Slayers: Try - Volume 4 (Review)
Tuesday, 22nd December 2009, 14:55

Page 1 Page 2

Introduction
MVM have really zipped through the Slayers universe this past year, delivering twelve volumes in twelve months, three full-length series. Too much of a good thing can be problematic. Too much of a mediocre thing is Naruto filler, and Slayers is variable at the best of times. At least it’s made it interesting to review, but with the penultimate volume of Slayers Try, I was beginning to feel Slayers burnout. Thankfully, MVM decided to delay the final volume by a month, so here I am, relatively Lina free and rested from the franchise, ready to approach the conclusion of the third series fresh and open-minded. There is more Slayers to come from MVM by the way, Slayers Revolution, and Slayers Evolution-R, but as those haven’t even had their dubs completed by Funimation as yet, you can be fair in thinking that there will be a decent gap between Slayers Try and the next series. For which I am truly thankful.

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 final six episodes of Slayers Try are presented on this disc by MVM. Once again, the episode numbering takes all three series into account.

73. History Sealed Away!
Carrying on from the previous volume, Lina and friends have been pointed to the snowy wastes of a mountain range as the resting place of the final Darkstar weapon. They aren’t expecting to find an abandoned Ancient Dragon temple. Filia has a whole lot of guilt to face as they explore, while Erulogos is hot on their trail. What they aren’t expecting is that Golden Dragons will appear, looking to prevent the fifth weapon being taken.

74. A Cry To The Fallen!
The Elder of the Golden Dragons stands between them and the final weapon, while overhead, a host of dragons prepare to attack all who approach the temple. They aren’t ready for the power that Erulogos, Sirius and Xellos will bring to bear. Meanwhile, in the temple, Lina is figuring out how to lower the final barrier that shields the weapon when Almayce attacks. But then Erulogos betrays Almayce. And then Xellos betrays everyone.

75. Head For The Showdown!
Xellos has taken the light bow, and is already back at the gate where Darkstar is about to make his appearance. Erulogos and Sirius are in hot pursuit, while Lina and the others have to use conventional means to get back, conventional being the levitation spell and the weird transporter device in Valgaav’s secret lair. The problem is that Jillas is there, still plotting his vengeance. Actually the real problem is that no one has any idea what Xellos has planned.

76. The Forbidden Gateway Is Open!
The gates to hell open up, and Darkstar begins to squeeze his way into the world. Are Lina and the others too late? It’s time for everyone to set aside their differences and work together to save the world. But there’s something oddly familiar about the all-powerful demon that enters through the dimensional gateway. It all becomes clear when Darkstar heads with purpose to the Temple of the Fire Dragon King.

77. He Who Emerges From The Dark Star!
It’s Valgaav, he’s apparently returned from the dead, or Darkstar has taken his form. Either way, the ultimate force of destruction is following Valgaav’s mission, which means the destruction of the Golden Dragons. Only Valgaav has gone beyond vengeance now. He wants to purify the whole world, to end the interminable war between Gods and Monsters, to start again and get it right. It’s just that Lina and the other mortals have a different opinion.

78. Try Again!
The end… of the world?

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.

Next Page