Thursday, October 31, 2002

Slayers Movie 5: Slayers Premium



Genre: Comedy / Fantasy
General Audience
2001. Hajime Kanzaka and Rei Araizumi (creators). SoftX. TV Tokyo.




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Skysenshi's Description:
Tired of being constantly hunted for the delicious delicacy they are turned into, the octopi vow to avenge themselves by annihilating the human race. Enter Lina and Gourry, both naïve enough to cause the spread of a disease brought about by an enchanted octopus. Suddenly, everyone in town could not understand each other; the disease had caused half of the populace to speak in octopi language. Taking advantage of the situation, the octopi promptly collect all the negative energy everyone's anger is causing and feed these to their "Protector". Thus begins the battle between the humans and their favorite food.

Squeal! They're back!!! >>> by skysenshi
After much complaints about the lack of everyone's favorite Slayers characters in all movie and OAV write-ups, the creators finally gave in to doubtless a number of fan demands. Gourry is back. And so are Amelia, Zelgadis and our much-loved Xellos. This time, they're involved in a kooky situation wherein everybody speaks a language that only an octopus would understand.

Slayers Premium is funny, witty, and oh-so cute! You can't help but giggle at those who contacted the disease-they speak like Pokémon. There's even a folk song that reminds me of Pokémon. There's not much to say about the plot, though. It's the usual stuff wherein one small fry vows to exact revenge but he is actually being manipulated by a higher power that reveals itself midway. The concept is certainly trite and overused, but the way this was executed is just so damned entertaining.

For Lina and Gourry fans that have been waiting in anticipation for these two to finish what they started in Slayers Next, this movie is a must-see. No, there isn't anything blatantly romantic going on, but you will definitely see them squirm in light of the feelings they could never reveal. Sexual tension, anyone?

Xellos doesn't have much to do here except say his usual line: "Sore wa himitsu desu." He just shows up, probably to please Xellos fans who can never get enough of him. Naga makes a cameo, but don't expect your ears to be spared from her ultra-irritating laugh. She indirectly saves the day, however -and in such a hilarious way to boot!

What's most noticeable in Slayers Premium is that the animation and artwork have really improved in leaps and bounds. In fact, it looks so much better than the previous movies. This one has obviously been aided by digital animation so everything looks crisp and clear. The action scenes are more fluid and the colors are brighter.

I have a bit of a problem with the "happy" ending, though. It's just too.well, weird. It reminds me of that particular TV episode where Lina fried this fish-man with her Fire Ball and this fish-man's monster friends cry in sorrow for a while but then proceeds to make dinner out of him in the next breath. Here, the octopi's limbs regenerate and well.the rest is just too icky to say out loud.

Individual Rating: Art/Animation 9; Story 7; Characters 8; Sounds 7

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