Note : since all Zel does is pose, I have erected here a shrine to Zel's embarassment. Hey, why be the same when you can be different?
Unfortunately, so does everyone and their dog.
It's understandable.. he's very well crafted, cute, has THE voice, THE attitude, and THE power. But, Zel worship is just beginning to tick me off a bit. Zelgadiss, above all other characters in Slayers, DESERVES to be worshipped.. it's obvious that he had the MOST thought put into him at his creation. However, people start writing things putting Zel in awkward situations.. making him FALL IN LOVE. That's where I draw the line. You can worship him. You can put him in awkward situations. You can make him HUMAN again, for all I care. But you CANNOT make him fall in love.
What kind of a character would he be if he fell in love? Part of the thing that attracts everyone to Zel is the fact that he is so cold. His stony interior (and exterior) is so enticing to us warm-blooded that you can't help but want him. And if he were to fall in love, that entire attitude would fall apart.
I've heard that eventually he does.. somewhere along the line, or something... but I can't.. make that, I WON'T believe it. Zel is a tormented soul... if he weren't a chimera anymore, if he were happy, then he wouldn't be Zel anymore.
Zel isn't that BAD a person, but he isn't that good of one, either. He has one goal, and one goal only : transform himself back into human. That's the only reason he hangs around Lina, is to accomplish his goal. At least... at first. At first he would've gladly killed Lina and everyone just to become human again... but not anymore.
Not that it's his only goal... if someone is chasing him, he'll kill them. If someone is pissing him off, he'll be rude as hell to them. If Rezo is somehow reincarnated, he will hunt him down and KILL him. People who piss him off will take presedence in his mind... he is ruled by anger... possibly to an extent greater than Lina's.
Now, in relation to Ameria... Zel SHOULD hate her. SHOULD. But does he? I'm not so sure... at the beginning, when he met her, of course she pissed him off. ("Would you shut up?!") But later on, he grows. believe it or not. His growth you can see. The longer he's around Lina, the more warm he will become. It explains why he's such an asshole at the beginning of Next.. he was away from them for awhile.
At the beginning, he wouldn't protect Lina or Gourry, probably. Just himself.. but as he grew... he probably would. So basically, how you characterize Zel is in what storyline he should be in.
Now, some things about him will never change. He'll ALWAYS hate Xelloss, he'll ALWAYS hate Shabranigdo, he'll ALWAYS hate his form. (even if he gets used to it, he'll hate it) He'll hate Rezo, too, until someone gives him a reason not to.
Zel will be cold when away from Lina and the gang, but warm when he meets up with them. They are his only family, and while he'll never be open completely with them, he'll be a lot nicer to them than anybody else.
But he would NOT fall in love or open himself up at ALL to someone he just met. *ahem* : P
Exceptions to his behavior :
- At the end of the Shabranigdo saga, he is warm and nice to Lina, congratulating her. This is understandable, actually.... he worships power, and she just displayed a LOT of it... and he's warmed up to them.
There really are no other discrepancies... he's so well written that he doesn't have many. (good thing, yes? : )