Rating:
7.5
Approval:
74.4% (2 votes)
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Slayers Try, the sequel to Slayers Next, is not as good as the original Slayers, nor Slayers Next. The animation is a bit weaker, the sound, especially the opening and ending music, is not as good, and the story is less interesting. Thankfully, this difference in quality is a small one, with many of the Slayers franchise’s staples still in place, with Lina Inverse and friends setting out to save the world once again, with plenty of action and random comedy to fill Slayers Try’s 26 episodes.
Every Slayer’s series needs comic relief, usually more than one. Lina is still the same food guzzling, sarcastic, Gourry-beating super-sorceress we all know and love. Martina and her weirdo imaginary God Zoamelgustar are missing in action, replaced by Filia, a hot-tempered priestess of the Fire Dragon God. Filia is a gold dragon who is having trouble getting used to her human form, to the point where tail will shoot up from the back of her robe whenever she gets upset, which is quite often. Filia is one of the funniest characters in Slayers Try, stealing scenes from Lina with her temper and outrageous naïveté.
The rest of the cast, with the exception of Sylpheel and Martina, are still in place. Zelgadis is as reticent as ever, with his no-nonsense approach to most situations helping to keep the story grounded. Amelia is still doing her “Champion of Justice” routine, and Gourry is still as clueless as ever. Xellos is still Xellos, with the added bonus of being Filia’s foil. Whenever Filia’s temper erupts, it’s usually because of Xellos.
While the story may be lacking the energy and originality of Slayers and Slayers Next, the sense of humor is, for the most part, still intact. The plot revolves around yet another “The world will be destroyed if Lina doesn’t Giga Slave” routine. This worked well in the original Slayers, and was improved upon in Slayers Next. Slayers Try is the weakest of the three, with more plot holes and annoying character moments than the first two. Still, it’s funny enough to warrant a recommendation regardless, especially for any Slayers fans.
Summary:[/I]
Animation: About the same as the first two, but with a few more scheduling/budget problems cropping up during the middle episodes, with an overuse of still frames and jolty footage. The character’s facial features are attractive during the serious moments, and appropriately hilarious when super-deformed or chibi’d. The background animation has a bit of a washed out look, but the variations are plentiful, and original. The magic scenes are re-used a little too often, especially Lina’s “Dragon Slave”. Still, it’s better than a lot of the recent schlock that has been made with computer animation.
Sound: The opening and ending credits, like the first two series, are a cliché couple of soft/medium rock songs with a female vocalist and a lot of synthesizing. Slayers Try’s OP/ED isn’t as catchy as it’s predecessors, however. A lot of the background music seems recycled from the first two series. This is to be expected when dealing with a franchise anime, and it works well regardless. Lina’s seiyuu is still one of my all time favorite voice actresses, with the rest of the seiyuu doing an excellent job as well. The sound effects were spot on, though I did spot a couple of flaws during the middle episodes.
Story/Plot: Not as good as the first two series, but it’s still funny, and it’s still Slayers. Lina and the gang, having defeated the big bad from Slayers Next, have opened up the barrier around their continent, allowing people to cross the ocean and visit the rest of the world. The exploration is cut short when a bad guy from another dimension starts causing trouble for Lina and friends.
Characters: They’re back, they’re bad, they’re hilarious! After 52 episodes, the creators have got the comedy elements down cold, with plenty of belly laughs coming from all of the characters. Even Zelgadis evokes more than a few belly laughs over Slayers Try’s 26 episodes. The new villains are particularly villainous, with evil and diabolical plans that put Lina and her companions in more than a few life-or-death situations that are frequently interrupted by random comedy.
Rewatchability: I’d consider watching the series again if I didn’t have 600 hours or so of unwatched anime sitting on top of my television.
Enjoyment: I liked it. I’ve quickly become a big fan of the Slayers franchise. With all its faults, Slayers Try is still a faithful continuation of the Slayers universe. It’s funny, it’s action packed, it’s adventurous, and just plain fun. Not as good as the first two series, but still worth a look.
