The hot and humid days of summer in Tokyo beat down on me as I wait in line, avidly awaiting the new anime movie, SLAYERS GREAT. The movie house is a lot smaller in size, both in screen size and seating capacity, than in the States, and no reclinable seats either. In any case, I did not expect much more from a Tokyo movie theater, but it was a great experience nonetheless. One of the perks Japanese theatres provide that I wish U.S. theatres would is the sale of programs describing the movie, and who starred and worked on it. I found that it added to the experience and left me with something to look over again and again.
SLAYERS, the popular anime tv series in Japan starring Lina Inverse (voiced by Hayashibara Megumi) and her many compatriots, has spawned many other incarnations: SLAYERS RETURN, SLAYERS NEXT, SLAYERS TRY, and now the movie SLAYERS GREAT. The premise for the show is much like Dungeons & Dragons game, wherein Lina Inverse is the main character. She is a practitioner of black magic, and her spells (such as Fireball and the devastating Dragon Slave) always seem to get her into trouble.
The series has stemmed off into two different realities, one that teams Lina with Gourry Gabriev and Zelgadis, and another that has her paired up with Naga the Serpent. In SLAYERS GREAT, Lina is travelling with her friend and sometimes rival, Naga the Serpent. Naga is quite a unique character in that she wears close to nothing, has very large breasts, and is rather tall. Quite the opposite for our heroine, Lina Inverse, who is short, not well-endowed and is compared to a kid by Gourry at one time. Despite their differences, Lina and Naga seem to get along well, except when they are competing with each other; that is when all hell breaks loose. The movie starts out with Lina and Naga travelling through a small town when a large stone bull golem suddenly comes rampaging down the street. In the line of fire stands a helpless girl, Leia (voiced by Inoue Kikuko), who happens to be the sister of Huey and daughter to Galia, two of the best golem sculptors in the village.
Lina and Naga manage to blow away the mad bull golem to bits, and ask Leia for some sort of payment. But, Leia does not have any money to give and tries to get away from the persistent pair. She then gives up and brings them to a golem-sculpting shop where her brother Huey and father Galia do their business. A whimsical scene of Lina and Naga sculpting their golem clay ensues, with Naga upstaging Lina with her beautiful sculpture.
Apparently, the two lords of opposing castles are bent upon destroying each other with an army of golems and have each commissioned Huey and Galia for the task. The blue lord, Lord Guranion, who commissions Huey to create his first battle golem, lives in a blue castle across from the red lord, Lord Haisen, who lives in a red castle. Galia has his own style in mind, while Huey prefers beautiful female-sculpted golems. An argument erupts, as Huey and Galia are pitted against each other to come up with the best golem; however, they find that they need models. That's where Lina and Naga come in!
At a village festival, Huey and Galia present their golems, which happen to look like Naga and Lina (who, as it turns out, are actually contained within the giant golems). Father and son wage a hilarious battle that also includes Lina and Naga, with the village as the battleground.
What I really enjoyed about this movie is that it kept the comical feel that is a SLAYERS trademark. Not having seen more than the original Slayers series, the introduction of Naga the Serpent is quite a treat. Naga reminds me of Kodachi Kunou of RANMA 1/2, with her outfit, which befits her personality, and her classic maniacal laugh. Hayashibara Megumi again does a great job voicing Lina Inverse as does Inoue Kikuko in her role as Leia.
The story of SLAYERS GREAT is quite whimsical and fun to watch, with the antics of Lina and Naga duking it out against each other to see who is the better magic user or the better-looking woman. Suffice it to say, this movie is a real treat for those who enjoy fantasy and comedy mixed together.

SLAYERS GREAT © 1997 Kanzaka Hajime/Araizumi Rui/Slayers Production Committee Premiere Date: 2 August 1997 (double feature with TENCHI MUYO! MANATSU NO EVE and WELCOME TO LODOSS ISLAND! shorts) Running Time: 45 minutes Creator: Kanzaka Hajime Original Illustration/Original Character Design: Araizumi Rui Executive Director: Yuyama Kunihiko Director: Watanabe Hiroshi