Slayers: The Motion Picture

Director
Hiroshi Watanabe
Production
J.C.Staff, SoftX
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
63 mins
Year
1995

Slayers: The Motion Picture

By Jonathan Chapman
23rd May 04

Slayers is a very odd series and likewise this movie is a tad bit strange. It's fun to watch maybe once (just for the weirdness value) but the replay value is nearly null. The animation for the magic is almost enough to keep you going if you're not into the swords and sorcery genre.

Basically this isn't Lodoss Wars by a long shot. The depth in location background is just not there. The characters from the series might have detailed backgrounds but none of that is shown here. The series is good for a laugh, but I wouldn't buy it. Oh, and don't show this to someone trying to get into anime or someone who has never seen anime. And if someone new to anime watches this and tells you that he/she enjoyed it, they're probably lying. Here's a rundown on the characters:

Lina Inverse is a sorceress of great power. She almost effortless deals out fire and explosions to her enemies. Her only flaw, one that is pointed out almost all the time, is her breast size (hey I told you it was weird). Apparently her magic just isn't enough to help her on that one. She joins the adventure in the movie after learning of a magic spring that makes things "grow."

Naga is Lina's sidekick/partner. Her magic usually deals with animating non-living materials and ice. Naga is tall, busty, and very bimbo-like. Though her powers are very unfocused and Lina is the better mage by far, Naga's always got that bust to throw out at Lina. (I can almost feel my intelligence shrinking by typing this).

Rudy is a wizard/adventurer who is an old man in the movie. Back in his youth he fought a demon to save his elf girlfriend and lost. The demon spared his life to enjoy watching his misery.

Ok, you'd think a demon would be cool. I mean demons are powerful, evil, and ruthless. Well guess what? That's right; the demon in this movie is as goofy as the rest of the characters. He first appears as a small frog-like creature sucking a drink through a straw. Later on his appearance changes, but it's nowhere near threatening. His lines (at least in the dubbed version of the movie) are so cliche it makes you want to turn off the movie (he says "Suckering Succotash" for God's sake - oh and this was the point in the movie where I realized I should have muted it and just read the subtitles the whole time).

The enemies of Lina are actually pretty entertaining. You have your typical thugs/thieves, an octopus that possesses a thug by sitting on his head and casting magic spells. Then there's the water mage who fights wearing a half-tuxedo/half-bathing suit costume. Oh and there's the hypnotist who entrances Lina and has her dance as a grape-crushing girl in a dream where it's wine-making time (no, I'm not making this up).

Basically the effects animate are the only part of the movie I'd deem "cool". From fireballs to explosions to flaming swords the quality is there. But is this enough to offset the incredibly goofy antics and disaster of a plot? Probably not. Need an example? Ok there's this one part in the movie where Naga accuses the owners of a spa of adding chemicals to the water, leading to a fight with a water mage in the spa (with Lina and Naga wearing bathing suits).

The music wasn't that great either. The same theme keeps playing, and it's one of those overdramatic songs too. There were some times when I was watching where I just turned on the subtitles and muted the movie (trust me the far superior way to watch the movie - as the dubbing is quite horrible). I've watched a few episodes from the series and they're far better than this movie.

4/10

-- Jonathan Chapman 23rd May 04

Slayers: The Motion Picture Images