Lina Inverse is your average sorceress and bane of bandits, putting them down wherever she finds them. Okay, so she keeps a little of the loot rather than returning it - a girl’s got to make a living. On one particular sortie against bandits, a small, seemingly innocuous, statue comes into her possession which will change her world forever and place her on a path that may save the planet...

The Slayers: Volume 4 and we find ourselves at the end of the show's first story arc, but was it worth it? I still find the animation to be little better than a Saturday morning show and the picture is very soft at times. Although the script has meandered a bit in this first season the jokes generally worked, though they did become a little too repetitious. But then the show was never meant to be viewed in chunks of five or six episodes at a time, so you can forgive a little filler.

When we last travelled with Lina and her gang they were heading towards Rezo’s laboratory. Having gained access they are split up following a meeting with a demon who looks suspiciously like a chicken. Gourry gets to fight Zangulus once more, before setting off for the inner sanctum. Once there they face off against Eris and Rezo who have come to claim the prize for themselves. Following a pitched battle, lasting the remainder of the episodes, Lina and her group emerge victorious and everyone goes their own way. The disc holds the following shows:

21. Upset! Gourry Vs Zangulus
22. Vice! The One Who Was Left Behind.
23. Warning! Eris’ Wrath!
24. X-Day! The Demon Beast is Reborn
25. Yes! A Final Hope: The Bless Blade.
26. Zap! Victory is Always Mine!

Once more this disc represents good value for money with an above average number of episodes, that said the animation lets the show down badly and the wise cracking, although endearing at the beginning, soon starts to grate on your nerves. I can see younger kids getting into the show and enjoying the high camp antics of Lina and her gang, but there’s not much here for the over twelve’s. Audio is a clear 2.0 affair with either an English dub or the original Japanese with subtitles.

6

Charles Packer