Slayers

Slayers
File:Slayers-anime-logo.jpg Major characters of Slayers. From left to right: Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, Gourry Gabriev, Xellos (top), Lina Inverse (bottom) and Zelgadis Greywords.
Genre	Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure
Manga
Written by	Hajime Kanzaka
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten CPM Manga Editorial Vid Carlsen Comics Japonica Polonica Fantastica Panini Comics
Anime
Slayers
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Studio	SOFTX, J.C.Staff
Anime
Slayers Next
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Studio	SOFTX, J.C.Staff
Anime
Slayers Try
Directed by	Takashi Watanabe
Studio	SOFTX, J.C.Staff
Related works
Slayers Special (OVA) Slayers Excellent (OVA) Slayers Movie: Slayers The Motion Picture Slayers Movie 2: Slayers Return Slayers Movie 3: Slayers Great Slayers Movie 4: Slayers Gorgeous Slayers Movie 5: Slayers Premium

Slayers (スレイヤーズ, Sureiyāzu) is a series of comedic sword and sorcery anime and manga that began as light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka. They chronicle the adventures of Lina Inverse and her various companions as they journey through the high fantasy world. Some of the novels, of which there are fifteen in the series, have only recently begun to be released in English in North America; 1–6 are currently translated and available through Tokyopop.

These adventures take place in a magical medieval setting. The anime series is organized into cycles which start out humorously, then work slowly towards more serious subject matter, until at the end of the cycle the fate of the world hangs in the balance. But until the very end of each of these cycles, even the most serious moments will usually have a few short moments of comic relief.

Slayers ran for three seasons. The second season goes by the name Slayers Next, and the third season is called Slayers Try. A fourth season, titled "Slayers AGAIN", was said to be planned following the success of Slayers TRY, although it was only a rumour. There are also numerous OVAs and movies in which Lina is partnered with the obnoxious and pretentious sorceress Naga; These adventures take place before the events of the three television seasons.

The anime series was previously released on VHS and DVD in North America by Software Sculptors. In May 2005, at Anime Central in Chicago, FUNimation Entertainment announced they have obtained the license for the TV series, since the previous owner's license expired in Fall 2005. While the previous releases have now been out of print over half a year, FUNimation has not yet released theirs, though they claim to still be working on it.[1] The OVAs and movies were released in North America by ADV Films. Enoki Films holds the license to The Slayers TV series as a middleman.

Characters

Lina Inverse (リナ・インバース, Rina Inbāsu)

Lina is the main protagonist and the only character who appears in all incarnations of Slayers. She is a young but very powerful sorceress, with a great love of money, food, and casting Fireballs at people with very little provocation. She has an older sister, Luna, who is apparently even more powerful, and even though Lina has faced down dragons, monsters, and even a Dark Lord with little fear, the mere mention of Luna's name sends her into terrified hysterics. Voices: Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese), Lisa Ortiz (English; TV), Cynthia Martinez (English; Movies/OAV), Marta Sainz (Spanish), Emanuela Pacotto (Italian), Shandra Schadt (German), Jhaidy Barboza (Venezualan).

In the first episode, she introduces herself by destroying a gang of bandits known as the Dragon Fangs. She steals a large portion of their treasure, then sets off towards the nearest town to cash it in for a sizeable profit. On the way to the town she is ambushed by the remainder of the Dragon Fangs. Mere seconds before she would have blasted them to bits, Gourry Gabriev valiantly comes to her "rescue", beginning their adventures together. Though she is hates to admit it, Lina eventually falls in love with Gourry.

Lina has many different nick-names, one of them being "Dragon Spooker", which she isn't too fond of. (This isn't quite correct, but is how it is translated. The kanji stands for "Dragons step past out of sheer revulsion"; the /spoo/ syllable is correct, but /s*r/ was changed to /k*r/ to translate better into English.) This is rumored to have appeared because of an incident in the first episode, in which the Leader of the Dragon Fangs's pet black dragon escapes. Just when it appears that the beast is going to crush Lina (and Gourry, who was knocked out on top of her in a... compromising position) it blanches in disgust and steps over her, a blush along its snout, much to her shock, and thereafter rage. However, the nickname was mentioned before the black dragon met her, thus leading to a possible earlier incident.

Another nickname Lina encounters is the "Dragon Nester." This comes from a rhyme: "Little girl with little breasts, scares the dragon from its nest." This takes off from a running gag, in which characters constantly comment on the small size of Lina's breasts. She generally takes offense to these comments, and often responds with violence. This nickname, though not the breast jokes, only appear in the English dub. The breast jokes start when she first meets Gourry.

In Slayers Try, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis finds out that Lina has an older sister named Luna. Luna is a skilled warrior and a powerful sorceress in her own right. Luna retired and became a waitress in Lina's hometown. When Lina refused to accompany Filia on her quest, she handed Lina a letter from Luna that said, "Shut up and do it!", prompting Lina to cower in fear.

Gourry Gabriev (ガウリイ・ガブリエフ, Gaurī Gaburiefu)

Gourry is a wandering swordsman who meets up with Lina in the first episode of the television series and accompanies her from then on. He carries the fabled Sword of Light, originally known as Goru Nova before it came to the Slayers world. Voices: Yasunori Matsumoto (Japanese), Eric Stuart (English), Christopher Patton (Slayers Premium movie), Juan Logar Jr (Spanish), Diego Sabre (Italian), Hubertus von Lerchenfeld (German), Juan Carlos Vázquez (Venezolan).

Gourry is somewhat less than scholarly, but his skills as a swordsman go nearly unrivalled throughout the series. At first, he seems a shallow pretty-boy only willing to fight for his own gain — which is why he "saved" Lina from the bandits, hoping for a damsel in distress. But when he insists on becoming Lina's unpaid bodyguard, and they slowly get to know one another, Gourry's kindness, loyalty and consideration for others becomes clear. He unknowingly annoys Lina when he calls her a little girl in mockery of her underdeveloped breasts, which becomes a running gag in the series.

While Gourry is deadly with plain steel, he is incredibly powerful when armed with his family's magic blade. He is the keeper of the Sword of Light, a mystic weapon whose steel blade can be detached allowing the use of an alternate blade made of pure, destructive light at the incantation, "Light, come forth!". Gourry takes great care of the Sword of Light, and watches it especially carefully to protect the valuable relic from the thieving hands of Lina herself. She often tries to trick him into giving it to her, but he never caves in.

At the end of the third series, Gourry gives up the Sword of Light so that it and the other light weapons can be protected. In the following book series, he acquires the legendary Blast Sword. Manipulating the magical energies around it, the Blast Sword creates an extremely sharp blade. If not treated with care, it can slice through its sheath, and will sink up to its hilt into the ground below. An enchantment placed on it by the party allows them to change its sharpness to be useful again.

Gourry eventually falls in love with Lina. He is, however, less averse to the notion than the young sorceress.

Naga the White Serpent

A buxom sorceress with an obnoxious laugh (similar to Ayeka's in Tenchi Muyo! and Kodachi's in Ranma ½) who is Lina's partner in the movies and OVAs. Voices: Maria Kawamura (Japanese), Kelly Manison (English), Veronika Neugebauer (German).

Naga was often found hanging around Lina Inverse during Lina's earlier adventures, but the two had later parted company under unknown circumstances. During the time that they were together, whenever Naga was around, she was either working together with Lina or against her, all the while irritating the red-headed sorceress to no end.

Naga, claims she is Lina's only serious rival. Lina calls her "goldfish feces" — as in, she trails after Lina. Like Lina, she has a massive appetite in addition to being excessively alcoholic. She is extremely well-endowed, much to Lina's disgust and jealousy, and wears very little.

It is rumored and hinted at through out the different Slayers series that Naga is really the daughter of Prince Philionel El Di Saillune, and the oldest sister to Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune. However despite the hinting, it was never said outright until the creator, Hajime Kanzaka, revealed in an interview that Naga is indeed the lost heir of the Saillune family.

• Naga at KanzakaDex
• Amelia and Naga: Sisters? (proofs)

Zelgadis Greywords (ゼルガディス・グレイワーズ, Zerugadisu Gureiwāzu)

Zelgadis is a sorcerer who begins the TV series as a mercenary, opposed to Lina, but ends up in Lina and Gourry's group. A Chimera of rock golem, blue demon, and human. Voices: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japenese), Daniel Cronin (English), Crispin Freeman (English), Daniel Sanchez (Spanish), Claudio Moneta (Italian), Florian Halm (German), Carlos Castillo (Venezolan).

Zelgadis Graywords tends to become something of an enigma to his comrades, due to his quiet and asocial nature. As a boy, he was transformed by Rezo, the red priest — who is either or both Zel's grandfather and great-grandfather (the translation is unclear and differs) — into a three-part chimera. One third is golem, one third is human, and the last third is brau-demon (a being neither demon nor mazoku). The golem third turned him into stone, and no sword but the Sword of Light can hurt him, making Zelgadis nearly unstoppable in a physical fight. The demon third enables him run faster than the eye can see, and granted him great power in Shamanist magic. The human third was simply a remnant of the old Zelgadis, before Rezo changed him.

Zelgadis specializes in Shamanistic magic, which pulls its power from the Astral, or spiritual, Plane. His elemental spells are formidable, and include Stone Spiker, a modified version of Ray Wing, and his trump card, the mighty Ra-Tilt. Though he is not as learned in the art as Lina, Zelgadis's even combination of physical brunt and magical finesse render him among the most fearsome of mortal warriors.

Zelgadis travels with Lina because he wants to find a spell that can change him back into a human. Despite the incredible abilities bestowed upon him by Rezo in the transformation, he always views the change as a curse, and wishes more than anything to be rid of it and return to a normal life. His unofficial alias is "The heartless sorcerer swordsman", which he accepts with a smirk. Amelia seems to have a crush on him, and he seems feel the same way about her, though he refuses to admit it, even to himself.

Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun (アメリア・ウィル・テスラ・セイルーン, Ameria Uiru Tesura Seirūn)

Amelia is a young cleric and the princess of Saillune with an unwavering belief in justice, who joins Lina's group during the first TV series. Voices: Masami Suzuki (Japenese), Veronica Taylor (English), Joani Baker (English; eps. 11-13), Luci Christian (Slayers Premium movie), Amelia Jara (Spanish), Federica Valenti (Italian), Sabine Bohlmann (German), Carmen Olarte (Venezolan).

Whereever there's a crime, you'll find Amelia tripping close behind. A helpful little princess thats always either in the way or flat on her face (or in a headlock from Lina). She initially comes across as a very dense little kid who really can't tell the good guys from the bad guys. Lina often gets annoyed with Amelia for her wide eyed naivete, and was excessively annoyed by Amelia wanting to learn the Dragon Slave, and extremely annoyed with the fact that Amelia's bust size is more developed at her younger age, but eventually comes to accept her as a friend. Most of Amelia's lessons in justice came from her father Prince Philionel of Seyruun, the "ultimate pacifist" armed with a variety of oxymoronic but very effective attacks, whom Lina once mistook for a bandit. It is rumored that Naga the White Serpent might be Amelia's long lost older sister, the crown princess Gracia(this rumour was later confirmed by Hajime Kanzaka during an interview). After the murder of her mother, Amelia has vowed never to use blades, but once used the Sword of Light to channel the Ra Tilt. Amelia also seems to have a crush on Zelgadis.

Sylphiel Nels Rada

Sylphiel is a lovely young cleric who, upon meeting Lina and friends, becomes infatuated with Gourry, who remains oblivious. She is weak in most magical areas aside from healing (her attack spells are especially unimpressive), but due to her profession she has studied extensively in white magic and can cast a ludicrously powerful version of Recovery. Surprisingly, she also manages to get the hang of Lina's signature spell, the Dragon Slave. Strangely enough, Sylphiel's Dragon Slave is as strong, if not stronger than Lina's talisman boosted Dragon Slave (her only other offensive spell, Flare Arrow, is pathetically slow, weak and shaped like a carrot as a joke). She joins the group for the end of the first series and again near the end of the second series. She does not appear in Slayers TRY (her position being somewhat usurped by Fillia) except in an eyecatch.Voices: Yumi Toma (Japenese), Stacia Crawford (English), Marta Sainz (Spanish), Debora Magnaghi (Italian), Anke Kortemeier (German), Melanie Henríquez (Venezolan).

Filia Ul Copt (フィリア・ウル・コプト, Firia Uru Koputo)

First appeared in Slayers Try, Filia is a Priestess of the Fire Dragon King. Being a Golden Dragon, she has a huge sense of honor and "fulfulling her duties to the temple." She is annoyed to great extents by any monster who crosses her path. She carries a large mace, affectionately dubbed Mace-sama, in her garter and uses it to end many of her arguments. Filia originally wanted Lina's big sister Luna to accompany her on her quest, but she retired and chose Lina as a replacement. Voices: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Tara Jayne (English), Amelia Jara (Spanish), Elisabeth Günther (German), Melanie Henríquez (Venezolan).

Filia, at the end of Try, accepts the egg of the reborn Valgaav in repentance to what her ancestors did to his kind. In the ending credits, you see the glowing see-through egg nestled in a warm basket with Filia yelling something at Gravos and Jillas while they are polishing her pottery.

Xellos (ゼロス, Zerosu)

Xellos is a high level Mazoku (see Universe section below), thousands of years old. Xellos currently serves as priest and general for Beastmaster Zelas-Metallium, one of the 5 highest ranking Mazoku who were created by Shabranigdo. He served under Hellmaster Phibrizzo in his attempt to destroy Gaav the Demon Dragon King. Gaav stated that Xellos was given power beyond any Mazoku, leading to the fact that Xellos is above all other Mazoku, with the exception of the Dark Lords, and of course, Shabranigdo. Dragons fear Xellos and see him as their mortal enemy after he killed half the population during The War of Monster Fall. In the 6th Slayers novel (Vezendi's Shadow), Xellos says his full name is Xellos the Priest. He is also known as Beastmaster Xellos, "trickster priest" (by many including himself) and "namagomi" (" raw garbage"by Filia) or simply Xellos. He is a hindrance as much as a help to Lina and her friends. He gets what he wants in the easiest way; even if it means tricking his friends, though he is not above aiding or betraying anyone as long as it furthers the goals of himself or the others of the Monster race. His trademark response to any important question is, "Sore wa himitsu desu!" (Literally: that is a secret). A constant duel goes on between fans whether there is a love or hate, or even a love-hate relationship between Xellos and Filia. First appears in Slayers TRY. Voices: Akira Ishida (Japenese), David Moo (English), Kurt Stoll (Slayers Premium movie), Enrique Javier Lles (Spanish), Simone D'Andrea (Italian), Butz Combrinck (German), Luis Carreño (Venezolan).

• Xelloss at KanzakaDex

Name Discrepancies

Different translators have rendered character names differently. These are all valid transliterations of the original Japanese names.

• Naga, Nahga
• Amelia, Ameria
• Filia, Firia, Philia, Fillia
• Sylphiel, Sylpheel
• Xellos, Xelloss, Zeross
• Zelgadis, Zelgadiss
• Zelas (Metallium), Zellas, Xelas, Xellas

The Universe

In the universe of Slayers, there is a supreme being, neither good nor evil, called Lord of Nightmares, L-sama or Sea of Chaos, who created everything. Four known pillars rise out of the Sea of Chaos, each supporting one of the four worlds. On each world, there are gods (shinzoku) and demons (mazoku), fighting without end. Should the gods win the war in a world, that world will be at peace. Should the demons win, it will be destroyed and returned to Chaos.

In Lina's world, the supreme god is Ceiphied, and the supreme demon is Shabranigdo (Ruby-Eye). Long ago, Ceiphied won the war, and split Shabranigdo's body in seven to prevent him from coming back to life. However, Ceiphied was so exhausted that he sank into the Sea of Chaos, leaving four parts of himself and his soul in the world.

A millennium before the events in Slayers, one of Ruby-Eye's parts (which was sealed in the body of Lei Magnus, a very powerful sorcerer) revived and started the Resurrection War against one of the parts of Ceiphied, the Dragon King of Water (Aqua Lord). Ultimately, the piece of Shabranigdo won, but the Aqua Lord, using the last remnants of her power, froze and sealed him within the Kataart mountains.

Mazoku

The primary villains in the Slayers universe are the "Mazoku", which means "evil race". (This term was translated as "monster" in the English releases of the TV series.) Mazoku are powerful, intelligent creatures, often indulging in intrigue amongst themselves. Many Black Magic spells call directly on the powers of the Mazoku, but these spells will affect Mazoku as well as anything else, with the exception that a spell calling on the power of a particular Mazoku will not affect that Mazoku.

Magic

Main article: List of Spells in Slayers

Media

Animated

TV Anime

Main article: List of Slayers episodes

• Slayers (TV series, 26 episodes, 1995)
• Slayers Next (TV series, 26 episodes, 1996)
• Slayers Try (TV series, 26 episodes, 1997)

Movies

• Slayers: The Motion Picture (Movie, 1995) (also known as Slayers Perfect, although this is just a fan-made name)
• Slayers Return (Movie, 1996)
• Slayers Great (Movie, 1996)
• Slayers Gorgeous (Movie, 1998)
• Slayers Premium (Short movie, 2001)

OVAs

• Slayers Special (OVA, 3 episodes, 1996 North American title: Slayers: The Book of Spells)
• Slayers Excellent (OVA, 3 episodes, 1998)

Printed

Light Novels

• Slayers (15 Volumes, 1990-2000)
• Slayers Special (26 Volumes, prequel to Slayers series, on going)
• Slayers Delicious (4 Volumes, prequel to Slayers series, 1997-1999)
• Slayers VS Orphen (1 Volume, crossover between Slayers and Majutsushi Orphen, 2005)

Manga

• Slayers (1 Volume, 1995, reedited in 2001, also known as "Slayers Medieval Mayhem")
• Chou-baku Madou-den Slayers (8 Volumes, adapted from Slayers main novels 1-8, 4th volume adapted from Slayers Return movie, 1995-2001, also known as "Super-Explosive Demon Story")
• Slayers Special (4 Volumes, 2000-2001)
• Slayers Knight of AquaLord (6 Volumes, 2003-2005)
• Slayers Premium (1 Volume, adapted from Slayers Premium movie, 2002)

Others

Radio Drama

• Slayers Extra (4 episodes, adapted from Slayers Special novels, 1995-1996)
• Slayers N'extra (4 episodes, adapted from Slayers Special novels, 1997)
• Slayers Premium (1 episode, extra story to Slayers Premium movie, 2002)
• Slayers VS Orphen (1 episode, adapted from Slayers VS Orphen novel, 2005)
• Kaette Kita Slayers Ex ("The Return of Slayers Ex", new Radio-Drama, 1 episode for the time being, 2006)

Video Games

File:Slayers1ss.jpg

Cover of Slayers Royal

• Slayers (SNES)
• Slayers Royal (PS1 & Sega Saturn, released July 25, 1997 in Japan) is a video game based on the Slayers anime released for the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation. It features all the original cast and voice actors, notably bringing together for the first time Lina's earlier companion Naga and her later comrades, Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis.
• Slayers Royal 2 (PS1 & Sega Saturn)
• Slayers Wonderful (PS1)
• Slayers (SFC)
• Slayers (PC98)

RPGs

• Slayers Fight (Trading Card RPG)
• Slayers Magius Books (Table-Talk RPG, 6 volumes)

External links

Official and Reference

• Enoki Films' Slayers website
• Slayers ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• The Slayers at AnimeNfo.com

Fansites

• Slayers Universe
• Mazoku.org
• Inverse Lina Inverse character website
• QP's Slayers Page
• Slayers Uncensored
• Slayersfan.com
• KanzakaDex
• Lost Slayers (Spanish)
• Eterno Poder (Spanish)