Genre: Comedy / Fantasy
General Audience
Hajime Kanzaka and Rei Araizumi (creators). SoftX. TV Tokyo.
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Slayers: Dragon Slave!
The very utterance of the name Lina Inverse sends a shiver through those who are familiar with the exploits of the peerless sorceress. This horrific reputation draws some of them like a moth to a flame. The mad alchemist, Diol is such a man. Seeking to perfect his mysterious arts, he has selected none other than Lina Inverse to be the catalyst, the final ingredient as it were, in the creation of the ultimate monster. Needless to say, Lina isn't exactly flattered.
Then, as the Slayers leave the frying pan for the fire, Lina discovers that there is no force greater than a mother's love, and none scarier! Looking for easy cash, Lina and Nahga take up babysitting, and their first charge is the effeminate son of a noble family searching for the heroic achievement that will earn him instant fame and a position in the Royal Guard. Caught in a bizarre family struggle, Lina's endurance of the absurd is put to the test in Slayers: Dragon Slave!
Slayers: Explosion Array!
What could possibly be more dangerous than an encounter with the infamously short tempered Lina Inverse? Try an encounter with two Linas! Magically replicated for your viewing pleasure, the great and mighty Lina Inverse stands poised to change the world of wizardry forever! In an act of supreme desperation, the Society of Shamans and Sorcerers summons their last resort, the wielder of the dreaded Dragon Slave, the notorious bandit slayer, the bane of restaurateurs everywhere, Lina Inverse.
One of the Society's chief officers has absconded with the legendary Shadow Reflector, a device so powerful that the possessor holds the fate of the globe in his palm. Nevertheless, the reward is just too good, and the intrepid Lina takes to the trail. A mad man controls the ultimate weapon, and the most dangerous girl in the world is hunting him down. Now there's a formula for disaster!
Skysenshi's NOTE: Slayers Special OAV 1 was also released as the "Book of Spells" in the NA version.
No Gourry. >>> by skysenshi No Xellos. No Filia. No Zelgadis. No Amelia. In other words, this first Slayers OAV release is a prequel for the TV series and it features our feisty little magical heroine, Lina Inverse, before she even meets our much loved supporting characters. If one would look closely, Lina's legendary flat (in anime standards) chest is way even flatter in this 3-part presentation. That's because Lina here is about fourteen years old and not quite as experienced as she is in the TV series.
In place of Gourry, Lina's rather unwanted "sidekick" is Naga, a beautiful sorceress whose cup size is inversely proportional to her IQ. Together they form a team of extremely contrary personalities, with a mission to work for their survival-encountering the most outlandish people as the journey along.
The Scary Chimera's Plan, which is the first episode, introduces Naga's ability to scare potential enemies and allies alike with her incessant head-splitting laughter. Though the object of the villains' plot is to capture Lina and incorporate her into a hideous chimera, execution goes haywire and they end up with an annoying bunch of.let's just say a bunch of "Naga Cackle Multiplier". It's actually pretty hilarious, if one could tolerate Naga and her irritating habits.
The second episode is Jeffrey's Knighthood, another barrel of amusement, if only for the appearance of the scrawny Jeffrey and his monster of a mother. The family squabbles had me rolling over the floor while wondering at the same time if Jeffrey's mom could've made a valuable addition to the TV series Slayers team.
Mirror Mirror, the final episode, isn't much to speak of. You have here a villain who made me think I was watching an Astroboy remake or a Tetsuwan Atom/Slayers crossover gone wrong. I have no idea why this chapter is also named "Explosion Array", which is a bastardized translation of one of Lina's magic spells. I just know it gets tiring, especially when you notice that the subtitles literally translate all of Lina's attacks. Much like what you'd see in bootlegged Hong Kong DVDs.
All in all, I don't think highly of this OAV, even though the artwork and animation have considerably improved. It gets repetitive. Even more so when you've seen Slayers Excellent, the second OAV. The writers just rehash concepts over and over again-scrambled clones, poached clones, sunny side clones, hard boiled clones, soft boiled clones, clones benedict and so on-until you feel like you're about to puke in saturation. Moreover, a Slayers feature without the five characters I mentioned in the first paragraph doesn't seem to hold much interest. All you get is one bothersome Naga whose obtuseness isn't nearly as cute and entertaining as Gourry's. Alas, you see more of her in the movies.
Individual Rating: Art/Animation 8; Story 5; Characters 7; Sounds 8
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