Lina and company have managed to catch up with Pokota and have given chase yet again. Pokota is particularly annoyed and wants to get them off his tail today of all days. Pokota gives them all the slip and while they try to decide what to do, they are quickly surrounded by a deep mist as Pokota curses his luck.

Zelgadis notices a presence in the bushes and tosses pieces of his hair at the area (as a chimera he has rather sharp and pointed hair) revealing the intruder. It’s Xellos of all people and he’s holding a hastily captured Pokota. Lina asks him what he’s doing there and Xellos answers in his usual way. It’s a SECRET. He changes the subject and has the group look around at their surroundings. Amelia spots something in the mist and Pokota again curses his luck. They approach what appears to be a town hidden in the fog. Devoid of people, they quickly assume it abandoned to which Pokota takes offense and claims it’s his birthplace. He demands to know who Xellos is and what his purpose is. Lina doesn’t do a good job of explaining but manages to get across that Xellos is VERY powerful and for Pokota not to try anything if he values his safety.

Pokota explains that the town is hidden in the mist of the forest and the passageway only appears once every few months. The others recognize the story and Pokota exposes that the town is named Taforashia and it was a “mage city”. Xellos takes up the story by explaining the town vanished in one night after the inhabitants contracted a plague known as “Durum Disease” which had no cure. Neighboring countries ignored them but one wizard tried to help but the town disappeared before he could.

Pokota claims that Xellos’ story is only partially true and opens a magic seal for them as they enter a large building. He claims that the wizard did appear to help them and he reveals the inhabitants of the town in a sort of suspended animation, held there until a cure is found and the town hidden until that day. Zelgadis points out that the disease has been cured but Pokota says the people will still sleep as the wizard who cast the seal is missing. The wizard’s name: Rezo, the Red Priest. Old Slayers fans will remember him as the “villain” from the first season of The Slayers, responsible for Zelgadis’ condition as well as accidentally freeing the demon “Ruby Eyes” Shabranigdo onto the world. Xellos seems to note something that makes it look like he knows more than he lets on but before Lina can grill it out of him he takes his leave and disappears in front of them.

Pokota wants the party to leave since they aren’t really welcome in the first place but Lina still wants to know exactly he is and what is his problem with the mage-tanks as well as his Sword of Light antics. She also tells him that Rezo is no longer alive but he laughs it off, stating that if he really were dead that the seal would be broken and the people would be free. Before the discussion can go farther, there’s an explosion in another part of town as they rush off to investigate. They find that the King’s mansion has been broken into. Pokota rushes in, demanding to know who the intruder and the voice that answers claims that Pokota’s real name is Posel Corba Taforashia and that he’s actually the prince of the hidden country.

Pokota answers the voice, naming his as Duclis who reveals himself (a walking upright white tiger). Pokota claims he is the one who stole the mage tanks while another pair reveal themselves, a regal woman and her maid/retainer. She names herself as Gioconda and as a marquis of the kingdom of Ruvinagald. Her maid, Ozel. Lina realizes that they are the true thieves and Gioconda claims that the rumors of Lina’s involvment in the matter with the mage-tanks are problematic as their market value will drop. Gioconda reveals that she’s basically a merchant of war who is selling off the tanks as weapons. Amelia reveals herself as a princess of Seyruun and Gioconda claims to hate the country and threatens it. Pokota gets tired of all the talk and attacks with some dangerous spells. However while Ozel clears Gioconda of the blast, Duclis takes the attack head on with no damage.

Shocked at the display, Pokota notes that Duclis is wearing what is called Zanafar Armor which is very resistant to magical attack and Duclis states that while it’s still incomplete it’s still powerful enough to stop his attack. In a brief exchange, Pokota reveals that Duclis used to be a part of Taforashia in some way and Duclis attacks, nearly taking Lina’s head off with a spell. After another unsuccessful attack, Pokota attacks with his Sword of Light and Duclis is forced to dodge it, claiming it’s the only weakness of the Zanafar Armor and that Pokota took the copies most likely because of that. Ozel, carrying Gioconda, reappears and hands her a very large sword as she plans to join the battle in order to keep the market value of her investment up by getting rid of our heroes. Duclis tells her it’s not need and he will kill them all himself.

Lina takes offense and talks big but realizes there’s not much she can do against the Armor without a real big spell. Just then, the Armor cracks as Pokota’s Sword of Light copy managed to cut it slightly. Pokota attacks but is suddenly stopped by Xellos who claims that he’s currently on the side of Duclis and his group. He wants to call the fight off but Gioconda protests briefly. A protest that’s silenced very quickly as Xellos briefly shows off his rather menacing side. Xellos tosses Pokota away and vanishes while the rest of them take their leave as well.

Back in her kingdom, Gioconda inquires about the Zanafar Armor and its “invincibility”. Duclis, bowing before her, claims the Sword of Light is its only weakness but that the Armor itself is still incomplete. Gioconda is irritated but Xellos notes that the Armor will fetch a much higher price when completed. Duclis then asks if Xellos found what he was looking for in Taforashia and he produces an old page with writing. The page is a copy of instructions on how to produce the Zanafar Armor, from the Claire Bible (an important magical book that Lina was searching for in the second season of The Slayers) as well as clues on to how to get it closer to completion. Upon reading the information, Xellos destroys the page. Sharp Slayers viewers may remember that during Slayers Next, Xellos’ job was to destroy all manuscripts of the Claire Bible. He also wants the group to be careful of Lina and her party but Gioconda seems unconcerned as she requests Ozel to summon an assassin named Zuuma.

Thoughts:
Well the story has certainly moved quickly with the discovery of a good deal of Pokota’s past as well as the introduction of the villains of the show and that Xellos is working for them. However, if Xellos is involved it’s safe to say that an old lady and her maid will hardly be the biggest threat the show has to offer. We should probably expect yet another ridiculous incursion of mazoku/demons somewhere down the line as I’m sure they are probably just using Gioconda for their own purposes.

Duclis and Pokota have some unspoken history as it’s quite possible that Duclis will end up the begrudging ally type by shows end, most likely sacrificing himself for the party and Pokota in particular. But that’s just my “cliche villain turned ally” hunch. He could join permanently and live through the show but since Zelgadis basically fills that role in the group, there’s no room for a new bad guy turned good guy.

This assassin, Zuuma, is also more than likely the black clad figure fighting Gourry in the intro we haven’t seen yet in show. Possibly another rival there, potentially showing how weak Gourry is without a real sword that can handle his strength which will be the start of the “subplot” of Gourry somehow getting the Sword of Light back. The original or an upgraded “copy” of Pokota’s? It’s anyone’s guess but there’s no way they’re going to get all the way through this show without Gourry getting his hand on SOME Sword of Light.

Well the next episode seems to be going back to the silly side. Even more than usual. So we might only get a glimpse of Zuuma and the rest of the villains if that. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Lina and Gourry are desperately hunting down Pokota in order to figure out why he’s framing Lina. Unfortunately they’re doing a fairly poor job of it and succeed only in wrecking the landscape and injuring innocent wildlife. After a brief respite in a nearby cabin Zelgadis decides to chime in, pointing out Lina’s terribly ineffective tactics. Lina comes back, pointing out that Zel hasn’t really done much either but he doesn’t care. Cue Lina with a nasty bait tactic pointing out that since Pokota can use the Dragon Slave and create Sword of Light replicas and mage-tanks, he JUST might know about Zelgadis’ curse and be able to cure him of his chimera “affliction”. Zelgadis sees through her ploy… But still decides that a good way to flush out Pokota is to destroy the nearby lake and flood out all the forest creatures at once. Amelia manages to restrain Zelgadis long enough for Lina to point out that she has another plan and goes off with Gourry, leaving Amelia and Zelgadis to their own devices.

After a “light” breakfast and horrifying attempt by Gourry to actually think on his own, Lina reveals her plan to him with a crude drawing. Meanwhile, Zelgadis is setting a trap of his own for Pokota. Slipping into a somewhat “darker” persona, Amelia is worried about his plans that seem a bit “simple” for him (the old bait under a basket trick). Zelgadis regains his senses long enough to cram more food in the trap and before Amelia can again try to convince him it won’t work, the trap is sprung! And sure enough, Pokota is right there. Zelgadis, still under the assumption he knows how to cure him, threatens Pokota’s life if he doesn’t spill the secret. Not knowing what he’s talking about, Pokota attempts to escape but can’t as Zelgadis drugged the food. Amelia stops Zelgadis from murdering the helpless Pokota and they head back to the cabin, Amelia eventually curing him.

Amelia decides to just try “talking” to the guy and manages to get a little info out of him but he’s notably silent about his mission to destroy the mage tanks and who exactly stole them in the first place. Zelgadis is tired of his obvious dodging of the questions but Amelia believes Pokota wholeheartedly and decides to join him as allies of JUSTICE.

After a little journeying and bonding, the new trio reach a town and discover a mage tank wrecking the town. Zelgadis immediately notices something “odd” about it but Pokota goes off to destroy it with Amelia close behind. Inside the mage-tank we discover Lina and Gourry. Turns out their plan was to create a fake tank to flush out Pokota (actually not a terribly bad idea). However, Pokota and Amelia get too serious in their attempt and the damaged mage-tank sets Lina off as she responds in kind with magic from inside the tank. Lina, in a rage, almost blows Amelia out of the sky but Pokota manages to save her just in time with a Sword of Light replica and the two of them use a combined spell to finally take the “tank” down.

Amelia signals her victory but Lina comes out of the wreckage screaming. Realizing the entire thing was a trick, Pokota quickly takes his leave as Amelia thinks Lina actually IS behind the thefts of the mage-tanks while the villagers mourn the loss of their village.

Thoughts:
A mostly comedic episode although we see a little character development with the semi-attachment between Pokota and Amelia. We also get another nod to the older series with a reminder of Zelgadis’ curse and his search for a cure which he seemed to pretty much give up for the most part after the first series, usually regulated to straight-man to Lina’s antics and occasional awkward love interest for Amelia. Kind of a shame that Wiser pretty much disappeared from the show although it seems like his only real purpose was to hunt down the villain from last episode using Lina as an excuse. Was hoping he’d hang around a bit now that he showed himself to be more than just a Zenigata (from Lupin the Third fame) clone. Oh well. Can’t win ‘em all.

The next episode promises tons of plot advancement as Xellos finally makes his appearance and the main villains in the intro finally decide to show their faces. Until then!

A very wealthy woman and her pet poodle, Sebastian, seem to be going for an early morning stroll by a lake only for the dog to become very irritated at something in the lake. He dives into the lake only to disappear while the owner screams for her pet as an eerie island hovers in the distance.

Back in town, Lina and Gourry have a good old fashioned eating contest to see who pays for lunch while everyone in the tavern cheers them on. Except for Amelia and Zelgadis that is who are ashamed to be in their presence while Zel notes that they seem oblivious to the fact that they’re both basically wanted criminals. Just as Lina is about to claim victory a set of handcuffs fly out of nowhere. Our “good friend” Wiser is back to arrest Lina, seemingly oblivious of the fact that she was completely innocent before. Wiser flashes the wanted poster and mentions Lina’s name which puts the entire tavern in a panic as they flee the premises, screaming about rumors even worse than usual. Wiser admits he’s been spreading the “rumors” but doesn’t seem to care as he’s ready to arrest her, this time for serial pet abduction.

Everyone is completely stunned by this while Gourry, totally ignoring the situation, claims victory in the eating contest much to Lina’s shock. Lina angrily claims her innocence yet again while Wiser simply states he’s doing his duty. Zel mentions that this might be another frame job like with Pokota but Wiser claims he has proof this time. The proof? Yep. That she’s Lina Inverse. Lina decides to answer that charge by launching Wiser into the stratosphere forgetting that she’s also attached to him via the handcuffs as she joins him in the sky.

Wiser describes the situation as many rich people have had their pets go missing. Lina doesn’t really care while Amelia shows her sympathy. Wiser claims she has no heart and doesn’t understand the owners’ feelings. Lina still refuses to care, more worried about her own situation but Wiser lets slip that the owners are offering a huge reward. That spurs Lina into action and claims to “clear her name” although she’s obviously only after the reward. Wiser jokes that there’s no way she can do it since she’s obviously the culprit. Lina remains undaunted, at least until Gourry reminds her to pay the bill for lunch.

Lina and her party decide to do some legwork and ask in town about the abductions but everyone totally ignores them and refuses to answer any questions. Everyone admits this is quite suspicious and that there may be some conspiracy afoot while Wiser feigns innocence and claims he’s not wasting his time asking questions since he’s got the culprit already in handcuffs. Before Lina can give him yet another piece of her mind, Gourry points out some animal footprints that go off in the distance, leading to the lake. Amelia mentions that she’s heard that ships that go out into the lake go missing and they decide to check it out, despite Wiser’s stubbornness.

The weather immediately gets foggy as they take a boat out to the middle of the lake, heading for the mysterious island and the strange structure on it. Wiser panics, thinking that the entire thing is a trick for Lina to try to kill him for arresting her. Lina just ignores him as a sound startles them. They all turn to see Gourry fishing, much to their relief. Another sound shocks them and they chastise Gourry only to find out it wasn’t him that time. A huge jellyfish monster shows itself and attacks the boat. Lina is about to blast it before Wiser interrupts, claiming the monster is Lina’s and she’s trying to trick him. The distraction is long enough for the monster to destroy the boat as everyone casts magic to escape. Lina, holding Gourry and Wiser, decides they won’t get away without a distraction of their own and she casts Gourry at the monster. Leaving him to his fate, she quietly “mourns” his sacrifice as the others head toward the island.

No sooner than they reach the island than they’re attacked again, this time by Lesser Demons. Amelia goes off into one of her patented speeches of justice only for Lina, dragging Wiser, to escape while Amelia and Zelgadis are left behind to watch their backs very much under protest while we get a quick glimpse of the culprit and his laboratory.

Fending off a straggler demon, Lina and Wiser make it to the laboratory and break in. They’re ambushed by more monsters but Lina makes fairly quick work of them. Lina asks Wiser if he understands the situation now but Wiser proclaims that the entire situation is Lina’s bid for world domination and Lina decides she’s had enough and swings Wiser in anger, managing to free herself from the handcuffs and slam him into a door leading to the inner laboratory. Lina quickly faces off against the robed villain and correctly guesses that the entire situation is of his doing, experimenting on the missing pets to create chimeras. Lina shows the culprit to Wiser only to discover he’s out cold. After a quick exchange, the villain lets loose some of his stolen pet chimeras, claiming that they’re innocent pets so Lina would have a problem attacking them. Obviously he doesn’t know Lina. Lina blasts then but stops short of killing them, seeing as she needs to collect that reward. Robed Bad Guy quickly composes himself and unleashes his greatest monster, Death Chimera Taro. Lina tries to dispatch this one but it has a defensive spell protecting him from magic so things won’t be quite so easy.

Back outside, Zel and Amelia finish off the Lesser Demons only to be suddenly shocked by a giant creature. Lina is still having trouble only for the wall to come down and the giant jellyfish to burst in. Mr. Robed Bad Guy is surprised to see it there but claims that since the monster is in his power, both it and Taro will crush Lina. However it quickly attacks the villain and swats the Death Chimera. It turns out that the jellyfish creature is being controlled by Gourry who befriended it after being tossed by Lina who claims that they became friends because they’re both jellyfish brains. They also picked up Zel and Amelia much to their disappointment as they come out of its mouth covered in sticky saliva. The robed scientist tries to sneak off, only to be confronted by Wiser who claims to have seen his crimes and arrest him. The scientist laughs, claiming that he can’t be arrested as he’s being backed by a Ruvinagald prince. Wiser still arrests him despite his protests.

Back outside, Lina is impressed with Wiser’s deception. She claims that Wiser couldn’t act against a Ruvinagald prince normally much less arrest him but if he “stumbled” upon the operation while in the midst of another investigation he could get around such problems. Like chasing Lina Inverse, for instance. Wiser smiles but claims he has no idea what she’s talking about while Lina has to finally give him some credit. Gourry is happily sharing his new friend with Zel and Amelia, again under much protest, and the pets are returned to their owners although not QUITE in the same form they were before.

Thoughts:
Well if Wiser is on the up and up, I have to say I’m just as surprised as Lina was. I was expecting a totally bumbling goofball to act as a running gag/comic relief throughout the series and during the episode I was actually considering that he may have had some sinister reason for blindly trying to arrest Lina. Possibly with his working for Ruvinagald and trying to keep her out of the way for some reason. But it looks like he’s a lot more clever than anyone gave him credit for and he might actually prove to be a welcome and useful companion in Lina’s current adventures provided he sticks around and that arresting this scientist wasn’t his only real purpose. We’ll have to see as the next episode brings back Pokota and possibly another magic tank but no Wiser in sight. Well, until then!

Lina’s still upset that someone stole her spotlight and is taking it out on her companions as they quake in terror. Gourry tries his best to calm her down but to no avail. She’s wanted by the police, she doesn’t know what’s going on, and worst of all, she didn’t get to blow anything up real good. She decides to go through her troubles one by one to see just where she stands in all that’s happened.

First she asks Amelia exactly what her connection is to Wiser who came to arrest her. She replies that Seyruun received an official request from Ruvinagald Kingdom but she wasn’t told exactly what their reasons for seeking Lina out were. Zelgadis was hired as Amelia’s bodyguard by her father, Philionel. Lina figures that sounds pretty suspicious and asks why Amelia didn’t question the orders but apparently the Seyruun Legislature figured she was dangerous enough to jeopardize a country on her own. True but it stings nonetheless. Lina isn’t pleased and decides she might take a visit to Seyruun to cause some havok and she might as well do the same to Ruvinagald.

Just then, Wiser decides to show up and uses that proclamation as further reason to arrest Lina. Not one to take that lying down, Lina confronts Wiser asking just what does he have on Lina that requires her arrest (being Lina Inverse notwithstanding). Wiser explains that their magic tanks (like the one in the previous episode) have been destroyed one after the other and all evidence points to Lina being the culprit. Mainly her use of the Dragon Slave and the magic tanks tend to be destroyed by high level spells as they are mostly immune to weaker ones. Lina considers that baloney and weak circumstantial evidence at best but the others buy it (knowing Lina’s nature after all) and shrug their shoulders in defeat. As before….some friends. At least Gourry vows to wait for Lina no matter how long it takes in a surprisingly sweet confession that even takes Lina aback for a few seconds. Before she kicks him in the face, that is. Lina proclaims that if they’d all wait a second they’d remember that she wasn’t the one that blew up the magic tank from before. Zelgadis and Amelia immediately see the error of their ways and proclaim Lina’s innocence despite the “strong” hypothesis from Wiser.

Lina plans on further proving her innocence by catching the little creature that cast Dragon Slave before. Wiser takes them to a heavily armed fort that houses among other things, another magic tank. One that looks like a cow as opposed to the turtle from earlier. Despite silly appearances, Lina plans to protect it and catch the culprit in the act. No sooner than she spells out her plan, a fireball comes out of nowhere and pulverizes the magic tank. It appears they had been followed. Lina tells Amelia and Zelgadis to help the soldiers wounded in the attack while she and Gourry chase the culprit.

They quickly catch up and match off against the little creature who takes offense at being called as such. A quick exchange of spells and insults quickly turns into a physical brawl between Lina and the culprit. After a quick tussle, Lina explains that she’s being blamed for his doings but he apparently has too many important things to do to worry about that and mentions that the main reason she’s being mistaken for him is because of her bad attitude. The fight starts up again with Gourry managing to flush the little guy out of hiding before getting trapped in a pit created by the culprit. Lina checks on him before facing off with the mini magician again.

Back at the fort, Amelia is treating soldiers while Zelgadis waits till Wiser awakens and informs him that Lina is after the true culprit of the sabotage acts. After exchanging more minor spells, Lina realize that she’s getting nowhere but since the creature is faster than her, she won’t be able to get a big spell off. Lina casts a small spell which confuses the tiny creature but it turns out to be a spell to attract birds which scares him briefly. Lina mocks the little bomber for being afraid of birds and he responds by going after her appearance and repeated jabs at her lack of a chest. We all know that’s taboo when talking to Lina. She loses it and starts casting a boosted Dragon Slave. The little guy tries to stop her but the aura from the boosted spell protects her from his assault. In a panic, he reaches into a cavity on his chest via a zipper and pulls out a weapon. It appears to be Gourry’s Sword of Light, lost in Slayers Try. Lina’s spell goes off to the expected result and the party back at the fort notice the explosion and head off to see what happened.

Lina stands victorious as Gourry pulls himself out of the rubble. Then the culprit reveals himself hiding behind a rock and yells at Lina for casting such a dangerous spell. They then notice the Sword of Light but before they can ask about it, it fails. The little creature claims that he made it but that it’s only a replica of the real thing. He also states that he created the magic tanks that he’s been destroying. They stop fighting for a second and introduce themselves to each other. The bomber’s name is Pokota and is in the process of stopping the person who stole his tanks. Before they can inquire further Wiser interferes, proclaiming Lina is under arrest. This gives Pokota just enough time to escape as he once again takes to the skies, eyeing the scene below.

Thoughts:
Well we find out who the little guy is but he leaves us with more questions than answers. How did he make that replica Sword of Light and exactly what is his relation to the magic tanks he’s been destroying. If he’s telling the truth, who stole them from him and why does the Ruvinagald Kingdom seem to be readying for some kind of battle? Lots of questions but the biggest one is will I be able to watch that little creature anymore and not immediately think of Pokota, the little mascot from Hime-chan no Ribbon.

I also notice that the art seems to “simplify” at certain parts of the show but that’s mostly just my nit-picking. Overall, the show is nice and vibrant and I certainly have no issues with how it looks so far.

It’s still early going so there’s not a lot to talk about as we’re all in the dark but the show is still moving along at a brisk pace (I was afraid we were going to get several episodes of “Who is that little guy?” and the humor is still rock solid. I’m also still grateful for Amelia and Zelgadis showing up so soon, even as background characters as episodes and episodes of only Lina and Gourry can get a bit dull. The show’s still firing on all cylinders and I’m eagerly awaiting the next episode.

Lina is back and better than ever. As someone who hasn’t been all that excited about a lot of new anime, finding out that The Slayers was going to be airing again had me giddy as I finally had something to REALLY look forward to. Many of the main characters were returning, the original voice seiyuu were returning, Megumi was performing the opening and ending themes……everything seemed to show a return to form and another season of Slayers bliss.

Our show opens with some despicable pirates who’ve just plundered some ill-gotten gains as well as a poor captive soon to be sold into slavery. But no sooner can they start celebrating…..

Their fleet is bombarded by fireballs. Fireballs? Hmm. Who could THAT be?

Our heroine and her right hand man appear right off the bat, ready to bust up some pirate scum. The pirates put up a valiant fight but this is Lina Inverse we’re talking about. At least they didn’t embarrass themselves TOO badly.

Lina introduces herself with her usual “flair” and as usual, most people don’t really know what she’s talking about. Their loss as Lina and Gourry move in for some hand to hand action.

Further out at the edge of the battle is an even larger ship with a royal crest. It’s none other than our personal favorite (or mine, anyway) Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and she’s even managed to drag trusty old Zelgadis with her. They seem to be carrying a passenger by the name of Weiser who really needs to see Lina.

Back on the pirate ship it’s not looking good for our pirate buddies as Lina starts to really get into bashing them. Gourry does a little posturing but suddenly his sword breaks and he rapidly does his best to frantically repair it.

Running gag? I think so.

Remember that poor Gourry had to give up his Sword of Light in Slayers Try and it looks like regular old swords just aren’t sturdy enough for him. While Lina and Gourry are “distracted” by his sword hijinks, the pirates pull out their trump card. They drag their captive and use her as a hostage.

Fish woman? Wow. There’s a call back to the older series. Let’s hope this one doesn’t get killed. But hey! Seems like she’s heard of our heroes and decides to let the pirates in on who they’re dealing with.

And then they remember the name. To their unbridled horror.

Yep. True to Slayers form so far. Some of the pirates even dropped the names of some of her previous adventures in the earlier series. Nice.

The pirates immediately decide to beg for mercy but before Lina can decide what to do with them, Amelia’s warship decides to join the party and assaults the pirates (and Lina) mercilessly.

During the commotion the pirates try to sneak away and jeer Lina during their escape.

Not smart.

Back in town, Lina and Gourry finish one of their standard “meals” when Amelia and Zel join them and after a few quips and some signature stupidity from Gourry, they introduce Weiser.

Special investigator for the Ruvinagard Kingdom, Inspector Weiser Freion.

And what does he want with our heroes?

Uh oh. Are those handcuffs? Looks like Lina’s under arrest. And what are the charges?

Warrant for: Lina Inverse
Suspect of being: Lina Inverse

Well…….can’t argue with that TOO much. And the others agree much to Lina’s chagrin. Some friends.

Outside is an entire battalion of soldiers solely for the purpose of putting Lina in jail. But Zelgadis decides to bring up a good point. Is a battalion really enough?

And there’s her cue.

After a quick escape our heroes make a break for it only to be cut off at the gates of town by Weiser and a rather nasty looking machine, Magic Tank Z-1. An invincible weapon with the speed and armor of a tortoise. Huh?

Speed of a tortoise, eh?

Well after exploiting the magic tank’s sole weakness, they get cut off by the remaining soldiers and are drawn into a battle with the tank. After a few failed attacks (and Gourry busting his sword yet again) Lina and company get the upper hand and prepare for the final blow as the familiar words of Lina’s signature Dragon Slave begin.

But wait. That’s NOT Lina.

The Dragon Slave goes off and in true Slayers fashion, another poor town is virtually blown off the map. However Lina’s NOT happy that someone stole her spotlight as the others wonder just who the hell managed to cast a Dragon Slave while the culprit flies off while eyeing our heroes.

Well I can certainly say that Slayers is DEFINITELY back. It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 10 years since the last series. The up-to-date animation is clean and everything looks great. The voice actors fit comfortably into their roles as if they were doing it yesterday. The comedy is there and we’ve got a big helping of mystery right off the bat as well. Who’s that bunny looking guy? How can he cast a Dragon Slave? Does that have anything to do with why Lina’s wanted by the authorities? And why does he appear to have a zipper in the front of his body? Another season of The Slayers is under way and I’m totally along for the ride.