Slayers Next

Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia coincidently meet up again and begin to search for the Clair Bible. During their search they run into a mysterious priest named Xelloss who seems to know a thing or two about the passages they're looking for, but he tends to get them into more trouble instead of out of it. Furthermore, they discover that the Monster race has plans of their own, and as it turns out, Lina and Company just might be a big part of their evil intentions.

(Source: ANN)

Slayers Next Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Slayers Next Synonyms:

Slayers Next Studios: FUNimation Entertainment, SoftX, Easy Film,

Slayers Next Review

A strict improvement over season 1, Slayers Next introduces a lot of the lore that makes the series.

The second season in the Slayers anime continuity, _Slayers Next_, is in my eyes a strict improvement over the first season, while simultaneously being a bigger departure from the Slayers OVA's. Hajime Kanzaka has expressed distaste for the direction of the anime series over time, as he seems to prefer the more whimsical and episodic (read: cartoony) nature of the OVA's. I am of exactly the opposite opinion, and welcome the stronger presence of an overarching story as the series progresses. That's not to say we are absent the fun and filler-y episodes that take our party on episodic adventures between plot sections, but they tie into the plot more now than in the past, and we have more characters to go on them with now, as well.

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__Writing:__ _Slayers Next_ boasts a stronger continuity than the first season, but veers in something of a strange direction that won't be ending anytime soon: Whereas the Big Bad of _Slayers_ was the demon lord Shabranigdo, this season's Big Bad is one of his minions. And, not to spoil too much, but the Big Bad of season 3... is one of HIS minions. Reverse power creep is a strange, strange thing. Nevertheless, the villains are just as threatening this time around, and we even see some stirrings of demon politics going on in the background, suggesting a much larger story going on behind the scenes. This helps to give the Slayers world a great deal more depth, setting it apart from the generic "gather a party and slay the demon lord" plot that, in my opinion, the first season suffered from. Season 2 plays with tropes much more than its predecessor, and even features more revolving party members--including the introduction of who I consider to be just about the best character in the series. But I digress.

__Animation:__ Artwork and animation has made a step up from season 1, but it's subtle. Subtle enough that it's noticeable without being jarring, which is good. It's still a 90's anime series with 90's anime artwork, so don't expect anything too spectacular. That's part of the charm of the series, after all.

__Sound:__ By season 2 the dub cast has settled into their roles and are performing them quite nicely. Gone are the sudden voice cast changes of season 1. The dub is a little corny and a little 90's, but faithful to the original script. No censorship, but one or two awkward translations/adaptations of Japanese puns, which are always a hurdle for any English translation. The Japanese dialogue lives up to the quality of the previous entries in the Slayers franchise. Some voices are too whiny and nasally for my taste, but take your preference. Music is neither exceptionally good or bad, but a little bit bland--the sound of Slayers isn't quite as iconic as other series may be with their soundtracks, but it serves its purpose as background music. An all-around average score for sound.

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While I do consider _Slayers Next_ an improvement over _Slayers_ classic, there's still room for improvement. It's always hard to rate the individual entries in a large series like Slayers without considering the whole of the franchise, so let me end on a positive note by saying that the franchise only gets better as it progresses. _Slayers Try_ comes next, so if you're making your way through the series from the start, you can look forward to what's coming. If you've never seen anything Slayers-related, though, I wouldn't suggest jumping into the middle with _Next_ or _Try_.

Slayers Next Characters:

• Name: Lina Inverse
• Role: Main
• Actor: Megumi Hayashibara,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Zelgadis Graywords
• Role: Main
• Actor: Hikaru Midorikawa,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Gourry Gabriev
• Role: Main
• Actor: Yasunori Matsumoto,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune
• Role: Main
• Actor: Masami Suzuki,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Lord of Nightmares
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Megumi Hayashibara,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Xellos
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Akira Ishida,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Gaav
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Jouji Nakata,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Kira
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Ikue Ootani,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Copy Rezo
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Takehito Koyasu,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Phibrizo
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Kazue Ikura,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Sylphiel Nels Laada
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Yumi Touma,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Zangulus
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Bin Shimada,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Ruby Eye Shabranigdo
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Daisuke Gouri,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Tomoko Ishimura,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Philionel El Di Saillune
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Masahiro Anzai,
• Language: Japanese,

• Name: Vrumugun
• Role: Supporting
• Actor:
• Language:

• Name: Milgasia
• Role: Supporting
• Actor: Masaaki Ohkura,
• Language: Japanese,