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wildvision) wrote2010-10-15 03:42 am
wildvision) wrote2010-10-15 03:42 am
Slayers Evolution-R Review
And now, for Evolution-R. It's kinda weird how they split this season in half, like this. I don't know why they decided to do that. =/
This one'll probably be a bit shorter than the last, since I already covered the translation/dubbing aspect. ^_^
As to the story...I kinda have mixed feelings. I certainly didn't hate it or anything, but...I guess it just bugged me a little how much some parts drew from things used earlier in the series. I said in my review of Revolution that the season felt kinda nostalgic, hearkening back to the first season. But now...now it almost feels recycled, rather than just nostalgic. I mean...first the deal with Rezo being back. And his continuing goal of restoring his sight. Then, at the very end, they fought Shabranigdo, again. I will admit that earlier, I was thinking about how in every other season, they fought a Dark Lord at the end, and that I was a little disappointed that they weren't doing it this time. But I wanted to see them fight a different Dark Lord...not the same one they already fought back in season one. =P I mean...I can see how it came about. Rezo revives, and thus, so does that piece of Shabranigdo. But still. And it ends the exact same way, too. Everyone gets their butts kicked, then Lina finally Giga Slaves his sorry ass. Her hair bleaches white, and she's the one left standing. Again. Yes, it's nice enough to watch, especially with the pretty new animation, but still. I just felt like it was season one, all over again. =/
Backtracking a little bit, I'm also a little unsure about how they wrapped up the Zuuma storyline. I'm looking at the novels now, and they changed him a fair bit, didn't they? Earlier, he said that Lina was the reason he became an assassin...and then they never explained that. I thought that was weird, and sure enough, that's different than the novels. He really was the merchant, but he didn't initially have any grudge against Lina. She was just a contracted hit, that's all. Granted, after she survives his attacks, he still wants to take her out, probably out of professional pride or something. It's not until later when he loses his arms that he really starts to hate Lina and Gourry, and want revenge. And Lina was supposed to be the one who killed him, not Xelloss. Overall, I have to say...I'm a little disappointed. I remember reading the novels for the first time, and Zuuma was a scary bad guy. Here...it just doesn't come across as well.
Let's see, what else...ah. Seeing Zel, back when he was human was kinda neat. And honestly...I'm kinda glad that they didn't turn him human again at the end. It's a little unkind, but I like him better the way he is now.
And I'm glad that Pokota didn't die. I was a little worried there, at first. Although, him getting stuck in that body kinda sucks. Oh, well. At least he was reunited with his father. <3
On the upside, toward the beginning, the part with Naga's soul trapped in the armor? Was hilarious. It was kinda funny, though...it was obviously Naga, but she didn't act like Naga acts. It kinda made me think of mirror!Naga from one of the OAVs/movies. Which is a funny thought. And watching Amelia and Nama together was quite amusing. I swear, pretty much everyone agrees that they're sisters...but I wish that canon would just flat-out confirm it, anyway. XD
And we didn't get any cross-dressing in this season. Woe.
Overall...I'm not quite sure what I think, just now. ^^;; Having new Slayers after all these years is awesome...but I kinda wish it had been done better, in some ways. Oh, well. I still had fun! XD
This one'll probably be a bit shorter than the last, since I already covered the translation/dubbing aspect. ^_^
As to the story...I kinda have mixed feelings. I certainly didn't hate it or anything, but...I guess it just bugged me a little how much some parts drew from things used earlier in the series. I said in my review of Revolution that the season felt kinda nostalgic, hearkening back to the first season. But now...now it almost feels recycled, rather than just nostalgic. I mean...first the deal with Rezo being back. And his continuing goal of restoring his sight. Then, at the very end, they fought Shabranigdo, again. I will admit that earlier, I was thinking about how in every other season, they fought a Dark Lord at the end, and that I was a little disappointed that they weren't doing it this time. But I wanted to see them fight a different Dark Lord...not the same one they already fought back in season one. =P I mean...I can see how it came about. Rezo revives, and thus, so does that piece of Shabranigdo. But still. And it ends the exact same way, too. Everyone gets their butts kicked, then Lina finally Giga Slaves his sorry ass. Her hair bleaches white, and she's the one left standing. Again. Yes, it's nice enough to watch, especially with the pretty new animation, but still. I just felt like it was season one, all over again. =/
Backtracking a little bit, I'm also a little unsure about how they wrapped up the Zuuma storyline. I'm looking at the novels now, and they changed him a fair bit, didn't they? Earlier, he said that Lina was the reason he became an assassin...and then they never explained that. I thought that was weird, and sure enough, that's different than the novels. He really was the merchant, but he didn't initially have any grudge against Lina. She was just a contracted hit, that's all. Granted, after she survives his attacks, he still wants to take her out, probably out of professional pride or something. It's not until later when he loses his arms that he really starts to hate Lina and Gourry, and want revenge. And Lina was supposed to be the one who killed him, not Xelloss. Overall, I have to say...I'm a little disappointed. I remember reading the novels for the first time, and Zuuma was a scary bad guy. Here...it just doesn't come across as well.
Let's see, what else...ah. Seeing Zel, back when he was human was kinda neat. And honestly...I'm kinda glad that they didn't turn him human again at the end. It's a little unkind, but I like him better the way he is now.
And I'm glad that Pokota didn't die. I was a little worried there, at first. Although, him getting stuck in that body kinda sucks. Oh, well. At least he was reunited with his father. <3
On the upside, toward the beginning, the part with Naga's soul trapped in the armor? Was hilarious. It was kinda funny, though...it was obviously Naga, but she didn't act like Naga acts. It kinda made me think of mirror!Naga from one of the OAVs/movies. Which is a funny thought. And watching Amelia and Nama together was quite amusing. I swear, pretty much everyone agrees that they're sisters...but I wish that canon would just flat-out confirm it, anyway. XD
Overall...I'm not quite sure what I think, just now. ^^;; Having new Slayers after all these years is awesome...but I kinda wish it had been done better, in some ways. Oh, well. I still had fun! XD