beccastareyes

So, I just watched the first episode of Slayers Revolution. I also downloaded the first two scanlated chapters of the manga. Here are my thoughts.

Let me first go outside for a moment and squee like a fangirl. Don't worry, I'll be back soon.
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And, I'm back. Note that the fangirl squeeing probably would have happened if it was 20 minutes of Lina and Gourry eating dinner, so I'm not including it as part of my review.

That being said, the first chapter of the manga and the first episode of the anime have basically the same plot. Lina and Gourry, having exhausted the bandit resources on shore, have decided to take up pirate hunting. Given the opening sequence shows Gourry versus Ninja, this answers the old Pirates versus Ninja question in favor of Lina and Gourry. Things go... about as you'd expect when the Saillune Royal Navy show up, Amelia in command and Zelgadis following her around. They also bring in New Character #1, Weiser Freion (or however we decide to spell his name), a special investigator for the local kingdom who decides to arrest Lina Inverse for being Lina Inverse. (Conclusions of the Crack Legal Team of Greywords, Gabriev and Saillune -- it'll be a tough case for the defense, since there's really no denying that (but who knew 'being Lina Inverse' was illegal?). Lina decides she's better off going with Phoenix Wright. Or, failing that, getting the hell out of the kingdom.)

The first episode also ends with the traditional 'town Lina was in reduced to a smoking crater'.

The anime is still full of lovely sight gags -- like how Gourry breaks his own sword on the pirates and quickly hauls out a mini anvil and bellows to reforge it. The opening and ending show some lovely graphics -- the Slayers world within the traditional medieval crystal spheres, and a shot of the well-knwon hierarchy of mazoku, with two spots blasted out.

We also get our Anime Only Character as a beautiful fishwoman who the pirates had kidnapped, and who clued them in that Lina Inverse the Beautiful Sorcery Genius is the same as Lina Inverse, Enemy of All Who Live. (We also get Lina's death toll from some of the previous seasons.) Given she featured in the pre-airing magazine coverage, and got a name (Kuppy, by the way -- rhymes with Guppy), I guess she's going to be playing a minor role.

We also get the cast being... the cast. Lina is still arrogant, outgoing, tempestuous, and... well, Lina Inverse. Gourry is still her easygoing, yet a bit dim, swordsman partner. Amelia worries about Princessly stuff (i.e. ZOMG! My friend is getting arrested by a neighboring kingdom! This is going to be horrible!) and Justice. Zel maintains his ratio of badassedness and dorkiness (though the second only shows up in Chapter #2 of the manga), with a dose of being the Straight Guy in explaining to Weiser that really, taking on Lina Inverse with an army is not a smart idea. The opening sequence throws in Xellos, hints of the other mazoku playing a role, and the other New Character.

For those of you who are sticking to the anime, the second manga chapter deals with the real cause of Lina's arrest (She was falsly accused! She didn't really blow up all those anti-magic tanks! ~~Well, except the one in the previous episode~~...), and her attempts to capture the real culprit to clear her name. (The fact, the real culprit is also capable of Dragon Slaving things does not help -- he joins the ranks of Lina, Zolf and Sylphiel as capable of doing the Big Bad Spell of Black Magic.) She & Gourry and Zel & Amelia split up -- this ends about as well as it always does. Zel has a cunning plan (which works), Amelia gets overcome and uncertain as to whose side she's really on, and then they accidentally trigger Lina's plan. We also meet Pocata, a... whatever the hell he is, dragon-slaving Terriermon. Our New Character. No clue what the hell is up with him, aside from the fact he will no doubt, Piss Lina Off.

So, overall, it looks like Slayers continues to do what it does so damn well. I am happy. Heck, we even got the first bits of a wankfest in the