Customer Reviews

Slayers Next - The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Slayers Next" is typically cited as the best season of this fantasy/comedy anime that should serve as a centerpiece to any animation collection. I've already gone over the show's basics on my review of The Slayers - The Complete First Season so I'll cut to the chase here. While the first season is my favorite, this is in no way an inferior outting for Lina and her band of merry misfits. Many new characters are introduced, all the favorites from season one are back, and the storylines continue to balance comedy reminiscent of the Three Stooges with an epic fantasy universe that seems to live and breathe on it's own.

This second season expands on that universe and manages to ramp up the tension as Lina Inverse is forced to learn more and more dangerous magics to keep pace with the chaos-worshipping demons that intend to destroy mankind. That's not to say that our heroine doesn't find plenty of time to fight over food (one of her passions), pick on bandits and other pathetic would-be villains (it's a hobby), and destroy a kingdom or two with her Dragon Slave spell. Her primary nemesis for much of this season is Martina, a princess displaced by Lina's aforementioned destruction who worships a monster named Zomoulgustar. Sound like a name an autistic kid would think up? Welllll....
Martina's usually poorly though out attempts at revenge provide plenty of comic relief throughout the season, but don't think that Gourry gets off the hook. He picks up an admirer of his own; a rogue swordsman who wishes to duel with him. But who has the time with all these apocalypses to avert? But the newcomer most beloved by fans is the mysterious priest Xellos; a character fond of dropping hints at crucial plot points and then, when asked for more specific information, declaring "That.....is a secret" with his pointer finger thrust upward for emphasis and then disappearing.

Who the hell is this Xellos guy? Will Martina ever get a life? What manner of beast could possibly challenge the mighty Lina Inverse at this point? Will the jokes about Lina's small breasts ever cease? All questions will be answered and there will be both dungeons and dragons aplenty for fantasy buffs. "Slayers Next" delivers exactly what fans of the first season would want: more of the same. More characters, more action, more madness, more magic, more slapstick, and best of all more Lina Inverse. If you dug season one, have no fear; this is exactly what you'd hope for in a sophomore season.

Slayers NEXT is the second season to the 1995 TV Anime "The Slayers". Both seasons are based off novels written by Hajime Kanzaka. This season of Slayers is 26 episodes long, like the first one is. In my opinion, it has the perfect balance of comedy/seriousness, and every episode has memorable moments, even the filler episodes are 5 star quality.

This season introduces Xellos, the trickster priest. A favorite character among many Slayers fans. He has comical charm with his wacky antics, and at the same time a mysterious motive that will keep you wondering what it is he's really up to.

Watching this kept me wanting more and more, and I didn't stop watching until I reached the end.

Chances are, if you liked season 1, you will like this too. Maybe even more. I recommend this to anyone who likes the fantasy/comedy genres

Lina Inverse -- short, brash, flat-chested and monstrous of appetite and magical power. She's too brilliant an anti-heroine to just use once.

And her little gang reunites rather explosively in "Slayers Next - The Complete Second Season," where Lina and Co. deal with various magical threats and problems... as well as a bunch of monsters who want Lina dead for some reason. It's a darker, more intricate story than the first season, but it doesn't lose touch with the same deranged humor and lovably quirky characters.

The gang reunites in the kingdom of Xoana (where Amelia and Zelgadis become enemies for about ten minutes) just before a battle with the deranged Princess Martina, who wants to sacrifice the world to her imaginary Monster friend. One Dragonslave later, and the kingdom is in ruins.

Then they start out on a quest for the legendary magic book called the Claire Bible, which is dogged by "mysterious priest" Xellos (who is more than he seems, obviously). And they have to deal with weird problems along the way: curses from the crazed Martina, a sorcerous feud that upends an entire city, the hunt for dragon cuisine ("Oh god of cookery, give me strength!"), a magical tennis game, a tower of magic dolls and weird obstacles, a city that bans men, and a hunt for ancient divine spells that turns out to be all wrong.

But the real trouble starts when the gang makes it to Amelia's country of Seyruun -- and discovers that a conspiracy of greedy royals and evil Monsters want Lina very, very dead. Unfortunately, nobody knows why. The gang sets out to discover the reason why on a journey riddled with Golden Dragons, malignant Monsters, and the true form of the Claire Bible and its keeper. But their mysterious enemies have plans for Lina and her ultimate attack spell... which may bring about the end of the world.

Spoofs of the fantasy genre are a dime a dozen. The real challenge is creating a spoof that also has a story and mythology all its own -- and "Slayers Next" succeeds brilliantly at doing that. Not only is the second season of "Slayers" gutsplittingly funny, it has a really solid storyline, excellent writing and thoroughly enjoyable characters -- including some moments that are beautifully dramatic and horrifying too.

The main storyline really kicks in when the gang arrives in Seyruun, after some hints and foreshadowing, and after that it keeps twisting and changing, revealing one secret at a time -- Lina's pursuers, their motives, and how devastatingly powerful they are. And it takes the usual fantasy tropes -- big dumb guy with magic sword, powerful sorceress, demonic creatures, plucky naive princess -- and promptly turns them on their heads.

Things start getting grimmer in the middle when the gang finds the true Claire Bible, and that darker undercurrent gets thicker all the way to the end. The climax is literally apocalyptic in its scope -- a brilliantly intense piece of work.

And there's a lot of humour too, ranging from Zelgadis being used as an anchor ("Poor Mr Zelgadis... we can at least let you breathe down there!") to a series of running gags ("That.... is a SECRET"). At least half the episodes contain and/or end with some kind of massive explosion and/or rioting. And a couple stories wedged between the two arcs are entirely devoted to comedy -- usually they involve a more relaxed tone, with Zelgadis and Gourry in drag, idol singing, and the whole gang dressing up in big silly animal costumes.

Lina continues to be a hilarious anti-heroine with a short fuse and a seemingly endless arsenal of explosion spells, but visions of a Gigaslave gone wrong -- and Gourry's abduction -- show how much she loves her buddies. Yogurt-brained Gourry is a good complement to Lina, and hyperactive princess Amelia struggles with treachery within her loving family (and has some cute romantic moments with Zel). Zelgadis is the best-rounded character of the bunch, struggling with his insecurities, his image, and his stony-skinned body.

"Next" also introduces a couple of brilliant new characters. Xellos is a puckish trickster who flits in and out, causing trouble just for the fun of it, and announcing that whatever he's talking about "is a SECRET." He's a delightfully infuriating guy, and much more than he appears. And Martina is basically there for the comic relief -- a very insane princess who worships a Monster she made up herself, and keeps trying to curse/kill Lina.

"Slayers Next" is a brilliant fantasy spoof with a clever, twisting storyline and plenty of laugh-out-loud humor. Definitely a must-see -- along with the other seasons.

Slayers Next is overall the best season of Slayers. And in this package you can own all 26 episodes for a very reasonable price. It is true however that the overall quality of the DVD transfer here leaves room for improvement, despite the nebulous claim to "remastering". Ignoring that loaded term, the episodes look otherwise fine for the age of the series. And of course with these DVDs one can switch between both the excellent English and Japanese voice work at will.

The show itself--the second season of Slayers--contains the best overall balance of humor, gravitas, and animation of the seasons. Original Slayers remains fun to watch, of course, though Next really does look a step above in animation. The later Slayers Try also has relatively impressive animation, but is populated by more significant highs and lows. Specific episodes of Try are some of the funniest episodes of all Slayers (especially the volatility of Filia and Xellos). But other--usually filler--episodes of Try are in some cases actually painfully bad.

Slayers Next gets almost everything right, including an epic series of final episodes with a wonderful ending that continues to overshadow the rest of the series (including the new Revolution/Evolution currently showing in Japan).

In many ways, Slayers Next is akin to The Empire Strikes Back or The Wrath of Khan, being the "superb second entry" of the given series. And thus of all seasons I consider it a must-own for any animation collection.

While I can't speak to any particular production issues that this release of Slayers: Next may have, I can say that it is absolutely my favorite season of anime, period. The mood of the show varies between dangerously silly (ie: The Macho Dragon Blood Battle Brothers bandit gang!) and deadly serious, with a more episodic quality improving the re-watchability of the component episodes. The humor of the series -- which really is the hallmark of the series -- translates fabulously from the japanese without relying on obnoxious fan-servicey behaviors. The production quality of the show is looking a bit dated (compared to, say, Samurai Champloo which was a surprisingly good show) but the writing is absolutely top-notch for an honest-to-goodness swords & sorcery adventure slug-fest.

I borrowed my friend's Slayers DVDs years ago and fell in love with this series, so when I found this Slayers Next DVD set, I knew I had to have it. The sheer awesomeness of the series was no surprise to me, but the HOT price and the expediency by which it arrived certainly were!

The three DVDs in this set come with complete menus, and the episodes are separated into chapters so you can get to the right spot without having to fast-forward the whole way through like you're using a VCR!! Sounds crazy, but I have an anime box set that is like that =\ The choice of the English & Japanese audio is very nice, too, and it has a few small extras.

It was in perfect condition like promised, and I am thrilled on every level. It was money well spent!

God - what can I say about this? This and Slayers Try (and hopefully the two new series once they come to the US) are the only anime that I will watch again, and again, and again. Honestly, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of them. Between episodes that sooooooo must have been written under the influence of magic mushrooms (they spend nearly an entire episode dressed as dolls...) and awesome character development and XELLOSS, Slayers is just full of awesome. PLEASE buy it today, to encourage more!!!! ^^

I love this series. It's so much fun and the DVDs are great. I upgraded to the DVDs from the VHSs. If you don't know much about this series, don't even look up the info, just buy the DVD set and watch it, you won't be disappointed!

The second season is even better than the first. Continuing the adventure with Lina is all you need. Just sitting in front of the TV watching this is all you need to do.

I love Slayers, and this is one of my favorite seasons. I love that it is the season when Lina and Gourry kiss. If you love humorous Anime this one is full of joke and some episodes that are just insane funny and silly. If you love serious animae with actions and fighting this one, aside from three or four episodes and a few scenes, is all about fighting and magic. Feudal Era, Wicked Awesome Magic, and Comedy all rolled into one with serious storylines, hard core fighting, twist and turns that you would never see coming! This series is a must for any anime lover or fantasy lover! A must!