Slayers Text, Vol. 1: The Ruby Eye [Paperback]

Hajime Kanzaka (Author), Rui Araizumi (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595320946
• ISBN-13: 978-1595320940
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #899,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than the anime? Perhaps, October 7, 2004

By 

Robert Boyd (Provo, Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slayers Text, Vol. 1: The Ruby Eye (Paperback)

Slayers has been the most famous spoof of D&D style fantasy in the anime and manga world for many years. However, unbeknownest to most American fans, Slayers actually started life as a series of novels by Hajime Kanzaki. There are a few pages of art scattered throughout the book including some very nice colored pieces in the front that look like they were done in crayon or with colored pencils, but make no mistake: this is a novel, not a graphic novel.

The first volume of Slayers essentially covers the same story as the first story arc of the anime (the first 10 episodes of the first season). Basically, Lina Inverse, 15 year old sorceress extraordinare blows up a gang of bandits, stealing their treasure in the process. Hidden among the bandit's loot is a powerful magical item which brings her under attack from a number of powerful enemies. There are a number of fights, escapes, and jokes that eventually culminates in a battle for the fate of the world. All this in around 200 pages of moderately large print (standard young adult size font).

I was afraid how all this would be depicted on the written page and was pleasantly pleased with the result. Although I was expecting a standard third person narrative, it turns out that the entire novel is written from Lina's perspective. Even though I already knew what was going to happen as far as the plot goes thanks to having watched the anime, the novel remained interesting by going more in depth in some of the world mechanics as well as offering plenty of humorous comments, quips, and lines of dialogue that weren't in the anime. Also as you might expect, characters are a bit more fleshed out. Gourry didn't seem quite as dumb in the novel as he does in the anime, Zelgadis wasn't as angsty, and Lina, well, Lina was even more Lina-esque than she's ever been before.

Aside from a quick encounter with a band of goblin which I found rather amusing, nothing major happens in the book that doesn't happen in the anime. As you might expect, events don't always entirely match up between the anime and the book. So far the anime has had more exclusive scenes (such as the fight with the dragon in episode 1, the underwater fight with the fishman, and some scenes with Rezo). However, with 15 novels of Slayers currently available in Japan (with the second volume coming out here in December), it looks like the novels will have plenty of exclusive material. In particular, the advertisement for the second novel mentioned several incidents that I didn't remember from the anime so it should be quite interesting to see how that turns out.

Are the Slayers novels instant classics? Well, no. However if you're looking for a fast paced, action packed adventure with large doses of comedy, Slayers is just what you need. Only having read one novel so far, it's a bit early to say, but if future novels maintain the level of quality exhibited in the first novel, I think I'm going to enjoy the novels even more than I enjoy the anime series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For fans of the anime and non-fans alike, October 16, 2004

By 

Phelanar (Albuquerque) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Slayers Text, Vol. 1: The Ruby Eye (Paperback)

I've been a fan of the Slayers anime for years and years and when I heard that Tokyopop was finally going to bring the novels that inspired the anime to the US, I couldn't wait to get out there and grab it. And thankfully it was everything I was hoping for. Tokyopop has done an excellent job of translating the novel while still preserving the unique brand of humor and action that makes Slayers so interesting in the first place. At less than 200 pages, the book isn't long, but it's relatively self-contained so you're not breathlessly swearing about an evil cliffhanger or anything. The novel retains the original illustrations that the Japanese version had and, while not necessary, they're nice to have.

Fans of the show will probably love the novel, it covers the first part of the first season of the anime very closely (or vice versa, as the case may be). But non-fans should find a lot to enjoy about it as well. It's well written and is a very fast read (I read it in just over an hour) and it's very entertaining, with lots of action and humor. The only bad part about the novel is that it's so very short and you want to read more right away.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, October 5, 2004

By 

Catherine Allison "catwho" (Athens, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slayers Text, Vol. 1: The Ruby Eye (Paperback)

Slayers fans may rejoice, for the original work is now available in pure, unadulterated English (unlike amateur translations, which kept in a lot of random Japanese.)

The first volume covers the same storyline as the first half of the first season of the anime, but from what I can tell continues on its own way in the second volume. So if you've seen the anime, the storyline is not new, but it is refreshing to read it and have everything clarified (the novel finally corrects the anime's most notorious mistranslation regarding the ancestry of Zelgadis.)

The translation puts everything firmly into modern English vernacular, but the phrasing is clean and the attitude of the characters remains the same. Lina Inverse, the greatest and cutest sorceress of all time, will still capture your heart and steal your wallet without batting an eye. Gourry comes across as less stupid and Zelgadis as less broody, but this can be attributed to the exxageration required in mediums other than text. This is the way the characters really are.

I enjoyed every last page of the novel, and I eagerly await the second volume.