Slayers Premium

Slayers has always been a great series to follow, with plenty of loyal fans. Its spanned three series, five movies, and two different three episode OVA series. Following, as always, the great sorceress Lina Inverse.

Premium is unique in that it is the only movie that has Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis; who are Lina's companions during the three series; as opposed to Naga, a friend/rival of Lina's from the OVA's. Naga does make a breif cameo, marking one of the few (if only) times Naga and the rest of Lina's friends are in the same series.

The story is a bit silly, with some town famous for ... its seafood having the octopus that live in the acompanying bay decide they have had enough. All in all, its not as epic as the series tend to be (with the world hanging in the balance), and not as humorous and character developing as the OVA's tend to be, but seems on Par with the other movies in the slayers franchise.

Art and Sound are typical of the Slayers media, so if you have seen other parts of the series you should generally know what to expect. A bit outdated by todays standards, but still generally clean and well animated.

As far as character goes, this movie dosn't offer much in the way of development. However you do get to see all of the characters you know and love (even if Naga's appearance is... very breif), but if this is your first piece of Slayers media you may be a bit lost.

This movie was quite enjoyable for fans, and fits in nicely between the second and final series. Overall, this is a good diversion from the series, with some quality bits of humor for a fan. If you are a first time Slayers watcher, its probably best to start with 'Slayers' the first series.

Slayers Premium is a huge step back in quality from Slayers and Slayers Next, I'm obviously glad it's no longer than 32 minutes, but it was 32 minutes that were quite painful. First, let me say that I watch Slayers in english dub (yes, yes, I know, heretic.) It's one of the few series I prefer the dub over sub. And Slayers Premium changed the voice actors...

It's dreadful, the Lina in Prenium sucks, it doesn't fit the character at all and even then most of the cast seem to be acting out of character for no apparent reason. The art is also stepped down, as ... well as the music. The story is uninspired and dull and, like I said, thank god it's only 1 episode; because I would have dropped a season that starts like that.

So yeah, overall Slayers Premium is simply a bad OVA, but that happens all the time in anime doesn't it. It is not necessary to watch it to understand the rest of the series, skipping it would be recommended, unless you have time to kill. It also doesn't bring any relevant backstory or anything like that, so it's really just a basket of stale bread in between the main dishes.

This is THE black sheep of the Slayers franchise. It's not interesting, it's not clever, it's not funny, it's not aesthetically appealing, and one hopes that it's not canon. Returning characters are sloppy mockeries of themselves, and very little besides that. The plot is more or less on par with a particularly weak mid-season comedy episode from any of the Slayers series. The 'takogo' gags are stupid, obnoxious, and repetitive. The art is not good, and the facial expressions manage to look like some kind of emoji vomit even in the context of the over-the-top Slayers universe.

If you know and ... love Slayers for what it is, this anime is not for you. If you're not familiar with Slayers, this anime is not the place to start. This is Slayers for young children.