It’s been a while but fate once again draws Lina Inverse,
Gourry Gabrielv, Zelgadis Greyswords and Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun together again.
This time, they’re after the Claire Bible, one of the oldest magical
artifacts in existence. Within it could
contain a spell capable of making Zel human again…or make Lina a nice
profit. But quests are seldom easy for
Lina Inverse and this time is no exception, especially when there’s a beautiful
Princess who worships a fake demon and a mysterious “priest” with their own
agendas to deal with. Demons will be
slayed, food will be devoured and God help anyone who gets in their way: The
Slayers are back baby.
Kept ya waiting a little bit huh? Well plans are plans and 2019 promises to be
the Year of The Slayers right here on the Gundam Anime Corner. And we’re kicking it off with the long
awaited return of Lina Inverse and her friends (here on this blog anyway) with
Slayers Next.
It’s a little clear by the end of the first five episodes
of this second season that things are going to be a bit different, even with
all the familiar pieces in place.
There’s a darker vibe to some of the new stories and characters that
have been brought in. Whether or not it
will gel well with the established Slayers formula in the end will probably
vary from tale to tale. It’s both hit
and miss for right now. Miss in that the
new stories take a bit to get going and may not have the best pacing or
villains. The Hit is that there are
risks taken throughout and in the end, they do pay off.
Let’s get the good stuff out of the way first: The
Slayers haven’t lost their step. Little
time has passed since they all went their separate ways at the end of Season
One (I guess, we never did see them head off together or separately sooooo…). So seeing everyone back together feels great. Lina, Gourry, Zel and Amelia are as
entertaining as they’ve ever been together and I dare say theyre stronger too,
kind of obvious given how much they went through together last season. Once again, Lina Inverse stands as the
strong, morally ambiguous center of the show.
She’ll save the day, but never for free.
She is feircly loyal to her friends but will also try to eek out a bit
of win for herself if she has to save their lives. And…she’s absolutely terrified of Slugs, yeah
that got a real good laugh out of me seeing Lina actually scared out of her
mind of something not as terrifying as a demon.
Gourry’s still his goofy minded self and Zel and Amelia are quite the
pair now (not together together but you can tell Amelia is crushing on Zel
hard). Everyone plays off each others
strengths and weaknesses with ease and even when episodes aren’t at their best,
The Slayers themselves are always awesome.
This seasons set up is the search for the Claire Bible, a
macguffin that can probably do more amazing things than just return Zel’s body
to normal. But this wont be an easy
journey. There are some usually wacky
tales with The Slayers battling a Princess obsessed with her own makebelieve
God, an army of muscle obsessed humans and werewolves, and getting caught up in
a turf war between wizards (which briefly puts The Slayers on two opposing
sides but that isn’t really played out as well as a Lina and Gourry vs Zel and
Amelia battle could be). But that last one leads the show into unfamiliar
territory. In Season One, when Slayers
got serious, there was always a lighthearted joke to break the tension. However, the battle against the immortal
Halciform was the darkest stuff yet for the series, with nary a chuckle or joke
to be found. Even though Halciform himself
was a poor mans Rezo, his final fate and that of the woman he was trying to
resurrect was grim, no other way to put it.
And there weren’t any attempts to even play a joke around it…it’s both
smart and a little unsettling. Guess
Slayers is going to try to grow up a little bit this season after all.
I guess I shouldn’t wrap up the premiere review without
talking about one of the new major players introduced in this set. Xellos.
His creepy smile, his totally OP arrogant attitude. That oh so aggravating “It’s a secret” answer
to any and all questions. He claims to
be a Priest but ive got a feeling he isn’t that simple. I also have a bad feeling he’s holding back a
crap ton of power, some that even Lina cant defend against (Zelgadis sure as
hell couldn’t). Whether he is friend or
foe in the quest for the Claire Bible, Xellos is definitely the wild card in
all of this. Hopefully he becomes more
interesting and less annoying along the way cause right now…well no I guess he
does his job right cause I definitely want to punch him.
Five episodes in and you can feel the Slayers game slowly
changing. It’s a move that could be for
the better but is also quite the gamble.
While not perfect itself, Season One’s humor definitely helped The
Slayers stand out despite its seriousness at times. I doubt Slayers Next will drop all of that
but its willing to take a chance on some darker storytelling and I have to
applaud it for wanting to try.
Otherwise, Lina Inverse and her never quitting team of mercs for money are
as welcoming as ever with more action, more jokes, new and vastly better theme
songs (especially the intro, freaking legendary) and animation that stands way
above the first season. Slayers Next
started out right. Let the new journey
begin.
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