The Slayers Next Volume 2   Starring (voice): Hikaru Midorikawa, Masami Suzuki, Megumi Hayashibara and Yasunori Matsumoto MVM RRP: £15.99 MVD2262 Certificate: 12 Available 08 June 2009

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...

Slayers Next: Volume 2 continues the shows collection of this self-effacing sword and sorcery adventure. The break-neck pace and jokes, which have become the signature of the show remain and the muddy retro style of animation continues, which if you’re a fan of the show is a plus. For anyone else it may well be a turn off, the jury is still out as far as I’m concerned. At present the scripts just tip the balance of the show in its favour. Some of the parody is starting to become a little repetitive, but then the show is into its second season. The producers have obviously decided that they have a wining formula and are sticking to it, even if it means some less than perfect Saturday morning type animation.

In this part of the Arc the group are joined by a prince called Phil, who is the subject of a plot to kidnap him. Normally this would be an easy task for Lina, except that she has lost her powers and spends much of this disc hunting around for a way to regain them. And... well, that’s about pretty much the plot for this disc, but it is wrapped with the usual humour.

Episode thirty-three to thirty-nine which includes:

33. The Phantom Dragon
34. Be Eternal! The Day Prince Phil Died
35. Hidden Ambitions! The Shocking Confession
36. Take Back That Magic Power
37. Slash 'em to Bits, Ragna Blade
38. The Unexpected End? The Shocking Truth
39. The Moment of Ambition's Defeat

As a television show it is no surprise that the audio options are limited to English and Japanese stereo with optional subtitles. The extras on the disc are limited to trailers, that’s adverts to you and me, and the DVD credits which, let’s face it, isn’t an extra at all.

If you’ve got this far with the series then you’re going to love this disc as its more of the same. Although we lose any real extras you can’t complain about the number of episodes per disc which gives quite a good bang for your buck.

5

Charles Packer