The Ruby Eye

I was introduced to the "Slayers" franchise via the three anime TV series. When I learned that the anime came from a series of novels and short stories by Kanazaka Hajime-sensei, I hoped that someone would translate these into English as it will be a couple of years before I can really read them in Japanese. My wish has come true. Since the original Japanese novel was much smaller in dimensions, it has more pages. However, to convert the novel to American size, the number of pages has shrunk and the fonts used are larger than one would normally see in a novel. This is not a problem, but those wondering why the English version has less total pages will now know why. The story of the novel was covered in "Slayers" episodes 1-10. If you've seen the series, you know it deals with Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis and their dealings with the Red Priest Rezo and the sealed segment of the Dark Lord Ruby Eye Shabranigdo. It is interesting to see how the anime added and modified things to better suit that format. If they didn't, they wouldn't have managed to get 10 episodes out of this novel. As to TokyoPop's translations, there were a few disappointments. First, no Japanese honorifics survive. Granted they aren't used heavily except by the miko (priestess) and the priests that appear throughout the series. That would have been nice to have left in (thus making it closer to how the Japanese author intended), but oh well. The second item is a bit more troubling. It appears that TokyoPop modified certain passages to make it more appealing to younger audiences. For example, there is a passage where Lina is held captive. One of her captors decides to make her pay for what she's done to him. In the original Japanese, I'm told he wants one of his comrades to rape her, but no one is interested for various reasons (this is done for humor effect). TokyoPop changed rape to kiss. When the fish creature is given a chance to rape Lina (in the original Japanese), he agrees. This is where TokyoPop's modification of the translation runs into trouble. The fish creature is waiting for Lina to deposit eggs (which is how fish do their thing) before proceeding. So that joke falls flat because TokyoPop changed rape to kiss. Obviously, if the original had been about someone kissing Lina, the fish creature would have just done so rather than wait for her to deposit eggs to be fertilized. While rape may not be a topic to be used in a gag or joke, it is what the Japanese author wrote and as such, should be in the English translation as well. That aside, I'm still very glad that TokyoPop is bringing the series of novels to us in English.

I've been a fan of the Slayers anime for years and years and when I heard that Tokyopop was finally going to bring the novels that inspired the anime to the US, I couldn't wait to get out there and grab it. And thankfully it was everything I was hoping for. Tokyopop has done an excellent job of translating the novel while still preserving the unique brand of humor and action that makes Slayers so interesting in the first place. At less than 200 pages, the book isn't long, but it's relatively self-contained so you're not breathlessly swearing about an evil cliffhanger or anything. The novel retains the original illustrations that the Japanese version had and, while not necessary, they're nice to have. Fans of the show will probably love the novel, it covers the first part of the first season of the anime very closely (or vice versa, as the case may be). But non-fans should find a lot to enjoy about it as well. It's well written and is a very fast read (I read it in just over an hour) and it's very entertaining, with lots of action and humor. The only bad part about the novel is that it's so very short and you want to read more right away.

Slayers has been the most famous spoof of D & D style fantasy in the anime and manga world for many years. However, unbeknownest to most American fans, Slayers actually started life as a series of novels by Hajime Kanzaki. There are a few pages of art scattered throughout the book including some very nice colored pieces in the front that look like they were done in crayon or with colored pencils, but make no mistake: this is a novel, not a graphic novel. The first volume of Slayers essentially covers the same story as the first story arc of the anime (the first 10 episodes of the first season). Basically, Lina Inverse, 15 year old sorceress extraordinare blows up a gang of bandits, stealing their treasure in the process. Hidden among the bandit's loot is a powerful magical item which brings her under attack from a number of powerful enemies. There are a number of fights, escapes, and jokes that eventually culminates in a battle for the fate of the world. All this in around 200 pages of moderately large print (standard young adult size font). I was afraid how all this would be depicted on the written page and was pleasantly pleased with the result. Although I was expecting a standard third person narrative, it turns out that the entire novel is written from Lina's perspective. Even though I already knew what was going to happen as far as the plot goes thanks to having watched the anime, the novel remained interesting by going more in depth in some of the world mechanics as well as offering plenty of humorous comments, quips, and lines of dialogue that weren't in the anime. Also as you might expect, characters are a bit more fleshed out. Gourry didn't seem quite as dumb in the novel as he does in the anime, Zelgadis wasn't as angsty, and Lina, well, Lina was even more Lina-esque than she's ever been before. Aside from a quick encounter with a band of goblin which I found rather amusing, nothing major happens in the book that doesn't happen in the anime. As you might expect, events don't always entirely match up between the anime and the book. So far the anime has had more exclusive scenes (such as the fight with the dragon in episode 1, the underwater fight with the fishman, and some scenes with Rezo). However, with 15 novels of Slayers currently available in Japan (with the second volume coming out here in December), it looks like the novels will have plenty of exclusive material. In particular, the advertisement for the second novel mentioned several incidents that I didn't remember from the anime so it should be quite interesting to see how that turns out. Are the Slayers novels instant classics? Well, no. However if you're looking for a fast paced, action packed adventure with large doses of comedy, Slayers is just what you need. Only having read one novel so far, it's a bit early to say, but if future novels maintain the level of quality exhibited in the first novel, I think I'm going to enjoy the novels even more than I enjoy the anime se

Slayers fans may rejoice, for the original work is now available in pure, unadulterated English (unlike amateur translations, which kept in a lot of random Japanese.) The first volume covers the same storyline as the first half of the first season of the anime, but from what I can tell continues on its own way in the second volume. So if you've seen the anime, the storyline is not new, but it is refreshing to read it and have everything clarified (the novel finally corrects the anime's most notorious mistranslation regarding the ancestry of Zelgadis.) The translation puts everything firmly into modern English vernacular, but the phrasing is clean and the attitude of the characters remains the same. Lina Inverse, the greatest and cutest sorceress of all time, will still capture your heart and steal your wallet without batting an eye. Gourry comes across as less stupid and Zelgadis as less broody, but this can be attributed to the exxageration required in mediums other than text. This is the way the characters really are. I enjoyed every last page of the novel, and I eagerly await the second volume.

At last, after years of waiting, the story of the "Slayers" in its original rendition is here! Charming and funny, anyone who loved the series will enjoy reading this. Its gives the reader more information into the magical background of the series, as well as the characters, finally giving a taste of the author's original portrayal of them. A must for any "Slayers" fan.