There are some fantasy and science fiction realms that fans would just love to jump into. Middle Earth, Sunnydale, Endor and New York are fictional places that fans just want to be real. I’m really glad, however, that the lands featured in Slayers aren’t real. Sure they look peaceful and nice places to vacation. I just really would hate to be in the country when Lina Inverse and friends roll into town. Chances are that in an attempt to save the town they’d blow it up trying.
The fourth in the Slayers anime series, The Slayers Revolution begins with Lina Inverse being charged with the crime of… being Lina Inverse. It works out like this: someone is going around blowing up magic tanks that take on the elements of animals (rabbits, turtles and the like) and the person responsible is using magic a lot like Lina’s to do it. In attempt to clear her name, Lina and her friends go after the one truly responsible, Pokota — a short stuffed animal with extra arms on his head who is just as fiery-tempered and quick to blow things up as Lina is.
While tracking him down, Lina’s group find out about the kingdom of Toforashia, of which Pokota was the prince and next in line to the throne. Long ago, the kingdom was subjected to a plague that was killing its citizens. In an attempt to save themselves, the kingdom asked a powerful magician the Red Priest Rezo to cast a spell on the whole of the kingdom to put it in suspended animation until a cure could be found, with Pokota and his Royal Bodyguard placed into new bodies to look for the cure. This is only the start of the plot and it continues over into The Slayers Evolution-R — but you do get a lot of cool stuff, like fights with swords and magic, demons and assassins, thieves and troublemakers and a conspiracy to topple the peace of the realm.
If I had one problem with the narrative it would be that not a lot of attention is given to the back story of the main characters — because it is largely assumed that we should know them already, having watched the first three series. (You didn’t either? Well I guess that makes two of us!) How Lina knows some of the most dangerous world-destroying spells and why anyone thought it would be a good idea to teach her them is never explained. Maybe she just threatened to eat the trainer, food apparently being a great source of energy to rebuff your mana points. Speaking of mana I was reminded of Dungeons and Dragons a little bit… I get the feeling it was an inspiration for a lot of what happens.
The Slayers Revolution was a fun ride and I probably would have enjoyed it a little bit more if I knew more about the main characters and their past. Coming in knowing nothing about the earlier series and what went on before this point in the canon isn’t a really major stumbling block, though, so it shouldn’t be a major problem for people new to the series as a whole to come in at this point and start watching. For a comedy action fantasy series that is relatively family friendly I give it…