"Slayers TRY, Love it or Hate it" There is a lot of controversy among Slayers fans regarding Slayers TRY and it's connections to NEXT and the original series. There seem to be two main groups- pro-TRY, and anti-TRY, with a small group in between. Here I try to justify some of the reasons for anti-TRY, while still keeping an unbiased view by stating the good points of the series. - There were a lot of little side trips in NEXT, and as each one passed, tension kept building, not just the romantic tension between Lina and Gourry, but anticipation. Finally, in the end, all the subplots were connected and the ending was a fitting climax. That is the reason why I like NEXT. It was like everything was building up until Lina casted the Giga Slave. It felt like you could cut the dramatic tension with a knife. Lina and Gourry reuniting was like the release from all that tension, it felt good because you knew that from here on out everything would be all right because Lina was happy. The rest of the subplots didn't matter anymore. However, the more I watch TRY, the more it grows on me. The plot is seemingly one-track, yet it is multidimensional without having too many subplots. The new characters of Filia, Valgaav, and Jiras were easy to feel sorry for, and each of them had their own problems that they had to get through. I thought that the main four characters (and also Xelloss) weren't featured as much... like they were kind of just "along for the ride" while the rest of these new people got through their problems. I can't really put this into words, but the way the main four were portrayed... it seemed almost like they were the audience to their own series, making comments and doing what they could while all these other things involving different people went on around them. They weren't nearly as involved as they were in NEXT, and I think that is what initially turns most Slayers fans away from TRY. But then again, Lina and her friends were outsiders in the new world, so maybe the feeling of being a little detached was intentional. Also the fact that a lot of people were expecting Lina and Gourry's relationship to be different doesn't help, but then you have to remember that it is to be expected, since Lina isn't open about those things and Gourry respects and understands Lina's wishes. I was glad there was a good amount of development between Zel and Ameria. They developed a good relationship (not necessarily romantic) throughout NEXT, what with starting out with Zel initially being indifferent to her, to Ameria's jealousy, all the little hints in between, and then finally the last several episodes of NEXT where it was made obvious they cared for each other in some deep way, if not romantically, then as friends. TRY just further backed this up, and at times they almost seemed so comfortable with each other, they reminded me of Lina and Gourry. Ameria affirmed her love several times both verbally (ex. asking Zel to go back to Saillune with her, see this essay for my explanation on this) and with actions (ex. extreme jealousy when Lina was paired up with Zel), while Zel kind of had this unspoken attraction going on (speaking maturely with her, accepting her, protecting her, generally being more comfortable around her than with any of the other characters, etc.). If NEXT was the series for Lina and Gourry, then TRY was the series for Zelgadiss and Ameria. It's too bad that we were never shown a truly happy ending for these two. |