Slayers

Slayers is a multi series and OVA franchise that follows a sorceress and bandit killer named Lina Inverse and her companion, a travelling knight, Gourry Gabriev. In the first arc of the franchise, title The Slayers, Lina steals an artifact froma gang of thieves, which turns out to be the key in resurrecting the Demon Lord Shabranigdo. Throughout the story, Lina and Gourry pick-up some new companions like Zelgadis, a chimera magician, and Amelia, the daughter of the King of Saillune. As the group ventures to stop the Dark Lord's resurrection, they are forced to fight his servants along the way.

Slayers is one of the first anime box sets I ever picked up back on VHS. To me, this was one of those iconic series that will always remind me of my childhood. While I have met some who don't much care for the series, there are so many positive elements that make this franchise memorable.

To kick things off, the plot in this first series is pretty decent. There are a lot of unique elements such as the development of Lina and Gourry's relationship, the addition of new characters at key points their adventure, and the mystere behind characters such as Rezo whose motives are not always clear. There is plenty of action and a good contrast of comedy as well. This helps to keep the show light hearted and eases some of the tension from the more action laden and suspenseful moments.

The two most redeeming elements that stand out in my mind are the artwork and the music. What first drew my attention was the wide-eyed character designs, with bright colours and unique costumes. After watching a few episodes I was hooked. So much so that Slayers as really influenced my own artwork and anime character sketches. As for the soundtrack, this is one of those ones that you will want in your collection. The intro themes are catchy and stick in your head.

Overall, I highly recommend checking out The Slayers. If you are looking for a good contrast of action, suspense, mystery, magic, and comedy then this series will deliver on all fronts. If you enjoy this one, don't forget to check out the sequel, Slayers NEXT.