Slayers
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Slayers (スレイヤーズ Sureiyāzu) is an anime and manga series based on a series of light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka that parodies RPGs with the story of Lina Inverse and Gourry. Some of the novels, of which there are fifteen in the series, have only recently been released in English in North America; the rest are scheduled to be released in the future.
The stories take place in a medieval style world (mostly), with magic. Most of the show goes in cycles starting out severely humorous, then slowly working towards serious until at the end of the cycle the fate of the world (of course!) hangs at the balance. Until the very end of each of these cycles though, even the most serious moments will usually have a few short comic relief moments.
Slayers is a unique show, in that the main character, Lina Inverse, possesses enormous power. In many fantasy anime series, the protagonist slowly increases in power going through many trials to achieve fame, fortune, or strength. Yet with only two spells, the Dragon Slave and Giga Slave, Lina could wreck armies or destroy the entire universe! This new heroine is mostly unprecedented in that her power is so great. (Though it seems only Greater Mazoku and the greater gods of the Universe could match Lina Inverse)
Slayers ran for three seasons. The second season goes by the name Slayers Next, and the third season is called Slayers Try. There are also numerous OVAs and movies in which Lina is partnered with the obnoxious and pretentious sorceress Naga. These adventures take place before the events of the three television seasons. The anime Lost Universe takes place in another dimension of the Slayers universe. There are also a few manga series based on the Slayers universe.
The anime series was released on VHS and DVD in North America by Software Sculptors. The OVAs and movies were released in North America by ADV Films.
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Characters
- Lina Inverse: Lina appears in all incarnations of Slayers. She is a young but very powerful sorceress, who has a great love of money and food.
- Gourry Gabriev: A wandering swordsman who meets up with Lina in the first episode of the television series and accompanies her from then on.
- Naga the Serpent: A buxom sorceress with an obnoxious laugh who is Lina's partner in the movies and OVAs.
- Zelgadis Greywords: A chimera sorceror who begins the TV series as a mercenary, opposed to Lina, but ends up in Lina and Gourry's group.
- Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun: A young cleric with an unwavering belief in justice, who joins Lina's group during the first TV series.
The universe
Warning: plot details follow
In the universe of Slayers, there is a supreme being, neither good nor evil, called Lord of Nightmares or Sea of Chaos, who created everything. Four known pillars rise out of the Sea of Chaos, each supporting one of the four worlds. On each world, there are gods (shinzoku) and demons (mazoku), fighting the usual battle of good vs evil. Should the gods win the war in a world, that world will be at peace. Should the demons win the war, that world will be destroyed and returned to Chaos.
In Lina's world, the supreme god is Ceiphied, and the supreme demon is Shabranigdo (aka Lord Ruby-Eye). Long ago, Ceiphied won the war, and split Shabranigdo's body in seven to prevent him from resurrecting. However, Ceiphied was so exhausted that he sank into the Golden Sea of Chaos, leaving four parts of himself in the world.
A millennium before the Slayers stories, one of Lord Ruby-Eye's parts (which was sealed in the body of Lei Magnus, a very powerful sorcerer) came back to life and started the Resurrection War against one of the parts of Ceiphied, the Dragon King of Water (aka Aqua). Ultimately, the piece of Shabranigdo won, but Aqua, using the last remnants of her power, froze and sealed him within the Kataart mountains.
More to be added
Spells
Warning: incomplete list
In Slayers, spells are put in categories based in the origin of their power:
Shamanistic Spells
Shamanistic spells are spells whose power comes from the sorcerer: they don't borrow power from any god/demon. They are the every-day spells, and their power depends on the sorcerer's conditions (i.e. a sorceress can't cast powerful spells in her menstruation).
Fire Shamanism
- Balus Wall
- Bamu Rod
- Blast Bomb
- Bomb Sprid
- Burst Flare
- Burst Rond
- Fireball: Lina's favourite low-profile spell. Creates a ball of flames that explodes in contact with anything. It can cause a lot of havoc, especially when cast by Lina.
- Flare Arrow: Forms a series of arrows made of fire, to be thrown or shot from a temporary magical bow.
- Flare Bit
- Flare Lance
- Flare Seal
- Rune Flare
- Val-Flare
- Vice Flare
Water Shamanism
- Aqua Breathe
- Aqua Create
- Dark Mist
- Demona Crystal
- Dust Chip
- Freeze Arrow: The ice equivalent of the Flare Arrow spell. Creates a magical arrow made of ice that can freeze targets.
- Freeze Bullet: The ice equivalent of the Fireball spell. Can be used like a fireball, with things being frozen within an area on contact. Can also be used to create large chunks of ice in midair.
- Freeze Rain
- Gray Buster: Causes a extreme drop of temperature in a chosen area. This instantly freezes - and therefore immobilizes - a target.
- Howl Freeze
- Icicle Lance
- Kyu Kyum Spin
- Ly Briem
- Sea Blast
- Swightflange
- Van Rehl
- Vice Freeze
Earth Shamanism
- Bephis Bring: Causes the ground under the caster to riot and break (i.e. allowing to access an underground passage).
- Blade Haut
- Bodargic Elm
- Dill Brand: Causes the ground under a target to erupt, usually launching anyone in the affected area.
- Dug Break
- Dug Haut
- Dug Wave
- Gray Bomb
- Mega Brand
- Mega Vraimer
- Vigarthagaia
- Vlave Howl
- Vu Raywa
- Vu Vraimer
Air Shamanism
- Aero Bomb
- Air Valm
- Arc Brass
- Bomb Di Wind
- Bram Fang
- Dam Brass
- Diem Claw
- Diem Wind
- Digu Volt: Also known as 'Digger Volt', this fires a blast of lightening from the palm of the caster. Extremely dangerous and can easy be lethal.
- Dimilar Wind
- Levitation
- Mono Volt
- Raywing
- Raza Klouva
- Scatter-Bleed
- Wind Brid
- Windy Shield
Spirit Shamanism
These spells attack the spirit of the target, making them useful to attack Mazoku.
- Assha Dist
- Astral Break
- Astral Vine
- Bram Blazer
- Devine
- Elmekia Flame: A more powerful version of the Elmekia Lance.
- Elmekia Lance: Creates a light lance that damages the target's spirit. Causes great damage to Mazokus.
- Fehlzaried
- Gark Ruhaad: Creates a swirling wind about the caster that affects beings in all directions, attacking their spirit and often leading to confusion.
- Goz Von Rou
- Gu Lu Douger
- Guumueon
- Guy La Douger
- Illusion
- Protect
- Puppet
- Ra Tilt: The most powerful spell of Shamanistic magic. Can even destroy a pure Mazoku.
- Shadow Snap: The caster uses a sharp object (usually a knife) to freeze a target's shadow in place, immobilizing the target. Can be dispelled if something causes the shadow to shift or disappear(ex. a light spell).
- Shadow Web
- Telepathy
- Visfarank
- Vision
White Magic
These spells are intended to cure and purify people. They are similar to Spirit Shamanism in that all of them draw upon the power of the caster. They aren't related to gods in the same way that Black Magic is related to demons - see Divine Magic below.
- Recovery: Boosts the target's regeneration abilities. It's useful to cure little wounds, but it must not be used to cure big wounds because the target could die of exhaustion. Furthermore, if the target is infected with any kind of bacteria, those bacteria would also receive the regenerative boost and multiply rapidly, killing the target.
- Resurrection: Takes the vital energy from nearby life forms to cure the target. It is a lot harder than Recovery, and usually only priests can cast it.
- Mos Varim: A modified version of a fire extingushing spell called Ext Ball. Mos Varim is meant to be used a counterspell against fire spells. It is even capable of extingushing a Fireball spell.
Black Magic
These spells borrow their power from the Mazoku.
- Balus Rod: A whip of light appears in the caster's palm and can be used to attack. This spell has a short range.
- Blast Ash
- Blast Wave: Commonly used to blast holes in walls, usually large enough for a person to pass through. This spell only takes effect when both hands are placed on the target, making it difficult to use in combat.
- Boost: Activates Lina's talismans in order to amplify the power of other spells, allow use of higher-level spells such as Blast Bomb, or to increase the control over spells like the Ragna Blade or the Giga Slave.
- Dark Claw
- Disfang
- Dolph Strash
- Dolph Zork
- Dragu Slave: Lina's favourite high-profile spell. More commonly called Dragon Slave, it creates an enormous blast that consumes everything in its range. As its original name (Dragon Slayer) suggests, it is great at killing dragons. The name became corrupted over time to Dragu-Slave. Its power comes from Shabranigdo.
- Dynast Brass
- Dynast Breath
- Ferrous Bleed
- Flame Breath
- Gaav Flare: A very powerful, piercing fireball. Its power is borrowed from Demon-Dragon King Gaav.
- Hell Blast
- Laguna Blast
- Ruby-Eye Blade
- Zelas Brid
Divine Magic
These spells would borrow their power from Shinzoku, but the divine magic was lost during the Resurrection war, a thousand years ago. However, some priests can use a bit of that lost power.
- Flame Breath
- Ray Freeze: An ancient holy spell, it paralyzes the body of targets so the caster can escape or keep the victim in place.
- Chaotic Disintegrate: Felia uses this spell against Vargarv in hopes of destroying him before Dark Star possessed the power of the Ancient Dragons. She was too late however, and though the spell caused an enormous show of power on Felia's part, it all came to nothing.
Chaos Magic
These spells borrow their power from the Lord of Nightmares herself. They are so exhausting that only can be cast by very powerful humans (i.e. Lina), and can be cataclysmic if misused.
- Giga Slave: Lina Inverse's original spell, it is so powerful the Dragon Slave cannot even be compared to it. If the caster loses control, it will consume the entire world. It does more than calling upon the power of the Lord of Nightmares; it is said that the Giga Slave is actually the Lord of Nightmares herself.
- Ragna Blade: Creates a sword made of pure chaos that can cut through to the alternate dimensions used by Mazoku. Drains an incredible amount of the caster's power to use.
List of Slayers anime
- Slayers (TV series, 26 episodes)
- Slayers Next (TV series, 26 episodes)
- Slayers Try (TV series, 26 episodes)
- Slayers Perfect (Movie)
- Slayers Return (Movie)
- Slayers Great (Movie)
- Slayers Gorgeous (Movie)
- Slayers Premium (Short movie)
External links
- Inverse.org (http://www.inverse.org)
- Slayers Uncensored (http://www.geocities.com/slayersuncensored)
- QP's Slayers Page (http://homepage3.nifty.com/QPHOUSE/slayers_e.html)fr:Slayers