Slayers: Try - Volume 3 (Review)
Friday, 6th November 2009, 16:25

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Introduction
It’s Slayers time again, although this time there will finally be a delay until the next and final volume of Slayers Try. After this, I’ll finally get a month to take a breather from all things Lina Inverse related. It’s a respite that has to be balanced with the news from the most recent Expo that MVM will be releasing the Slayers Evolution-R follow-up in addition to the new Slayers Revolution series it had previously announced. At least this time we’ll be able to take a leisurely stroll through the shows, as Funimation are still in the process of dubbing them. Anyway, on with the third volume of Slayers Try.

Lina Inverse is a powerful sorceress in a pint-sized package. She’s into wealth redistribution. She takes on the toughest of bandits, the meanest of monsters, with an arsenal of powerful and destructive spells, and then liberates them from their gold, gems and magical artefacts, redistributing it into her own pocket. Somehow though, she’s become one of a group of adventurers, working together to fight evil, defeat monsters, and make enough money to fill their stomachs. After all, fighting the Dark sorcerer Rezo, and the resurrected Shabranigdo tends to unite people against adversity. And if that isn’t enough, searching for the Clare Bible and defeating the nefarious plans of the Monsters, taking down the Dark Demon King Gaav in the process ought to suffice. Gourry Gabriev is the heroic figure, who is a dab hand with a sword, if not too bright of intellect. Zelgadis is a powerful warrior/magic user, who in the pursuit of more power was cursed so that his skin turned to stone, and is now looking for a cure. Amelia is a trainee sorceress, and heir to the throne of Seyruun, who has an unwavering belief in goodness and justice, and who as an apprentice, continually manages to rub Lina the wrong way. Even more of their misadventures are presented in the third series, Slayers Try.

Defeating the Monsters has changed the world, the magical barrier that surrounded the land has vanished, and now travel outside is possible. But there are ominous signs on the horizon, both literally and figuratively. A glowing pillar of light heralds something dire, and there are rumours of other lands preparing to invade. As you would expect, Lina and her friends are all fired up, ready to board ship, and head out to sample all that foreign cuisine. But there is a small matter of a dragon with a prophecy, and one of Gaav’s minions named Valgaav looking for revenge.

The next seven episodes of Slayers Try are presented here on this disc from MVM, although the episode numbering counts the episodes in the first two series as well.

66. Lamentation Without End!
Valgaav has taken the two weapons of light, and has vanished. But Lina and the others aren’t far behind him, and they all teleport to where he has to be to open the portal to the Overworld and let Darkstar in. And so begins a desperate battle to save the world, not helped by a Filia tormented by guilt, and a Gourry armed with a large toy mallet. But Lina has a trick or two up her sleeves.

67. This Place Is A Wonder Island!
Lina wakes up, washed ashore on a desert island… in a dress and heels? Exploring, and learning to walk without falling flat on her face, she discovers a miniature penguin army, who turn on her and shoot. And she falls through a crack in space and winds up trapped between worlds. Her guide to this strange space is a talking pig, a guide that she resolutely ignores, just to wind up in ever more bizarre realities.

68. Pandemonium!
Lina has found Filia and Zelgadis, but there’s no sign of Gourry and Amelia. They must be on one of the neighbouring islands. The problem is that the boat that they have commandeered, in other words stolen has sprung a leak. Fortunately there is a large ship bearing down on them. Unfortunately, it’s a ghost ship. There’s no one aboard except an enchanted jar. Captain Jarlov (painful pun) has been trapped by evil spirits, and sealed up in the jar. When he finds out that Lina is a magic user, he offers them his treasure, in exchange for their help in beating the evil spirits.

69. Love is in the Tiny Differences!
Filia tries the ancient art of divination to find Gourry and Amelia. Lina and Zelgadis are understandably amused when she draws a fish. They’d be laughing on the other sides of their faces if they knew where Amelia had been washed up, a fish shaped island. Two fish people rescued her (reverse mermaids with human limbs and the body and head of a fish), father and daughter who have been caring for her while she slept. The girl has a problem though. She’s in love with a human, a love forbidden by her father. This stirs the spirit of justice and love in Amelia, and she resolves to help them. Long story short, it involves Gourry cross dressing as a mermaid.

70. Amelia in the Village of Justice!
A country plagued by demons, warriors of justice stricken before they can rise to the challenge, it looks like Amelia and Gourry have arrived just in time. They were a team of five, but only three are left to welcome Amelia and Gourry. Seeing Amelia teach Gourry the ways of Justice (well he needs something to keep him occupied now that he’s lost his sword), the three warriors realise they have the perfect replacements. Soon Amelia and Gourry are the two newest members of the Shooting Stars Warriors, on an intrepid adventure to defeat demons, and protect the country. It’s just that this country’s protectors are all geriatrics.

71. Where the Light Leads!
Now that Lina, Zelgadis, Filia, Gourry and Amelia have been reunited, it’s time to finish what they started, and head back to the pillar of light to save the world. Darkstar is still trying to get into the world, and Almayce and Xellos, with the help of fellow Overworlders Erulogos and Sirius, are trying to keep him at bay. But to seal the portal, and destroy Darkstar, they need the fifth weapon of light. Erulogos sends out a swarm of insect like hunters to track it down, and in their path lies a farm where Jillas has found respite, is mourning the loss of Valgaav, and lamenting that he couldn’t avenge his friends upon Lina. It just so happens that Lina and her friends have noticed the swarm and have decided to follow. It’s time for a fateful reunion.

72. A Hero’s Advent?
A rift is developing between Almayce and Erulogos over how to deal with Darkstar. Almayce wants to draw him here, and destroy him to protect both worlds. It would be less work for Erulogos just to bring him here and seal him in. It’s an attitude that Lina doesn’t appreciate when they first meet. Now Lina has travelled to a mining town, abandoned at the end of a gold rush, where the fifth weapon is rumoured to be hidden. They meet a young girl named Anna, who still lives there, grows flowers and has a sense of optimism about the world. She believes that a hero will come to save the town, and when Erulogos’ comrade Sirius walks into town, Anna is sure that he will be that hero. Lina on the other hand has tarred him with the same brush as Erulogos, and as they start to tear up the town looking for the fifth weapon, it looks as if Lina is justified.

Picture
Slayers Try is an anime from the mid-nineties, so there’s no pixel perfect CGI perfection. This is traditional, hand painted, cel acetate animation with all the inconsistencies and flaws that implies. It looks pretty good for all that, with a decent transfer of a good clean source. There’s no sign of age or print damage here, and the animation may be comparatively rough and ready, but it still has all the vibrancy and imagination that I have come to expect from anime. It isn’t all that flash or high budget, but the character designs are memorable and the world design does what it needs to, to get the story across. Once again, it’s a shame that the remastered Funimation version couldn’t have been sourced for the UK.

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