Slayers Excellent
Slayers Excellent (スレイヤーズえくせれんと, Sureiyāzu ekuserento) is the second set of three Slayers OVA episodes featuring Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent, following the earlier OVA series Slayers Special. The series was written by Keiko Watanabe basing on the original stories in the light novels by Hajime Kanzaka, directed by Hiroshi Watanabe, and originally released in Japan in 1998–1999.
| Slayers Excellent | |
 | |
| スレイヤーズえくせれんと (Sureiyāzu ekuserento) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure, comedy, fantasy |
| Original video animation | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Watanabe |
| Written by | Hajime Kanzaka Keiko Watanabe |
| Music by | Takayuki Hattori |
| Studio | J.C.Staff |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | October 25, 1998 – March 25, 1999 |
| Episodes | 3 |
Plot
In the first episode, "Labyrinth" (らびりんす Rabirinsu?), Lina and Naga first meet and are forced to travel together battling zombies, ghosts, a vampire, and Naga's own tomfoolery. In the second episode, "A Frightening Future" (恐るべき未来 Osorubeki mirai?), Lina is hired to escort a bratty and spoiled merchant's daughter to a summer villa. In the third episode, "Lina-chan's Lovely Makeover Operation" (リナちゃん・おしゃれ大作戦 Rina-chan oshare dai-sakusen?), Lina and Naga become involved in a dispute with each of them taking opposite sides in an argument between conservative and risque fashion designers.
Cast
| Character | Japanese voice actor | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Lina Inverse | Megumi Hayashibara | Cynthia Martinez |
| Naga the Serpent | Maria Kawamura | Kelly Manison |
| Steindorf | Sho Hayami | Mike MacRae |
| Tatiana Diward | Aya Hisakawa | Deanna Julian |
| Sirene | Kumiko Watanabe | Tiffany Grant |
| Marty Lenford | Mayumi Iizuka | Ayanna Grundy |
| Alphonse | Shinichiro Miki | Illich Guardiola |
| Fitzmeier | Hiroshi Naka | Jason Douglas |
Release
Slayers Excellent was originally released in Japan in three parts between October 25, 1998 and March 25, 1999 on VHS and LaserDisc. ADV Films licensed the OVAs and released them on DVD on March 30, 2004.[1] It was included in the collection of digitally remastered Slayers films and OAV series,[2] released on Blu-ray in Japan on October 30, 2015.[3][4]
The series' ending song "Never Die" with vocals by Masami Okui was released as a four-track single CD (KIDA-174) by Starchild Records on November 27, 1998. It was also later included Okui's 1999 album Best-Est and in the CD collection The Best of Slayers vol. 2 (From OVA, Movie & Game).
Reception
Polish fantasy writer Aleksandra Janusz, writing for the magazine Kawaii, called Slayers Excellent "not much less brilliant" than Slayers Special, noting the second part to in her opinion be the most funny and the third one to be the weakest.[5] Dave Halverson gave Excellent a review score of three-and-half stars out of five in play, opining that while the first episode is indeed excellent, the other two "don't hold a handle to" Slayers Great and Slayers Gorgeous.[6]
References
- "Slayers-Excellent DVD". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
- "'Slayers' Anime Features & OVA Japanese Box Set Planned". The Fandom Post. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- "Delayed "Slayers" Film/OVA Blu-ray Box Scheduled for October 30, 2015". Crunchyroll. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- "劇場版&OVA スレイヤーズ デジタルリマスターBD‐BOX [Blu-ray] DVD・ブルーレイ - 林原めぐみ, 川村万梨阿, 阪 脩, 高山みなみ, 白鳥由里, 平松晶子, 大塚明夫, 矢尾一樹, 内海賢二, わたなべひろし". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- Aleksandra Janusz (Ina, Błękitna Czarodziejka), "Slayers nie tylko w TV: Filmy kinowe oraz serie OAV." Kawaii 40 (October–November 2002), p. 12-15.
- Play 29 (May 2004), p. 76.
External links
- Official website of Slayers OVA Collection (Madman Entertainment)
- Slayers Excellent (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
