Re: Entertainment Joys

[Datelessman]

I finished my binge of "STATIC SHOCK" with seasons 3-4, that aired from 2002-2004. Overall I enjoyed the show a lot and it is kind of a shame that various rights issues (i.e. DC/WB not wanting to pay royalties to Dwayne McDuffie or his estate and other Milestone creators) meant that the show (at least beyond season 1) wasn't really available on DVD until fairly recently (like around 2015-2017 ish). For perspective, "STATIC SHOCK" was once so popular that reruns on CN scored higher ratings than new episodes of "JUSTICE LEAGUE."

Things change a bit after the second season. Static changes his costume a bit, making it more black/blue/gold and eliminating white colors beyond his eye-mask. The character models for most of the supporting characters are all edited, with some edits being more drastic than others. Virgil, Richie, and his father are the same, but his sister Sharon is modified slightly and especially Frieda and Daisy wind up looking noticeably different. Ebon's color tones are altered a little. The animation quality gets a bit better, with a new intro with a new song by Lil' Romeo. Hey, it was 2002; he was still pretty big back then.

Speaking of "JUSTICE LEAGUE," they do a 2 episode team-up in the middle of season 3. This is atop the usual season premiere team-up with Batman (which became a tradition for seasons 2-4) and a team-up with Superman, and, technically, a team-up with rapper Lil' Romero. Throw in the fact that Richie officially becomes Static's costumed partner as Gear and a new reoccurring Dakota City heroine, Shebang, pops up (along with a visit to Africa and the introduction of their hero, Anansi), Season 3 has a lot of team-ups. If it has any flaw it is that Virgil himself comes close to being upstaged a lot. In general, "STATIC SHOCK" deferred heavily to guest stars; whether real people appearing as themselves or other superheroes, they tended to be very flattering and often got to save Static or at least do a lot of the heavy lifting. "STATIC SHAQ" was just a starter. I suppose if you are a Batman or Superman or Lil' Romeo fan, this doesn't bother you, but it was a bit weird to see a series' lead have to fight so much to maintain the spotlight in his own show for much of a season. A cynical part of me wonders if part of the reason for the Justice League team up was to help promote their show; after all, "STATIC SHOCK" aired on network TV and scored higher ratings, so more eyeballs were watching it.

Shebang was a little fascinating to me; she was an artificially created superhuman spliced together from her very DNA by two scientists who now consider themselves her parents and want to rescue her from the evil company that drafted it. It sounds a lot like X-23, who debuted on the same network in "X-MEN: EVOLUTION," only months later. Then again, in 2003, Kid's WB deliberately delayed the airing of the last episodes of seasons 3-4 of "XM:E" in order to somehow coincide with Fox's release of "X-MEN 2: X-MEN UNITED". So who really came first; X-23 or Shebang? Who knows. I just found it fascinating that two extremely similar original characters debuted in two different cartoons based around comic books only months apart from each other. Even their temperaments are similar; both X-23 and Shebang are a bit obnoxious and overbearing, just with X-23 it relates to her temper, and with Shebang it relates to her repressed overconfidence.

Season 4 thankfully tucked back the guest appearances. Or rather, they crammed in more into fewer episodes. Their obligatory Batman team-up involved jumping 40 years into the future for "BATMAN BEYOND," for an episode which saw Batmen from two generations turn up (along with a peak at a 55 year old Virgil, who looked at least a decade younger). There was a guest shot with John Stewart/Green Lantern (which made sense since Phil LaMarr voices him too), which was probably the most clever plot by Sinestro ever done in the DCAU. Yet the most bizarre was "HOOP SQUAD," featuring 4 NBA players (only one of whom was voiced by the actual athlete, Karl Malone) who moonlight as Power Ranger-style superheroes, complete with their own knockoff of Alpha-5. Saban's "POWER RANGERS" franchise was well past its prime by 2004, and seeing it merged with a rehash of 1991's "PRO-STARS" (where Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson and Wayne Gretsky also moonlighted as superheroes) just reeks to me of producers completely misreading what a young audience at the time wanted. "How do you do, fellow teens?" indeed.

I think by season 4, everyone knew the writing was on the wall and the show would probably not be renewed, as there is some attempt to tie up some loose ends. Shebang is finally liberated from having to hide from the evil company, the son of semi-antagonist Edwin Alva (the tycoon whose chemicals caused the "Big Bang" and mutated everyone) is finally cured after 3 seasons, a cure for the "Bang Baby syndrome" is banded about, some one-shot villains make obligatory second appearances which wrap up their subplots, and Virgil's dad finally learns his secret identity. For some reason Rubberband-Man was absent for all of season 3 and most of season 4, and only really shows up for a "very special" episode about dyslexia. I actually think the subject was handled well, until another preachy "talking to the audience" moment at the end. Again, I see it as a misread; that kind of thing may have been common in the 1980's when He-Man, Inspector Gadget and Duke did it, but by 2004 it was way too heavy handed and corny. The series finale, "POWER OUTAGE," manages to wrap things up without complete closing the door by cementing Static and Gear as Dakota's only real "bang babies" and eliminating most of of the villains beyond for Ebon and Hotstreak, who always were involved in nearly everything.

I also watched (or rewatched) "NEW HURRICANE POLYMAR," which was the retitled "HURRICANE POLYMAR: HOLY BLOOD" OAV from 1996 that Urban Video released around 1998-1999 and Discotek Media re-released later. A lot of anime's 1960-70's superheroes got grimmer and grittier OAV's released in the 90's (i.e. 8-Man, Gatchaman, Casshan), and I always found the name "Hurricane Polymar" to be awesomely random. Just throw two words together and make a superhero. How about "Typhoon Epoxy?" See, I can do it, too. It stood as a stark reminder of the dreck I watched in high school that really does not hold up. Some of the action is nice, but it tries to blur the line between 90's over-the-top violence with slapstick comedy, and it doesn't work. There also is, of course, a vast degree of gratuitous nudity(or "fanservice") within 2 episodes. It was supposed to be 3, but the sales sucked, so the "series" ends with the hero being beaten down by the main villain, but at least saving Tokyo from a bomb. Yay? I am kind of amazed it was even rereleased; much better material (i.e. Viz's dub of GREY: DIGITAL TARGET) remains in limbo. Half the reason anyone may know about Hurricane Polymar may depend on if they ever played "TATSUNOKO VS. CAPCOM" a decade back. The theme song is awesome, though.

[Datelessman]

Just finished a binge on the 1994 Spider-Man animated series, which was produced/story edited by John Semper and starred Prince Eric himself, Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Man. I hadn't seen any of the episodes in well over 20 years and to be honest, I'd seen very little of the last season in 1997-1998. By then I was in high school and the only non-anime that held my attention at the time was Batman/Superman/Batman Beyond stuff on Kid's WB. Although the animation quality degrades every season, it was fun to revisit it and see where a lot of scenes, concepts, and characters carried into future films and TV shows came from. We likely never would have gotten Blade without it, and without the success of Blade, who knows where superhero cinema would be.

I may wind up binging another classic 90's era series, THE SLAYERS, soon.

[Datelessman]

As an update, I am officially 15 episodes into THE SLAYERS, which is very early on since it ran for about 104 episodes across 5 seasons. The most bizarre thing is that those 5 seasons played across two decades. Seasons 1-3 were from 1995-1997, and seasons 4-5 were in 2008-2009. Much like Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon, every "season" or series has a different title. So it was THE SLAYERS, SLAYERS NEXT, SLAYERS TRY, SLAYERS REVOLUTION and SLAYERS EVOLUTION-R. There also was a spinoff, LOST UNIVERSE, that I am undecided on yet.

Although I imagine the regular posters of this board are mostly over 30 and know all this, THE SLAYERS kind of holds a spot in American anime distribution history. It was one of the most popular series of the mid 90's during what I call the "home video era" of official translated anime.

To clarify, I term the period from the 1980's into about 2000-ish as the "home video era" of anime. It was the period where anime was still very cultish and fringe, and aside for some (often poorly) translated and edited broadcast TV series, getting anime mostly meant watching it on home video (VHS in particular). The few series that did make it to broadcast TV got famous, but the dubs and edits were often heavily criticized. By the 1990's, several companies started translating and selling products via home video channels, either at chain retailers or catalogs. The first few were AnimEigo, Streamline Pictures, U.S. Renditions, and Central Park Media, followed by Manga Video (then Manga Entertainment), ADV, Pioneer/Geneon, Viz Video (now VIZ Media), and a little upstart called FUNimation. Nowadays, only three of those companies remain, and AnimEigo is incredibly small and reliant on Kickstarter for their few new projects or rereleases.

THE SLAYERS was Central Park Media's darling, and at a time when most TV anime was poorly edited and/or kind of tame (i.e. the DIC dub of Sailor Moon taking many liberties to eliminate topics of death or homosexuality), it was probably a gateway anime to many. It also used to be one of the "big two fantasy anime," along with RECORD OF LODOSS WAR (another Central Park Media dub). Unlike LODOSS, SLAYERS is mostly a comedy, making fun of some of the genre tropes. The star is Lina Innverse, a powerful and often proudly bombastic teenage sorceress who is mostly after getting cash, pigging out and zapping bandits/monsters. Her companion is the dimwitted swordsman Gourry Gabriev, who carries the legendary Sword of Light, but is mostly comic relief. Other members of their eventual troupe include Zelgadis, who is 1/3rd golem, and Amelia, a pre-teen white mage.

As a mid-90's dub, it really does feel like a time capsule to all things 1995. The opening intro is SO 1995 you may as well see Walkmen raining down. And you get the initial performances (or close to it) of longtime voice actors Lisa Ortiz, Eric Stuart, Veronica Taylor and Crispin Freeman, among others.

Anyway, the second era of anime in my mind is "The Toonami/Adult Swim" era, which began in the late 90's and sort of continues to this day. That's anime airing on CN which, by and large, was better dubbed and edited, and usually had more intelligent fare. It mainstreamed many series, such as DBZ (which until then were airing on an odd broadcast syndication schedule, like Sailor Moon, around 6-7 a.m. on weekdays or Sundays), Yu Yu Hakusho, Outlaw Star, The Big O (which was more popular here than in Japan) and of course, Cowboy Bebop.

The third era is what I called "the Illegal Download era," which also continues to this day but I would say started out in the early 2000's. That was when PC's became less of a luxury and more importantly, downloading pirated anime became more functional in that it took less than a week (or a day) to get a new episode. Before this era, if you wanted illegal fansubs of the latest stuff from Japan, rather than spend a month downloading one episode, most fans had to find back alley bootleggers in real life. If you lived in NY or California, it usually included going to Chinatown. I vividly remember accompanying pals who knew where to score the latest bootlegs of DRAGON BALL GT or some such either on VHS or video CD's back in the late 90's. But around when NARUTO hit, downloading became routine and convenient. I'd argue that helped contribute to its popularity; by the time Viz got the official rights, many people had already seen much of it. Various websites naturally continue this trend, but streaming has mostly replaced this.

And I guess now we are in the "Streaming Era" where many companies stream stuff from Japan ASAP, mostly in an effort to defeat the bootleggers.

I've always argued that the shift from VHS to DVD (circa 2003 for the anime industry) was when many anime distributors started losing money, because the cost of buying a series went way down. THE SLAYERS is a perfect example. Buying the first 3 seasons on VHS when they were new would have easily cost a consumer approximately $480 across over two dozen tapes. Now? FUNimation's repacked DVD box set can be had for $50-$75 on a bad day online. Sure, various companies tried to sell DVD's like VHS tapes and only have 3-4 episodes a disc, but by the 2010's everyone waited for the cheaper produced sets, so companies just started spitting those out (or slicing them up into "seasons"). I imagine for blu-ray it got even cheaper. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of those original founding distributors shut down with the 21st century. Central Park Media was done by 2009. FUNimation got the rights to the newer SLAYERS material and actually reunited most of the original voice cast, which was a notable effort for any anime that is not DBZ.

As I get deeper into it, it'll be interesting to see how SLAYERS straddles two eras. For now, I am entertained, but I hardly love it as much as I may like, say, YU YU HAKUSHO, INU YASHA, or TIGER & BUNNY.

[KMR]

Slayers is my favorite anime. I was a bit obsessed with it as a teen and it helped fuel my general love of the fantasy genre that continues to this day. I love a good comedy and the humor really worked for me.

I always find it interesting to see it described as one of the most popular anime series of its time, because I personally have not met many people who are even familiar with it and am always surprised to encounter someone who has actually seen it. But that may be because I got into anime right on the cusp of the "home video era" and "Toonami/Adult Swim era" that you describe (early 2000s), and so a lot of people around my age probably just missed out on the home video era and moved right into the Toonami era and onward. So that's really interesting context for this.

Prior to eventually getting the entire series on DVD, my brother and I would go to the video store and rent whatever VHS tapes of the show were available. We got the first 17 episodes of season 1 across the various tapes, then re-recorded them onto a blank tape at home before returning them to the store. So for a time, I just had those first 17 episodes (with a mix of dubs and subs) that I watched over and over again, back when this was one of few anime series that I actually had access to.

Is this your first time watching it, or had you seen some of it before? I hope you enjoy it! I know most people don't end up loving it as much as I do, but I'm always happy to see more people being exposed to it. I usually try to get my friends to watch it with me, and they generally end up having a good time with it.

Slayers NEXT is the best season in my opinion. Some of the movies and OVAs are really fun as well, if you're interested in more Slayers stuff. I usually recommend watching those between season 1 and 2 (for Easter Egg tie-in reasons, not anything major; they're actually prequels set before the main series). Except Slayers Premium... never watch Slayers Premium.

[Datelessman]

Slayers is my favorite anime. I was a bit obsessed with it as a teen and it helped fuel my general love of the fantasy genre that continues to this day. I love a good comedy and the humor really worked for me.

I always find it interesting to see it described as one of the most popular anime series of its time, because I personally have not met many people who are even familiar with it and am always surprised to encounter someone who has actually seen it. But that may be because I got into anime right on the cusp of the "home video era" and "Toonami/Adult Swim era" that you describe (early 2000s), and so a lot of people around my age probably just missed out on the home video era and moved right into the Toonami era and onward. So that's really interesting context for this.

Prior to eventually getting the entire series on DVD, my brother and I would go to the video store and rent whatever VHS tapes of the show were available. We got the first 17 episodes of season 1 across the various tapes, then re-recorded them onto a blank tape at home before returning them to the store. So for a time, I just had those first 17 episodes (with a mix of dubs and subs) that I watched over and over again, back when this was one of few anime series that I actually had access to.

It has been a long time since I met someone who said SLAYERS was their favorite anime, so that's great.

I started collecting anime via the VHS home video market around 1993-1994, so that was smack in the middle of the "home video era" before much anime was available on TV. At the time the last major one was likely VOLTRON (or whatever the rebrand of GATCHAMAN had been, like G-Force or Battle of the Planets). By the time I got to high school, THE SLAYERS was very new (it started getting dubbed around 1996) and it was pretty common to hear someone who liked anime mentioning it. Pretty much anyone who ran or was interested in Dungeons & Dragons seemed aware of it. And part of the fun of the home video era was reading anime catalogs could tell you how hot something was by how much of it was there. SLAYERS would get a whole page somewhere. I never did any studies or anything but from high school to college, Slayers was usually always listed when quite a few of the people I hung out with, either as friends or associates from my high school's "Comic Book Club" (which was really "borrow the TV/VCR from the AV department and watch anime tapes, usually DBZ movie bootlegs - Club"). So the impression I got was that Slayers was fairly popular before it got overshadowed when the anime market expanded. Releasing a 75 or so episode series on VHS across two dozen tapes was a hefty undertaking for any distributor at the time. Few did if it wasn't making money for them.

I did rent and re-record some anime from local video rental places. That was how I originally got the first half of the OAV GUYVER series, BAOH, and GOLGO 13: QUEEN BEE. Guyver became a big favorite of mine personally. I rewatched the heck out of it. At the time my local area had about 5-6 Blockbuster Videos, but another local chain had some anime, too. I used to buy most of my stuff either via catalogs or from Suncoast Video, which always had a wall of anime tapes.

Is this your first time watching it, or had you seen some of it before? I hope you enjoy it! I know most people don't end up loving it as much as I do, but I'm always happy to see more people being exposed to it. I usually try to get my friends to watch it with me, and they generally end up having a good time with it.

Slayers NEXT is the best season in my opinion. Some of the movies and OVAs are really fun as well, if you're interested in more Slayers stuff. I usually recommend watching those between season 1 and 2 (for Easter Egg tie-in reasons, not anything major; they're actually prequels set before the main series). Except Slayers Premium... never watch Slayers Premium.

This is my first time watching THE SLAYERS. I was broke when I was younger so I could not afford long series on VHS at the time. The longest I owned was STREET FIGHTER II V from Manga Video, which was 29 episodes across 10 tapes. I've capitalized on the DVD era to eventually get a lot of those longer series I missed. I decided to finally get THE SLAYERS when I saw the box set of the first 3 seasons was not being replenished on Amazon anymore, leading me to fear it was about to go out of print. Since in my mind it was still "popular," it was on my short list to eventually watch, and here we are. At least as far as I remember, up until very recently, if you were a fan of anime and wanted something which had a D&D/sword-and-sorcery flare, it was either RECORD OF LODOSS WAR if you wanted something serious, and THE SLAYERS if you wanted something funny or wacky. Later on I guess other stuff like .Hack came out or whatnot.

I am about to finish THE SLAYERS tonight and will likely start SLAYERS NEXT over the weekend (since my daily binge pace is 3-5 episodes due to work and other errands). One of the reasons I may have hesitated to watch SLAYERS for so long is that I am actually not the biggest fan of "sword & sorcery" stuff and while I am in the mood for it sometimes, it usually is fleeting. While other anime I like like YU YU HAKUSHO or INU YASHA has plenty of swords and sorcery in it, somehow it seems different since they are closer rooted to Japanese culture rather than SLAYERS which does genuinely seem like a D&D campaign where the players refuse to take it seriously most of the time and eventually the DM gave up, too. Considering my fleeting and fickle moods for "sword & sorcery" stuff, I am liking it. The fact that it doesn't take itself completely seriously may actually make it easier for me to enjoy the genre more. I can't say I have fallen out of my chair laughing at any of the jokes so far, but I am amused by all the antics. Zelgadis is probably my favorite out of the core four, but I do like Lina and Gourry plenty, which is good. Many times in anime shows like this, I wind up liking everyone BUT the main character. That hasn't happened with SLAYERS, which is good. Honestly, Lina is probably the first anime magic-user I've grown to like since Dark Schneider from BASTARD!!! (which has a new anime coming). And of course Gourry is a loveable moron whose sword is almost more useful than he is.

From what I have seen so far, I honestly don't know why it never did air on Cartoon Network. It isn't any more violent or risque than plenty of stuff that was on it. Supposedly FoxKids purchased the TV rights to it, but once they realized they would have to edit it to oblivion to get it to their network standards for kiddie shows, they abandoned the project. As far as I know, it only aired on TV via the small International Channel from 2002-2004.

Feel free to offer more thoughts on it, since I expect I'll be watching SLAYERS until maybe the end of April.

[KMR]

One of the reasons I may have hesitated to watch SLAYERS for so long is that I am actually not the biggest fan of "sword & sorcery" stuff and while I am in the mood for it sometimes, it usually is fleeting. While other anime I like like YU YU HAKUSHO or INU YASHA has plenty of swords and sorcery in it, somehow it seems different since they are closer rooted to Japanese culture rather than SLAYERS which does genuinely seem like a D&D campaign where the players refuse to take it seriously most of the time and eventually the DM gave up, too. Considering my fleeting and fickle moods for "sword & sorcery" stuff, I am liking it. The fact that it doesn't take itself completely seriously may actually make it easier for me to enjoy the genre more.

That makes sense. I do feel like the show's first season is the one that most feels like it's lifted directly from D&D and really leaning into some of those classic fantasy tropes, but then from Slayers NEXT and onward, the show begins to embrace its own unique worldbuilding elements and leave some of that D&D pastiche behind. In a way, when you look back on the series after the fact, season 1 (especially the first half of it) feels almost like an outlier in terms of its style and setting. For example, you get things like trolls in season 1 but they don't really show up anymore later in the series and would probably feel a bit out of place if they did.

[Enail]

Unrelated to Slayers, but goddamn, 3Gatsu no Lion is a great show on rewatch!

[Datelessman]

That makes sense. I do feel like the show's first season is the one that most feels like it's lifted directly from D&D and really leaning into some of those classic fantasy tropes, but then from Slayers NEXT and onward, the show begins to embrace its own unique worldbuilding elements and leave some of that D&D pastiche behind. In a way, when you look back on the series after the fact, season 1 (especially the first half of it) feels almost like an outlier in terms of its style and setting. For example, you get things like trolls in season 1 but they don't really show up anymore later in the series and would probably feel a bit out of place if they did.

It is possible that the show's creators wanted to use more "familiar" elements in the first season to help the audience attach to it, and once the show was popular enough to get a second, then a third season (and two more later), the producers felt more freedom from a network or so on. I mean, shows in America go through that, too. First seasons have to introduce the premise, the tone, and the cast, and sometimes that exposition can get in the way of other things. It's fine if a show doesn't peak at the first season; in fact, that is usually for the best. Shows that peak in season 1 don't usually age so well -- "HEROES," I am looking at you.

I don't know yet if it will last, but I did like that in the season finale of SLAYERS, all four characters got to be useful. In a lot of shows like this, the lead is usually very overpowered and often triumphs without much assistance from the rest as they all gawk in the background. Of course DBZ was infamous for this but plenty of other shows do this too, like NARUTO. Obviously, Lina Inverse is the star and far more powerful than anyone else, but the rest of the gang got in their shots, too. I'll see if that remains consistent as the show goes on. Granted, the advantage of it being a comedy is that it can get away with a lot of tropes by poking fun of them.

As of this post I am 4 episodes into SLAYERS NEXT, and I will say it certainly is funnier than many episodes of the first season were. There were a few werewolves and animal-men in a bandit gang Xellos manipulates everyone into destroying, and a monster horde summoned an episode later are, essentially, Slimes (a common D&D style monster). By this point the "core four" are definitely settled into their roles (both from a writing and voice acting perspective), which is a good thing. I definitely liked the season 1 intro and outro theme more than the second, but that's one of those things that happen for a long series. Any show that has 100+ episodes will have a few openings and endings and we all have our favorites. I like the in-show music, especially the battle theme (which is partly an instrumental version of the first season's theme, but that is usually how it goes; just ask "FIST OF THE NORTH STAR").



Incidentally, one of the first anime conventions I went to in the early 2000's was called the BIG APPLE ANIME FEST. Since it was in NY, Central Park Media and Anime Works had a major presence there, both in terms of anime, merchandise, and guests. At one of the voice actor panels, two of the main guests were Lisa Ortiz and Veronica Taylor. At the time most of the focus was on Taylor due to a little show named POKEMON (plus I think Taylor had just started voicing April O'Neil for the 2003 TMNT show). The pair did get a lot of questions about SLAYERS but I recall Ortiz talking for longer lengths about Deedlit from RECORD OF LODOSS WAR, which was her first role ever. Considering Ortiz would often play bombastic, overly aggressive women (i.e. Amy Rose in SONIC X), I would definitely say she was typecast a little after Lina Inverse. But, yeah, SLAYERS always was considered popular to me, and virtually any poll of "coolest anime heroines" that was compiled up until maybe a decade ago usually included Lina Inverse. So it is fun finally seeing what all the fuss was about.

[Datelessman]

As an update for KMR or anyone else who reads these, I've officially finished SLAYERS NEXT and watched the first episode of SLAYERS TRY as of this posting. This also means I am midway through the series, since SLAYERS TRY is the last season which is 26 episodes. SLAYERS REVOLUTION and SLAYERS EVOLUTION-R, that came almost a decade later, are both 13 episodes each. SLAYERS TRY was the last season dubbed by Central Park Media from 2000-2001, and was also the last season of SLAYERS to be available on VHS in the U.S. Aside for FUNimation, the entire anime industry dumped VHS as a format for new releases by 2003 (about 4-5 years before Hollywood's major studios did).

While I can't yet comment as to whether or not SLAYERS NEXT is the best season of the show yet, I will definitely say I liked it more than season 1 and the show grew on me a bit more with it. Not having to introduce everyone or the concept like a first season has to certainly makes it easier to hit a season running. It is also the season which introduced Xellos, voiced (for now) by David Moo. Useless fact: David Moo didn't reprise the role when FUNimation dubbed the last 2 seasons around 2009 because by then he'd retired from voice acting to run a bar. And not just any bar; Quarter Bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which Esquire claimed was one of the top 18 best bars in America back in 2016. Anyway, Xellos more or less becomes part of the main party even more than Sylpiel is, but I maybe don't like him as much as some fans do. He's funny and all, I just think Moo's performance is just slightly off or more over the top than the others. It fits Xellos' persona, but I don't know. He actually reminds me of Dungeon Master from the 80's "D&D" cartoon, who was also always about leading a traveling party around to pointless adventures.

SLAYERS NEXT was definitely a lot funnier than THE SLAYERS, and KMR was right that it starts to phase out a bit of the "dungeons and dragons" style stuff for some more unique worldbuilding as it goes along. Yeah, traditional looking dragons are still a thing, but they're classic fantasy creatures. The horde of Slimes could have been the last hurrah for more obvious stuff from that area. A few episodes make fun of anime tropes in general (like when Lina and Amelia have to dress like Sailor Scouts and sing some J-pop, or when they have a super tennis episode), which I found to be pretty spot on.

One new character I found WAY funnier than Xellos was Martina, voiced by Rachael Lillis (best known as Misty and Jigglypuff on POKEMON and the titular REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA). It isn't easy doing comedy villains who don't get annoying fast, but Martina pulls it off, and Lillis' performance was always hilarious. The concept of a woman who puts such faith in a completely imaginary monster that she created (and voices) herself that she can use it as the focal point for magic is brilliant. She made for a nice rival for Lina, I thought.

Another thing I do like is how SLAYERS can shift from comedy to seriousness without it being too abrupt. Some of the later episodes of SLAYERS NEXT get pretty hardcore as far as the series goes, only doing comedic bits out of obligation until the epilogue. The main villains were also a lot better, too, since I found Rezo/Clone Rezo to be a bit standard the first time around. I mean, it says a lot about season 1 Slayers when Zangulus the Mercenary Swordsman was the only one memorable enough to return. Seigram, Graav, Hellmaster, and even the short lived Halciform were all a step up, if not three. It definitely was interesting hearing Wayne Grayson, best known as Michelangelo from the 2003 TMNT show, voice a villain in Hellmaster, but he does a solid job. This was also the season, more so than the last, which firmly established the good ship "LinGour". It's the second time he gets brainwashed but this time a lot more was made of it. And for the record, Gourry > Tuxedo Mask. At least Gourry never throws a flower and then bails. Finally, this was the season where I got to the point where I had to watch "one more episode" despite my schedule at least twice, so there you have it.

Past the midway point, and onto SLAYERS TRY! I love the random words anime shows use for new seasons. I want to make a franchise called SQUIDMAN, and then it will be SQUIDMAN: NAPKIN, SQUIDMAN: POLYMAR, and finally, SQUIDMAN: POLYMAR-N!

[KMR]

Xellos is my favorite character in the show (Lina is a close second). I personally try to avoid dubs whenever I can help it, and Xellos's dubbed voice in particular is one I dislike to the point where I can't really tolerate it. So I'm not surprised that his performance detracted from your enjoyment of the character, but it's a shame. The Japanese voice cast for Slayers is really good, a lot of well-known and prolific actors.

Slayers NEXT really steps it up in terms of plot and character, I think. Some of my favorite moments:

Spoiler:

Another thing I really like about Slayers is that even the filler episodes are good, because they're a chance for the show to just indulge in comedy. Some of those episodes get really out there and a bit too strange and silly for my tastes, but they're usually still a good time and certainly memorable. The dragon cuisine filler episode in Slayers NEXT is one of my favorites.

[Datelessman]

I quickly found myself in the "dub" tribe of the old school "dub versus sub" debate of the VHS/home video era, so I usually prefer those. There are a few series and specials I have seen subbed exclusively (namely FIST OF THE NORTH STAR and a handful of LUPIN THE THIRD TV specials), but by and large I always go with dubs.

I was aware even before watching SLAYERS that Xellos was a fairly popular character, which was why my comments on him warranted a paragraph. It isn't that I dislike Xellos or don't find him amusing and entertaining. I genuinely do see him as kind of like a deranged Dungeon Master and that's not a bad thing to me. I just am not as fond of him as some fans may be. David Moo did find himself criticized online for ages for his performance as Sanji in ONE PIECE during 4Kids' dub of the series, where he gave the character an exaggerated Brooklyn accent. In his defense, he (fairly) blamed the voice director who wanted him to use that voice for the character. At least Xellos didn't wind up sounding like Paulie Walnuts, is all I am saying. I just think Moo tries too hard to sound like he is acting when he reads his lines. Xellos is cool, I just like the "core four" more. And Martina.

I may as well rank them per my personal taste: Zelgadis, Lina, Gourry, Amelia. Between Lina Inverse and Dark Schneider, I think my problem with wizards when I was younger was that so many in the fiction I saw were old and stuffy (including Doctor Strange). Gandolf is the originator, but I've never been fond of that archetype. Lina and her cast are cool and I find myself getting more excited for the magical world of SLAYERS than I usually do for "sword and sorcery" type stuff. I've seen all of the LOTR movies, but I never saw THE HOBBIT or could watch 100+ episodes of a LOTR TV series, is what I am saying. Like I said before, I always had a hard time taking "sword and sorcery" worlds seriously for long, and so many of those franchises utterly demand to be taken seriously at most times. SLAYERS doesn't do that and in fact revels in its comedy and occasional 4th wall jokes, so I am embracing it a lot better. For example, I always preferred the 1980's slacker version of Link from the animated LEGEND OF ZELDA ("Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse ME, princess!") to the bland, stoic warrior of the games. I want to see fanart of Dr. Strange gawking at the Dragon Slave.

Xellos gets recast once we get to SLAYERS EVOLUTION, so I'll see if there is much difference there. The irony is David Moo's voice itself is unique; he just always reads Xellos' lines as if he's an overly excited dad trying to make a children's book more exciting. But considering the realities of anime dubs, especially at the time (that they are low paid, non-unionized and often involved "cold reads" where final recording was done more or less as the actors read the script for the first time, while also being directed to synch up with mouth movements), we're lucky any performance is as good as it is. I have no problem with anyone else.

Spoiler:

For more useless trivia, SLAYERS TRY was also the last season of SLAYERS that was traditionally cell animated. Anime productions started switching over to full digital animation in the early 2000's.

I agree about the "Dragon Cusine" episode and about the "filler" episodes. Frankly, I have grown to dislike that term because I think too many fans want every chapter or episode of a story to be firmly attached to "the saga" and that can stifle character growth or make a plot stifling. Sometimes any story needs a break or a breather or a shift in tone for a period or just a chance to try something new. Now, that is not to say that from a production standpoint, many "one off" episodes may be treated as filler, but I agree they are opportunities for comedy or experimentation or so forth. Since SLAYERS is a comedy, it works out better for them, especially since by now they have established that anything -- fantasy tropes, anime tropes, even friggin' STAR WARS -- is fair game. When I like a series or a franchise, I become attached to the characters more than the plot per say. That isn't to say a good plot is not important, but good characters can overcome a lame plot; lame characters can't do anything to save a franchise even with the best plot in fiction. At this point while the plots are fine, I tune in to see what Lina, Gourry, Zel and Amelia are up to.

[Datelessman]

For my weekly SLAYERS update for KMR and everyone else, I finished SLAYERS TRY (or, the third season of Slayers) this evening. I watched about 21 episodes within 5 days, which is pretty impressive for my schedule. With this season, we bid cell animation and the 1990's farewell. This was the end of the franchise for fans until 2009-2010 when FUNimation started releasing two new seasons from TV Tokyo. By then, the distributor which had dubbed and released the previous 76 episodes, Central Park Media, was bankrupt and 4Kids Entertainment, which was employing many of the same voice actors on a regular basis, was, too. In late 2009 they sold their license to TMNT to Viacom for a measly $10 million.

While I did enjoy SLAYERS TRY, for the moment I am in agreement with KMR that SLAYERS NEXT was the best season so far.

Spoiler:

This is the longest I have watched a traditional sword-and-sorcery anime (even if by now it really is more unique with little D&D cribbing) and I still like it. Only 2 more seasons to go!

[KMR]

Yep, I agree with your overall assessment of Slayers TRY. It's a good time and has some great moments, but just isn't overall as strong as Slayers NEXT. I felt like a lot of the new villains and side characters weren't all that interesting, but they took so much of a focus at times that the main cast felt a little bit sidelined. For instance, I would have liked to see some more character development for Lina and Gourry this season after everything they went through in NEXT, but they were mostly just stagnant. It's also telling that I have a much harder time remembering what happened in TRY compared to NEXT, despite having seen both seasons about the same number of times. NEXT is just that much more memorable.

I'd say my overall ranking across these three seasons is: NEXT >> 1st half of Season 1 >> TRY >> 2nd half of Season 1

Xellos has some wonderful moments in TRY, which I certainly appreciate.

Spoiler:

[Datelessman]

I think SLAYERS TRY was trying (pun intended) to do something a little different with the villains

Spoiler:

When SLAYERS TRY ended in Japan in 1997, maybe some fans expected a season 4 right away. Instead they got LOST UNIVERSE, which was a sort-of spinoff, which literally filled SLAYERS' spot on TV Tokyo's schedule the following year. Unfortunately, LOST UNIVERSE in 1998 was waylaid by some bad luck which Lina would appreciate. Several episodes had to be reanimated in poorer quality than intended due to the studio losing original footage in a fire. It also was produced during a major economic crisis in Southeastern Asia from 1997-mid 1998 which effected the budgets for all anime studios around that time. I'm still debating getting it; I've read some reviews but they range between "underrated classic" and "mediocre space anime," so I don't know. It's still in print, at least, unlike the SLAYERS films and OAV's. Ever since ADV shut down, I imagine it would be up to FUNimation to re-release those, but they have very high profit expectations for some series. They still haven't re-released the second YU YU HAKUSHO animated film which Central Park Media dubbed, likely because YYH's last release didn't sell like DBZ, or something. They gave up on Lupin the Third TV specials after dubbing 10 of them, despite series director/star Sonny Strait claiming all were "profitable."

I digress. Fans of SLAYERS had to wait about 11 years (both here and in Japan) for another season. But it finally came in SLAYERS: REVOLUTION, the first season to be digitally animated, and the first to be only 13 episodes. As of this post I am 4 episodes in, and since this season and the next are so short, I expect to finish them by next week. FUNimation actually went through the effort to reunite the original English voice cast for their release in 2009-2010, which was a considerable effort for any franchise which is not Dragon Ball. That is proof to me that even in 2009-2010, SLAYERS was still fairly popular to anime fans. Especially since FUNimation, then and now, records all their dubs in Texas, and at the time the Slayers cast were in NYC. They couldn't get everyone (especially since David Moo had retired from acting to run Quarter Bar by then), but they got the "core four," which is really what the fans would have wanted.

The closest thing I have experienced to this in my own anime journey is BLUE SEED, an anime series from 1994-1995 which used to be one of ADV's prides and joys during the "home video era" of the mid to late 90's but shortly afterward fell into the abyss. They spat that series out across 13 VHS tapes back in the day, and it used to take up a whole shelf in Suncoast Video where I used to buy most of my anime back then. I got it in a DVD box set around 2008 for half of what it would have cost on VHS. I liked it, but I was satisfied by the conclusion. There actually was a 3 episode OAV follow up which came out in 1996-1998 but I didn't bother, feeling like it was "blood from a stone" for the fanbase. The fact that one of those episodes was, supposedly, a fan-service hot springs episode did little to sway me from that opinion. GIANT ROBO also had something like that with the GINREI SPECIAL. So aside for INU YASHA: THE FINAL ACT, I am iffy on some relaunches or long delayed follow-ups, is what I am saying. I only bring it up because no one talks about BLUE SEED anymore.

So what do I think of SLAYERS: REVOLUTION so far? Well, for one thing my experience is different since I was not a longtime fan who had to wait so long for it to return. I imagine for a fan at the time it most have been thrilling to have a new series after so long. Despite the decade or so away from the franchise, Lisa Ortiz, Eric Stuart, Veronica Taylor and Crispin Freeman sound as good as Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis as ever. I swear I have never heard Ortiz scream as much as when she's playing Lina Inverse. While I thought the animation for the seasons from the 90's was fine, it is interesting to see the gang in late 2000's style digital.

In terms of the PLOT? Well...so far it is pretty basic. Lina Inverse has been framed for crimes against the land by a little creature with hands for ears named Pokota, who is voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey (best known as Janet Van Dyne/Wasp from AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES and Tails from the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG franchise). This results in her getting chased by the deranged Inspector Wizer, who seems like he is heavily inspired by Inspector Zenigata from the LUPIN THE THIRD series (complete with his flair for throwing handcuffs). Beyond that, so far the episodes are just excuses for some madcap antics.

Spoiler:

I have no regrets about finally viewing this series, although so far nothing is making me disagree about SLAYERS NEXT being the peak.

[KMR]

I never got around to watching Lost Universe, since I wasn't hearing a whole lot of hype for it and sci-fi tends to be more hit-or-miss for me than fantasy. So if you do decide to check it out, I'd be curious to know your thoughts.

Before Slayers Revolution was a thing, they released a short movie in 2001 called Slayers Premium that was being hyped as Slayers coming back after a decade, but it was terrible. Extremely out-of-character and over the top in places, it really didn't feel like Slayers. So when Revolution was announced, I was very nervous that we could get a whole season of something in that same vein. So I was extremely relieved that we got something that felt like it was in keeping with the spirit of the original seasons, even after all these years.

That said, I agree with you that some of the characters' traits are over-exaggerated here, especially Lina. But I think once the plot kicks in, it settles a bit more into its familiar style. I've only seen the new seasons twice, so I don't remember all the details too well, but I know that I liked Evolution-R a bit more than Revolution.

[Hielario]

I am happy to see you experiencing the awesomeness of Slayers!

The original three seasons were huge in my country, in spite of some confusing translations and the lack of national-level reruns (god bless the regional channels of the era). I loved them as a kid and I found they haven't aged as badly as other popular stuff.

But the reaction to Evolution was pretty tepid; I didn't even know it existed until a few years after. I guess not being on TV anymore did a lot of harm. And my own reaction was of disgust, since I hated the colouring - I couldn't stand the way most "new" animation looked in the 00's due to digital colouring and the changes in aesthetic trends.

I know that the Evolution-R manga got licensed here, though, I remember thumbing through it at Fnac. Did they make an entire season out of it? I thought it was some kind of weird alternate ending for hardcore fans.

[Datelessman]

I never got around to watching Lost Universe, since I wasn't hearing a whole lot of hype for it and sci-fi tends to be more hit-or-miss for me than fantasy. So if you do decide to check it out, I'd be curious to know your thoughts.

Before Slayers Revolution was a thing, they released a short movie in 2001 called Slayers Premium that was being hyped as Slayers coming back after a decade, but it was terrible. Extremely out-of-character and over the top in places, it really didn't feel like Slayers. So when Revolution was announced, I was very nervous that we could get a whole season of something in that same vein. So I was extremely relieved that we got something that felt like it was in keeping with the spirit of the original seasons, even after all these years.

That said, I agree with you that some of the characters' traits are over-exaggerated here, especially Lina. But I think once the plot kicks in, it settles a bit more into its familiar style. I've only seen the new seasons twice, so I don't remember all the details too well, but I know that I liked Evolution-R a bit more than Revolution.

I just ordered LOST UNIVERSE, so I will be able to share my thoughts on it pretty soon. After I finish SLAYERS, I actually have a short boxing anime I want to see (JOE VS. JOE). But it is only 6 episodes, which is about 2 days of entertainment for me. So LOST UNIVERSE will be pretty soon. I was about 80% leaning towards getting it for a week or so anyway.

You have mentioned SLAYERS PREMIUM before and it is a shame it sucked so badly and glad that Slayers fans got something better afterward. I would be interested in the Slayers film and OAV before that, but it is out of print and I will not overpay for it. I can probably live without it, since the TV series is the main lore anyway. If FUNimation ever re-releases it I may get it, but I will heed your warning and not watch Premium. Considering it has been about 12 years since their last Slayers release, it is unlikely, but they are converting the TV series to blu-ray, which could drive up interest.

I am officially on the 11th episode of SLAYERS: REVOLUTION and will finish it tomorrow. You are right that it improved once the plot kicked in, but S:R took its sweet time to get there. It is funny how the 26 episode seasons seemed to hammer in the plot pretty consistently aside for a handful of episodes, but this shortened season took its time to really getting going beyond the basic "Lina is framed" premise. Then again, every 26 episode season sort of had a climatic 13th episode before kicking into higher gear for the "real" finale later on, so maybe TV Tokyo maybe ordered 26 episodes and just split them up into 13 a year apart or so.

Spoiler:

I also have more to say about Xellos now! As of SLAYERS: REVOLUTION he is voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas, who also was the voice director for the dub. It's actually very common in anime dubs for a voice actor to also be the director, and they often play the star or some other "favorite" character. Sinterniklaas is best known as Leonardo from the 2003 TMNT and Dean Venture from VENTURE BROTHERS, among others. Considering my criticisms of David Moo, I was fascinated as to how he'd handle Xellos. I haven't heard Sinterniklaas play a character like Xellos so it is fun to listen to. I think David Moo had a more unique voice, but Sinterniklaas is a better actor/performer, if that makes any sense. SLAYERS TRY definitely helped Xellos grow on me because he doesn't show up in REVOLUTION until episode 5 and it felt like it had been too long. And when it came time for his catch phrase ("It's a secret!") I said it to the TV at the same time. He actually fights the whole gang in episode 8 and one of the cool things about Xellos is even after all this time, you get the sense we still haven't seen him at his limit. Usually when he fights someone, a lot of it is kept off-screen to your imagination, and what little is seen is usually pretty hardcore. He's not unbeatable (we have seen him vastly wounded once in NEXT), but beyond the level of Lina and her pals. I am a little disappointed that they don't play the DBZ automatic transport sound effect every time Xellos teleports anymore. He's doing his usual playing all sides against the middle and literally busts out a box of popcorn to watch the chaos he helped create.

Spoiler:

The digital animation is up to the standard for a TV anime from 2008. I do think some flair has been lost when compared to the 90's cell animation era, but I could say the same of a lot of other modern stuff, so it wouldn't be fair to single out REVOLUTION. Gourry and Xellos' character designs seem to have been tweaked the most. I will say SLAYERS: REVOLUTION has kicked up as it has neared the end, which is at least the best time to peak.

I am happy to see you experiencing the awesomeness of Slayers!

The original three seasons were huge in my country, in spite of some confusing translations and the lack of national-level reruns (god bless the regional channels of the era). I loved them as a kid and I found they haven't aged as badly as other popular stuff.

But the reaction to Evolution was pretty tepid; I didn't even know it existed until a few years after. I guess not being on TV anymore did a lot of harm. And my own reaction was of disgust, since I hated the colouring  - I couldn't stand the way most "new" animation looked in the 00's due to digital colouring and the changes in aesthetic trends.

I know that the Evolution-R manga got licensed here, though, I remember thumbing through it at Fnac. Did they make an entire season out of it? I thought it was some kind of weird alternate ending for hardcore fans.

Thanks for tagging in. Yeah, I am having a lot of fun finally seeing what all the fuss was about regarding SLAYERS. It really was a big deal for a certain era of anime fans and I still consider Lina Inverse to be one of those characters to represent the mid 90's anime scene. Aside for a lower tier cable channel, Slayers never really aired on TV in the U.S., even to this day (which is bizarre). But despite that, it was still pretty mainstream as far as my experience navigating the anime world as a teenager and into college. Everyone would nod their head if you mentioned Slayers back then. I think she was especially popular with young women who maybe found Sailor Moon to be too mainstream or so.

I do agree that the 90's animation seemed richer, but that was an industry shift to digital. I do like how REVOLUTION has maintained all of the old music tunes.

[Enail]

As of SLAYERS: REVOLUTION he is voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas

...his name is Santa Claus?!?

[KMR]

I would be interested in the Slayers film and OAV before that, but it is out of print and I will not overpay for it. I can probably live without it, since the TV series is the main lore anyway.

It's a shame these aren't easily available anymore, some of them are really fun. They're not necessary viewing for the series as a whole though, mostly just small Easter Eggs that are kind of fun to catch throughout the series. There is a more direct reference/cross-over coming up in Evolution-R, in case you're wondering if you're missing something at one point. But it's still mostly just an in-joke and not an important plot point or anything.

Then again, every 26 episode season sort of had a climatic 13th episode before kicking into higher gear for the "real" finale later on, so maybe TV Tokyo maybe ordered 26 episodes and just split them up into 13 a year apart or so.

I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case, because Revolution and Evolution-R have a connected story and taken together, they follow pretty much the same structure as the prior 26-episode seasons had. I often think of them as one season rather than as two separate seasons.

[Datelessman]

As of SLAYERS: REVOLUTION he is voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas

...his name is Santa Claus?!?

Yes, apparently! According to his Wiki, he was born in France to Dutch parents and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 10. According to IMDB, his full name is Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas. He's been voice acting since the mid 90's and voice directing since the 2000's and is located in New York, where he also runs a studio. I was familiar with him due to TMNT and Venture Brothers, but I never thought of the St. Nick connection before! As far as I or anyone online knows, that is his actual name and not a stage name (unlike, say, David Moo or Scottie Ray, which were both stage names). Despite the closure of Central Park Media and 4Kids Entertainment (who combined employed a ton of voice actors in that area from the late 1980's until 2008-ish), he's remained busy in the area and not moved to California (as a lot of other voice actors, including Lisa Ortiz and Veronica Taylor, did in the 2010's).

Thanks for pointing that out, though. That is pretty wild. As far as I know he's never actually voiced Santa Claus anywhere, which now seems like a missed opportunity. The 2003 TMNT cartoon did do an adaptation of the "Christmas Aliens" story around the third season which was set on Christmas, but he was just Leonardo there. At the end of the story, Leo and the rest of the gang dress as elves to bring toys to some orphaned kids, but that's as close as it gets.

[Datelessman]

It's a shame these aren't easily available anymore, some of them are really fun. They're not necessary viewing for the series as a whole though, mostly just small Easter Eggs that are kind of fun to catch throughout the series. There is a more direct reference/cross-over coming up in Evolution-R, in case you're wondering if you're missing something at one point. But it's still mostly just an in-joke and not an important plot point or anything.

I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case, because Revolution and Evolution-R have a connected story and taken together, they follow pretty much the same structure as the prior 26-episode seasons had. I often think of them as one season rather than as two separate seasons.

If I wasn't a dinosaur I could download it somewhere, although I am not sure if those OAV's/films are available for legal download since I don't think FUNimation ever got the rights to it. There are less legal ways to get it, but I always prefer physical media. But, yeah, those have been out of print on DVD since about 2009 at best when ADV went under and no one yet has scooped up the license. It is a testament to how popular SLAYERS is/was that two different distributors were willing to share the rights to it. I am aware that Naga the Serpent has a cameo somewhere in the TV series. It was hard to miss her; online fan-art is...common.

Episode orders and seasonal slicing are how American TV shows operate so I wouldn't be surprised if Japanese stations, especially a major network like TV Tokyo, work that way too. FoxKids and Kid's WB used to primarily release seasons of shows at 13 episodes even if there was an order of 52-65 or so. FUNImation has packaged both seasons as "SLAYERS: REVOLUTION-R" for years now. There was perhaps enough popularity and nostalgia for SLAYERS for TV Tokyo to order more episodes after 2001's Premium, but not enough that wanted to order 52 episodes.

[Datelessman]

As another SLAYERS update, I have officially finished SLAYERS: REVOLUTION and am 4 episodes deep into SLAYERS: EVOLUTION-R. Although they may have aired a year apart on TV Tokyo (2008-2009), they are very much both part of the same story and don't quite feel like two "seasons" quite like the earlier ones did in the 1990's. The first episode of EVOLUTION-R very much feels like episode 14 of REVOLUTION. This is fine, especially since Pokota has grown on me. At this point I'd have to say that Filia was definitely the least interesting of the "obligatory seasonal new cast member" to me. Martina from NEXT is still my favorite, because I found her so hilarious. Colleen O'Shaughnessey does a great job with him. There are many women who voice pre-teen boys in animation, but not all of them are made equal. Some of them sound natural and you become lost in the performance as you should, and others can't quite pull it off and just sound like a woman with the flu. There's a reason O'Shaughnessey has been voicing Tails for over 8 years. I will say that like many characters in RPG's, Pokota has seemed to become less powerful and dangerous now that he isn't an antagonist anymore. That happened (to a limited degree) to Zelgadis, but that's a standard trope.

Spoiler:

Nine more episodes of SLAYERS to go. It has been a fun ride and it will be kind of a shame to reach the end this week, but I am also eager to see it.

[KMR]

Some fun facts:

Spoiler:

[Datelessman]

Some fun facts:

Spoiler:

Those are fun facts, thanks!

Spoiler:

I probably had "kun" on my mind from my college days watching fansubs of NARUTO with some of my friends. We used to joke that for what seemed like 30+ episodes, Sakura's catchphrase and only line of dialogue was, "Sasuke-kun." Practically any time the camera did a close up on her, we'd say it at the screen, and then she'd say it back.

Spoiler:

I had to do a double take when I read the cast list in the credits and saw Wil Wheaton's name there, but sure enough, it was him. He actually did some voice acting before STAR TREK: TNG, starring as Martin Brisby in Don Bluth's "SECRET OF NIMH" when he was about ten. While most of his voice acting credits post-Trek are standard Western cartoons, he did perform in some anime dubs from 2009-2011 and SLAYERS: EVOLUTION-R was one of them. Aside for Yakumo from "KuroKami: The Animation", they were all brief guest roles.

Although anime dubbing is, sadly, usually on the lower end of the acting pay scale for various (unfair) reasons, a few other notable geek-media actors have done some besides Wheaton. Off the top of my head, James Avery (Uncle Phil and the original Shredder) voiced a minor villain in Streamline's early 90's dub of FIST OF THE NORTH STAR. Pioneer/Geneon's 2001 dub/redub of 3X3 EYES was directed by Greg Weisman (of Gargoyles and Young Justice fame) so many of the voice actors from Gargoyles had roles in the dub (such as Ed Asner, Keith David, Bill Fagerbakke, Thom Adcox-Hernandez, with Bridgette Bako starring as Pai). And of course there is Johnny Yong Bosch, best known as Adam Park (the second Black Ranger) from Power Rangers who shifted over to voice acting and music once his mighty morphin' days were (mostly) over; the title lead in VASH THE STAMPEDE was his first VA role.

At this pace I should finish SLAYERS: EVOLUTION-R by Friday and then after that boxing anime, hopefully LOST UNIVERSE will be delivered.

[Datelessman]

So, after roughly a month, the journey through anime history (in my eyes) I began at the end of March is complete. I finished SLAYERS: EVOLUTION-R and thus the entire 5 season run of SLAYERS which was released over a period of  roughly 14 years. At 104 episodes, it is officially the fourth longest anime that I personally own, after INU YASHA, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, and YU YU HAKUSHO. The only other anime TV series which I own which even comes close in terms of length to those four is GOLGO 13, at a distant 50 episodes, but I digress.

Although they really do feel like one season, they were released as two, so I'll treat it as such. SLAYERS: EVOLUTION-R was definitely stronger than REVOLUTION, if only because the plot and cast were already established so it could take off running a bit swifter.

Spoiler:

While it hasn't become my favorite anime ever, I did enjoy SLAYERS quite a lot, especially as it went along. It was past time that I looked into it and I am glad to have it as part of my collection. I can definitely agree with KMR that SLAYERS NEXT was the peak of the show in many ways, but the subsequent seasons all had their charms. I can say without a doubt it is my favorite "sword and sorcery" anime (even if the straight D&D references, as mentioned, do dip a bit after the first season, but still come up here and there up thru SLAYERS TRY). Minor criticisms of David Moo aside, I thought the English cast overall do a good job, although I may be in the minority on that. Lisa Ortiz especially really gives it her all as Lina Inverse, especially by those last spells at the end.

As a related aside, when FUNimation started promoting the newer seasons in 2009, they released two promotional coins featuring Lina or Gourry as the "heads" and the long suffering Kuppi the Fish-Woman as the "tails". I actually ordered SLAYERS from one of the third party anime retail websites I have shopped at for years when I don't order from Amazon or Right Stuf. And to my pleasant surprise, they included the Gourry coin with my order since they had some left. I think it is pretty cool.




I decided to change my mind and watch LOST UNIVERSE right after, so I'll share my thoughts on that semi-official spinoff when I binge through it. It really has been fun chatting about Slayers the last few weeks with everyone, and really enhanced the experience. Thanks!

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