The Slayers Season One DVD

Lina Inverse is fifteen years old, roughly five feet tall, and widely regarded as one of the most dangerous people alive. She steals from bandits (and gives to herself), levels entire towns with her signature Dragon Slave spell, and has a temper inversely proportional to both her appetite and her chest size — do not bring up either subject. When she crosses paths with the cheerfully dim swordsman Gourry Gabriev, who mistakes her for a helpless young girl in need of protection, a partnership is formed that neither of them entirely asked for. Their travels quickly escalate beyond routine monster-slaying and bandit-robbing into something considerably more apocalyptic: the resurrection of Shabranigdo, one of the five Dark Lords of the demonic Mazoku race, manipulated from behind the scenes by the legendary Red Priest Rezo. Along the way they are joined by Zelgadis Greywords — a brooding chimera sorcerer cursed with stone skin who is searching for a cure — and the relentlessly justice-obsessed princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, who delivers speeches about heroism at inopportune moments and means every word of them.

Slayers is one of the defining fantasy anime series of the 1990s — a gleefully irreverent comedy-adventure that skewers every D&D and sword-and-sorcery cliché while simultaneously delivering genuine dramatic tension and a surprisingly sharp mythology. Based on the light novels by Hajime Kanzaka with character designs by Rui Araizumi, the first season ran 26 episodes on TV Tokyo in 1995 and was produced by E&G Films under director Takashi Watanabe. The series launched Megumi Hayashibara's iconic performance as Lina Inverse, anchored by opening and ending themes performed by Hayashibara and Masami Okui. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Takashi Watanabe (Battle Skipper, Shakugan no Shana)
Original Light Novels: Hajime Kanzaka
Character Design: Takahiro Yoshimatsu
Studio: E&G Films / J.C. Staff
Opening Theme: "Get Along" by Megumi Hayashibara & Masami Okui
Ending Theme: "Kujikenai Kara!" by Megumi Hayashibara & Masami Okui

Cast:
- Megumi Hayashibara as Lina Inverse (Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Ranma ½)
- Yasunori Matsumoto as Gourry Gabriev
- Hikaru Midorikawa as Zelgadis Greywords
- Masami Suzuki as Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun
- Takehito Koyasu as Rezo the Red Priest
- Akiko Yajima as Sylphiel Nels Rahda

DVD Features

- Central Park Media / ADV Films Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: スレイヤーズ (Sureiyāzu)
Runtime: ~588 Minutes (Complete Season 1, 26 Episodes)
Director: Takashi Watanabe
DVD Release Year: 2002 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): April 7 – September 29, 1995
Publisher: Central Park Media
Rating: TV-PG
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes: Sorceress Adventurer, Dark Lord Revival, Magic & Swordsmanship, Comedic Heroism, Demon Mythology

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.