…and the first season of Slayers comes to an end with something rather less spectacular than the mid-season battle against Zabranigdo. Which sounds rather anti-climactic, until you actually see it…
What They Say
In a land of fantasy and fairytale, magic rules and one can prosper by the point of a sword. But somewhere between the realms of good and evil, a band of misfits stumble upon an artifact which could prove the undoing of all...
Meet Lina Inverse, a spunky sorceress with a penchant for fire who enjoys nothing more than liberating the unearned from those less deserving. Teamed up with Gourry, a dashing swordsman of unrivaled skill - and stupidity - they must take on the forces of the demon lord and his countless servants, seeking to save the world and hoping for fame and fortune along the way.
Episodes Comprise
21 - Upset! Gourry vs Zangulus
22 - Vice! The One Who Was Left Behind
23 - Warning! Eris' Wrath!
24 - X-Day! The Demon Beast is Reborn!
25 - Yes! A Final Hope: The Bless Blade
26 - Zap! Victory is Always Mine!
The Review!
Audio:
Audio for both the Japanese and English language tracks is listed as being in 2.0 stereo, but a quick check of the English track shows it to be in mono. I listened to the Japanese track for most of the disc, though, and that is in stereo, although with fairly limited use made of the soundstage. Dialogue is clear and easy to pick out, and there were no apparent dropouts or other problems.
Video:
This could be something of a can of worms. There were two versions of Slayers released in the US – the original release by Central Park Media, and a remastered version released more recently by FUNimation. Most people would have been expecting MVM to release the remastered version, but it appears that's not the case as there are no FUNimation credits on the disc, only CPM ones. The video itself is reasonable for its age – presented in 1.33:1 full-frame aspect, it's a little on the soft side but otherwise in reasonably good condition, with little in the way of obvious nicks or scratches. However, the opening and closing credits include hardsubbed song lyrics in both English and Romaji, and the overlaid episode titles used on the original CPM release (which I have here for comparison) are also present.
Packaging:
No packaging was provided with our review copy.
Menu:
The main menu appears with a static image of Lina, Gourry, Amelia and Prince Phil in a suitable action pose, while the show's opening theme plays and rather annoying flashing 'sunrise' effect pulses away behind them. Not the best of fiurst impressions. Options are provided for Play All, Select Epsodes, Extras, and Setup. The Setup screen is rather illogically laid out (the Japanese language option is paired with No Subtitles & English language with Subtitle On, when it would have made far more sense – and saved a keypress or two – if they'd been the other way around), but otherwise the menus are quick & easy enough to use.
Extras:
Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review will contain spoilers)
Rezo's legacy - his massive collection of magical knowledge - is going to be the key to defeating him and his plans, and so Lina and the others head for the crypt where his collection is stored. It's protected by a magical ward that only Gourry's Sword of Light can break, which explains why Eris has been so keep to get them to Sairaag - and once inside, Lina and co will have to deal with all the traps left inside. Traps the Eris knows all about and is able to work around, which allows her, "Rezo" and Zangulus to get ahead of them. Once the two groups meet up, though, Zangulus is determined to finally settle his issues with Gourry, before the battle proper begins.
You see, the copy of Rezo seems to have an inferiority complex - there's one thing his original had wanted to do but never been able to, and with Eris out of the way he's got the chance to make his own pitch for immortality, by raising Zanaffar himself. Zanaffar may not look like much - he's a creature of energy, and simply inhabits Rezo's normal body - but he has access to almost unlimited power, and Lina and the others realise they're in trouble as soon as he appears. A few demonstrations of his power later, and it's time for a tactical retreat - but can they ever have enough power to defeat Zanaffar..?
I seem to use the phrase "disc of two halves" in more reviews than I don't, but in my defence it's usually an accurate description, and – guess what – it applies again here. The first three episodes are good enough while you're watching them, but once copy-Rezo steps out of Eris' shadow, it's a whole new ballgame as the second half of the disc gets a whole lot more serious.
But let's do this in order. Zangulus has a point to prove to Gourry ("I'm harder than you!", essentially), Eris has a point to prove to the world, and Vrumugrun.. well, he just pops up to cause some magical mayhem every so often. These three are all powerful up to a point, and keen to prove it against a group that have so far easily dealt with every challenge placed in front of them – namely, Lina and co. That's been the thinking behind luring them to Sairaag and then into Rezo's labyrinth, and as an excuse for some good action scenes it works well. There's even a decent dose of comedy in there, especially with the appearance of Tiiba, a monster who looks suspiciously like a chicken and who gets coerced into guiding Lina and the others through Rezo's lab.
All this never really feels like the main event, though – you know that copy-Rezo's waiting in the background, the person who's going to be the last one to be faced and who will no doubt be the real challenge. How we get to that point is a surprise, but get there we do – and the disc almost instantly goes from "meh" to "woah!".
Unlike his original, you see, Rezo is able to keep control of his own personality after summoning and being possessed by Zanaffar – the power of the demon beast is there, but it's firmly contained, and only used by Rezo in pursuit of his own aims. If he can defeat Lina and the others, he'll have surpassed his original and staked his own claim to immortality, and he doesn't mess about in pursuing that goal. At times, it does genuinely look as though the good guys could lose, especially with Lina reluctant to use the Giga Slave again – she spends the best part of an episode unconscious while Sylphiel tries to heal her wounds, for example. For once, there's real tension in the story as they work out a way to tackle Rezo that has a chance of succeeding, and it makes the closing episodes riveting viewing.
It's not quite perfect, though. When a way to defeat Rezo presents itself, you almost want to yell at the screen thanks to the "oh, that's convenient" way in which it's introduced, while the arrival of Prince Phil on the scene brings a dose of comedy that really feels out of place, given the battle that's going on, and breaks the tension when it really shouldn't have been. The series does also suffer from its age a little – I'm so used to seeing flash, CG eye-candy for my end-of-season climaxes now that Slayers managed to look a little primitive, and certainly less impressive than it did the first time I saw it (many years ago…). Sometimes the onward march of technology isn't kind.
In summary:
While it's not the audio-visual experience you'd get from a 2009 production, though, Slayers sees its first season out with a release that's got healthy doses of comedy, action, and drama – all the things that helped the series make its name way back when it first appear, and that still make it enjoyable now. I'm looking forward to getting started on NEXT already…
Features
Japanese 2.0 Language, English 2.0 Language, English Subtitles
Review Equipment
Toshiba 37X3030DB 37" widescreen HDTV; Sony PS3 Blu-ray player (via HDMI, upscaled to 1080p); Acoustic Solutions DS-222 5.1 speaker system.
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