Egarwaen
(He/Him)
Google "slayers naga" and you'll get a pretty good idea of the kind of humor they aim for.
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The Slayers Group Watch Thread
- Thread starter Octopus Prime
- Start date
Google "slayers naga" and you'll get a pretty good idea of the kind of humor they aim for.
To be fair, when Naga eventually joins up with the TV cast (sorta), they don't go down that road and she winds up being one of my favorite supporting characters
The movies and OVAs aren't very good except for some occasional morsels of sakuga and that Naga, who is delightful, is in them. I don't mean what they do with her is funny, because that's something Slayers very rarely manages for me; I just like the character a lot. Barring that, there's not much there.
John
(he/him)
I started to watch GOURMET! this morning before my body said exercising wasn't happening today. I laughed that this is the third episode where the first act's just them finding a restaurant to eat at. FYI the dub title also prepends Sudden Cooking! to the title. I see that most of the Next episodes have a two-part naming convention, but I like the alphabetical one much better.
GOURMET: I said back in the second episode that Zel had nearly completed his inevitable march towards shedding his remaining dignity, and I think this is the episode that finishes it off. I don't think there's another episode where he gets it worse, and it's incredible.
This is top and bottom a filler episode, but it was my opinion back in the day (and still is) that this is hands down the best filler episode in the series. So many great sight gags, vocal performances, reactions, and setups. Every part of this scenario is absurd in a way only this series can be when it just wants to be silly and it all comes together in one of the densest jokey episodes there is.
It's hard to pick a favorite gag, I might have to barely hand it to Zel being dragged face-first along the lake bottom by a panicked Gourry. But there's a lot of good stuff.
I also love Xellos just hanging out in a tree and watching the absurdity unfold and doing nothing to help.
HEAVENLY: Y'know, I'm not even gonna bury the lede here. If you actually thought Phil had died (offscreen no less!) in this series then you haven't been paying attention. Of course he's not dead. Of course the mysterious superhero who looks just like him is actually him. Of course there's another Seyruun royal plot, but this time it won't be confined to just one episode!
The flashback showing Phil as a caring, though irresponsible, (seriously those heights were no place for a child, Phil!) father to Amelia were sweet, but it was hard to take them seriously when he was so obviously not dead.
Anyway, the gang goes to investigate the scene of the supposed crime, they're ambushed by the same monster who tried to kill Phil, Phil shows up in his X-Guy costume and shows off a bunch of new moves he learned between seasons, and apparently he can fly???? I mean, of course he can't, it was just a gag so they could show him looking like he was flying through the air with his superhero cape flapping behind him, but honestly I'd believe that he'd figured out how to fly through some sort of absurd Pacifist-adjacent reasoning.
This is top and bottom a filler episode, but it was my opinion back in the day (and still is) that this is hands down the best filler episode in the series. So many great sight gags, vocal performances, reactions, and setups. Every part of this scenario is absurd in a way only this series can be when it just wants to be silly and it all comes together in one of the densest jokey episodes there is.
It's hard to pick a favorite gag, I might have to barely hand it to Zel being dragged face-first along the lake bottom by a panicked Gourry. But there's a lot of good stuff.
I also love Xellos just hanging out in a tree and watching the absurdity unfold and doing nothing to help.
HEAVENLY: Y'know, I'm not even gonna bury the lede here. If you actually thought Phil had died (offscreen no less!) in this series then you haven't been paying attention. Of course he's not dead. Of course the mysterious superhero who looks just like him is actually him. Of course there's another Seyruun royal plot, but this time it won't be confined to just one episode!
The flashback showing Phil as a caring, though irresponsible, (seriously those heights were no place for a child, Phil!) father to Amelia were sweet, but it was hard to take them seriously when he was so obviously not dead.
Anyway, the gang goes to investigate the scene of the supposed crime, they're ambushed by the same monster who tried to kill Phil, Phil shows up in his X-Guy costume and shows off a bunch of new moves he learned between seasons, and apparently he can fly???? I mean, of course he can't, it was just a gag so they could show him looking like he was flying through the air with his superhero cape flapping behind him, but honestly I'd believe that he'd figured out how to fly through some sort of absurd Pacifist-adjacent reasoning.
Gourmet is the benchmark for how to do a filler episode properly, and it’s also the best Monster Hunter adaptation. So It has that going for it too. Xellos makes no illusion about being along for the show, and I love him for it.
Haevenly I thought we had to wait a bit longer before the next plot arc kicked up, but I guess the show had as little respect for Halciform as I did and didn’t want to waste a precious Msin Villain spot on him. Spiky Demon Guy has one of the cooler Monster designs overall, so that’s so,etching. Kind of surprised it’s Seygrim that shows up in the OP, considering. Animation team just really likes wizard mummies, I guess. Can’t blame them
Haevenly I thought we had to wait a bit longer before the next plot arc kicked up, but I guess the show had as little respect for Halciform as I did and didn’t want to waste a precious Msin Villain spot on him. Spiky Demon Guy has one of the cooler Monster designs overall, so that’s so,etching. Kind of surprised it’s Seygrim that shows up in the OP, considering. Animation team just really likes wizard mummies, I guess. Can’t blame them
Egarwaen
(He/Him)
I utterly adore Phil’s mysterious masked alter-ego. Especially how the animation in his first few appearances is hinting he’s lost his memory or turned evil or something. Nope! He’s just Phil! I also adore how Amelia regularly turns into a muppet - she’ll develop sphere-hands and truly enormous eyes while all the other characters are totally normal.
I feel like the first few episodes of Next have been working through the transformation from a mostly serious fantasy series with some gags to a mostly comedy series with occasional serious fantasy plots. Gourmet is the first episode that really nails the new formula, and it’s really outstanding. The finale is note perfect, going from Lina’s dismay over the absurd recipes to Xellos’ reveal that no, the chef was not just a delusional old man.
I feel like the first few episodes of Next have been working through the transformation from a mostly serious fantasy series with some gags to a mostly comedy series with occasional serious fantasy plots. Gourmet is the first episode that really nails the new formula, and it’s really outstanding. The finale is note perfect, going from Lina’s dismay over the absurd recipes to Xellos’ reveal that no, the chef was not just a delusional old man.
John
(he/him)
Finished up GOURMET, a fun romp to brutally kill and dismember a giant creature who's not hurting anyone, just so the party can have a taste of the exotic. They showed earlier that Sea Dragons have intelligence, but didn't show much about the Lake Dragons, so maybe it's less of a moralistic issue?
Tons of sight gags and dumping on Zelgadis & a little Gourry. I liked when Gourry was the fishing lure, and his scream of air bubbles made the shape for the "wa" hiragana. I don't quite know why Zel is putting up with being the butt monkey of the team. He really doesn't need the others, but maybe feels that being teased means he's part of the group? You're better than this, Zel!
Also, was the initial dish they were served composed of Whale and Orca meat, or Whale and Orc meat? That vowel makes a big difference! I get that the former two are still served in Japan (at least whale, and probably orca on the DL like they do for dolphin), but if it was Orc meat, that's a whole other ethical conundrum. I think the team should just stick to food markets and maybe go veg for a bit, especially to clear out the dragon toxins that Lina consumed by trying for some lake lizard sashimi.
Tons of sight gags and dumping on Zelgadis & a little Gourry. I liked when Gourry was the fishing lure, and his scream of air bubbles made the shape for the "wa" hiragana. I don't quite know why Zel is putting up with being the butt monkey of the team. He really doesn't need the others, but maybe feels that being teased means he's part of the group? You're better than this, Zel!
Also, was the initial dish they were served composed of Whale and Orca meat, or Whale and Orc meat? That vowel makes a big difference! I get that the former two are still served in Japan (at least whale, and probably orca on the DL like they do for dolphin), but if it was Orc meat, that's a whole other ethical conundrum. I think the team should just stick to food markets and maybe go veg for a bit, especially to clear out the dragon toxins that Lina consumed by trying for some lake lizard sashimi.
John
(he/him)
HEAVENLY: A little Phil goes a long way, and this was the right amount. I thought that Lina's advice when consoling Amelia was especially bad. Lina'll do the Revenge thing, which will make everything all better. Stop all that mourning over your dad dying, the one person in the world that you loved more than anything, because your Kingdom needs you! The same Kingdom that you've been avoiding for a season and a half, ever since you ran into Lina in the first place.
I like that Phil's upgraded his collection of Pacifist Non-Attacks. The Joyful Reunion Bear Hug sounds delightful. Did he have a special superhero name for himself? I don't remember, aside from being dressed as an X Man.
I wonder if the jig is up, or if they'll try to keep the ruse going to see which of his brothers is in cahoots with the Monster. We didn't get a good look at the baddy much, but it did remind me of the Death Note evil god characters, or something from SMT.
I like that Phil's upgraded his collection of Pacifist Non-Attacks. The Joyful Reunion Bear Hug sounds delightful. Did he have a special superhero name for himself? I don't remember, aside from being dressed as an X Man.
I wonder if the jig is up, or if they'll try to keep the ruse going to see which of his brothers is in cahoots with the Monster. We didn't get a good look at the baddy much, but it did remind me of the Death Note evil god characters, or something from SMT.
Better get last weeks episodes watched while you can because on Friday we have;
Hidden Ambition! The Shocking Confession
Take Back the Magic Power!
Which I will designate INSIDIOUS and JOURNEY.
I haven’t watched that second one yet, so I hope that title is accurate.
Hidden Ambition! The Shocking Confession
Take Back the Magic Power!
Which I will designate INSIDIOUS and JOURNEY.
I haven’t watched that second one yet, so I hope that title is accurate.
Purple
(She/Her)
Oof I'm behind.
Gourmet is the one episode of Next I remembered most clearly out of the lot, but I somehow forgot the parting shot with the reveal that everyone actually DID totally resemble his various tragically dead family members and that really is just absolutely hilarious. I also really appreciate Amelia calling Xellos over to hang out but him being all "nah nah, I'm good over here in the audience seat."
Heavenly honestly does a pretty good job of taking itself seriously with the fake out dead Phil thing despite that being such an absurd notion, and then once we finally drop that we get more Phil, so, you know, that's great.
And since I waited so long to watch those two and the date rolled over...
Insidious has us actually continuing this because we are getting close to the mid season serious spike and need to start turning some heat up. I love how this pair is so off model from how people should look it's obvious what their deal is, and we don't pretend otherwise for even one second. Also someone should really run a dead Mazoku counter for this season because they kinda pile up don't they. Also the night-lighting color scheme giving Lina green hair here really bugs me, mostly because this RED hair stays red.
and wrapping up with Journey, we're still in pretty silly mode. Most of the party sticks around with Phil, while Lina heads off with party members 5 and 6 to see a perfectly competent child about a curse, we have more of Martina's explicitly BS fake dark god magic somehow managing to work because it's funnier when it does (or IS that why?) and then since Lina has no magic temporarily, Xellos has to save the day with some... very good aligned purifying priestly white magic. As he uses. Because that's his deal. Oh and then there's something about some book or something.
Gourmet is the one episode of Next I remembered most clearly out of the lot, but I somehow forgot the parting shot with the reveal that everyone actually DID totally resemble his various tragically dead family members and that really is just absolutely hilarious. I also really appreciate Amelia calling Xellos over to hang out but him being all "nah nah, I'm good over here in the audience seat."
Heavenly honestly does a pretty good job of taking itself seriously with the fake out dead Phil thing despite that being such an absurd notion, and then once we finally drop that we get more Phil, so, you know, that's great.
And since I waited so long to watch those two and the date rolled over...
Insidious has us actually continuing this because we are getting close to the mid season serious spike and need to start turning some heat up. I love how this pair is so off model from how people should look it's obvious what their deal is, and we don't pretend otherwise for even one second. Also someone should really run a dead Mazoku counter for this season because they kinda pile up don't they. Also the night-lighting color scheme giving Lina green hair here really bugs me, mostly because this RED hair stays red.
and wrapping up with Journey, we're still in pretty silly mode. Most of the party sticks around with Phil, while Lina heads off with party members 5 and 6 to see a perfectly competent child about a curse, we have more of Martina's explicitly BS fake dark god magic somehow managing to work because it's funnier when it does (or IS that why?) and then since Lina has no magic temporarily, Xellos has to save the day with some... very good aligned purifying priestly white magic. As he uses. Because that's his deal. Oh and then there's something about some book or something.
INSIDIOUS: I appreciate that the show doesn't even try to hide the fact that the mysterious and sinister green haired man and red haired woman are actually the green haired and red haired Monsters. They come in, dripping with malice, and later in the episode when the lady Monster is fighting the group we see her partner refer to her by her human alias, without even any fanfare.
Everyone seems to take Phil's return well, what with all the kingdom in mourning and the upheaval and the solid gold statue of Phil we saw in the last episode. But everyone's cool about it, they all just like Phil that much. Of course they still have to figure out who is behind this dastardly plot! It is a mystery!
But after the Monsters attack we are brought to a recurring plot element each season: Lina losing her magic. Back in season 1 it was due to some unfortunate connection to biology, but this time it's just a straight up curse. Though if Monsters can do this whenever they want then it's a wonder why it's not the first thing they try when they go up against someone like Lina. Not the best strategists, I guess!
JOURNEY: Oh hey this word actually appears in the real episode title, that's cool!
So upon being cursed Lina does the most logical thing and set off on her own to find an old sage she's only heard stories about. Look, I understand wanting to keep the heavy hitters around Phil to protect him, but like, send a few royal guards or something! Or else Lina will be forced to team up with the first idiots she trips over.
And then she runs into Martina and Xellos.
Martina's infatuation with Xellos is one of my favorite parts of her weird, weird character arc. The two of them are weirdly good together, in a dysfunctional way. Of course, it's not enough to keep her from messing with Lina, but this episode is more or less Martina's last hurrah as a directly antagonistic force and this is where she and Lina start to turn from enemies to frenemies.
And, ok, I need to go on a tangent. Way back early in Season 1 when I was trying the dub out I mentioned that side characters with brief appearances tend to get the worst dub performances, and I specifically mentioned there was a character in Season 2 that was just absolutely godawful. And here she is.
Runan. The sage. Technically Runan's granddaughter, but whatevs. I have absolutely no idea how this performance was accepted. I'm not even sure what her voice actor is trying to go for. Every line, every delivery, every word is atrocious. In the sub she does sound like a very young child, so maybe they were trying to make her sound childlike and naive, but they're using a voice that's like 10 years too old for the role and also the voice can't act. I came into this episode knowing this performance was bad and I was still dumbfounded by it. It's so bad as to be baffling.
The Monster of the week in this episode isn't a whole lot better, in fact if it wasn't appearing in the same episode as Runan it would be an easy contender for worst performance, but he's almost competent by comparison.
Anyway. Dub gripes aside, Runan tries to cure Lina, Martina effs it all up, they all get in way over their head, and Xellos actually has to do a thing. (oh god speaking of dubs, all of Xellos's english line deliveries here are also bad, but they also sound so much better next to Runan's. THAT PERFORMANCE IS SO BAD IT MAKES DUB XELLOS SEEM GOOD!) We get a pretty cool badass moment from Xellos as he saves the day, but rather than be concerned about why this Monster seemed to know Xellos or at how powerful he is, Lina just demands he sell her his +20 MAG PWR accessories to compensate for her curse debuff.
Oh and Martina pulls some book out of an old cauldron but that's not important.
Everyone seems to take Phil's return well, what with all the kingdom in mourning and the upheaval and the solid gold statue of Phil we saw in the last episode. But everyone's cool about it, they all just like Phil that much. Of course they still have to figure out who is behind this dastardly plot! It is a mystery!
But after the Monsters attack we are brought to a recurring plot element each season: Lina losing her magic. Back in season 1 it was due to some unfortunate connection to biology, but this time it's just a straight up curse. Though if Monsters can do this whenever they want then it's a wonder why it's not the first thing they try when they go up against someone like Lina. Not the best strategists, I guess!
JOURNEY: Oh hey this word actually appears in the real episode title, that's cool!
So upon being cursed Lina does the most logical thing and set off on her own to find an old sage she's only heard stories about. Look, I understand wanting to keep the heavy hitters around Phil to protect him, but like, send a few royal guards or something! Or else Lina will be forced to team up with the first idiots she trips over.
And then she runs into Martina and Xellos.
Martina's infatuation with Xellos is one of my favorite parts of her weird, weird character arc. The two of them are weirdly good together, in a dysfunctional way. Of course, it's not enough to keep her from messing with Lina, but this episode is more or less Martina's last hurrah as a directly antagonistic force and this is where she and Lina start to turn from enemies to frenemies.
And, ok, I need to go on a tangent. Way back early in Season 1 when I was trying the dub out I mentioned that side characters with brief appearances tend to get the worst dub performances, and I specifically mentioned there was a character in Season 2 that was just absolutely godawful. And here she is.
Runan. The sage. Technically Runan's granddaughter, but whatevs. I have absolutely no idea how this performance was accepted. I'm not even sure what her voice actor is trying to go for. Every line, every delivery, every word is atrocious. In the sub she does sound like a very young child, so maybe they were trying to make her sound childlike and naive, but they're using a voice that's like 10 years too old for the role and also the voice can't act. I came into this episode knowing this performance was bad and I was still dumbfounded by it. It's so bad as to be baffling.
The Monster of the week in this episode isn't a whole lot better, in fact if it wasn't appearing in the same episode as Runan it would be an easy contender for worst performance, but he's almost competent by comparison.
Anyway. Dub gripes aside, Runan tries to cure Lina, Martina effs it all up, they all get in way over their head, and Xellos actually has to do a thing. (oh god speaking of dubs, all of Xellos's english line deliveries here are also bad, but they also sound so much better next to Runan's. THAT PERFORMANCE IS SO BAD IT MAKES DUB XELLOS SEEM GOOD!) We get a pretty cool badass moment from Xellos as he saves the day, but rather than be concerned about why this Monster seemed to know Xellos or at how powerful he is, Lina just demands he sell her his +20 MAG PWR accessories to compensate for her curse debuff.
Oh and Martina pulls some book out of an old cauldron but that's not important.
John
(he/him)
INSIDIOUS: Lina's Razor strikes again, in that the most obvious thing that could happen, is what's happening. I really liked the left turn of having the party split up, and then the ladies getting Lost in Time and Space (or maybe The Dreamlands. Subspace could definitely be pulled straight from Arkham Horror, though). Chameleon badass monster shoulda had more screen time, but that would mean animation, and that's 'spensive.
This show needs more weirdness, instead of just pulling from the same show bible from the beginning. Less D&D, more Nyarlathotep.
This show needs more weirdness, instead of just pulling from the same show bible from the beginning. Less D&D, more Nyarlathotep.
The big cool monsters always get the least animation; Shabby never moved anything but his mouth, the Chamelon just stood there, Zanifar was a loud shadow, Darkstar, Gaav and Hellmaster look impressive at first, but are just regular looking guys, with Evolution/Revolution the animation costs must have gone down because the big cool monsters there are all over the place.
Not only did the kid have a weird staccato delivery of every line, but I’m also 95% sure it was just Martina again and she’s all over this episode anyway. It’s buckwild and I love it.
Konzel and Mizenda have great designs and I wish them the best of luck. I also really liked the snake-scythe demon guy, but if his name was mentioned, I forgot it.
Speaking of, not only was that another instance of a Monster seeing Xellos and being *terrified*, but while he made a big show of making a big magical explosion, he beat the Monster by just hitting it in the stomach; which the series has always been pretty clear on being a completely useless way to deal with them.
I wonder if this Mysterious Priest has something he’s hiding…
Not only did the kid have a weird staccato delivery of every line, but I’m also 95% sure it was just Martina again and she’s all over this episode anyway. It’s buckwild and I love it.
Konzel and Mizenda have great designs and I wish them the best of luck. I also really liked the snake-scythe demon guy, but if his name was mentioned, I forgot it.
Speaking of, not only was that another instance of a Monster seeing Xellos and being *terrified*, but while he made a big show of making a big magical explosion, he beat the Monster by just hitting it in the stomach; which the series has always been pretty clear on being a completely useless way to deal with them.
I wonder if this Mysterious Priest has something he’s hiding…
John
(he/him)
JOURNEY: I do appreciate they've been writing scenarios for splitting everyone up, so you get some 1/1 time (or in this case, 1/1/1). You'd think that Phil could've spared SOMEBODY to go with Lina on the trip to the one place they know of to get cured. At least this time, the reason she can't use her magic is related to Uncle Phil, and not Aunt Flo.
I do wish that Xellos's catchphrase was "That would be telling" so it could tie back into The Prisoner. He's definitely one of the Number Two's who wasn't able to get information out of Number Six.
So, was this Monster #2 or 3 that are involved with Seiroon? There's the Team Rocket red haired lady and the green haired dude, and we mostly saw the red one last time. Is this Skeletor with teeth from the Big Book of British Smiles the green one, or a different one entirely?
I do wish that Xellos's catchphrase was "That would be telling" so it could tie back into The Prisoner. He's definitely one of the Number Two's who wasn't able to get information out of Number Six.
So, was this Monster #2 or 3 that are involved with Seiroon? There's the Team Rocket red haired lady and the green haired dude, and we mostly saw the red one last time. Is this Skeletor with teeth from the Big Book of British Smiles the green one, or a different one entirely?
Egarwaen
(He/Him)
The two sorcerers working for Amelia’s uncle are the monster we saw while we thought Phil was dead and the monster who sealed Lina’s powers. You can tell because the guy has the same jagged teeth pattern on his clothes and the girl has red hair in both forms. The monster who attacks Lina on the mountain and gets blown up by Xellos is a third monster.
I believe the other demon also has the same haircut in both forms
Also; since it was mentioned earlier; here’s our list so far of Monsters; (kinda guessing at the spelling here)
Zorem (Zolom?)- Green robed old man/spectral multi armed giant
Shabranigdo - Creepy Wizard / Crabsatan
Tibo - Small chicken man/large eagle man
Seigram - Scaly Masked Mummy
Konzel - Blue Skinned wizard / Spiky blue demon with disconnected torso and three eyes
Mazenda - Jessie from Team Rocket / Purple Skinned Demon with no mouth and no visible legs
??? - Sone kinda snake skeleton with a scythe arm
Not really sure if Copy Rezo/Zanifar count as a Monster; kind of an edge case
Zorem (Zolom?)- Green robed old man/spectral multi armed giant
Shabranigdo - Creepy Wizard / Crabsatan
Tibo - Small chicken man/large eagle man
Seigram - Scaly Masked Mummy
Konzel - Blue Skinned wizard / Spiky blue demon with disconnected torso and three eyes
Mazenda - Jessie from Team Rocket / Purple Skinned Demon with no mouth and no visible legs
??? - Sone kinda snake skeleton with a scythe arm
Not really sure if Copy Rezo/Zanifar count as a Monster; kind of an edge case
Egarwaen
(He/Him)
Zannafar isn't a Monster, it's something else. And Copy Rezo is just an asshole.
On Friday we’re halfway done with…
Slash ‘em to Bits: The Ragna Blade
An Unexpected End: The Shocking Truth
Tricky one, but let’s go with Killing Strike and Legacy
Slash ‘em to Bits: The Ragna Blade
An Unexpected End: The Shocking Truth
Tricky one, but let’s go with Killing Strike and Legacy
KILLING STRIKE: I'd call foul on using two words, but then I remember season 1 had titles like 'GIVE UP' so I guess it's cool.
Quite a bit happens in this episode, and yet it feels like not so much did? Lina learns a new spell, but she can't really cast it yet. Kinda like how Tellah learns Meteo in FF4, but never has the MP to actually cast it. Thankfully when she does attempt it later on it doesn't kill her, she's only able to use it for like a second or two. I guess it's one of those spells that rapidly drains MP while it's invoked, and while her curse has debuffed her magic and MP stats she still has SOME so that probably all explains it.
Martina is still stubbornly trying get back at Lina and failing at every single attempt. Honestly I love the dynamic she brings to the group and it's a shame she's only around for Next.
As for Xellos, his weird rule about helping Lina directly are oddly inconsistent, aren't they? He seems loathe to casts spells to help her, but I guess going out and chopping down a tree and bringing it to the edge of a cliff is fine? I'd ask what his rules actually are, but naturally, they're a secret.
Anyway, despite knowing that Kanzel and Mazenda are obviously the Monsters here I guess the party never bothered to tell Phil or his magic guards since they just let her walk right up to him. I think they believe the magic circle in the room would keep her from doing anything, but we just saw her curse Lina while being in the dead center of the giant magic circle that is Seyruun. Absolutely dropped the ball there, team.
But Lina saves the day with her new spell, the Ragna Blade, which is supposedly as potent as the Giga Slave and also draws upon the Lord of Nightmare's power, but doesn't have the nasty side effect of sometimes ending the world.
Oh and Kanzel kidnaps Phil and once again the party just kinda watches it happen. Guys, seriously. Not your best day here.
LEGACY: And here we learn that Amelia's cousin Alfred was actually the mastermind behind everything all along. Which could have been a surprise if Christopher had ever done anything suspicious in this entire arc, but the dude's just a stand-up guy. He won't even take the throne when it's in reach because he felt responsible for bringing obvious Monsters Kanzel and Mazenda into the castle, which, yeah. That was his bad.
But then Kanzel reveals he's not really interested in Alfred's power struggle now and exploits a loophole in his contract to have him killed. And then he just casually creates a floating island out of an vague amount of Seyruun's countryside (the rising land looked like it contained quite a large area with several houses, but I think it's implied it's just Alfred's house and the land around it?) to 'keep them from running', even though there are enough flying magic users in the party to carry the ones who can't. Xellos pops in to be the hero again and take Phil away from harm, and there is nothing at all suspicious about him or why other Monsters seem to know him. Everything's fine! It's a secret!
The rest of the episode is mostly just fighto, and I quite like the bait and switch Lina and Gourry employ to kill Mazenda. One down, and one to go. With only Kanzel left the party should win easily!
Maybe too easily. In a head-scratching moment the episode ends with the show's more ominous musical sting, but it's played over the party seemingly triumphant over a worried Kanzel. It's like, which side do you want me to root for or worry about here?
Anyway, what fate will befall poor Kanzel? Find out next time!
Quite a bit happens in this episode, and yet it feels like not so much did? Lina learns a new spell, but she can't really cast it yet. Kinda like how Tellah learns Meteo in FF4, but never has the MP to actually cast it. Thankfully when she does attempt it later on it doesn't kill her, she's only able to use it for like a second or two. I guess it's one of those spells that rapidly drains MP while it's invoked, and while her curse has debuffed her magic and MP stats she still has SOME so that probably all explains it.
Martina is still stubbornly trying get back at Lina and failing at every single attempt. Honestly I love the dynamic she brings to the group and it's a shame she's only around for Next.
As for Xellos, his weird rule about helping Lina directly are oddly inconsistent, aren't they? He seems loathe to casts spells to help her, but I guess going out and chopping down a tree and bringing it to the edge of a cliff is fine? I'd ask what his rules actually are, but naturally, they're a secret.
Anyway, despite knowing that Kanzel and Mazenda are obviously the Monsters here I guess the party never bothered to tell Phil or his magic guards since they just let her walk right up to him. I think they believe the magic circle in the room would keep her from doing anything, but we just saw her curse Lina while being in the dead center of the giant magic circle that is Seyruun. Absolutely dropped the ball there, team.
But Lina saves the day with her new spell, the Ragna Blade, which is supposedly as potent as the Giga Slave and also draws upon the Lord of Nightmare's power, but doesn't have the nasty side effect of sometimes ending the world.
Oh and Kanzel kidnaps Phil and once again the party just kinda watches it happen. Guys, seriously. Not your best day here.
LEGACY: And here we learn that Amelia's cousin Alfred was actually the mastermind behind everything all along. Which could have been a surprise if Christopher had ever done anything suspicious in this entire arc, but the dude's just a stand-up guy. He won't even take the throne when it's in reach because he felt responsible for bringing obvious Monsters Kanzel and Mazenda into the castle, which, yeah. That was his bad.
But then Kanzel reveals he's not really interested in Alfred's power struggle now and exploits a loophole in his contract to have him killed. And then he just casually creates a floating island out of an vague amount of Seyruun's countryside (the rising land looked like it contained quite a large area with several houses, but I think it's implied it's just Alfred's house and the land around it?) to 'keep them from running', even though there are enough flying magic users in the party to carry the ones who can't. Xellos pops in to be the hero again and take Phil away from harm, and there is nothing at all suspicious about him or why other Monsters seem to know him. Everything's fine! It's a secret!
The rest of the episode is mostly just fighto, and I quite like the bait and switch Lina and Gourry employ to kill Mazenda. One down, and one to go. With only Kanzel left the party should win easily!
Maybe too easily. In a head-scratching moment the episode ends with the show's more ominous musical sting, but it's played over the party seemingly triumphant over a worried Kanzel. It's like, which side do you want me to root for or worry about here?
Anyway, what fate will befall poor Kanzel? Find out next time!
I might be a bit muddled on the rules, but while Ragna Blade is about as powerful as the Giga Slave in terms of killing stuff, it’s a lot more localized; and the cost it puts on your body is intense; even at the height of her power Lina can barely aim it or sustain it for more than a moment without wreaking havoc on her body.
Also in Japan it’s called the Lagoon Blade, which makes far less sense for a weapon powered by the apocalypse
Also in Japan it’s called the Lagoon Blade, which makes far less sense for a weapon powered by the apocalypse
I think that's just due to Ragna literally being spelled Laguna in katakana. So not so much Lagoon Blade as Laguna Blade.
(I guess Laguna from FF8 could have been called Ragna? Or Lagoon??)
Also, not a whole lot to say about Legacy; it’s a Big Fight episode, and the answer to the question of “Who is trying to kill Phil” is answered; it’s not the guy who was trying to keep him safe and wanting to avenge his apparent death.
On Friday we’re Halfway done the season, yo!
The Moment of Ambitions Defeat
The Forbidden Dance! The Strongest Spell!
Let’s go with Merciless and… Number
N is hard with this one guys
The Moment of Ambitions Defeat
The Forbidden Dance! The Strongest Spell!
Let’s go with Merciless and… Number
N is hard with this one guys
John
(he/him)
KILLING STRIKE: Team Rocket's at it again, breaking all the rules (or just making up new ones to suit the plot). Reddy can shift the party into Sub-Con in defiance of the city's protection runes, but only because the monster crew installed a special monster amplifier statue in the building? Or did they just imbue an existing statue with the right properties to suit their needs? I need to see the white paper behind the physics.
Phil was super subdued in this one, no pacifist strikes at all. And he allowed himself to be captured at the end? Lame Phil, lame.
Oh yeah, Lina found the Claire Bible, but was stymied by a crayon. And she didn't seem to mind too much that the book burst into flames before she could fully decipher it, even though that's one of her main tasks. Well, maybe a sub-task, since her main one was to get her magic back, and that's only half done. She also should've been looking for info to help Zelgadis on his goals too, if she was a good friend. If...
Spoony, I just read your comment on Xellos helping/not helping Lina. I thought that she was the one to chop down the tree, probably with her little dagger. Just don't think about HOW she actually did that in the timeframe with such a small tool. I just say "a wizard did it" which is technically correct.
Phil was super subdued in this one, no pacifist strikes at all. And he allowed himself to be captured at the end? Lame Phil, lame.
Oh yeah, Lina found the Claire Bible, but was stymied by a crayon. And she didn't seem to mind too much that the book burst into flames before she could fully decipher it, even though that's one of her main tasks. Well, maybe a sub-task, since her main one was to get her magic back, and that's only half done. She also should've been looking for info to help Zelgadis on his goals too, if she was a good friend. If...
Spoony, I just read your comment on Xellos helping/not helping Lina. I thought that she was the one to chop down the tree, probably with her little dagger. Just don't think about HOW she actually did that in the timeframe with such a small tool. I just say "a wizard did it" which is technically correct.
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Pretty sure that the statue was a Konzel/Mazenda original, since it’s staff was a pentagram instead of a Star of David like the rest of the holy symbols.
Which I’m now kind of thinking about I I can only assume that Judaism is a major religion in the Red World.
Also, I learned that Mazendas Japanese name is “Magenta” which makes sense given that that’s what colour she is, but it feels less like a name and more like a vague description.
Which I’m now kind of thinking about I I can only assume that Judaism is a major religion in the Red World.
Also, I learned that Mazendas Japanese name is “Magenta” which makes sense given that that’s what colour she is, but it feels less like a name and more like a vague description.
Egarwaen
(He/Him)
That was what I assumed; they'd either substituted or modified the statue to be able to sneak their powers through Seyruun's wards.
I really liked the trick Lina and Gourry used against Mazenda in The Shocking Truth. Most of the fights this season have been surprisingly boring! But that was actually fun.
No spoilers, but the next episode has a really fun one too