Sureiyâzu (1995) Reviews

• Better than most movies

  spotter-82000-11-19

  My son introduced me to anime not that long ago. Like most things, there's a lot of junk, but "Slayers, the Motion Picture" is definitely NOT junk! I was unaware that it was originally a tv series in Japan, but this movie can stand entirely on its own: Heroines, villains, good writing and characterization, great animation, and, finally, an evil foe with great power and no conscience whatsoever. I do have to agree with my son, though, that it's best to watch this movie with subtitles rather than dubbing. Dubbing cannot capture the same character qualities as the original- and often very witty- Japanese dialogue does.

• Animated comedy at its best

  blackhawk.sc2000-09-29

  Nahga the Serpent is a great addition to Slayers in that she brings another level of comedy with her. But what separates this film from the rest of the movies and the Specials is that Lina's and Nahga's adventure intertwine with the story of a human whos memories and quest are perhaps more important to the audience than that of the two sorceresses. Slayers the Motion Picture had everything I wanted from a Slayers film and more: love, heroism, wit, adventure, and comedy.

• The movie is much like the OVA

  Angels_Review2014-04-13

  This is quite an interesting show basically going along the lines of the OVA rather then the TV show. You know the one with the really scantily clad Naga the Serpent. Now though I really don't like Naga, I do like the movies plot. This story has Lina heading to an elf town and defeating a demon. It would be no different then any other episode except this is when she is first introduced to the sword of light. Naga is a really stupid woman who couldn't even tell when someone is actually a bandit. Sometimes I think the only reason they brought her in is to make a reason for Lina to go the island where the story takes place. The bandits are extremely stupid, and I have to say they didn't show any thought in creating them. All the teams seem to be families. Other enemies seem to do long winded explanations on what there diabolical plans are before they even fight Lina (Of course, I don't understand how everyone knows her on the island as well but that's another story). Other characters seem as though they were quickly put together and given stupid names. Sadly, most of the show does have a rather 'filler' feeling about it. The ending was rather anti-climatic, only about 10 minutes of the long movie so it feels bland in that aspect. I may have loved the journey, but the finish line felt like it was lacking. The artwork shows its age rather nicely actually. It means that the show might look rather old but it to me, it's almost a classic. The style while slightly rough has a lot of detail in the backgrounds and even in some characters that move around. The monsters are a little generic but extremely detailed in how they move and attack. They must have put a decent amount of money into this when it was made. The English voices are sometimes OK, though a couple of the girls voices sound like they are straining there voice, but it doesn't get to bad. Lina really sounds whinny, Cynthia Martinez makes her sound like she is on the verge of losing her voice most of the time for how high pitched she is. Phil Ross on the other hand makes a great Rowdy and David Bell does do a really good of Young Rowdy, making them seem like they really could have been the same voice. Again, I wasn't keen on Naga's stupid laugh. I can give props to Kelly Manison for doing a pretty good job on the voice though, for playing a rather annoying character to begin with anyway. The script though is sometimes cheesy and sometimes rather cleaver with the jokes. It made the show stand out in that fashion. I do have some problems with the dub in that once in a while they throw a curve ball into the mix like having the demon cry out Sylvester's saying from Looney Toons or some other parody. It may work in some extent for American watchers but for those that look for a closer dubbing, this is not one. I'm also not into the change that they did to the signature spells that Lina has. It's sad whenever I have to review a show that I like and it falls short. Sadly, I can't give this a 5 star rating but it is worth watching if you like a bit of comedy or the normal TV and OVA shows of slayers. Plus, as said in the description, this does actually link to Gourry Gabriev from the TV show so its kind of funny seeing the link.

• I'm so grateful that I checked this out

  Dominik5282018-10-17

  I remember as a child, my mom got me Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie on a library rental; in the bonus features was a trailer for Slayers: The Motion Picture. I watched that trailer over and over, being in love with the song. Years later (actually, this was 10 years ago! I would've been 13 at the time) I recalled that trailer and song, and found the whole film available on YouTube to watch. It was amazing - met my expectations! Beautiful main characters, good humor, exciting action, well-added drama... The English dub was excellent, as well. Cynthia Martinez really brings out Lina Inverse's fiestiness; while I expected Naga to sound more seductive, I appreciated the haughtiness to her voice, brought by Kelly Manison. Upon my first viewing, I was wondering if these characters, given by their names, were really meant to be European, and also if Naga's laugh sounds like the original Japanese. It turned out I might as well be right! I also learned afterwards that this is based on an anime series. Thankfully, you don't even need to watch it first in order to understand this. It's short, sweet, and stands as its own. And if it wasn't for The Motion Picture, I wouldn't have checked out and fallen in love with the Slayers show. I went through a period of time when I was obsessed with the theme, "Midnight Blue" by Megumi Hayashibara (Lina's original voice actress). I'd listen to it endlessly, much to the annoyance of my family! I love this movie so much, I added it to my Christmas list in 2015, and got it on DVD in the mail.

• YEECH!

  Mon-line2000-10-13

  I've been an anime fan for six years now, and had never seen "The Slayers" in any shape or form before this movie. I had always meant to though, since I'd learned from other fans that it was a great series. Last week, I noticed this tape was available for rent at the video store. I eagerly picked it up........ And was VERY disappointed. I thought that this movie was just plain awful. It was neither funny nor containing any shred of an interesting plot. On top of my list of problems with this movie: -I found the dialogue to be irritating (though the humor found in the Slayers series might rely on campiness, so I might have missed the point); -the characters annoying, with personality traits that are barely interesting; -a rather dumb plot (why exactly DO Lina and Naga team up, anyway?). I will admit that the 'breast enlargement' sub-plot made me smirk (as did the breast-bouncing bit in the castle midway through the flick), but a quest for a bigger bust does NOT make for a good movie when that's all that's going for it; -and the battle scenes almost put me to sleep. Lina and Naga just fire off spell after spell after spell - whoopee ding. There was no sense of challenge or suspense/danger of the protagonists losing the magic fights. Sorry to those who enjoyed this (though I'll be darned if I can figure out how you did), but this movie wasn't worth the free rental coupon I used to get it. 'Slayers: The Motion Picture' wasn't as bad as the first 'Sorcerer Hunters' video, or that loathsome 'Battle Arena Toshinden' movie, but it wasn't too far behind in my book. I won't be giving up on the 'Slayers' series - maybe 'Next' or 'Try' or the originals will float my boat. But it'll be a cold day in hell before this turkey winds up in my anime collection. Try the Project A-Ko series instead.