|
|
If you're using a text browser or your browser does not support JavaScript, a text index is available. |
The Slayers anime universe has become one of the most popular creations in anime history, having
ultimately grown to include three television seasons and a number of movies and OAV series. But of all
those, the first television series still retains an impact that has left it a classic, even more
so than the others. It features superb voice acting (I refer to the Japanese version, of course), memorable character
designs, and animation which, while economical, is still well above the usual quality of made-for-television
work. However, there is also a juggling of fantasy and reality in the scriptwriting, done with
superb skill, that manages to pull the viewer into the final climax in a way not easy to forget.
How is this done? Just why do we end up caring so much what happens to a cartoon character, of all things, especially when Lina Inverse and her friends are so far removed from any reality we might be familiar with?
The key word here is reality. As the series unfolds, reality is a very long way away. We see fastidious dragons who watch carefully where they step, fireballs which destroy towns but leave the inhabitants scorched slightly at worst, and of course humans with the remarkable ability to fall great distances and land on their heads with nothing more than a very temporary bump to show for it. We're really not terribly far from Toontown at this point.
Ironically, one of the first inklings that this may change occurs when Lina temporarily loses her powers
because it's "that time of month." At the moment it just seems like an opportunity to make a few
delightfully tasteless jokes (in which Slayers abounds), and nothing more. Except that shortly
thereafter, in what seems to be a routine fight, Lina takes a blow to the stomach
which leaves her helpless, gasping in pain--and she doesn't get up and walk away seconds later.
This is something that isn't supposed to happen. Isn't Lina a toon, after all?
It's only a momentary lapse, though, as things quickly return to normal, and the average viewer probably forgets about it within an episode or two. Soon we're back to harmless fireballs, plummets over cliffs, and so on, all without any lasting damage. Even the battle with Shaburanigudou has a certain detached quality about it; we know Lina will win, even though we're fascinated to see how she'll do it.
The second story arc (episodes 13-26) begins in much the same way. We meet with Eris and the clone she has created
of her unrequited love
Rezo. We also encounter Sylphiel and her family, happily living in the ancient
city of Sairaag. All seems standard sword-and-sorcery fantasy (and parody), until Copy Rezo cold-bloodedly
destroys Sairaag with a blast that bears a horrifying similarity to a thermonuclear fireball. And this
time there are no scorched but infuriated townspeople stalking out of the
wreckage--for there appear to be no townspeople left, just a smoking crater surrounded by lifeless ruins.
Things quickly grow much worse. Copy Rezo unexpectedly attacks Eris, leaving her dying in a hideous pool of blood, and then vaporizes her for the sheer amusement of it. This is anything but harmless fun, and when we realize that she's really gone there's a sudden chill in the air that wasn't present before.
By now the Slayers gang are running for their lives. When Copy Rezo unexpectedly corners them Lina turns to fight, and is struck by the same energy bolt that earlier left Eris mortally wounded. Does Lina fend it off with a quick spell? Reflect it back at Copy Rezo? No--she is knocked backwards by the blow, hits the ground hard, and rolls to a stop in a rapidly widening pool of blood as the rest of the characters stare in horror. Somehow we've left that comfortable, safe fantasy world far behind. Things are actually dangerous here.
Sylphiel frantically carries the badly wounded Lina into a secret part of Flagoon, the magic tree, and gently sets
her down. And now, in what may well be one of the most stunning moments in all anime, we see that
Lina's face has turned grey. We're no longer the world of sweat drops and mallets. This is a classic
symptom of cardiac arrest. At this moment Lina is dead.
But Sylphiel's reaction is what finally throws us one hundred percent into the real world. Healing spells don't work in our own world, and that's where we've ended up: instead she frantically gives Lina CPR. At this point we're so shocked we honestly don't know what's going to happen, and that includes whether Lina is going to live or not. And considering that there are plenty of anime series in which people die (unlike America's child-safe baby-friendly cartoons), she actually might not survive. If that isn't true suspense, I don't know what is.
At this point Lina revives slightly, though still with a horrifying hole through her chest. Sylphiel administers a healing spell, and this time it begins to work. With a sigh of relief we gradually begin our re-entry into the world of fantasy, and soon a mostly-repaired Lina is on her way back out of Flagoon, more or less ready to do final battle with Copy Rezo. But it's been a wild and frightening trip, and one that leaves an indelible impression on the viewer--from here to the end of the series we take things much more seriously, right up to the final moving climax.
From fantasy to reality and back--what a ride.
--Lamont Downs
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
visitors since August 7, 2001.