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These four discs constitute the first broadcast season of the well-liked Dungeons and Dragons-style farce The Slayers. Red-haired Lina Inverse has a typical anime heroine's hot temper and insatiable appetite for food but also a rare talent for swordplay and casting powerful spells. As she roams from town to town, she acquires a cadre of able but quarrelsome companions: Gourry, a big, blond, dumb knight; Zelgadis, a once-human chimera who practices shamanic magic; sorceress-in-training Amelia, who makes Gourry look bright and Lina appear graceful; and the shrine maiden Sylphiel. Together they make short work of the hordes of bandits, golems, werewolves, trolls, mercenaries, and evil spirits their enemies send after them. They also have to face some more formidable foes, including the wizard Vrumugun, ace swordsman Zangulus, and archsorceress Eris. But the greatest threats come from the exceedingly powerful Rezo the Red Priest and the Dark Lord, Shabranigdo. All Lina's adventures involve a lot of slapstick humor, but these episodes have a more carefree tone than the later feature and the OAVs that paired her with the overendowed Naga. The convoluted plot lurches and stumbles along, much the way Lina fumbles around after getting clobbered. Although the fate of the world is supposed to hang on the outcome of these adventures, the broad comedy prevents the various episode directors from creating much suspense or a sense of menace. The Slayers is featherweight entertainment, but one that has won many fans in both Japan and the United States. Some viewers may object to the jokes about a mincing gay dragon, Lina losing her power at "that time of the month," and the many wisecracks about her being flat-chested. Japanese filmmakers and audiences clearly have different standards of what qualifies as PC humor. "Suggested 13 Up" for violence, profanity, brief nudity, and sexual humor. --Charles Solomon
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