Slayers Next Box Set [DVD]

Lina Inverse -- short, brash, flat-chested and monstrous of appetite and magical power. She's too brilliant an anti-heroine to just use once.

And her little gang reunites rather explosively in "Slayers Next - The Complete Second Season," where Lina and Co. deal with various magical threats and problems... as well as a bunch of monsters who want Lina dead for some reason. It's a darker, more intricate story than the first season, but it doesn't lose touch with the same deranged humor and lovably quirky characters.

The gang reunites in the kingdom of Xoana (where Amelia and Zelgadis become enemies for about ten minutes) just before a battle with the deranged Princess Martina, who wants to sacrifice the world to her imaginary Monster friend. One Dragonslave later, and the kingdom is in ruins.

Then they start out on a quest for the legendary magic book called the Claire Bible, which is dogged by "mysterious priest" Xellos (who is more than he seems, obviously). And they have to deal with weird problems along the way: curses from the crazed Martina, a sorcerous feud that upends an entire city, the hunt for dragon cuisine ("Oh god of cookery, give me strength!"), a magical tennis game, a tower of magic dolls and weird obstacles, a city that bans men, and a hunt for ancient divine spells that turns out to be all wrong.

But the real trouble starts when the gang makes it to Amelia's country of Seyruun -- and discovers that a conspiracy of greedy royals and evil Monsters want Lina very, very dead. Unfortunately, nobody knows why. The gang sets out to discover the reason why on a journey riddled with Golden Dragons, malignant Monsters, and the true form of the Claire Bible and its keeper. But their mysterious enemies have plans for Lina and her ultimate attack spell... which may bring about the end of the world.

Spoofs of the fantasy genre are a dime a dozen. The real challenge is creating a spoof that also has a story and mythology all its own -- and "Slayers Next" succeeds brilliantly at doing that. Not only is the second season of "Slayers" gutsplittingly funny, it has a really solid storyline, excellent writing and thoroughly enjoyable characters -- including some moments that are beautifully dramatic and horrifying too.

The main storyline really kicks in when the gang arrives in Seyruun, after some hints and foreshadowing, and after that it keeps twisting and changing, revealing one secret at a time -- Lina's pursuers, their motives, and how devastatingly powerful they are. And it takes the usual fantasy tropes -- big dumb guy with magic sword, powerful sorceress, demonic creatures, plucky naive princess -- and promptly turns them on their heads.

Things start getting grimmer in the middle when the gang finds the true Claire Bible, and that darker undercurrent gets thicker all the way to the end. The climax is literally apocalyptic in its scope -- a brilliantly intense piece of work.

And there's a lot of humour too, ranging from Zelgadis being used as an anchor ("Poor Mr Zelgadis... we can at least let you breathe down there!") to a series of running gags ("That.... is a SECRET"). At least half the episodes contain and/or end with some kind of massive explosion and/or rioting. And a couple stories wedged between the two arcs are entirely devoted to comedy -- usually they involve a more relaxed tone, with Zelgadis and Gourry in drag, idol singing, and the whole gang dressing up in big silly animal costumes.

Lina continues to be a hilarious anti-heroine with a short fuse and a seemingly endless arsenal of explosion spells, but visions of a Gigaslave gone wrong -- and Gourry's abduction -- show how much she loves her buddies. Yogurt-brained Gourry is a good complement to Lina, and hyperactive princess Amelia struggles with treachery within her loving family (and has some cute romantic moments with Zel). Zelgadis is the best-rounded character of the bunch, struggling with his insecurities, his image, and his stony-skinned body.

"Next" also introduces a couple of brilliant new characters. Xellos is a puckish trickster who flits in and out, causing trouble just for the fun of it, and announcing that whatever he's talking about "is a SECRET." He's a delightfully infuriating guy, and much more than he appears. And Martina is basically there for the comic relief -- a very insane princess who worships a Monster she made up herself, and keeps trying to curse/kill Lina.

"Slayers Next" is a brilliant fantasy spoof with a clever, twisting storyline and plenty of laugh-out-loud humor. Definitely a must-see -- along with the other seasons.

Slayers Next , the second of the Slayers series is pretty much the same as the first series , funny at times , Lina annoying at times and plenty of action .

Picture quality is still average and again looks a bit dated . Also this series has a few filler episodes that really annoy me , they completely slowed down the pace of the series .

A good series and worth buying .