DVD Corner

Slayers Revolution: Season 4 and Slayers Evolution-R: Season 5 Blu-ray Reviews

“Slayers Revolution” is fast-paced fun.

“Slayers Evolution-R” isn’t as engaging as ‘Revolution.’

“Slayers Revolution” (the fourth season in the “Slayers series) focuses on the character Lina who is a money loving sorceress/swordswoman with special powers. In these 13 episodes Lina (and her partner Gourry) try to find a mysterious spell casting stuffed animal named Pokota who has a magic tank, are captured by an investigator named Wizer, encounter pirate ships, a pet kidnapper, a Golem, an assassin named Zuuma, a cruise ship, and a demon beats named Zanaffar.

Normally, I’m not very fond of the quirky comedic-action anime series, but “Slayers Revolution” is definitely an exception to the rule. The reason the humor works is because the jokes aren’t nauseatingly bad nor do they make your eye rolls. Instead, it’s simply good, zany, fast-paced fun. Add in some exciting, explosive action, and some truly bizarre story elements (namely concerning Pokota) and you’ve got an anime series that delivers.

As for “Slayers Evolution-R,” I didn’t find this 13 episode fifth season to be nearly as interesting. While the wacky adventures with Lina and company do continue directly from season 4 here, the lighthearted fun seems to be gone. Instead, we get a darker season with the central plot involving Lina searching for a Hellmaster Jar that continues Rezo’s soul. Other subplots include a headless knight, a dragon, a fishwoman needing to be rescued, monsters named Gduza and Dugld, and a Dark Lord named Shabranigdo.

I think the main flaw of season 5 is that there are too many side stories here which sidetracks the overall arc of season 5. To me, season 4 was not only more focused, but it was a much more involving (and more amusing) adventure. As I mentioned above, the tone is too dark which means the main character (Lina) has been toned down a little. It’s a shame since the humor of season 4 is what drew me into this series to begin with. 

Summary: “Slayers Revolution” is worth watching, but unless you are a hardcore “Slayers” fan, I wouldn’t actively seek out “Slayers Evolution-R.”

The widescreen 1080p picture quality is super crisp and clear. The 2D/3D animation is just flat out gorgeous here. When it comes to anime series on Blu-ray, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Both sets include English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese  Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio track. Lina’s voice work is a little shrieky on the English track, but the voice work generally works well on the dub. With that said, I prefer the Japanese track as the voicework here (especially for Lina) is superior. The only downside to the Japanese track is that the action isn’t as lively in 2.0. 

“Slayers Revolution” extras include textless opening and closing songs and trailers for “Dragon Ball Z,””Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu,” “Nabari No Ou,” “Kaze No Stigma,” “One Piece,” “Trigun,” “Coyote Ragtime,” “Big Windup!,” “Initial D,” and “Fullmetal Alchemist.”

“Slayers Evolution-R” includes the same extras except the only difference is that there are no trailers for “Fumoffu,” “Nabari No Ou,” “One Piece,” and “Coyote Ragtime,” but there are trailers for “Sengoku Basara,” “Bamboo Blade,” and “Pani Poni Dash!”

December 4, 2010 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Slayers Evolution-R Season 5 Blu-ray Review, Slayers Revolution Season 4 Blu-ray Review