Slayers Premium

2 reviews - 7.5 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (3.8)

Creators - Rui Arazuimi / Hajime Kanzaka
Director - Jyunichi Satoh

2. Tempy

Lina inadvertently awakens a demon, who bestows power to the octopi in order to exact revenge on a village known for its octopus culinary delicacies. Humans are struck with the inability to speak in anything other than octopusese, resulting in some funny miscommunications. But the demon doesn't appear to be solely acting out of benevolence towards the octopi.

Unlike the other Slayers movies and OVA, Slayers Premium brings back the cast of the TV series together. Even though I like Naga, the TV cast does give the Slayers franchise a bit of the needed spark to bring it back from staleness. Naga fans shouldn't despair though, she makes an appearance, albeit a short one. Another thing Premium does better is that it doesn't try to stretch 30 minutes worth of plot into movie feature length.

Seeing the TV cast back together does make me yearn for another TV season.

1. Cross Scars

I personally am a great fan of the Slayers series - Next is ranked high among my favourite series. Yet none of the numerous Slayers 'specials' are anime that I've enjoyed nearly as much as the three main TV series. One of the main reasons for this has been the fact that all previous specials went ahead with just Lina and Naga, while all the other characters such as Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia who we'd come to love so much through the TV series were completely left out.

Slayers Premium thus corrects this fault and is all the better for it. All four main TV series characters are in the 30 minute special and there are cameo appearances from the likes of Xellos and even Naga herself. Seeing the Slayers cast together again is very welcome even if it's for such a short space of time. In fact this is pretty much all business as usual for Slayers. Lina and Gourry are up to their usual adventures of fighting over food and engaging in fantasy style spoof quests all the while stringing us along with the romantic thread we all want to see but without finishing things. Another nice touch for this special is also the fact that being made so recently the animation is updated and far in advance of the likes of the original series, we get some very flash CG at certain stages such has been the leap forward. The soundtrack is nothing impressive but Slayers never focused much on that side of things anyway.

Any fan of the original Slayers TV series will find this enjoyable and perhaps the best special to date given that the whole cast is back together again. The same characters, style of humour and action that we've come to love from Slayers is all back again and while these specials, at one episode long, will never be as good as the TV series this latest offering is still a solid effort.