Customer Reviews

Slayers Volume 8: King of the City of Ghosts (Slayers (Tokyopop))

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know if she did it, and I don't know if she's survived the Tokyopop layoffs, but here's a shout out to the one Tokyopop representative who actually seemed to care about this series and not the raw numbers. Kara Stambach, Novels Editor, cheers to you for finishing the first story arc with novels 7 and 8. Like Full Metal Panic! Tokyopop may or may not release 9 - 15. But Slayers Revolution and Evolution-R (season 4 and 5 of the TV series) have recently been licensed by Funimation and thus, perhaps a new influx of anime-geekdom may arise...

If you love the Slayers universe, or grew into adulthood while watching anime, then the novels are for you. This is that last print since 2008, and Tokyopop is taking a "wait and see" approach on the others. Bookstores don't carry these, as far as I could tell. Most are downsizing their manga sales because of the economy and that's a shame.

The translation is simplified, unfortunately, but the humor is not all lost. The action is still there. The universe isn't very well explained, but we all reference the anime anyway, right? From the Lord of Nightmares down, we're all pretty familiar with the hierarchy of gods and monsters, and history of this D&D-esque world. It's worth the buy if only to read up on tidbits on the characters that were missed by the anime. New fans, old fans, support the work.

Just so you know what you're getting into, the first 8 (of a reported 54 novels!!) only covers the first anime series (the millenium old mazoku/demon barrier is lifted and the quartet is now free to explore the rest of their world). Still, a good buy for the faithful, and a good release into a really well thought out fantasy realm.

Slayers is such a wonderful series. I started by watching the anime and loving it, and when I started reading these novels, I got a whole new take on the story (not to mention that the novels are meant to be taken separately from the anime). The comedy and wit really gets me laughing, even though the format of the novel is a little juvenile. Now that Slayers Revolution (the 4th season) is airing in Japan after a 10 year hiatus, I hope Tokyopop will renew their interest in publishing the novels -- because I'm sure the Slayers fanbase (old and new) will expand once Revolution hits the US. I look forward (hopefully) to the 9th novel, and more!

These novels inspired the anime series that has become so popular. The books are interesting to read, and I recommend them all for any fan of the series or any Fantasy fans. Its written well and engaging.


The only problem I have is that Tokyopop feels that Slayers Novels are not profitable enough to produce all 15. Unfortunately they will no longer produce any more at this time. Hopefully that will change, but Tokyopop has been known to disappoint before, so I won't hold my breath.