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Review of “Slayers Collector’s Edition Volume 1” by Hajime Kanzaka

EisahFeb 2, 2023, 11:04:12 PM

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First off, this is a hard cover book that technically is three books in one – it covers volumes 1-3 of Slayers. It includes several inside illustrations with color illustrations at the front and is overall a nice, high quality book. If you like Slayers it’s worth owning.

I never read the books myself but I heard they were re-translated as well to be more accurate to the original. Considering some of the stuff that was left inside of it, including direct rape threats and monsters being torn asunder and left as piles of organs on the ground, I would not be surprised if the original translations were toned down a bit way back when. I watched some of the anime long ago and I was surprised at how dark the light novels got in parts.

That’s not to say the light novels aren’t a comedy or that I had a problem with them. It’s just obvious that they toned it down a bit in the anime.

That being said, I’m also going into these books already knowing about the main characters in the books, so I’m not going in totally blind. Someone who knows nothing about it might have a different experience than I do. I’m not lost with the characters because I already knew them, whereas maybe someone who doesn’t know them might have a hard time keeping track – I couldn’t say for sure. I just like to make clear where I’m coming from before I review anything so people know what biases I may have.

I’ve been reading a lot of light novels recently and what I was hoping for was a fun fantasy romp. Many others I’ve read have quickly boiled down to ogling hot guys or harem-style fantasy. I’m happy to say that while Lina doesn’t shy away from saying a character is attractive, the series isn’t getting bogged down in her drooling over guys. It stays about fantasy, magic and a little mystery.

Our hero, Lina Inverse, starts off the story robbing a bunch of bandits. But, while they’re fighting, a swordsman named Gourry shows up to ‘save her’. We’re immediately treated to the type of personality Lina has. She doesn’t need saved, but unlike what we see in a lot of entertainment right now she isn’t insulted by it. Rather, she thinks it’d be fun to play into, so she lets Gourry deal with the bandits while she runs around screaming her head off.

It’s cute, it’s funny, and it quickly shows why these characters have endured so long. From there Gourry confuses her for a kid (she’s fifteen, sixteen in later volumes) and decides to escort her to the next city. Again, Lina doesn’t need an escort. She was literally the aggressor in the previous situation. However, because she gets a sense that Gourry is actually a really nice guy and isn’t being a skeevy perv, she kind of humors him. This is another trait I like in these volumes. The characters change how they act depending on the situation and adjust their attitudes. Lina isn’t just rude and violent all the time. She shows respect when necessary and tries to avoid hurting innocent people.

Early on she even casts a rather gruesome spell that she decides she’ll never use again because of how grisly the outcome was.

This story revolves around an object Lina accidentally stole and now various people are coming after her to get it. However, she can’t just hand it over because it turns out it could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, and at this point she doesn’t know who can be trusted if anyone. “Rezo the Red Priest” wants it – and while he has a good reputation, she has her doubts the guy they meet even is the real Rezo. Meanwhile, Zelgadis and his gang also want it. And I’ll let people read the book for the rest of that.

I was shocked after reading the first volume that the author didn’t originally intend to write more, actually. With the amount of lore put into the first volume it seemed like he had ideas churning in his head to write more even early on, but in the afterword he says that he only wrote more because he was asked to and he wasn’t even sure what to write after volume 1.

I was also surprised that Gourry didn’t really come off as dumb in the first novel. He catches on to various things quickly, but he doesn’t know a lot about magic. It seems more that from the second volume on he acts a bit stupider.

The second volume revolves around Atlas City. The chairman of the sorceror’s council, Halciform, suddenly disappeared and now two others are seemingly fighting for the chairman’s seat in his absence: Talim and Daymia. What follows is a mystery as Lina and Gourry try to figure out what’s really going on behind the scenes.

The third volume starts with Lina and Gourry being hounded by bands of heroes because ‘Rezo’ has put up wanted posters for them – and Zelgadis. Which is strange, because they killed Rezo already. They meet up with Zelgadis again and Sylphiel, a priestess from Sairaag, as they try to figure out what’s going on and who is really after them.

All three volumes are fairly quick and full of action. Often times the battle isn’t solved with a big spell but clever use of seemingly insignificant spells. The books are good at setting up a conflict quick and then running through them as Lina and Gourry try to puzzle out what’s happening around them without dying.

I actually think these books could have been longer with the amount of lore we end up with in Slayers. However, for what they are, with each of the first three being quick, contained stories, they’re a lot of fun and an easy read. They’re also a lot different than much of what is being put out right now.

If you’re looking for some action fantasy with a focus more on magic than harems, Slayers is a good series to pick up. Apparently the overarching plot starts in book 4, so I’m interested in seeing that in the future. I don’t think it’s hard to see why Slayers became a classic.

Next time will be “Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 1 Volume 2” by Miya Kazuki (the light novel).

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Review of “Slayers Collector’s Edition Volume 1” by Hajime Kanzaka

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