Takashi Watanabe
The Slayers – Trilogia

Reviewing this work (because, in all reality, it is a true work) is a rather daunting task. And this is not only due to the narrative complexity that underpins it but, above all, because of the various modifications, obscene cuts, dubbing, and adjustments it had to endure due to the unfortunate Mediaset when it was decided to air it (specifically in 1995, hoping not to be mistaken).

However, I warmly invite you to read it, even if it is interminable. To write it, I had to conduct several researches, as well as rewatch it from scratch because I only had faded memories.

Finally, to those who wish to comment, I invite you to make comments or appreciations that are not too colorful or too foolish (resorting to the classic grade 1). This is because if some of you get "tired" of reading the review, I personally destroyed myself writing it, given that in a few days, I might be lying in a hospital bed because, by now, I can't eat, stand, or even breathe properly. All this is overwhelmed by excruciating pains that have accompanied me both during the viewing of the anime and in the writing of the review, which I believe will be the last one I will send for now.

Thank you all in advance.

And now, to you.

The anime in question is based on the novels by Hajime Kanzaka, a true genius of epic-medieval-fantasy, as well as of comedic nonsense. Yes, because the power of "The Slayers" lies precisely in this: the professionalism and the ability to blend terribly dramatic moments with equally comedic and nonsensical ones, all simultaneously, without falling into banality and ridicule, nor the absurd.

The "saga" is composed of a trilogy, namely, the first "The Slayers," its sequel "The Slayers - Next," and the then-final "Slayers Try" (lacking the article "D".... who knows why, hmm!). An important and obligatory note to mention is that, while the first two series of the trilogy are based on the novels of the aforementioned artist, the third and (then) concluding episode, "Slayers Try," was created entirely independently by the staff that decided to air the anime, based on its own story, original and, at the same time, meant to be the continuation of the previous two sagas. All while remaining as faithful as possible to the themes addressed by master Hajime Kanzaka, making this last part of the work as interesting and engaging.

It's hard to decide where to start. I, personally, would prefer to describe the character design, which is really beautiful, phenomenal, and fluid (the drawings are perfect, with no "flattening" like what's in vogue today, and they do justice to each character, making them appear almost alive. Credit, especially, also goes to the fabulous dubbing, which I will return to soon). Yes, the drawings. I repeat, they are really beautiful.  Starting with the protagonist, the magician Lina Inverse (here in Italy "recycled" with the name Rina and that's it), cute and with an "underdeveloped" chest on which, then, almost all the jokes of the anime are based (where Rina, logically, reacts like a wild hyena to similar appreciations), which, in Italy, will be censored and completely distorted. No allusions to Rina's chest, who will get angry when they call her a "brat" or "little girl," and this even in the most explicit cases, that is, for example, when Martina, (another character, devoted to Golem Zoamaster, an entity she believes in alone, which will appear in "Next" to take a permanent seat next to the company, even going so far as to fall in love first with Guido then with Zeross!!!!), shows her boobs much larger than Rina's. Obviously, the dialogue will be all distorted, and Martina  will end up being burned with a fireball (but no one explains why Rina cast that spell on her, since Martina, in Italian, says ".. you can't leave me here, please..." and, at the same time, smirks and shows her boobs.... Who knows!). Again, Lina-Rina Inverse herself will undergo a slight retouch in the "Next" series. Her features and traits (like those of all the characters and landscapes) will be rendered more "soft," thanks also to the shadowing that will make the character design and the animation all more fluid and beautiful. The most notable retouch, however, is the replacement of Rina's sword (in the first series) with a dagger (in "Next" and "Try").

 The other characters, still in terms of design, are not far behind: from Gourry Gabriev (in Italy more simply, Guido), tall, blond, handsome, and a bit (too) slow, with a dark past, the "brooding" Zelgadis and Amelia, who will form the "backbone" of the anime being practically omnipresent in all three sagas.

In the second saga, "Next," the aforementioned Martina (daughter of a noble whose estate and house are destroyed by Rina with a "Red Lightning" in the first episode. However, Martina does not appear in the manga and in the anime only plays the role of the unlucky one, as well as the creator of numerous gags) and Zeross, a character I will describe later who will play a very important role throughout the story (both in "Next" and "Try").

The plot is primarily based on the conflict between the forces of good and the forces of evil. However, Rina (from now on I will refer to the characters by their Italian names) is a practitioner of black arts (black magic). Guido is a simple swordsman while Zelgadis and Amelia are, respectively, a cross between a chimera, a golem, a demon, and a human being which give them superhuman abilities and, at the same time, a chimera, the former (in reality, Zelgadis has that terrible appearance because of experiments Zeno, the red monk, conducted on him to "make him strong and invincible." Experiments which Zelgadis regrets upon becoming Zeno's sworn enemy and trying to regain his human form. We will always see him deep in his thoughts and always intent on searching for formulas and/or solutions to return to normal. But this will never happen); Amelia is the daughter of Prince Filiberto of Sailunne. Both practice white magic, although Zelgadis is much stronger (his specialty is the "Paralyzing Ray").

With this premise, the intertwining of the various characters will occur as the story develops among wizards, swordsmen, knights, thieves, and brigands of every imaginable kind that Rina will not hesitate to punish with "fireballs" and destructive spells. The encounter with Rina and Guido is fatal. Guido, in fact, seeing Rina, a 15-year-old (apparently) defenseless girl, sides with her and defeats the enemies that block her way. Then, all of a sudden, decides to become her personal bodyguard. Rina at first is not on board, then, gradually, they will develop an indissoluble friendship (which, during the anime, will become love). The encounter with Zelgadis happens almost immediately, when he obstructs Rina as he intends to rob his master, Zeno, of a precious magical figurine. Subsequently, he will decide to switch to the "good" side going against Zeno, obsessed with finding a cure for his eyes (Zeno is blind and, despite being one of the most powerful wizards in the world of "The Slayers," had never succeeded in finding either a spell or a valid potion to regain his sight).

The trio is complete. The fourth, Amelia, will join the group in the second part of the anime.

And at this point, it is obligatory to mention. The one that sees the plot of the three animes develop always in the same way, that is, in 3 parts: the first, tending to be light and then more dramatic which almost always concludes with a deadly duel, then a brief break (almost as if wanting to take a pause) where the comedy and nonsense of the anime reach astronomical levels, and finally, the conclusion, or the final duel between the forces of good and evil.

And it is precisely in the first part of the first series that the monk Zeno will sacrifice his sight and his soul to the demon "Sabranivoodoo," the most powerful evil entity ever appeared on Earth and defeated, based on a legend, by the legendary knight wielding the sword of light. A very powerful weapon capable of annihilating the strongest demons, those resistant even to very powerful spells.

And, just to put the icing on the cake, it will be discovered that the knight currently wielding the sword of light is none other than the "dork" Guido who, in an episode, will defeat a huge and terrible demon with a single move under the astonished eyes of Rina who, due to the flu, had temporarily lost her powers (because, if you didn’t know, now you do, wizards, when they fall ill and catch the flu, lose their magical powers, yes, yes, it is indeed so! Oh yes.... And also during their menstrual cycle.... ). From here on out, Rina will latch onto the brain (underdeveloped) of poor Guido saying that, as soon as "..... all this story is over, will give her the sword of light". Obviously Guido will never accept this claim of hers, because the sword is a "... precious family heirloom belonging to them for centuries and currently guarded by him!". As if Rina cared in the slightest.

And it is here that the psychology of the characters begins to take shape. Rina, cute, very strong, with a sense of justice not quite innate (it won't be rare times when she will say "... it’s none of our business.." only to accept the job if there is a hefty reward). Guido, all muscles and little brain, but truly strong and with a tender and innocent heart like that of a child. Zelgadis, solitary wolf but very powerful wizard. And..... Amelia, whom we will meet in the second part of "The Slayers," when Prince Filiberto of Sailunne asks for help from Rina and Guido because his own kingdom and his life are under a terrible threat (Rina, in reality, will accept only for a reward).

The fight with Sabranivoodoo is terrible, as the demon is impervious to both white and black magic (not even the most powerful spells of both wizards can tickle it). Rina will then decide to use a terrible weapon, the "Light in the Darkness" (originally "Giga Slave"), capable of fusing black magic with the use of the sword of light and unleashing absolute chaos. However, this spell has a drawback: if one loses, even for a moment, control of it, the entire world would sink into chaos and nothingness, and all humans would perish.

From here on out the decision will be made not to use that spell again.

Amelia's encounter is not quite the best, since the little one (12 years old) is a huge fan of justice believing herself to be a justice warrior. And she will not hesitate to go against Rina and Guido when she will see the bounties on their heads.  In short: a little girl with a few screws loose.

Without dwelling too much on the plot and the various characters that will come out of it (among which the beautiful and sweet Silfiel, the opposite of  Rina in character, as well as Guido's great friend), I would like to point out the pros and cons that  "dance" over this anime.

Let's start with the good. First of all, the dubbing, more precisely, the voice actors. I believe that a voice actress like Emanuela Paciotto, Simone D'Andrea, Debora Magnahi, and Diego Sabre (respectively, Rina, Zeross, Amelia, and Guido) are more unique than rare given the pathos they manage to convey.  Very beautiful are the voices of the characters, all both good and bad. In fact, in the remastered DVD version, it loses much of its presumption and insolence that characterizes it but makes it terribly sympathetic to the public.

The same applies to the other characters and the demon Zeross ("Xeloss" in the original, my favorite character!), who joins the gang in "The Slayers - Next" apparently by chance. His gaze, always smiling, terribly annoys Zelgadiss (always mistrustful towards him) but manages to impress Amelia and the others, even if Rina will never fully trust him.

Zeross, in fact, is initially presented to us as an innocuous (and somewhat bastard) "little monk." As events unfold, he proves to be a formidable wizard practitioner of black magic to then reveal himself for what he really is: a demon in the service of "his master" Zellas-Metallium, one of the 5 Dark Lords created by Sabranivoodoo (even though in "Next" he will help Fibrizio, prince of the underworld, in fulfilling his diabolical plans). He will never reveal his true intentions and will always hide everything behind the classic phrase "Sorry, but... It's a secret!". All the while always smiling. The classic type you wouldn't spare a punch to the face to break it (there will be many brawls between Rina and Zeross). However, Zeross will save Rina on more than one occasion and will gift her the 5 talismans of power (which will help her increase the power of her spells). Zeross, moreover, is among the most powerful Mazoku and, being a demon, there will be many occasions when he will decide to betray his "adventure friends" for his own purposes (after all, it's in his nature, and for him, it's normal, much to the indifference of Rina and company).

Again, I will not spoil the plot of the anime, because I could give away too many spoilers. I mainly focus on one thing. The translations and the censors.

If in "The Slayers" (unfortunately translated by Mediaset with the title "An Incantation Unveiled Amidst the Petals of Time (for Rina) ... even the parentheses!! A title that has nothing to do with the anime and, to be honest, doesn't mean a damn thing! I can also understand that the literal translation of "The Slayers" to "Assassins" or "Killers" could be a bit "traumatic" for the target Mediaset decided to aim the anime at, but they could have done much better than that meaningless bosh) the censors were limited to Guido's and other characters' appreciations of Rina's "flat" chest (she says"... I am very powerful as a magician..."; he "... the same cannot be said for your chest" - original version - , and he gets a punch), in the Italian version, the whole thing was transformed into a bland and nonsensical dialogue. Not to mention the various times where blood is seen, and they try to hide everything behind insipid stories like "... for now you're lucky.." or worse yet in "Next," when Zelgadiss draws the sword and KILLS his opponent (so much blood is seen) he says ".... although tripping someone is not fair..".. but what the heck does that have to do with anything?!?!?!?!? Not to mention that in Italy, you can't say "killed, death, dead" and such stuff, and everything has to be replaced with "I eliminated you, they need to be eliminated, wiped out" and similar.

Again, still regarding dubbing. There are moments where, to make the dialogue between the characters more fluid and understandable, the same is readjusted in such a way as to make it less daunting for those following the anime (and, so far, nothing wrong). Then we descend into the pre-mentioned filthiness.  Or worse, in moments when ALL the characters fall silent (and, this, especially in the more dark and dramatic moments, in order to increase the level of drama and tension of the story), dialogues are inserted (always Guido's and always stupid) attempting to lighten the excessive tension but rendering it all nonsensical and idiotic, significantly reducing the anime's score and its beautiful story.

Another sore point is the spells. In the Japanese version, they are all in English (mentioning the most famous, such as the "Giga Slave" or Rina's "Dragon Slave"). Here, in Italy, they must necessarily be in Italian, and so off they go with the "arrow of light", "arrow of ice" (well... it's white, hence, ice!), "Red Lightning (the Dragon Slave), "Light in the Darkness" (the "Giga Slave") and, finally, the "Lance of Darkness" ("Ragna  Blade").

Yet again, still on magic and, more specifically, on spells, while little has been done as to "recycling" regarding white art spells, BUT much has been done in black magic art "recycling". Not only varying the names (in fact, "Red Lightning,", "Lance of Darkness," and "Light in the Darkness" sound very good) but, above all, modifying the rite before casting the spell of the moment.

At first, I couldn't understand why. Then I figured it out by watching the last 3 episodes in the original subtitled version of "The Slayers - Next". In fact, this is the series that endured the most censors among them all. Both due to too frequent references to Rina's boobs and for the excess of blood and death and finally, for the spells and the ultimate enemy. In this series, our heroes, accompanied by Zeross, will wander in search of the "Sacred Text of Magic," each for their own reasons. Rina to learn increasingly powerful spells, Zeross..... ".... it's a secret!!!!" and Zelgadis to find a way to restore his natural form (although, during the course of the series, a certain relationship will develop between the latter and Amelia that will transcend normal friendship.... something that will lead Amelia to say "... I accept you for who you are..." and to almost make a real declaration of feelings towards the wizard with a heart of ice).

Returning to the censors. I'll give you, for example, the rite for invoking the "Red Lightning":

"It's darker than twilight, it's redder than the blood itself, it's in the tide of time; in the name of peace and justice I want to appeal to all the most distant powers of darkness: I need them to help me forever destroy my enemies and all those who are foolish enough to dare attack me thinking they are invincible. Red Lightning!"

that of light in the darkness:

"It's darker than darkness, it's blacker than the deepest night; I invoke the help of the one who rules over the eternal sea of chaos; in the name of peace and justice, I call upon all the distant powers of darkness, I need them to help me forever destroy my enemies and those who are so foolish as to dare attack me thinking they are invincible.  Light in the darkness!"

or, finally, the one for the multiplication of powers that can be used in combination with any other spell:

"Lord of the four spheres of darkness, I am your most faithful servant; in this moment of danger I invoke you to infuse me with all your power."

Noticed anything strange? Even though they invoke demons, spirits of darkness, The Great Lord of Nightmares (a supreme entity which in "Next," at the end, will also be called the "Mother of All Things") and so on, then there is a call for the use of said spell for purposes that the infernal demons couldn't care less about, such as "in the name of peace and justice" and so on.

The reality is quite different. While white magic draws its powers from sanctity and when used against a human being, even the most powerful spell like the "Paralyzing Ray," is, pretty much, harmless, black magic draws its power from the powerful Mazoku, which are said to be so strong as to rival the power of the gods. Since these spells draw their power from Mazoku - entities of chaos and destruction - most of these spells are offensive and highly destructive. The effect of a spell reflects the characteristics of the Mazoku invoked for the occasion. To use black magic it is necessary to understand the use of Chaos Words - special words of power - and to perform certain gestures, depending on the spell. The more powerful the Mazoku invoked, the more powerful the magic - and the more difficult to control. Furthermore, a spell becomes unusable if the Mazoku from which it draws power is destroyed. Furthermore, one does not just say "I am your most faithful servant" or crap like that. In reality, a true bond with the demon being invoked is established, entrusting them with one's soul for personal purposes, so that it can allow you to channel the magic and use it for offensive purposes (typical of black magic).

This is pure gratuitous Satanism, obviously readjusted, recycled, and censored in Italian land.

And, unfortunately, "The Slayers - Next" will pay a lot in censors this way. Whether it’s when they clash with the demon Garv (a rebel demon to others and, above all, to the lord of the underworld, Fibrizio) or during the final showdown against Fibrizio. The fact of wanting to assume a childlike appearance to Fibrizio is what weighed most on the series, especially in the final battle. After the extraordinary episode 23 ("The Magical Knight", in which the whole company battles a masked knight who uses the Sword of Light unleashing from it a terrible fury, enough to even repel the "Red Lightning"), episode 24 ("Rina Returns to Us!")  is, in reality, the "cut and paste" of as many as 3 episodes (24 - 25 - 26) into a mere 20 miserable minutes episode in which you don't understand a damn thing, both in what concerns the events and their natural evolution and outcome (the characters find themselves in different places and the frames change suddenly, for no logical reason), and in what concerns the fate of the characters themselves (who at first are all standing ready to face Fibrizio, always in "baby" version; then, suddenly, one turns around and finds them collapsed on the ground "fainted". In reality..... I’m not sure if it’s right for me to spoil this, but I believe it is necessary to say it: Fibrizio extracts marbles from his hand and crushes them one at a time, killing Rina’s companions who die, not immediately, but in excruciating pains!). All this was unpresentable to the "average" Merdiasettian public, so CENSORSHIP! And distortion of the ending, in which Rina invokes the power of "Light in the Darkness" which, unfortunately, will elude her and she will lose control of the same. Not to mention that, also in the original version, we will find many people in zombie version, including Silfiel's father. All persons who died due to Zeno (first series) who will destroy much of the girl's city. This was also unfortunately cut out.

I stop here. It suffices to say that Fibrizio will die in a terrible way (another non-negligible detail that has produced further and further censorship, as seeing a child writhing between terrible and deadly screams is definitely not the best) while Rina risks losing herself in the hands of the one she invoked (The Great Lord of Nightmares alias The Mother of All Things) to protect "one man" with the most powerful and dangerous spell. The man, once recovered and seeing the situation (losing his beloved), will not hesitate to follow her into nothingness and grab hold of her. The ending.... Beautiful as Rina and Guido hug and, finally (and thankfully!),  they kiss.

Unfortunately, you will never see this.

As you will never see the end of "Slayer Try," in which the various fates of the protagonists are followed - each one, under the poignant pianistic ballad "Somewhere In The World".

And we have reached the series "Try," a series not based on the novels, as already mentioned, but certainly no less beautiful and fascinating than its predecessors.

In the "Slayers Try" saga, we will discover how the universe of "Slayers" is composed and, above all, how it came to be.

In the universe of "Slayers" there exists a supreme being, neither good nor evil, called the Lord of Nightmares («Lord Of Nightmare») or Sea of Chaos, which created the universe. Four pillars rise from the Sea of Chaos, each supporting one of the four existing worlds. In each world there are deities (Shinzoku) and demons (Mazoku) that fight without end. If the gods were to win the war in a world, that world will be at peace, if the demons triumph the world will be destroyed and reverted to Chaos.

In Lina's world the supreme god is Ceiphied ("God Dragon Ocean"), while the supreme demon is Sabranivoodoo (the "Monster with Ruby Eyes"). About 5000 years ago, after a battle lasting thousands of years, Ceipheid won the war and divided the body of Sabranivoodoo into seven parts to prevent him from coming back to life. However, Ceipheid, exhausted by the action, sank into the Sea of Chaos, leaving four parts of itself in the world.

A millennium before the events of Slayers one of the parts of Sabranivoodoo (which was sealed in the body of Lei Magnus, one of the 5 great sages, among the most powerful sorcerers of all time) came back to life and started the Resurrection War (or War of Demonic Advent) against one of the parts of Ceiphied, the Water Dragon King (Laguladia or Water Lord). In the end, the piece of Sabranivoodoo won, but the Water Lord, with his remaining powers, froze it sealing it in the Kataart mountains.

All very interesting. Moreover, another detail not to underestimate, is one that sees the "expansion" of the "Sayers-ian" world.

In fact, the kingdom of Seyrunn (where Amelia and her father reside) was "sealed" by a powerful magical force that prevented anyone from leaving it.

However, once the lord of the underworld is defeated, it breaks. And so begins a new adventure, almost as if wanting to pay tribute to "Christopher Columbus" (it's no coincidence the journey is by sea).

I won't dwell too much on the plot which, roughly speaking, is always the same (this time the world is threatened by an entity from another dimension, the "Dark Star". Even "Try" is divided into 3 parts. In the first part, we will meet Filia, Priestess of the golden dragons capable of transforming into human beings (Filia is really a pretty girl), with an angelic character. Moreover, in addition to the villain of the occasion, Valgarv (disciple of Garv, the dragon demon, who took him in after his tribe, that of the lost dragons to which Valgarv belonged, was exterminated by the Golden Dragons "... for the greater good...". However, in the end, it will be revealed that the golden dragons exterminated the lost dragons because the latter were much more powerful than the golden ones but, at the same time, were considerably inferior. And, fearing to be overpowered, they decided to eliminate the threat before it could be revealed. The only survivor will be a child, little Valgarv, who will harbor immense hatred towards the entire golden dragon lineage but not only, also towards human beings and demons). Valgarv, in the first part of "Try," will not waste a second to summon the "Dark Star" into the "Slayers" world to merge with it while everything explodes around everyone, separating the characters. And here begins the second and ultra-boring part in which the characters, divided into groups (Zelgadis, Filia, and Rina on one side and Guido and Amelia on the other) try to meet and reunite to defeat the "Dark Star," mysteriously vanished.

We will discover many other things, such as, for example, that Guido's sword of light does not belong to this world but to the world of the Dark Star, indeed, it is her creation along with 4 other equally powerful weapons as the sword of light. 3 were already in the hands of Valgarv and Armenice (a being from another world along with his other 2 fellow countrymen), the sword of light is with Guido (but it is taken from him almost immediately) while, the last weapon, the bow of light will be discovered at the end, in a temple, in which the terrible truth surrounding the universe of golden dragons and lost ones will be revealed. It will be discovered that Zeross is the sworn enemy of the Golden Dragons, guilty of exterminating an indefinite legion with a single gesture and... it will not be clear who are the good and who the bad.

The final showdown will see Valgarv united as one with the Dark Star, ready to destroy the entire universe and with a heart full of hatred, against Rina and company who CAN'T use their spells on the opponent as, being from another dimension, he is impervious to all kinds of spells, white and dark. However, the 5 light weapons will be indispensable to separate the power of the Dark Star (which nonetheless will remain monstrously strong and invincible).

What will happen, I certainly won't say. I'll just tell you that, finally, we won't see only Rina resolving the situation by herself, as if she were the "Son-Goku" of the anime, but this time, ALL the heroes (Amelia, Zelgadis, Rina, Guido, Filia, Zeross, and Armenice's companions) will fight together in a no-holds-barred battle wherein each will give their contribution in a more or less significant way.

A mind-blowing ending, not as much as "Next" but definitely beautiful, in which the super-evil Vargarv...... ".... it’s a secret!".

An ending tragically cut short on the pinnacle, over the notes of "Somewhere In The World" that will show Amelia busy with her duties as a princess, Zelgadis eternally solitary wolf, Filia and Valgarv's henchmen friends who ...... "I'm sorry but... it's a secret!" and finally, Guido and Rina, as always, throughout the trilogy, sitting stuffing themselves like pigs in a tavern. Yup. This is another of "Slayers'" little gags, where the two heroes, don't miss a moment to gorge themselves like pigs and eat tons of stuff.

In the end, this is "The Slayers" too.....

P.S.: I've cut out the latest newborns of the "Slayers" saga "The Slayers Revolution" and "The Slayers Evolution-R", as I still know little about them and haven't watched them. The fact is they are the continuation of "Try" which ends with Guido ..... "... it's a secret!". Also, both "Revolution" and "Evolution-R" are not two different sagas but an entire saga divided into two parts.

For those who are interested, there exist OVAs of the reviewed anime, in which the series' characters do not appear, only Rina and a mysterious sorceress who accompanies her, that is Naga (who, in reality, is Amelia's long-lost older sister). The narration takes place before the trilogy when Rina is younger (14 years old) but always burdened by her inferiority complex: her boobs which appear... actually, disappear completely when compared to Naga's overflowing bombs!

Sayonara!