Slayers: Rui Araizumi Collection ~Dragon Magazine Special~ Art Book

Slayers: Rui Araizumi Collection is an official Dragon Magazine Special artbook collecting the illustration work of Rui Araizumi, the character designer behind the entire Slayers franchise. Spanning 136 pages of color and black-and-white artwork, the book showcases Araizumi's vivid, expressive character illustrations of Lina Inverse, Gourry, Zelgadis, Amelia, and the rest of the Slayers cast, drawn from promotional materials, novel covers, and magazine features throughout the franchise's early run. The book also includes a double-sided pull-out poster, making it both a visual gallery and a functional collectible for fans of the series. For anyone who grew up watching Slayers in the mid-to-late 1990s, Araizumi's bright, dynamic linework is instantly recognizable — and this collection remains one of the most complete early showcases of his art in a single volume.

Rui Araizumi defined the visual identity of Slayers from the ground up, designing every major character for Hajime Kanzaka's beloved fantasy comedy light novel series and its subsequent anime adaptations on TV Tokyo. His style — bold outlines, expressive faces, energetic poses, and a color sensibility that feels simultaneously playful and sharp — perfectly matched the irreverent, action-comedy tone of the franchise. The Dragon Magazine Special format gave Araizumi space to present his illustration work in the kind of oversized, high-quality print format it deserved, and this 1996 volume was published at the height of Slayers' cultural peak, capturing the look of the original TV series and its surrounding media at their most vibrant.

Slayers began as a light novel series in Dragon Magazine in 1989, written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Araizumi, before spawning a massively popular anime adaptation starting in 1995 with studios E&G Films and later J.C.Staff. The Dragon Magazine Special artbook series was Fujimi Shobo's dedicated publication line for premium art collections tied to their flagship magazine properties, and this Slayers volume is among the most collectible entries in that lineup.

Other Notable Works

Rui Araizumi (Illustrator): Slayers (Light Novel Series, Character Design), Slayers (Anime, Original Character Design), Slayers Next, Slayers Try, Slayers: Dra-Mata Artbook, Slayers DX Artworks

Book Details

Japanese Title: スレイヤーズ 荒井智美コレクション (Slayers Araizumi Tomomi Collection)
English Title: Slayers: Rui Araizumi Collection
Art: Rui Araizumi
Original Story: Hajime Kanzaka
Publisher: Fujimi Shobo (Dragon Magazine Special)
Release Date: 1996
Pages: 136
Format: Softcover
Language: Japanese
ISBN-10: 482919118X
ISBN-13: 978-4829191187
Age Rating: Teen (13+)
Genre: Illustration / Art Book, Fantasy, Action, Comedy

Art books are assumed VG+ or better unless otherwise noted. No broken spines, no writing, no stickers, and may have light shelf wear. All art books are assumed to be pre-owned.