Something old, something new.

If, once you open the snazzy book-style case to this ultimately complete set of The Slayers, these DVDs look familiar then that’s because they are. Anyone who purchased the initial individual season releases of the Slayers series will note that these are the exact same DVDs right down to the artwork on the face of each disc. Basically, you get all the previous DVD releases lumped together in a new box with only artwork of Lina Inverse and screenshots of the series to grace the slip cover. Every DVD in the set has an image of notable characters in each season. Likewise, every DVD has character artwork pulled from the show as background images to the menus as well as somewhat moody background music on the main DVD menu. The episode listings for each season are completely listed on either side of the inside of the case. It should be noted that the plastic of the case is thin and fragile and care must be taken not to break the tabs that hold each stacked DVD secure in place. The vocal cast for The Slayers is awesome in both English and the original Japanese and each actor really fits their part. The artwork in the show has that reminiscent grainy look that traditional animation has, and the fact that The Slayers is constantly getting re-releases is proof that such things can ultimately stand the test of time and technological advance. (Take that high-def!)

A half-finished spell.

As with their previous releases, all the extra content for each individual season of Slayers is located on every fourth disc. Each season sports textless opening/ending songs for the show, as well as a slew of (now dated) Funimation trailers. The first season does have episode 1 edited with alternate languages, but beyond that all the best extra content lies on the fourth disc for Slayers Next. There, you are also treated to original Japanese promotional commercials for the show, drama CDs, and soundtracks. The last notable mention is the video to the song “Otome no Inori” (“A Maiden’s Prayer”). It’s a cute animated video that was made featuring Lina and Amelia and a whole lot of fish people in the background. What’s nifty about the music videos is that not only do you get one with the audio, but you also get a karaoke version where you just have the text and background singing. There are also two versions after that, one that just gives you Lina’s singing, and the other just gives you Amelia’s singing. A fourth, and final, version gives you the Japanese lyrics rather than an English translation. It does get a little redundant having four different versions of the same song, but it’s still easily the best feature of the extras list. Sadly, all of this doesn’t make up for the fact that with such a momentous DVD release the pot of extra content wasn’t sweetened in the least. Most fans of such a popular and long-running series typically prefer to see a lot of extra content thrown in, maybe even swag, for such a huge set so that they feel they’re getting their money’s worth. Alas, that is not the case here.

And at the end of the journey…

The fact that the series has been around in many forms of media is proof that The Slayers is an indisputable anime classic. It has comedy and adventure in spades as well as some of the best voice acting the mid-90’s had to offer otaku in the Western hemisphere. The series is so popular that the U.S. will be seeing the English release of the new fourth season, Slayers Revolution, in 2010. There’s little one can find to dislike about the series, unless you’re not a fan of all the rampant jokes about Lina’s lack of stature and chest. And for such a complete DVD set as this, the price tag is more than reasonable. For long-time fans of the series, if you missed the individual season releases this box is an absolute must-have.