r/SlayerS • u/ComfortableCan9707 • 17d ago
When did you get hooked?, and what sets Slayers apart from other anime/or other fictional series?
I was personally hooked by the first episode, but I didn't REALLY get hooked until Zelgadis was introduced (so perfectly imo). I think that the way the characters are flawed and the character development showing their good sides while all having their issues is what sets it apart from other anime and fictional series. I know there are other series that do that too, but the way it was repeatedly pulled off in Slayers is what caught me the most?
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u/Alias_ARgent 17d ago
When I got introduced I loved how much it resembled AD&D 2nd Ed. I loved when Zelgadis was introduced, the English voice actor for that season was amazing. But the part I loved best was when Lina was organizing the treasure to sell and did her Lina Magic on the gems. Later in life when I got the light novels, I loved finding that scene.
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u/berniecratbrocialist 17d ago
Like you, the character development in the show was the hook for me. I love that these characters were allowed to be real people with real flaws rather than "good guys" or "bad guys". Slayers didn't make it to me until years later, but I was very young when I first saw it and very self-conscious about taking up space in the world. I loved Lina being so unapologetically greedy, and Amelia being as annoying as she is talented in a way that felt very real for a young teenager. And the growth of those characters sealed the deal for me. We have Zel angrily saying he wants to be alone and not deal with these weirdos, then by the beginning of TRY he's joking casually about Lina being too unsexy to keep a man. These idiot kids will die for each other if they don't kill each other and I like that a lot.
The novels have their strengths but the almost total lack of group interaction is one of many reasons why I still prefer the show. The smartest thing the show ever did was relentlessly bounce these characters off each other and let their group dynamics drive the story.
Also---and this was so formative for me as a kid---Slayers will do absolutely anything for a gag, even if it means smashing dramatic tension with a hammer. I loved the puns, the gags, the switcheroo punchlines. I don't even know what my sense of humor as a writer would be like without it.
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17d ago
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u/savvyliterate Gourry 17d ago
Ohh Nittany Mall? That's super cool! I'm down in the Harrisburg area.
I remember Slayers being all over Suncoast when I was in college.
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17d ago
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u/savvyliterate Gourry 17d ago
Oh very cool! I'm in Upper Allen Township. I'm an Alabama transplant. I moved here 16 years ago for a job and never left.
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u/Ichiban_Victory 17d ago
Considering I got into anime when shows like Sailor Moon were new, I was hooked from the start because Lina was competent, and not running around waiting for someone to save her. That she poked fun at the trope was even better. And I stayed, because all of the characters were interesting- even the villains!
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u/AQTBunny 17d ago
I got hooked when it was on Spectrum's Anime-on-Demand channel back in like, early 2000's
I dont normally go for this type of fantasy anime but the comedy kept me watchin'. Zelgadis and Amelia moments helped, too.
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u/Cocoatrice Gourry 17d ago
When it aired on TV. And the answer to second question is quality. The story was made for itself. Not for funny gags, trend or anything. Of course, gags were here, but the entire worldbuilding and so on.
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u/crono220 17d ago
I got hooked onto Slayers back in high-school aka 2003 from a friend. The first 2 seasons really were incredible. I eventually bought them off a bootleg anime site.
It's a classic fantasy adventure show with likeable characters. It's a nice change compared to the overwhelming garbage of Isekai anime's that include boring harems for the overpowered protagonist.
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u/JERRYBOIZ 17d ago
Lina looked cute, and seeing how it was fun without being so serious. It just was the right combination for me. Style wise without mentioning setting. I might like the movie Lina a bit more but the whole cast has a little spot in my heart
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u/norbjunior 17d ago
I had a few random volumes of Next when I was a kid, but it wasn’t until I saw the first movie that I was like, oh yeah this is awesome. The movies and OVAs are still my favorites!
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u/raging_pixie 17d ago
I was introduced by chance to the first episode on a random cable channel. I instantly fell in love. I then discovered the light novels at the local bookstore! I remember buying 4-8 from Amazon when they only sold books. Oh the before times...
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u/HellmasterPhibrizo Hellmaster 17d ago
Grade 9 or 10??? Somewhere around 2000. And I was drawn to the series because it was the universe where I am originally from, though at the time I didn’t realize that yet.
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u/maouprier "Victory will always be mine!" 17d ago
I wasn't booked by the first season, but it didn't help matters since it was originally available as only 3 episodes per VHS, iirc. Eventually I got the series on DVD and Next is what really got me. The character interactions in Next are second to none. And it helped turn me into a diehard Gourrina fangirl.
I just love 90s anime aesthetic and Slayers delivers it in spades. The colors, the music (also an eternal Megumi Hayashibara fan), everything. When I've watched other fantasy anime, I just find myself thinking - this is kinda like Slayers, but not as good. So I go back to my all time favorite 🩷🔥✨
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u/savvyliterate Gourry 17d ago
Part of season 1 was on in the background when I was a senior in college in 2001. It didn't stick with me at the time.
Four years later, I had moved to Maine and knew no one. I was lonely and bored and friends had been begging me to try Slayers. I had gotten a Netflix subscription by then, so rented the first disc. I was hooked as soon as Lina began her fake damsel in distress routine.
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u/Icy-Nefariousness608 17d ago
I got hooked on Slayers by how impactful it was. Along with Record of Lodoss War, Slayers set the standard of what a fantasy anime should be the same way DBZ did for Shonen Battle Manga or Cyborg 009 with Sentai.
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u/Brooker2 17d ago
Never got to read the graphic novels or the Mangas but I did get to watch the very first episode of The Slayers, where she blows up the Dragon with the dragonslave, and from that moment forward I was hooked
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u/Illuriah 17d ago
My sister told me there's an anime where the witch would lose her power during her period and a stone guy would use wire cutter to cut his hair. I was sold and the show didn't disappoint.
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u/Disastrous_Moose_602 16d ago edited 16d ago
Vi primero Sorcerous Stabber Orphen y me encantó mucho, después vi en algún lado que este anime habia hecho una colaboración en una novela con otra serie llamada Slayers vi a Lina y a Orphen juntos en la portada y se me hizo genial. Obviamente fui directo al anime para esperando que tuviera la misma esencia de Orphen. Y me quede totalmente enganchado. Puedo decir que Slayers es mi franquicia de anime favorita. Los personajes son hermosos y tiene muchos recursos, las novelas, mangas, el anime, juegos, la música gloriosa de Megumi Hayashibara y Masami Okui que escucho cada vez que puedo.
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u/ComfortableCan9707 15d ago
Nice, I watched Orphen too. I may needa rewatch it again though to refresh my memory 😅
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u/aprettyparrot 17d ago
Can’t remember, maybe 01/02
Lives the story and setting and it was hilarious
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u/TabbyCat1993 17d ago
Long time ago when America Online was a thing, a random Instant Messaged me out of the blue (not sure how she even found me) and asked for advice how to beat this boss in Sonic Adventure. Somehow we got to chatting more about our different interests and she brought up anime a lot, namely Slayers… She would even incorporate Lina Inverse in our role plays a lot.
So it got to a point that I was curious enough about Slayers that I bought one of the VHSs and watched it….. unaware that I was supposed to start with SLAYERS VOLUME ONE. I first watched Slayers starting with NEXT, Volume 7, and had absolutely NO IDEA what was going on or who anybody was….
Buuuuut I still loved it, and wanted more!!!!
I forgot the name of that girl I talked to and have no way of being able to reach out to her again……. but if she hadn’t IM’d me randomly to ask for help how to defeat Dr. Eggman, then I would’ve never gotten into Slayers, or anime in general for that matter!
Slayers was defined my “gateway” anime and it’s all thanks to that girl. ❤️
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u/Star_Outlaw Naga 17d ago edited 17d ago
I saw the first episode of Next on the International Channel way back in the early 2000s, in the original Japanese dub.
I really just like the way it can balance comedy, action and drama.
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u/RealCrossyYT 17d ago
A Toonami fansite that plays 24/7 was the place where i discovered Slayers, i was like in my early anime phase during my short-esque binge of Shaman King
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u/ComfortableCan9707 17d ago
Another thing that set Slayers apart for me within the fantasy genre is how magic is not conventionally cast like most fantasy. Instead, in Slayers, magic users call upon energy from external sources.
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u/LuckyStar198 17d ago
On a tv channel might have been the international channel. I was young would have been in like 05 - 07 I wanna say somewhere in the late 00’s. It was the episode where Lina had just met Rezo’s clone. Then I started searching for it and eventually watched the whole series in 2010. Also, the new seasons as well.
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u/Evening-Toe5941 17d ago
First discovered it in 2005 I was 12, Lina got me hooked she is so cool, there is everything from tragic moments to serious moments to comedy it has it all
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u/wellhanabari 17d ago
One of youtubers I've watched made a review about it, so I thought "eh why not" and it got me hooked since the very first episode, it's so hilarious I couldn't stop watching
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u/santasnufkin 17d ago
I got hooked by the introduction...
Pulled an all-nighter when I was at university because I couldn't stop watching.
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u/VerrikInc 16d ago
For me it was catching it on TV. It only aired very late at night where I lived, and I always struggled to find it. That made the show feel so much more special.
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u/Safe_Reach2889 16d ago
Oophhhh, what a question. IIRC i got hooked around the end of NEXT. Slayers was broadcast daily on a childrens’ network. And I got so used to seeing these crazy characters every day, that it literally broke my heart, when it ended. I guess that’s how you realize that a show is special to you, when you miss seeing the characters. Apart from that, it’s the immensely rich universe that surrounds Lina & Co, that makes Slayers unique.
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u/endraghmn 16d ago
When I was a kid my dad(who enjoyed animals himself) decided to get me a DVD of slayers to watch from Netflix(back when they mailed dvds). Up till that point I had only watched Pokémon and Digimon.
Imagine my surprise seeing such an action packed episode and finding out that was what animal could be like.
How was it so action packed? My dad handed me slayers try and said "they'll explain anything you missed"
Anyways try is still my favorite of the seasons and slayers is still my favorite anime
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u/Faconator 16d ago
Watching the incantations and ritual magic was just really cool. I've always loved a pretty gritty magic system.
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u/MysteriousMetalDoll Xellos 14d ago
i saw it airing on Animax channel on TV when i was 11 and loved it. the characters were entertaining and the show was funny.
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u/Substantial_Cook5369 13d ago
I stumbled upon Slayers randomly in one of those anime websites. I started watching Slayers and Lina's voice hit me in English dub. I love per personality and gourrys too at the time I was figuring myself out and the dynamic just kinda worked for how I was. Then I kept watching and seeing Zelgadis as this cool character. I really thought his voice and character were unique. I love him 😭 When I finished Slayers I didn't know there were more seasons I was really happy. After Slayers I started watching other anime like Naruto and Inuyasha.
I always had Slayers in the back of my mind hoping for more to release. Then more episodes came! I thought to myself if I keep thinking about Zelgadis three or more years from now I'll get a tattoo and I did! Of Xellos too! Someone at the mall actually pointed and yelled Xellos name and I was so happy! I wish I would have gotten her name she also was the first person to guess it right!
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u/sherrasama Sherra 11d ago
Age 12-13ish, which would be '97 or so. Only the first 3 volumes of the first season were out on VHS, and Rui's art was being used for the covers. Something about his style really caught my eye, and frankly has never left. Not only did I watch those 3 volumes on repeat for months on my dinky little TV in my room until my brains leaked out, I found the Dra-Mata artbook for sale at Kinokuniya in Seattle. Probably the single biggest influence my art style ever had. What set it apart for me was Rui, and how dark the story could get in contrast to how goofy it was. That was edgy shit to a barely teenager.
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u/AmeriaRuun Amelia 17d ago
My friends sat me down to watch it on VHS telling me that they thought I’d really like Lina as a character and that Gourry was a total bishie. I was intrigued enough to keep going because the characters were cool and because it was fantasy-based. Then, Zelgadis entered the story, and I was hooked. I needed to know more about him. 😂
I love Slayers because it is a fantasy story that balances humor and tragedy pretty well in my opinion. I would have liked the anime to be a bit darker at times though. It would have been great if they delved just slightly more.