their strange friendship and adventure begin.

Lina Inverse

Role: Heroine of the series.
Physical characteristics: Petite, flat-chested, red/reddish brown hair, red eyes
Specialty: Offensive Black Magic
Obsession: Eating, stealing treasures from bandits, doing works for whoever can pay her the most money, learning new powerful spells
Miscellaneous: Very hot-tempered. Mess with her, and she'll fry you with fireball. Crush her ego, and she'll decimate you with Dragon Slave. (P.S. She can't do magic during "that time of the month" but she is a decent swordswoman.)

Gourry Gabriev

Role: Lina's "Guardian"
Physical characteristics: Tall, blond, muscular
Specialty: Sword fight
Weapon: Hikari no Ken (Sword of Light)
Obsession: Eating, sleeping
Miscellaneous: Truly chivalrous yet dumb.

Zelgadis Graywords

Role: Villian/Lina's friend
Physical characteristics: Chimera, one third golem, one third human, one third demon
Specialty: Shamanistic Magic, sword fight
Obsession: Finding a way to become human again
Miscellaneous: His skin is like stone, so hitting him with your own fist is stupid. He's very reserved and somewhat depressed because he can't seem to find cure for his chimera-ness.

Rezo the Red Priest

Role: Villain
Physical characteristics: Always wears red, born blind.
Specialty: Offensive Black Magic, Ancient Magic
Obsession: To find a way to cure his blindness
Miscellaneous: He is one of the Five Wise Men. He seems to have the wisdom of the Clair Bible.

Amelia wil Tesla Seiryuun

Role: The Princess of Seiryuun/Lina & Co.
Physical characteristics: Short black hair, big blue eyes
Specialty: Shamanistic Magic, White Magic
Obsession: To uphold justice.
Miscellaneous: She's totally clueless and a total klutz. She likes to fight for justice, but she's usually confused as to who is on the side of justice. Furthermore, she likes to do the cheezy super-hero intro, where she's on the top of a tree and jumps down to land gracefully. . . except that she always lands on her face.

My Thought on Character Coupling, etc.

I know a lot of people will hate me for this, but I had to add this part to the character section. Gourry and Lina will never be a couple. Amelia and Zel will never be a couple. And Zel and Lina will never be a couple, and neither will Gourry and Amelia.

Why? you ask.

Because Gourry will be Dragon Slaved at least twice every day if he stays with Lina, and Lina might die from frustration since Gourry is so dumb. Zel is too depressed and obsessive about his chimera state to be a good boyfriend to Lina, and although he's powerful, Lina's power surpasses Zel's.

Amelia will never have Zel because Zel can't stand her ultra-perky, ultra-justice ways. Neither can he stand her psychotic pacifist daddy. And as I mentioned, Zel will do anything to become a normal human again, and Amelia will never allow Zel's Machiavellian ways. I think Gourry likes Amelia is a little sister, but she's too confused all the time (she doesn't seem to always recognize which side is the evil side and which side is the good side), and putting Gourry and Amelia together is like dumb and dumber.

The first season of Slayers starts with, as usual, death and destruction of bandits by Lina. Lina meets Gourry as he tries to "rescue" her from the bad bandits. But Zelgadis and his followers are after Lina for a mysterious magic item, and Rezo the Red Priest, one of the most powerful of all mages, wants Lina's cooperation to regain his sight, except that the price for his sight is too large for Lina to pay.

The second season of Slayers aka Slayers Next begins with a dining scene. (Most of Slayers series start with eating scenes.) However, Amelia gets into a trouble, and Lina blows up an entire kingdom with her Dragon Slave. However, a mysterious priest Xellos is after them without telling them why he's after them (It's a secret!), and someone wants Amelia's father's death.

However, there's more to it than that! You'll see the shocking secret behind Giga Slave in this series and the only kissing scene (probably) between Lina and Gourry.

I can't really comment on Slayers Try because I haven't seen it yet.

Lina, Zelgadis, and Amelia wouldn't be able to do the heroic stuff they do if they couldn't do their magic. Here are some of the most powerful magic in Slayers. Unfortunately, when Lina & Co. fight the dark lords, they cannot use the black magic spells that invoke the power of the dark lord they're fighting against, since it's like asking "Yo, I wanna kill you, so will you help me?"

Dragon Slave

It's really Dragon Slayer, but the name got bastardized after several centuries since its conception. It invokes the power of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, and it's the most powerful black magic spell a human can cast without a magic amplifier or talisman. This is one of Lina's favorite spells, and it can destroy an entire kingdom (refer to Slayers Next Episode 1).

Darkness beyond twilight,
Crimson beyond blood that flows
Buried in the flow of time
In Thy great name,
I pledge myself to darkness!
Those who oppose us shall be
Destroyed by the power you and I possess!


tasogare yori mo kuraki mono
chi no nagare yori akaki mono
toki no nagare ni uzumore shi
idai na nanji no na ni oite
ware, koko ni yami ni chikawan
warera ga mae ni tachi fusagari shi
subete no oroka naru mono ni
ware to nanji ga chikara mote
hitoshiku horobi o ataen koto o!

Fire Ball

A ball of fire appears in the hand of the caster, and the caster can throw it at a specific target. This spell can affect a wide area, so you need to be careful when you're in a small area. Depending on your skill level, you can do a lot of things with fireball. :)

Oh, source of all power,
Light which burns beyond crimson,
Let thy power gather in my hand.

Flare Lance

A big lance of fire appears in the hand of the caster, which the caster can throw at a specific target. Depending on the caster's magic capacity and skills, it could do substantial damage.

Giga Slave

This Black Magic spell is more powerful than Dragon Slave. It invokes the power of the Lord of Nightmares, the most powerful lord of all dark lords. Because of this, the spell creates nothingness and chaos for the received. When Lina tested the spell, she turned a beach into the bay of death. Only Lina can cast the spell, and she needs an amplifier to use the spell. Hikari no Ken serves as her amplifier in the series. Later she seals the spell because it is too dangerous.

Darkness beyond blackest pitch,
Deeper than the deepest night
Lord of Darkness,
Shining like gold upon the Sea of Chaos,
I call upon thee, pledge myself to thee
Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed
By the power you and I possess!

Ragna Blade

Another Black Magic spell that invokes the power of the Lord of Nightmares. Only Lina can cast this spell, and she learns this spell in the copy of Clair Bible. Because this spell is so powerful, she can control it for a very short period of time. After she seals Giga Slave, this becomes her most powerful spell.

Lord of the Darkness and Four Worlds,
I beseech thy fragments
By all of the power thou possesseth,
Grant the heavens' wrath to my hand
Unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness
By our power,
Our combined might,
Let us walk as one along the path of destruction


shikai no yami o suberu ou
nanji no kakera no enishi ni shitagai
nanjira subete no chikara mote
ware ni sarenaru chikara o atae yo
sora no imashime toki hanaterashi kohreru
kuroki utsuro no yaiba yo
waga chikara
waga mi to narite
tomo ni horobi no michi o ayaman