Slayers Revolution 01 - Being Lina Inverse is now a Crime

I confess: I've only seen Slayers Try (and a few episodes of Slayers Next), but I was still looking forward to Revolution. And episode one doesn't miss a beat, filled with the same art, humor, and over the top explosions that Slayers fans have come to love. A cameo appearance of the fish lady made me smile, but newcomers would probably scratch their heads (although admittedly, I scratched my head at the fish people too).

The episode begins with Lina unleashing her fireballs on some poor nameless pirates. Even though she's easily more powerful than them, it still takes a good one third of the episode to blow them up. This is mildly annoying, as the battle is rather one-sided, so it becomes a bit boring after awhile. But hey, it's Lina being Lina and Gourry being...useless in battle. The battle ends when the pirates are fired on by a ship carrying Ameria, Zelgadiss, and an old dude named Waizer. He says he's been looking for Lina and he's impressed by her power. Lina and Gourry are treated to some food at a local town while they catch up with Ameria and Zel (or in Gourry's case, attempt to remember them in the first place). Waizer flashes a badge and announces that Lina Inverse is under arrest for the crime of...being Lina Inverse. He says that they're surrounded by soliders, machines, and more, but Lina doesn't seem to mind, and easily blasts her way through them, Gourry, Ameria, and Zel in tow. As they're fighting, a strange mascot-like creature begins chanting the spell for Lina's signature attack, Dragon Slave. Much to everyone's surprise, the critter fires off a Dragon Slave, but they manage to escape. Lina's pretty ticked off, and the others try to cool her down. Meanwhile...the strange creature is flying through the sky searching for her.

Definitely a nice treat for fans of the series, but it takes a least a bit of prior knowledge to really enjoy this episode. Newcomers will probably find themselves a bit lost, and even bored at points. The episode follows the pretty standard bit of explosions everywhere formula that Slayers has stuck to. Animation is nice. The art style hasn't changed, but the colors are much brighter, and the animation is (unsurprisingly) more fluid that the older series. Good first episode that kept the spirit of Slayers, but the only real twist was the small animal able to use Dragon Slave. If the OP is any indication, it'll be on Lina's side soon enough. Also, no Xellos this episode, which made me sad, since I like him.

--Ou-bento