"Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down!"
"Where treasure glitters, I'm there to claim it!"
"Whenever an enemy rises to face me, victory will be mine!"
Lina Inverse, powerful sorceress, warrior, and beauty extraordinaire (by her own standards) is a treasure hunter. She fights for good if it'll bring her money, and counts stealing from thieves as a hobby. Everything is going her way until she meets a tall, not-too-bright oaf named Gourry who thinks she's a little girl ("Where are your parents, little girl? Can I buy you a lollipop?") This, of course, makes the temperamental Lina mad, but she decides that a free meal is worth it. Between Lina and Gourry, they eat most of the food in the inn. Time goes on, and they get dragged into a battle against Shabernigdo, the Dark Lord. They fight a mummy-man, imploding trolls, a fish-man who falls in love with Lina, and a half-demon, half-golem, half-human named Zelgadis who eventually turns from evil and helps Lina and Gourry.
In the next series, Zelgadis has gone and Lina and her sword-of-light bearing protector meet a prince (who's really old and ugly: Lina was dreaming of a handsome young man who would fall in love with her irresistable beauty and side-splitting humor... Is she in for a surprise!). The prince has a daughter, Amelia, who tries desperately to be a soldier of justice. Unfortunately, this mostly involves climbing high in a tree, pronouncing a horrible speech, then falling flat on her face. Amelia becomes attached to Lina, and desperately wants to learn the Dragon Slave, the most powerful spell in existence... As the series continues, the three friends (Lina, Gourry and Amelia) try their hand at the theatre, getting married, cross-dressing, and cloning (first Lina and Gourry, then Naga... it's hilarious!). Zel finally comes back, but they gave him a different voice :( And the cast just gets bigger and bigger as Shilfiel joins their quest, and then Rezo comes back, and Vrumagon comes back (for the 7th or 8th time, i lost count at some point), etc, etc... There's only one rule in Slayers: no one's ever really, truly dead. Well, not for long, anyway...
Lina Inverse - Lisa Ortiz
Gourry Gabriev - Eric Stuart
Zelgadis - Daniel Cronin/Crispin Freeman
Rezo - Charles Rolf/Peter Davis
Zolf (mummy-man) - Stan Hart
Dilgear (wolf-man) - Jimmy Zoppi
Amelia - Joani Baker (volume 4)/Veronica Taylor (volume 5+)
Zangulus - Ted Lewis
Vrumagon - Jimmy Zoppi
Shilfiel - Stacia Crawford
Eris - Rachel Nanstad
Tiiba (Mr. Chicken) - Adam Sholder
tries to push me back
i recite a single spell
i set the pace my own way!
anyone who's jealous of my power
and my beauty won't get in my way
i won't flinch from any opponent
as my cape flaps in the breeze
i want to do that, i want to do this
hey, that's just how girls are
one slip and it's to hell you go
so you better not get in my way!
far away, going where i want to
don't want this journey to ever end
even the worst of days
i'll finish with a smile
far away, embracing all magic
i wanna go beyond this day
with my eyes on my dreams
i keep walking on
as far as i can
get along, try again
Breeze -- Slayers opening theme. Mp2 format, 370 Ko.
Dilgear speaking (Eng). Wave format, 59 Ko.
Zel rescueing Lina (Eng). Wave format, 61 Ko.
Dragon Slave (Eng). Wave format, 443 Ko.
Beautiful, irresistable, charming, slim, elegant, powerful, brilliant... these are only a few of the things Lina is certain that she is. In truth, she's a rather sarcastic girl who dresses in yellow and magenta (no fashion sense whatsoever!), thinks she's god's gift to the universe, eats enough for ten rather large men, and is the master of the most powerful spell in the world: the dragon slave. With it, she makes craters out of mountains, towns, lakes, dragons... the list is impressive. Unfortunately, when frightened villagers ask Lina to protect their village and, in the process of doing so, she makes it into a crater, the frightened villagers become angry villagers. Luckily, one of Lina's many skills is running.
Lina is eternally surrounded by fools: first Gourry, then Amelia. She has no patience with either of them, but puts up with them, mostly because she has no choice. She's actually pretty smart (well, at least compared to Gourry or Amelia. then again, even the fish-man looks brilliant beside Gourry and Amelia) but doesn't seem to be able to be when it counts. She gets a little less greedy and a little more determined to stay alive as the series' progress, but she's still obsessed with one thing: getting Gourry's light sword!
Lina's also got a small problem with fish-men. For some reason, they like her way too much. First Nunza, then the crazy fish-man when they're trying to escape Vrumagon and Zangalis. Nunza the fish-man is one of the first enemies to appear, and that starts a trend...
"Dumb as a post" are the words which immediately spring to mind when referring to Gourry. He's really not that stupid, but he's not very bright. He's easy-going and constantly confused, but lovable in a teddy-bear kind of way. He's the opposite of Lina's fiery personality. He bears the sword of light and is a very good fighter, and has a very strange sense of honor that he takes extremely seriously, which puzzles Lina no end (after all, this is the woman who steals from thieves!)
Gourry gets dressed in drag three times in the series. I've only seen the one where he's dressed as Sailor Moon, but it's absolutely hilarious! The idea is that they're trying to avoid detection: they figure that if Vrumagun and Zangalus are looking for two women and a man, they'll give them no such thing. Amelia dresses up as a maid, Lina dresses up as one of the girls from Tenchi Muyo, and they stick Gourry into a dress and give him the famous Smoon meatballs! From then on, things go downhill. A very gallant-but-even-dumber-than-Gourry warrior called "the Great Valloon" (he's got an even bigger ego than Lina) falls in love with him and tries to impress him by claiming he killed Shabernigdo (at which point both Amelia and Gourry have to restrain Lina; she's practically foaming at the mouth, she's so mad). The entire episode is absolutely hilarious, with a transvestite sea monster, the Great Valloon claiming he doesn't care whether Gourry's a guy or a girl, he loves him anyway (^_^) and Gourry trying to throw himself overboard a few times, claiming he'll SWIM back to shore if he has to...
One-third human, one-third golem, one-third demon, Zel was originally working with the evil Rezo, who just happens to be both his grandfather and his great-grandfather (don't ask; you don't want to know. I don't want to know!). He captures Lina (he finds her extremely annoying but respects her powers) then frees her and joins their quest. Zel resents Rezo for making him as he is and is desperately trying to return his skin to normal. Zel never speaks above a whisper (except when Lina pushes him over the edge... which she does a lot) and is very cold and mysterious. His skin is made of stone and he is a very powerful sorceror.
Zel's also one of the smartest characters in the series. He's very mysterious and sarcastic, and doesn't seem to get along very well with either Lina or Gourry, but he does come back in a later series, so he can't find them that repulsive. Unfortunately, they've pretty much changed his entire personality when he comes back; he's just not as much fun anymore! Amelia gets a crush on him (much to his initial disgust), but I've heard the authors keep pushing Zel and Amelia together as the series progresses.... :( He deserves better!!
Bandit- "Hunh? Who is that?"
A- "Obey me, or feel the hammer of justice!"
B- "Where are you?! Show yourself!"
A- "I'm right here!"
shot of Amelia at the top of a pine tree. she jumps down with a yell, aiming to land feet-first on the bandit's head. unfortunately, she misses and lands on her face at his feet. Gourry sighs and pokes her with a stick.
Gourry- "Hey. Hey."
Amelia gets up and does backflips away from him. she trips on a rock and falls flat on her face... again.
A- "Now then, Mr. fiendish bandit, prepare yourself!"
B- "Prepare myself for what? A clumsy, half-wit, pint-sized acrobat?"
Amelia scowls.
A- "Dee (?) of light!"
a bubble transports the bandit and drops him in the lake.
B- "Hey! You can't get away with this! You ignorant little witch!"
Amelia scowls harder.
A- "Rundle (?) burst!"
bolts of fire shoot at the bandit. there is a huge explosion, then you see him, burnt to a crisp, floating along...
G- "Gee, that was rough."
A- "It's a fitting end for anyone who stands against justice!"
she's standing on a rock, looking smug.
Man she saved- "Excuse me..."
A- "No need to thank me. I couldn't stand by and let that thug get away with it! His defeat is thanks enough!"
Man she saved- "Uh... yeah..."
A- "Now if you'll excuse me..."
she turns and begins to run but trips in a crack and falls on her face... again.
Amelia's an annoying little imp and her high-pitched, squeeky voice is guaranteed to send shivers up your spine (I'm told she has a much better voice in Japanese). She becomes attached to Lina and wants to be just like her, then learns about the dragon slave and becomes obsessed with learning it. Lina, who desperately tries to dissuade Amelia but can't (It's rather obvious that Lina is trying very hard to resist the temptation of using Amelia as a football) so she finally agrees. But instead of teaching her the spell, Lina tries to discourage Amelia by making her do things like carry heavy stones up a hill, etc. Lina finally manages to convince her that she cannot learn the dragon slave, so the little girl goes back to climbing trees, pronouncing horrible speeches, and falling flat on her face.
As the series go on, Amelia gets considerably better. Mind you, that could just be because she gets a new voice in the fifth tape. She also stops saying as many corny speeches, and gets rather puffed up about being the star of an acting show... She's still an annoying little imp, but she DOES get better, so don't give up hope. (I still can't wait to see her with Zel... poor, poor Zel... ^_^)
Just a note: even Gourry thinks Amelia's slightly dense... You'll also notice that she ends up wearing Sailor V glasses a few times (so does Lina) and is obsessed with Sailor V's "V is for victory!" thing...
A kind and shy priestess/princess. She's a pretty good healer, but can't do Black Magic very well (though i hear that, if she's mad enuf... she can cast the dragon slave. but that was a very desperate circumstance...) She's got a thing for Gourry (who's a hero in her country for slaying a demon), but he hasn't noticed, of course. Shilfiel's a tiny bit of a flake, and she's absolutely perfect for Gourry. Luckily, the authors kept away from the annoying little brat role for her; she doesn't complain, despite being fragile and rather easily hurt (Zel's sarcastic comments manage to get her to run off a couple of times). Still, she's certainly not a cry-baby like Amelia is; she only cries once, and she had good reason to: her entire village (not to mention her father) had just been blown up... though he's not dead either... i think he comes back in TRY (*sigh*; does no one ever STAY DEAD in this series??)
Shilfiel's also a mage-in-training. She's still not very good at spells... her flare arrows tend to turn into carrots, tiny flames, or explode in everyone's faces. When Gourry's been brainwashed by one of Eris' clone-rubies, Zel specifically asks Shilfiel to cast a flare arrow. Despite Amelia's whining about wanting to do it, Zel insists SHILFIEL do it. She does, but the result is a rod of glowing energy no more than a foot long. Shilfiel looks mortified, but Zel grins and says: "Not bad." He picks it up and taps it against the ruby-thing on Gourry's forehead. Ruby and spell evaporate and Amelia blushes and says: "Oh." The only spells Shilfiel can do properly are clerical spells and levitation, which is handy since they're always passing Gourry around when they fly.
Another of those enemy-turned-friend characters, and just as annoying as the rest of them. She shows up in Slayers NEXT. She's a bit fickle (she falls for Gourry, Zel and even Zelos). She teaches herself magic after Lina inadvertently destroyed her kingdom with the Dragon Slave (another princess???)
She first appears in Slayers TRY. Filia is a golden dragon who can take on the appearance of a human woman. She's looking for warriors to help her defeat the dark and chooses Lina. Now, Filia's very young, so we're supposed to excuse her lack of control over being able to keep up a human appearance... She also despises Zelos with a white hot passion. First of all, demons and dragons don't get along all that great to start with. Add in the fact that he destroyed most of the Gold Dragons in a war 1000 years ago, and you start understanding Filia's resentments. She's constantly calling him "raw garbage"; check out the TRY opening; right before Zelos appears, you'll see a shot of a garbage can. Unfortunately, it can't be seen on the animated gif I have of the opening :(
Now, is it just me, or do Filia and Emeraude from Magic Knight Rayearth look strangely alike? Same overabundance of blond hair, same huge eyes, round face...?
The trickster priest. He is the only servant of the Beastmaster, one of Shabernigdo's five generals. While the other generals spread their power amongst many priests, the Beastmaster gave all his power to Zelos, making him the most powerful evil priest alive. He could probably destroy the entire cast of the Slayers in the blink of an eye, but doesn't, for some odd reason... He's annoying (is it just me, or are ALL Slayers villains very annoying?) and VERY strange. He also bears a strange resemblance to Rezo...
ZOLF
The mummy-man! (One episode is entitled: "Mummy-Men Aren't My Type!"). The first series begins in the lair of a group of thieves. They are counting their money when a fireball erupts in the center of their camp. A voice rings out (Lina's). The thieves look incredulous (and slightly singed). "Not you again!" the leader gasps. She smiles and blows the place up in a huge fireball. Later, we learn that Zolf was in the thieves' lair, fetching something for Rezo. He's been holding a grudge against Lina ever since.
NUNZA
The fish man!! Who can resist his slimy voice and disgusting looks? The best part is, he falls in love with Lina.... much to her disgust and absolute horror!
NAGA
An annoying and Amelia-type "villain" who proclaims herself Lina's enemy. She's a bit wacky and slightly psychotic, but not overly dangerous. Though i do hear that at one point, there were 11 of her running around... Now THAT'S scary!!! Besides being scantily dressed, she also think's she's the sexiest person alive... (^_^)
PS: some of you may notice: doesn't Naga look somewhat like Lina? Of course, change the hair color and give her the body of a teenager instead of a computer-enhanced woman and... does ANYONE else see this, or am i insane? on second thought, don't answer that.
VRUMAGON
An odd sorceror with a ruby in his forehead and a bald spot. He mostly appears with his partner, Zangalis. The two don't get along very well. Vrumagon (pronounced from-a-gun) never shows any expression, never speaks above a murmur, and is unkillable (they kill him more than once but he always comes back... he rises from the ashes, like a phoenix). He's also convinced he's always right, much to Zangalus' great dismay. In one episode, Vrumagon insists that, to get to whatever place Lina and Gourry are going, they're gonna have to travel across this particular mountain range. So the two of them go there and climb up the mountain, nearly getting killed many, many, many times, and settle down to wait. Little do they know, Lina and Gourry are going across the sea to wherever they're going, and the two of them are left waiting there. They sit quietly, as the snow builds little mountains on their heads. Vrumagon is just a rather large pileup of snow when Zangalus explodes and yells that they're not coming this way! Vrumagon says nothing, still unable to admit that he was wrong. Vrumagon is also a clone, created by Eris to hunt down Lina and Gourry.
ZANGALUS
Zangulus is Vrumagon's partner. He's a warrior with a semblance of honor (he once catches Lina and Gourry tied up in a tree and unties them before attacking -- he claims it would do bad things to his reputation that he had killed an opponent while he was hanging upside down from a tree). He has a special sword that howls (shrug) and is evenly matched with Gourry. Whenever the two of them show up, Lina and Vrumagon face off and Zangulus and Gourry face off. All of them are evenly matched.
ERIS
Eris was Rezo's chief aide. She was originally good and helped Rezo heal people. But as Rezo's bitterness over his eyesight grew, he distanced himself from her. Rezo became evil and left, but Eris, who loved him, continued to be loyal to him. After his death, she created a clone of Rezo and made it her goal to make him as powerful as the original (she's also the one who made Vrumagon; she uses red jewels to control them.) Eris has also vowed revenge on Lina for killing the original Rezo. Eris isn't really evil, she's just very devoted to Rezo. The Rezo clone eventually breaks free of her control (it's uncertain whether she ever had control of him in the first place, but we assume so) and kills her. To Eris, this is the ultimate betrayal. You can't help feeling sorry for her, really, but her laugh is very, very annoying.
(c) 1995 H. Kanzaka/R. Araizumi/Kadokawa/TV Tokyo/SOFTX/Marubeni
(c) N. American Version - 1998 Software Sculptors Ltd.