NEWCOMER: Oh hey look it's Naga! I mean, oh hey look it's a completely unrelated character with the exact same voice and laugh as Naga but it's not Naga!
I wonder if there's some rule about using Naga and the TV cast at the same time? Aside from noncanon appearances in various videogames the only other time Naga shows up in the same media as the TV cast is Slayers Premium, and even then no one notices her.
Anyway, 'Nama' is a living suit of armor who apparently is some
totally unknown adventurer who got her soul trapped inside of it and will be hanging around for a bit since she lost her memory. This episode serves as an introduction for her and her and Lina have a pretty cool fight (where Nama showcases a proclivity to using Freeze Arrow which totally isn't another hint to her identity nope) and I do like the visual gags of Nama's armor acting like a a giant robot anime when she casts her spells. Lina doesn't get to melt her down in the end, but allows her to tag along. New party member get!
Is it too late to swap Pokota out for Wiser?
OH MY HEAD!: Love that episode title. This feels very fillery, but it's entertaining filler. I was almost expecting the big gag at the end to relate to that one episode from Try where Lina, Zel, and Filia help the ghost in the jar pass on by having the Dullahan be a relative of said jar ghost, but I guess not. Missed opportunity if you ask me.
I just noticed we didn't see Xellos in these two episodes, nor is he in the new opening! That's a shame. Oh speaking of:
The new opening, Front Breaking. Still a banger, but I think it's a step down from Plenty of Grit, both the song and the visuals. A good chunk of the first bit of this opening just shows previous villains (including Valgaav? So they're saying Try IS canon?) just sort of... drifting menacingly towards Lina before backing off. I mean, it's a fine enough opening, but it might actually be my least favorite of the 5 Slayers opening themes. It ain't bad, just the least impressive of a group of really great anime openings.