A twist and turns filled plot to assassinate the ruler of
Seyruun, Prince Phil, has left Lina Inverse without her magical powers. With powerful monsters looming to aid whoever
wishes to possess Seyruuns throne, Lina must join forces with some
untrustworthy allies to find a way to get her magic back. After all, Lina’s the star of the show and
you cant keep the Dragon Slayer herself down.
And when the dust settles from the whole affair, what will be gained,
what will be lost and will The Slayers survive it all in one piece (probably
but hey who knows).
Monsters, unexpected team ups, new powers, romance,
hidden agendas. The midpoint of Slayers
Next certainly was busy. It didn’t all
completely work but Slayers Next is also continuing to one up its predecessor
in many areas.
I’ve gotta say, the assassination plot against Prince
Phil has been one of the weakest story arcs thus far. Even if you can guess the twists and turns
coming a mile away, there just didn’t seem to be enough to justify this retread
into familiar territory (as I talked about last week). What’s more, the villains of the arc ended up
being the true weak link in this arc armor.
Slayers has been trying to find its next Rezo and that figure has yet to
reveal himself. Instead we got a Prince
with lackluster vision and Monsters who thought they were all that but were
boring as all get out. The only bit of
good the bad guys brought to the table was the revelation that their master,
Dragon Lord Garv, wants Lina to join his dark forces. That will be a pretty interesting tidbit to
chew on going forward. Also, while he
was pretty dull, cudos to the monster design department for the awesome Final
Form they gave to Kanzel.
What thankfully kept this whole new story run from
collapsing in on itself were The Slayers themselves and their allies. While she was rendered powerless for most of
the arc, Lina didn’t give up and cry.
What’s more, she was paired up with Xellos and Martina on the quest to
restore her magic. Lina and Martina play
off each other better than last time, especially when Martina continuously
tries to get Lina killed (her slow motion failing to push Lina off of a cliff
was a major highlight this week). The quest also FINALLY gave us a glimpse into
Xellos’ true nature. Wickedly he
destroyed demons who seemed to recognize him and to see his eyes open as he
coldly proclaimed his catchphrase (It’s a Secret) was a pretty chilling
image.
Sadly, Martina and Xellos got shuffled to the side when
it was time for Lina and her team to get busy.
But that was not entirely a bad thing.
That’s because we got some of the best action of the series yet as Lina,
Gourry, Zel and Amelia faced off against Kanzel and Magenta on a floating
island. The animation in Slayers Next
soared above Season One in the first episode alone but the three part battle
took it up an extra notch. Spells and
rapid looked more fluid and you could tell the animators were having a blast
(no pun intended) make them look so good.
But it wasn’t just flashy spells…well not entirely as we did get to see
Lina unleash a new spell once her magic was back (learned from a Claire Bible
copy mind you before Xellos burned it). The Ragna Blade looked awesome and I
doubt we’ve seen its true potential, despite its ability to slice through
demons and dimensional barriers. But
yeah, it wasn’t just that. For a moment,
it looked like Lina might’ve bitten the dust…and then came Gourry’s shock. I guess they’ve been building to this for a
bit but finally we got confirmation that Gourry has feelings for Lina. I liked his calling Lina out on faking her
power status and possible death to lure Kanzel into a false sense of security,
saying she could consider his feelings.
True, Gourry seemed to forget what he said right afterward but the
moment was there and I don’t think it will be fully ignored continuing onward.
“Eat, drink and enjoy the journey.” That’s the Lina Inverse mantra and could be
the quote that best sums up the series as a whole. I can say that despite the apparent flaws in
the main journey and the villains, I am definitely enjoying Slayers Next. The Slayers themselves are as fun as ever and
their newest cast members are making themselves feel right at home, though I
wish that Martina would become a more permanent team member already. And now there’s a new threat looming on the
horizon. Here’s hoping Gaav is more
menacing than his two flunkies and would be Seyruun usurpers. See ya next week as the journey
continues…onward to adventure and good food with the best company.
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