The 90s was a sort of renaissance for anime in the West, as a lot of anime that was airing in that time was starting to be brought over across the sea. Because of that, a lot of the anime released during that time is still remembered fondly by older anime fans.
One of those classic anime series is Slayers, an anime based on a light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka. It stars genius sorceress Lina Inverse and her adventures with her companion Gourry Gabriev. During the 90s, the anime had three seasons, each one very successful. Despite its popularity, there are a few things that fans might not know about this legendary series.
10 Lina's Voice Actor Sang The Show's Opening Themes
Japanese voice actors and actresses pursuing singing careers is nothing out of the ordinary, and many anime productions often take advantage of such talent for their openings. Slayers, for example, has Lina's voice actor Megumi Hayashibara sing the opening themes for every season of Slayers.
Megumi Hayashibara has lent her singing talents to more than just Slayers. She has had a lengthy career as a recording artist, with over ten albums to her name. She still occasionally performs live in addition to her voice-over roles.
9 Megumi Hayashibara Is An Anime Veteran
While Megumi Hayashibara is known for being Lina Inverse's voice actor, she is an accomplished industry veteran that has had multiple famous roles. Some of her most famous roles are as female Ranma Saotome from Ranma 1/2, Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop, and Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Those roles are her most well-known characters; Hayashibara has played many characters over the years, including Ai Haibara in Detective Conan and Anna Kyoyama in Shaman King.
Megumi Hayashibara is not the only famous voice actor to have worked on Slayers; Hikaru Midorikawa and Akira Ishida also have recurring roles in the anime, as Zelgadis and Xellos respectively.
8 Lina Has A Sister Who She Is Terrified Of
Lina Inverse is one of the most powerful magicians in the world, a fact that she will happily let you know. As a result, she does not scare easily, even when facing cosmic threats that are capable of destroying the world.
However, even an all-powerful sorceress like Lina has something she's afraid of, and for Lina, that is her older sister. Lina is terrified by even a single mention of her sister, and a word from her can make her usually bold personality do a complete 180. Hilariously, Lina's sister has never appeared in the story at all outside of cameos, so the reason behind Lina's fear is never elaborated on.
7 Lina Has A Traveling Partner That Doesn't Appear In The Anime
Lina Inverse's ever-present companion is Gourry Gabriev, a dim-witted but heroic swordsman. In the light novels and the anime, Gourry is always traveling with Lina, even when their other allies part ways with them.
However, in the animated movies, things are a little different. Gourry is absent, and Lina's traveling partner is instead Naga the Serpent, a voluptuous and narcissistic sorceress originating from the Slayers Special prequel novels. Lina and Naga are the main characters for the first four Slayers movies, as well as the Slayers Special OVA.
6 Slayers TRY Was An Original Story
The first two seasons of Slayers were based on storylines taken from the original light novels. Like most adaptations, there were a lot of changes made to make the plot fit into each season, but the overall storyline of the anime closely followed whatever was happening in the corresponding novel.
However, the creators decided to change tracks for season 3, and Slayers TRY was instead an original storyline created by the writer Hajime Kanzaka. The story introduced new characters Filia Ul Copt and Valgaav, and focused on exploring an area outside of the series' main setting.
5 Slayers' Author Didn't Like Slayers TRY
The original story of Slayers TRY was written by Hajime Kanzaka, the original author of the light novels. Despite this, Kanzaka ended up not liking Slayers TRY, although he has not really given much reason as to why.
Regardless of Kanzaka's opinion of the third series, Slayers TRY has been very successful and is considered by fans to be on par, if not better than the preceding seasons. Slayers TRY has remained a classic and is still beloved by fans to this day.
4 Slayers' Original Run Was Supposed To Have A Fourth Season
The original run of Slayers, Slayers NEXT, and Slayers TRY ran from 1995 to 1997. The continuing success of the anime series meant that a fourth season called Slayers AGAIN would be planned for 1998. However, that fourth season never came to fruition due to scheduling conflicts with Megumi Hayashibara (who appeared in six different anime that year).
Slayers would eventually return in 2008 with two 13-episode seasons called Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R. The two seasons were based on a new story, and are not related to the original fourth season.
3 Lina Inspired A Character In Dota 2
Slayers' influence in pop culture is a little subdued in the west due to it not being as popular as monoliths like Dragon Ball Z and Mobile Suit Gundam. Despite this, it has a considerable following, and nods to the series can be seen here and there.
One big example can be seen in a Dota 2 character also named Lina. While the character's backstory is quite different from Lina Inverse, they share some similarities, such as them both being redheaded mages. Lina also has two abilities that take their name from Lina Inverse's spells, Dragon Slave and Laguna Blade.
2 Slayers And Lost Universe Are Connected
While Hajime Kanzaka is most known as the creator of the Slayers novels, he has written other novels as well. One of the most well-known of these is Lost Universe, a sci-fi story following trouble contractor Kane Blueriver as he travels through space with his sentient spaceship Canal Volfield. Lost Universe also had an anime series airing in 1998.
Although the settings of the two universes couldn't be more different, in truth, the two series are connected. This is because the worlds of both stories are created by the same Lord of Nightmares, and the dark gods of Slayers appear as "Lost Ships" in Lost Universe.
1 The Story Continues On In The Light Novels
The Slayers anime ran between 1995 and 1997, with a short revival between 2008 and 2009. Since then, no new anime projects for Slayers have been announced, and it's safe to assume that won't change in the foreseeable future.
However, the light novels have been going strong, with the latest novel released in 2019. Even if Slayers never gets an anime again, fans can still get more of Lina Inverse and her adventures by hunting down the light novels. Unfortunately, not all of the light novels have been translated yet, so fans might have to learn a bit of Japanese for the newer volumes.