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• Series: Slayers

Five Reasons Slayers Doesn't Suck

Slayers Revolution
© TV Tokyo

After writing recently about the reasons why Slayers will always suck, and spending a fair bit of time re-watching the series and talking about it in a non-editorial context, I wanted to go back and write about the reasons why Slayers doesn’t suck. Of course, there’s the obvious road of going with a gotcha by saying there aren’t any reasons, but that wouldn’t be true. As much as I do have problems with Slayers and its general framework, there are things to like about it as well and I do like trying to balance criticism with praise.

1)    It’s a Fantasy Series

Fantasy series are few and far between, especially since the collapse of the OVA market, but Slayers has managed to stand the test of time with this setting. The show provides for a number of good things in it, with powerful mages that can destroy the world should their ancient dark arts be discovered to numerous dragons that roam the countryside. Heroic swordsmen, paladins abound and good settings all make for a show that lets fantasy fans have fun, as well as providing for many open ended fic stories to be created.

2)    Strong Personalities

One of the big pluses of the show is that among the main cast of characters, there are no wimps to be found at all. Each of them are strong characters in general, forward and open with their viewpoints and they don’t back down when they think they’re right and others think they’re wrong. While most of them are basic archetypes, they’ve been given more than enough personality to be built upon over the course of the series as the friendships evolve and become something more than when they first met. Uneasy alliances turn into genuine friendship – over food more often than not – which certainly adds a flair of realism to all of it.

3)    Voice Cast

The English language adaptation of the series is one of the stronger ones out there and did help to really establish several of the actors in terms of their popularity. Crisipin Freeman absolutely adores playing Zelgadis by all reports and Lisa Ortiz simply is the voice of Lina in the minds of so many, even with other adaptations of the character out there. David Moo gave just the right kind of whimsy and edge to Xellos voice and his contributions will be missed when Revolution hits. Veronica Taylor’s performance for Amelia gave her so much spunk and attitude that you can’t help but laugh when she goes over the top with the rhetoric of the character.

4)    Dramatic Flair

Each of the villains in the series have a real flair for drama, which makes their “boss battles” all the more interesting. Their back stories and goals may not be compelling, but they certainly stand out with their style and approach. The blind priest plays an interesting dual role early on and having various high level demons involved adds some stature to the kind of villainy that’s being faced down. Of course, nobody has more flair for drama in the series than the Lord of Nightmares as he has everything out there in his view to deal with and the scope of it really does take it to a whole other level.

5)    It Has Heart

Though they don’t often show it, the cast of Slayers has a whole lot of heart about it. They often seem to be looking out only for themselves, whether it’s Gourry making sure his sword is never taken from him or Lina looking for the next coin she can acquire. But the reality of it is that they always end up doing what needs to be done to save the world and make things better for others. Lina’s initially little more than a bandit killer – a very powerful bandit killer – but even there she’s making sure the weak and oppressed are being looked out for, even for a price. As the cast comes together, they know they can’t leave the world to be destroyed by others but even if it isn’t a world altering event, they’ll still do the right thing for people in need. And for each other.