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¥¹¥ì¥¤¥ä©`¥º [Slayers] #1
Slayers - The Ruby Eye
Book by Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 1990
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530 people want to read
About the author
Hajime Kanzaka
185?books66?followersHajime Kanzaka (ÉñÛàÒ») is a Japanese novelist and manga writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
July 28, 2010
How can one describe the awesomeness of Lina Inverse to a bunch of book snobs?? (let¡¯s face it, if you reading this you are in my GR friend¡¯s list¡ if you in my friend list you are a book snob¡ don¡¯t be lying to yourself! You are!) how can one explain to this snobs that a book don¡¯t need to be a literary master piece to be highly entertaining? That a writer don¡¯t need a deep, complicated plot to be great. That sometimes one need to entertain stupid things like ¡°what would happen if I cast a healing spell on a zombie? Would it make it deteriorate even more? Or would it bring it back to life?¡± that sometimes I¡¯m in no need of an amazing fantasy world. That some times all one need is a story where one can tell the difference between a good guy and a bad guy by looking at the clothes a character is wearing¡
Seriously! Ho can one achieve all that???? Cuz my friend list is full with snobs!!!!!* and sometimes I get review shy cuz I don¡¯t wanna sound stupid to em! Or be ¡°that guy¡± on their friend list who don¡¯t read deep shit, and don¡¯t know how to properly review deep shit when he reads it!!!
But you know what! Fuck it! I will no longer be intimated by y¡¯all and y¡¯all fancy English! And y¡¯all complicated words! I will review it how I feel it!!! Like when I¡¯m dancing and singing in the shower! If you don¡¯t like it, if its not deep enough for you, if you think it don¡¯t make sense! I¡¯ma tell you the same thing I told my cousin that time she found me masturbating in the shower!!! ¡°its my dick and I can wash it any way I want!!!!!¡± just substitute ¡°dick¡± with book and ¡°wash¡± with review! And suck it!
Lina Inverse is the shit! Best female character ever!!!! A narcissist sorcerers with a superiority complex so big that can only be rival by her megalomania! But worry not! She also has inferiority complex about her undeveloped body to give some contrast to all of that.
I can¡¯t get enough of her cheap jokes! Hell! I may be stealing a few of them! Like ¡°a girl gotta eat, and this girl gotta eat a lot!¡± (she eats like a pig!) . There is also her badassness¡. (I know that¡¯s not a word!!! Remember¡. My review!!!) Lina can kick some serious ass! When she is not too distracted by shiny things that may be treasure¡ did I mention how greedy she is? Well, she is! But in her defense she only steals from bandits¡
Damn! This is getting to long!!!! Lets abridge what I wanna say!
Lina rocks! This book is fun, it ain¡¯t no deep shit¡ but is entertaining as fuck! I 5! Suck it!
Seriously! Ho can one achieve all that???? Cuz my friend list is full with snobs!!!!!* and sometimes I get review shy cuz I don¡¯t wanna sound stupid to em! Or be ¡°that guy¡± on their friend list who don¡¯t read deep shit, and don¡¯t know how to properly review deep shit when he reads it!!!
But you know what! Fuck it! I will no longer be intimated by y¡¯all and y¡¯all fancy English! And y¡¯all complicated words! I will review it how I feel it!!! Like when I¡¯m dancing and singing in the shower! If you don¡¯t like it, if its not deep enough for you, if you think it don¡¯t make sense! I¡¯ma tell you the same thing I told my cousin that time she found me masturbating in the shower!!! ¡°its my dick and I can wash it any way I want!!!!!¡± just substitute ¡°dick¡± with book and ¡°wash¡± with review! And suck it!
Lina Inverse is the shit! Best female character ever!!!! A narcissist sorcerers with a superiority complex so big that can only be rival by her megalomania! But worry not! She also has inferiority complex about her undeveloped body to give some contrast to all of that.
I can¡¯t get enough of her cheap jokes! Hell! I may be stealing a few of them! Like ¡°a girl gotta eat, and this girl gotta eat a lot!¡± (she eats like a pig!) . There is also her badassness¡. (I know that¡¯s not a word!!! Remember¡. My review!!!) Lina can kick some serious ass! When she is not too distracted by shiny things that may be treasure¡ did I mention how greedy she is? Well, she is! But in her defense she only steals from bandits¡
Damn! This is getting to long!!!! Lets abridge what I wanna say!
Lina rocks! This book is fun, it ain¡¯t no deep shit¡ but is entertaining as fuck! I 5! Suck it!
February 1, 2022
Oh, what a blast of nostalgia this was! The new J-Novel Club translation is definitely better than the old Tokyopop one, but that's really just icing on the cake.
April 23, 2015
Super cute lil novel that follows sorceress Lina on her adventure to find treasure and discover her "true self". Lina's a snarky lil thing with a knack for getting into trouble which leads her to meet Gourry, her new guardian! Gourry is a bit older and a swordsman that feels Lina is too young and weak to be able to survive on her own, so it's his mission to protect her.
In this portion of the story, Lina and Gourry are treasure hunting books and materials that could lead them to an even bigger score. There hunt leads them to clash with some baddies that just aren't going to let Lina keep the goods. Unfortunately for them, Lina is neither weak nor quiet about being harassed by goons. Together, Lina and Gourry with the help of a new friend have to save the world.
This is a cute, quirky read filled with sarcasm and adorableness. I recommend to others. Keep in mind,this novel covers the first three in the "graphic novel" series. I've read both sets, and there's some fun extras in this one that the comic doesn't cover.
In this portion of the story, Lina and Gourry are treasure hunting books and materials that could lead them to an even bigger score. There hunt leads them to clash with some baddies that just aren't going to let Lina keep the goods. Unfortunately for them, Lina is neither weak nor quiet about being harassed by goons. Together, Lina and Gourry with the help of a new friend have to save the world.
This is a cute, quirky read filled with sarcasm and adorableness. I recommend to others. Keep in mind,this novel covers the first three in the "graphic novel" series. I've read both sets, and there's some fun extras in this one that the comic doesn't cover.
April 13, 2022
I'll have a mini review posted next week!
May 15, 2022
La novela est¨¢ en ingl¨¦s. Con un nivel medio, pierdes los detalles, pero si eres seguidor del anime, sabes exactamente qu¨¦ hacen en cada momento. El humor t¨ªpico de Slayers est¨¢ presente y es muy divertido. Si sabes ingl¨¦s, son novelas ligeras muy recomendables. O si eres seguidor del anime con un nivel de ingl¨¦s medio, tendr¨¢s algun dato nuevo que no te dan en la serie.
December 3, 2022
No conoc¨ªa estas novelas de Slayers, as¨ª que fue una agradable sorpresa encontr¨¢rmela. Me record¨® muchos momentos divertidos que viv¨ª junto a estos personajes, as¨ª que espero pronto leer las siguientes aventuras de Lina Inverse.
November 22, 2016
Lina Inverse is something else if she is not killing bandits, then she is trying to make more money, and she is always stealing gold from the bad guys. A must read manga
June 23, 2022
This book is really great, the way it is written is amazing.
December 9, 2023
I really find cute & adorable Lina and Gourry together especially when their sarcastic to each other makes me laugh .
May 23, 2020
[There is the sound of clicking, followed by the scraping of chair legs on the floor, accompanied by the near-inaudible sound of someone sitting upon said chair, before dragging it forward again, cracking their knuckles and gently tapping at a keyboard.]
Hey there, everyone! It's me, Lina Inverse!
What, you've never heard of me? How have you not heard the tales of my beauty and daring deeds?! Well then, it's a good thing I decided to¡ªahem!¡ªborrow my dear friend Cyanide's account and write this review of my book, Slayers (1): The Ruby Eye so you can all properly get interested in meeting me. I mean, who wouldn't want to meet a world-renowned sorceress, right?
Oh, don't worry, I'll hand back control to C.L. when I'm finished. I actually do this pretty regularly, even for Hajime Kanzaka; the poor guy's so shy, he even had me write the afterword in this light novel for him! What can I say, I'm just that irresistible.
Anyway, yes, ahem! I'm Lina Inverse, sorceress supreme! You could say that at only 15-years-old, I'm a bit of a prodigy. Anyway, while my adventures started some time ago, things in this light novel don't really kick off until I'm on the run from having, er, liberated some treasures from a bunch of knuckle-bruising bandits with barely a brain cell to share between all of them, and I meet the very-handsome but even more stupid Gourry. Ladies, don't let all those flowing blond locks, sweet smile and chiseled cheekbones fool you: I've met smarter bags of bricks. So anyhow, Gourry up and decided to rescue me from these bandits (totally unnecessary, THIS girl can handle herself)
and now he's just been stuck to me like glue. Seriously, what does it take to lose this guy? Gotta admit, he's pretty handy to have around, though. ESPECIALLY when some more of those bandit creeps show up with a mysterious character in the night, trying to bargain back some of that treasure I rightfully stole. Pretty suspicious, if you ask me!
[There follows a skip in the beat, as something is relayed off-screen.]
Wait, what? What do you mean I can't tell them anything else without using the spoiler tag? Are you for real? Hold up, gimme that light novel!
[A -thwap-, a smack of a paperback in the palm, the rustling of pages being flipped, and the thud of a book slamming shut.]
Ugh. Okay, it looks like there really isn't much more I can say that wouldn't be spoilers. How lame! It's my story, after all! Uuuuggghhhh... Well, I guess if you're bored, and you've not got anything better to do and you don't feel like finding this book and trying to read it, you could always watch the anime. A lot of the events in this book are covered in those first episodes, so maybe you'll have better luck hunting those down online than you will finding print copies of these light novels. (Seriously, you wouldn't believe what Cyanide went through, just to get her hands on the second one! Personally I think it was worth it; a genius, gorgeous, heroic sorceress like me is worth the extra expenditure.)
Alright, I guess I really can't say much more unless I want to tag for spoilers, but I promised myself I wasn't going to do that with this first review. Who wants to click on a spoiler button anyway if they're interested in reading, right? Right? Right. But for real though, you need to read my light novels and see my heroism (and the load of BS I have to deal with on top of it all.) Trust me, it's worth it. Maybe it's not the kind of high-class literature you read in a cushy chair and talk about at your country club, but I promise it's a bunch of fun, and I'm a pretty witty girl, if I do say so myself!
Until next time, this is Lina Inverse, signing off to all of you with a Dragon Slave! You've been a great audience!
Hey there, everyone! It's me, Lina Inverse!
What, you've never heard of me? How have you not heard the tales of my beauty and daring deeds?! Well then, it's a good thing I decided to¡ªahem!¡ªborrow my dear friend Cyanide's account and write this review of my book, Slayers (1): The Ruby Eye so you can all properly get interested in meeting me. I mean, who wouldn't want to meet a world-renowned sorceress, right?
Oh, don't worry, I'll hand back control to C.L. when I'm finished. I actually do this pretty regularly, even for Hajime Kanzaka; the poor guy's so shy, he even had me write the afterword in this light novel for him! What can I say, I'm just that irresistible.
Anyway, yes, ahem! I'm Lina Inverse, sorceress supreme! You could say that at only 15-years-old, I'm a bit of a prodigy. Anyway, while my adventures started some time ago, things in this light novel don't really kick off until I'm on the run from having, er, liberated some treasures from a bunch of knuckle-bruising bandits with barely a brain cell to share between all of them, and I meet the very-handsome but even more stupid Gourry. Ladies, don't let all those flowing blond locks, sweet smile and chiseled cheekbones fool you: I've met smarter bags of bricks. So anyhow, Gourry up and decided to rescue me from these bandits (totally unnecessary, THIS girl can handle herself)
and now he's just been stuck to me like glue. Seriously, what does it take to lose this guy? Gotta admit, he's pretty handy to have around, though. ESPECIALLY when some more of those bandit creeps show up with a mysterious character in the night, trying to bargain back some of that treasure I rightfully stole. Pretty suspicious, if you ask me!
[There follows a skip in the beat, as something is relayed off-screen.]
Wait, what? What do you mean I can't tell them anything else without using the spoiler tag? Are you for real? Hold up, gimme that light novel!
[A -thwap-, a smack of a paperback in the palm, the rustling of pages being flipped, and the thud of a book slamming shut.]
Ugh. Okay, it looks like there really isn't much more I can say that wouldn't be spoilers. How lame! It's my story, after all! Uuuuggghhhh... Well, I guess if you're bored, and you've not got anything better to do and you don't feel like finding this book and trying to read it, you could always watch the anime. A lot of the events in this book are covered in those first episodes, so maybe you'll have better luck hunting those down online than you will finding print copies of these light novels. (Seriously, you wouldn't believe what Cyanide went through, just to get her hands on the second one! Personally I think it was worth it; a genius, gorgeous, heroic sorceress like me is worth the extra expenditure.)
Alright, I guess I really can't say much more unless I want to tag for spoilers, but I promised myself I wasn't going to do that with this first review. Who wants to click on a spoiler button anyway if they're interested in reading, right? Right? Right. But for real though, you need to read my light novels and see my heroism (and the load of BS I have to deal with on top of it all.) Trust me, it's worth it. Maybe it's not the kind of high-class literature you read in a cushy chair and talk about at your country club, but I promise it's a bunch of fun, and I'm a pretty witty girl, if I do say so myself!
Until next time, this is Lina Inverse, signing off to all of you with a Dragon Slave! You've been a great audience!
January 27, 2009
Well this is going to be a bit bias since I love the books, the anime and you just wait until I get my hands on the manga and the magazine version. Anyways the book is full of sarcastic remarks and unexpected comments that are just plainly hilarious. Hajime Kanzaka doesn¡¯t beat around the points with his joke; he gets right to the point which makes it even funnier.
If you have seen the anime and wonder how Lina¡¯s sister is then this books will be perfect for you. They fill you in with small part of Lina¡¯s birth place and family ¨Cmostly memories of her. Being inside Lina¡¯s head is exactly like what Alfonso would be thinking in her situation if he was a guy¡ which is a bit creepy.
Anyways I love it.
If you have seen the anime and wonder how Lina¡¯s sister is then this books will be perfect for you. They fill you in with small part of Lina¡¯s birth place and family ¨Cmostly memories of her. Being inside Lina¡¯s head is exactly like what Alfonso would be thinking in her situation if he was a guy¡ which is a bit creepy.
Anyways I love it.
September 3, 2020
4/5 I¡¯ve always wanted to read the Light Novel series that inspired the Slayer¡¯s anime franchise. Now that J-Novel Club is publishing them hopefully not only will we get the original 15 Volume series in its entirety but hopefully it will do well enough to snag some of the spin off series and the 30 Volume Slayers Special series as well.
Slayers is very comedic high fantasy. Some of the humor is a little low brow but I love it all the same. The volumes are pretty short so they¡¯re quick reads. Fantasy fans and fans of the anime will enjoy it I¡¯m sure.
Looking forward to volume 2 in October.
For anyone wondering this volume covers about the first 8-10 episodes of the anime.
Slayers is very comedic high fantasy. Some of the humor is a little low brow but I love it all the same. The volumes are pretty short so they¡¯re quick reads. Fantasy fans and fans of the anime will enjoy it I¡¯m sure.
Looking forward to volume 2 in October.
For anyone wondering this volume covers about the first 8-10 episodes of the anime.
September 8, 2020
One of the classic light novels, publication started in 1989, but it's finally getting a full release from J-Novel Club after being dumped previously by Tokyopop.
Comedy is one of the more important elements in this story, and pretty evident with some of the imagery inside (Lina in particular has some funny facial expressions). There's a lot of putdown type comedy, that Edward Elric kind of 'don't call me little' inferiority complex thing from Lina, her foul mouthed insults back. There's the oblivious hero in Gourry, who's lack of knowledge on basic magic and lore elements cause Lina to facepalm frequently in frustration. Gourry's obviousness is actually a welcome thing for the readers as then Lina has to explain these strange magic spella in detail for him.
Action packed volume with a lot more blood than I expected. Anything non-human is getting dismembered, roasted, or piked by the heroes. And these non-humans are fairly humanoid (trolls, werewolves, golems), so it still feels a bit unnerving at times how these characters can do this without too much of a guilty conscience. Magic spells are the name of the game in this one, so expect to also see some massive OP type skills and some asspulls at times. They even have spells that attack from the shadow dimension (astral plane), so it gets pretty far out there with that. Some rules get established with the magic, but it still feels fairly free and wide open, especially with Lina who is able to reverse engineer some spells for unintended effects.
The lore was also interesting, if pretty wide open. You get some info dumps that suggest this world Lina lives on is only one of many they'll be travelling to, a range of planets supposedly skewered onto a staff that sticks out of the sea of chaos as part of a creation myth (a myth that Lina questions and has thoughts on that she'll share in a later volume). The Dark Lord Shibranigdu is also an element in the background, a Ganon like figure that can revive if all the pieces of his body are discovered and unsealed. The writer has left himself a pretty large cushion to create further stories without being tied to any restrictions as all the lore is somewhat questioned and in the realm of mythos, and the worlds and the creatures that live on them could be whatever he wants.
In many ways, this does feel old, namely from some of the crude humor directed towards the sex of the main character, Lina, a tomboyish girl whom the rest of the cast put down because she isn't sexy and is foul mouthed. At one point, the bad guys threaten to sexually assault Lina because she called their leader names. In the same scene, one guy suggests searching her body more closely because woman have more areas they could hide the object theyre looking for in on their persons (that was just gross the way they described it). Lina even suggests the men are wusses to get exhausted before she as a woman did, like she should have less stamina than them normally cause she's a girl. Lina does get to serve back some of their insults with some of her own, but they're namely things like insulting the guys' power levels and intelligence, less so on their masculinity.
None of the cast I would say are too "good" or wholesome. Lina is a thief who isn't afraid to kill and cheat to get what she wants. Gourry, the blonde man that joins her, sees Lina as a child and almost curses that he didn't save a better looking heroine. Most of the rest of the cast are enemies, like the gang of troll thieves led by Zelgadis, who voices little protest when the subject of sexually assaulting a tied up Lina comes up from his mate Zorf.
I will try and stay caught up with this one. Some of the battles are a bit chaotic and involve more asspull type spells (this isn't at all like a Grimgar or a Dendrogram where the tactics and spells are set up ahead of time; sometimes Lina just pulls some BS out of a hat, and occasionally they even justify it by saying 'Lina learned this on a travel to a foreign land' as she's casting the spell). But I think that lore element and the action element are what will keep readers interested. And obviously the comedy if it hits well.
Comedy is one of the more important elements in this story, and pretty evident with some of the imagery inside (Lina in particular has some funny facial expressions). There's a lot of putdown type comedy, that Edward Elric kind of 'don't call me little' inferiority complex thing from Lina, her foul mouthed insults back. There's the oblivious hero in Gourry, who's lack of knowledge on basic magic and lore elements cause Lina to facepalm frequently in frustration. Gourry's obviousness is actually a welcome thing for the readers as then Lina has to explain these strange magic spella in detail for him.
Action packed volume with a lot more blood than I expected. Anything non-human is getting dismembered, roasted, or piked by the heroes. And these non-humans are fairly humanoid (trolls, werewolves, golems), so it still feels a bit unnerving at times how these characters can do this without too much of a guilty conscience. Magic spells are the name of the game in this one, so expect to also see some massive OP type skills and some asspulls at times. They even have spells that attack from the shadow dimension (astral plane), so it gets pretty far out there with that. Some rules get established with the magic, but it still feels fairly free and wide open, especially with Lina who is able to reverse engineer some spells for unintended effects.
The lore was also interesting, if pretty wide open. You get some info dumps that suggest this world Lina lives on is only one of many they'll be travelling to, a range of planets supposedly skewered onto a staff that sticks out of the sea of chaos as part of a creation myth (a myth that Lina questions and has thoughts on that she'll share in a later volume). The Dark Lord Shibranigdu is also an element in the background, a Ganon like figure that can revive if all the pieces of his body are discovered and unsealed. The writer has left himself a pretty large cushion to create further stories without being tied to any restrictions as all the lore is somewhat questioned and in the realm of mythos, and the worlds and the creatures that live on them could be whatever he wants.
In many ways, this does feel old, namely from some of the crude humor directed towards the sex of the main character, Lina, a tomboyish girl whom the rest of the cast put down because she isn't sexy and is foul mouthed. At one point, the bad guys threaten to sexually assault Lina because she called their leader names. In the same scene, one guy suggests searching her body more closely because woman have more areas they could hide the object theyre looking for in on their persons (that was just gross the way they described it). Lina even suggests the men are wusses to get exhausted before she as a woman did, like she should have less stamina than them normally cause she's a girl. Lina does get to serve back some of their insults with some of her own, but they're namely things like insulting the guys' power levels and intelligence, less so on their masculinity.
None of the cast I would say are too "good" or wholesome. Lina is a thief who isn't afraid to kill and cheat to get what she wants. Gourry, the blonde man that joins her, sees Lina as a child and almost curses that he didn't save a better looking heroine. Most of the rest of the cast are enemies, like the gang of troll thieves led by Zelgadis, who voices little protest when the subject of sexually assaulting a tied up Lina comes up from his mate Zorf.
I will try and stay caught up with this one. Some of the battles are a bit chaotic and involve more asspull type spells (this isn't at all like a Grimgar or a Dendrogram where the tactics and spells are set up ahead of time; sometimes Lina just pulls some BS out of a hat, and occasionally they even justify it by saying 'Lina learned this on a travel to a foreign land' as she's casting the spell). But I think that lore element and the action element are what will keep readers interested. And obviously the comedy if it hits well.
August 14, 2024
It's a fairly good rough draft for the Anime, but Anime usually smooths out the rough edges of these things. This book, AKA on paper a really good introduction to a universe, stellar world building, but still better in the anime (and I'd still rather have them remake the anime to incorporate more in the book.)
It's a really good template for greatness and if you've seen Next? You know that. In general my opinion of 1-8 is that sometimes the books go harder than the anime and need to be adapted properly, but note again that I did love the anime for the most part. Sometimes the anime makes marked improvements that were either overlooked by Kanzaka or he just didnt have the finished project in mind at the time of writing. In the industry of light novels when you may get an anime that fixes those problems, it's okay, but judging it alone as literature it can cause a few problems.
We read the intros in a pod cast, 1-3, 5, 6, 7 and 8. We found that 7 and 8 were the best intros (We only read the first scene, and since the hook is usually two scenes in, the committee of the podcast found the meta nature of the opening passages somewhat difficult to get through. I admit, comparing the anime to the book in the first scene, the anime version runs smoother.
Given the meta nature of the book many scenes are anime inspired lampshade or subversion of common fantasy tropes. Your mileage may vary.
Particularly one in the middle of the book in which a villain invokes what must have been an incredibly cliche scene in fantasy novels universally at the time. A heroine strung up and tortured and raped-- Seriously, I had a friend who wrote a fantasy novel with this exact trope which implies he read many a many a many a many novels with that exact scene. I can only imagine, as it was an elaborate meta set up for a stupid joke, that it was simply an attempt at subversive parody humor.
Anime and audio book smooths it over, which I feel like necessary. I mean hey, I'm all for turning things on its head but it was clunky. I'm just glad that for the most part the fan service tenancies are either nipped in the bud by his editor or he learns as he goes what works and what doesnt.
I still love the set up and execution and flow of this book regardless, in no small part due to the anime. Just know that the books are enjoyably interesting but can be considered rough drafts to the anime. I enjoy Gourry's playing as a foil to Lina which is required for a character of her type to take her down a peg and this is somewhat lost in the anime.
It's a really good template for greatness and if you've seen Next? You know that. In general my opinion of 1-8 is that sometimes the books go harder than the anime and need to be adapted properly, but note again that I did love the anime for the most part. Sometimes the anime makes marked improvements that were either overlooked by Kanzaka or he just didnt have the finished project in mind at the time of writing. In the industry of light novels when you may get an anime that fixes those problems, it's okay, but judging it alone as literature it can cause a few problems.
We read the intros in a pod cast, 1-3, 5, 6, 7 and 8. We found that 7 and 8 were the best intros (We only read the first scene, and since the hook is usually two scenes in, the committee of the podcast found the meta nature of the opening passages somewhat difficult to get through. I admit, comparing the anime to the book in the first scene, the anime version runs smoother.
Given the meta nature of the book many scenes are anime inspired lampshade or subversion of common fantasy tropes. Your mileage may vary.
Particularly one in the middle of the book in which a villain invokes what must have been an incredibly cliche scene in fantasy novels universally at the time. A heroine strung up and tortured and raped-- Seriously, I had a friend who wrote a fantasy novel with this exact trope which implies he read many a many a many a many novels with that exact scene. I can only imagine, as it was an elaborate meta set up for a stupid joke, that it was simply an attempt at subversive parody humor.
Anime and audio book smooths it over, which I feel like necessary. I mean hey, I'm all for turning things on its head but it was clunky. I'm just glad that for the most part the fan service tenancies are either nipped in the bud by his editor or he learns as he goes what works and what doesnt.
I still love the set up and execution and flow of this book regardless, in no small part due to the anime. Just know that the books are enjoyably interesting but can be considered rough drafts to the anime. I enjoy Gourry's playing as a foil to Lina which is required for a character of her type to take her down a peg and this is somewhat lost in the anime.
June 22, 2021
Reading this book was like a blast from the past. I never really got into Slayers back when it was popular--and oh my, how popular it was--but I had a passing familiarity with Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent. I always told myself that someday I'd give this series a chance. I guess someday finally came.
Slayers - The Ruby Eye is a very comical high fantasy light novel. It's written in first person, told from the perspective of Lina Inverse, a snarky thief/sorceress. I was kind of wary of the story-telling approach at first, afraid that I was going to have to deal with some Deadpool or Harley Quinn-esque humor, but luckily I didn't. Several of the jokes made me laugh out loud, but there were still plenty of moments that I took with a straight face. Nothing annoyed me, though.
Despite the humor, the series seems to have lots of serious high fantasy concepts, (Whether or not they're unique or interesting is another story.) making this whole exercise more than just a spoof or hollow comedy. I don't really feel like it's trying to make any kind of commentary on the fantasy genre or present itself as a satire. There are moments where it pokes fun at tropes, but it never engages in any kind of meaningful conversation about them.
On the spectrum of Japanese light novels that I've read, this ranks as higher quality than Goblin Slayer but not quite as good as Record of Lodoss War. You can definitely feel the Dungeons and Dragons influence, but when it comes to the colorful characters and their exhausting battles of secret techniques and monologues about special abilities, you'd probably enjoy it all more if you were just watching the anime, instead. Better than reading three pages about a custom magic spell made by Lina, and how it interacts with a magic sword.
I guess that's all I really came away with, here. This was a very silly story with funny narration and the shadow of a standard fantasy world, but I have no desire to read the rest of the novels. in fact, after the first third of this book, I was kind of ready to put it down and just watch the anime. I could probably reccommend this to people who have consumed the whole series and just want more Slayers content in their lives. Otherwise, just watch the anime. This didn't do much of anything for my fantasy itch.
Slayers - The Ruby Eye is a very comical high fantasy light novel. It's written in first person, told from the perspective of Lina Inverse, a snarky thief/sorceress. I was kind of wary of the story-telling approach at first, afraid that I was going to have to deal with some Deadpool or Harley Quinn-esque humor, but luckily I didn't. Several of the jokes made me laugh out loud, but there were still plenty of moments that I took with a straight face. Nothing annoyed me, though.
Despite the humor, the series seems to have lots of serious high fantasy concepts, (Whether or not they're unique or interesting is another story.) making this whole exercise more than just a spoof or hollow comedy. I don't really feel like it's trying to make any kind of commentary on the fantasy genre or present itself as a satire. There are moments where it pokes fun at tropes, but it never engages in any kind of meaningful conversation about them.
On the spectrum of Japanese light novels that I've read, this ranks as higher quality than Goblin Slayer but not quite as good as Record of Lodoss War. You can definitely feel the Dungeons and Dragons influence, but when it comes to the colorful characters and their exhausting battles of secret techniques and monologues about special abilities, you'd probably enjoy it all more if you were just watching the anime, instead. Better than reading three pages about a custom magic spell made by Lina, and how it interacts with a magic sword.
I guess that's all I really came away with, here. This was a very silly story with funny narration and the shadow of a standard fantasy world, but I have no desire to read the rest of the novels. in fact, after the first third of this book, I was kind of ready to put it down and just watch the anime. I could probably reccommend this to people who have consumed the whole series and just want more Slayers content in their lives. Otherwise, just watch the anime. This didn't do much of anything for my fantasy itch.
August 13, 2022
Today's post is on The Slayers: The Ruby Eye by Hajime Kanzaka and art by Rui Araizumi. It is 198 pages long and is published by J-Novel Club. The cover is a close up of Lena with other characters in the background. The intended reader is someone who likes comedy, D&D, and action adventure novels. There is very mild foul language, no sex, and action violence in this light novel. The story is told from first person close of Lina. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- Beautiful and brilliant sorcerer girls just can't have nice things, huh? All I wanted to do was swipe little bit of bandit treasure. Now suddenly I'm being chase around by icky trolls, nasty demons, mean mummies, and brooding golem bad boys. And for what? A tiny little artifact that can being about the end of the world? Hah! I'll show them there's a reason you don't cross Lina Inverse...
Review- A great first novel that does a lot of world building but has a fun storyline to get the reader engaged in the action! Lina Inverse is a very powerful sorcerer, who likes to take treasure back from bandits, stealing from thieves is cool, right? Well these thieves have stolen something very powerful and some very powerful people want it, some for good reasons and others for very bad reason. Add is a idiot blond swordsman and we have our novel. As a huge fan of the anime, this novel did not disappoint. I could hear Lina's voice as I read the novel and I had a great time with her. The world of Slayers is an interesting one with lots of different kinds of magic and different people who can use that magic. From Lina's black magic to the blond, Gourry's sword of light, there is so much to enjoy about this fantasy world and the characters in it. I look forward to reading the next volume.
I give this light novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this light novel with my own money.
From the back of the book- Beautiful and brilliant sorcerer girls just can't have nice things, huh? All I wanted to do was swipe little bit of bandit treasure. Now suddenly I'm being chase around by icky trolls, nasty demons, mean mummies, and brooding golem bad boys. And for what? A tiny little artifact that can being about the end of the world? Hah! I'll show them there's a reason you don't cross Lina Inverse...
Review- A great first novel that does a lot of world building but has a fun storyline to get the reader engaged in the action! Lina Inverse is a very powerful sorcerer, who likes to take treasure back from bandits, stealing from thieves is cool, right? Well these thieves have stolen something very powerful and some very powerful people want it, some for good reasons and others for very bad reason. Add is a idiot blond swordsman and we have our novel. As a huge fan of the anime, this novel did not disappoint. I could hear Lina's voice as I read the novel and I had a great time with her. The world of Slayers is an interesting one with lots of different kinds of magic and different people who can use that magic. From Lina's black magic to the blond, Gourry's sword of light, there is so much to enjoy about this fantasy world and the characters in it. I look forward to reading the next volume.
I give this light novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this light novel with my own money.
February 23, 2021
I'm not a big fan of light novels - I'd rather read the manga/watch the anime/play the visual novel - so that influenced my rating a bit.
Slayers was an anime I watched fairly towards the beginning of my anime journey, about 15 years ago. I'd never heard of Dungeons & Dragons, let alone played a game, so all its tropes were new to me. Reading this now, the whole adventure seems super clich¨¦, as D&D is everywhere in western media nowadays - but this is still the only anime I know that's so heavily inspired by D&D! So that's cool.
Feminist rant incoming. I cringed a little tiny bit at the whole "sorceresses lose their powers when they're on their periods", just a tiny bit /s. I liked that this story had a female protagonist, but not so much that literally everyone else in the universe was a guy (including the fish). Nor did I enjoy the scene where they use the threat of non-consentual kissing as a PG stand-in for rape/torture. Underaged girl hanging by her arms from the ceiling while an adult man tells his friends to kiss her. Fun!
This book was written in 1990 and translated from Japanese in 2004: I know anime culture was much weirder in the past and that I'm not the intended audience (I'd say this is shonen, while I'm an adult woman), but I'm pretty sick and tired of these tired sexist, male gaze-y, chauvenistic tropes in my anime content. Yeet 'em outta here. Directly into the sun.
Anyway, it was fun to revisit an anime from my past in book-form, but I won't be reading the rest of these light novels.
I liked how she killed the regenerating troll, though, that was pretty inventive.
Slayers was an anime I watched fairly towards the beginning of my anime journey, about 15 years ago. I'd never heard of Dungeons & Dragons, let alone played a game, so all its tropes were new to me. Reading this now, the whole adventure seems super clich¨¦, as D&D is everywhere in western media nowadays - but this is still the only anime I know that's so heavily inspired by D&D! So that's cool.
Feminist rant incoming. I cringed a little tiny bit at the whole "sorceresses lose their powers when they're on their periods", just a tiny bit /s. I liked that this story had a female protagonist, but not so much that literally everyone else in the universe was a guy (including the fish). Nor did I enjoy the scene where they use the threat of non-consentual kissing as a PG stand-in for rape/torture. Underaged girl hanging by her arms from the ceiling while an adult man tells his friends to kiss her. Fun!
This book was written in 1990 and translated from Japanese in 2004: I know anime culture was much weirder in the past and that I'm not the intended audience (I'd say this is shonen, while I'm an adult woman), but I'm pretty sick and tired of these tired sexist, male gaze-y, chauvenistic tropes in my anime content. Yeet 'em outta here. Directly into the sun.
Anyway, it was fun to revisit an anime from my past in book-form, but I won't be reading the rest of these light novels.
I liked how she killed the regenerating troll, though, that was pretty inventive.
December 29, 2021
I don't know how but I somehow managed to miss out on the popular Slayers anime back when it was popular in the 90's. As a huge 90's anime lover I knew I had to visit this series at some point. And I'm glad I did.
You are not going to get anything you have never seen before in this book but that's OK. Slayers is a simple fantasy series but a very charming one at that. The narrator and main character Lina Inverse is very fun and full of personality without being annoying though some will disagree with me. The other characters such as Lina's sidekick, the dimwitted swordsman Gourry and the mysterious Zelgadis were also entertaining.
This book gave me everything I expected out of it. Action, comedy, loveable characters and even a bit of worldbuilding. If you are wanting a really deep fantasy novel you won't find it here but if you want a fun, quick little fantasy read I definitely recommend Slayers.
You are not going to get anything you have never seen before in this book but that's OK. Slayers is a simple fantasy series but a very charming one at that. The narrator and main character Lina Inverse is very fun and full of personality without being annoying though some will disagree with me. The other characters such as Lina's sidekick, the dimwitted swordsman Gourry and the mysterious Zelgadis were also entertaining.
This book gave me everything I expected out of it. Action, comedy, loveable characters and even a bit of worldbuilding. If you are wanting a really deep fantasy novel you won't find it here but if you want a fun, quick little fantasy read I definitely recommend Slayers.
January 7, 2025
Honestly, probably a 3.5 book overall, though I'll admit that having Lisa Ortiz, voice actor for Lina Inverse in the English Dub of the original Slayers anime series give this a nice touch of authenticity that it would have lacked otherwise.
The story itself is about what I'd expected, having seen the anime a few times over the years. It follows this fairly closely, and some of the jokes are basically the same. I'm sure fans of the anime will remember the "koala" moment fondly, for instance.
All that said, I do have to admit that this is not an amazing read overall. It's dated a bit, simple beyond belief at times, and again, lives or dies by the novelty of who the narrator is, in the case of the audiobook. So yeah, I'd say this is probably only going to appeal to the fans of the series initially. Maybe it'll make you a fan too, but even as neat at this is to even have, the anime is better, at least for me.
The story itself is about what I'd expected, having seen the anime a few times over the years. It follows this fairly closely, and some of the jokes are basically the same. I'm sure fans of the anime will remember the "koala" moment fondly, for instance.
All that said, I do have to admit that this is not an amazing read overall. It's dated a bit, simple beyond belief at times, and again, lives or dies by the novelty of who the narrator is, in the case of the audiobook. So yeah, I'd say this is probably only going to appeal to the fans of the series initially. Maybe it'll make you a fan too, but even as neat at this is to even have, the anime is better, at least for me.
March 12, 2019
This was... exactly what I thought the Slayers light novels would be like.
The plot moves fast, there's a lot of slapstick, the setting and magic system are clearly based off AD&D, and the cast is exactly the same as the anime. The book was adapted into the first half of the first Slayers series, so if you've seen the show you know everything that happens. There are only a few minor changed. Zelgadis is a bit more menacing and a good bit more formidable, and Lina Inverse has a BIT more depth. Since the whole thing is from her first person perspective we get her thoughts along the way, which would have bogged down the show.
It's not deep. But it's fast, fun, and can be read in an hour or two. If you liked the show it's worth giving the book a shot.
The plot moves fast, there's a lot of slapstick, the setting and magic system are clearly based off AD&D, and the cast is exactly the same as the anime. The book was adapted into the first half of the first Slayers series, so if you've seen the show you know everything that happens. There are only a few minor changed. Zelgadis is a bit more menacing and a good bit more formidable, and Lina Inverse has a BIT more depth. Since the whole thing is from her first person perspective we get her thoughts along the way, which would have bogged down the show.
It's not deep. But it's fast, fun, and can be read in an hour or two. If you liked the show it's worth giving the book a shot.
September 6, 2023
The Slayers series is a comedic fantasy heavily inspired by RPGs. Lina is a genre savvy sorceress that funds her travels by blowing up bandit camps. Gourry is a master swordsman that isn't quite right in the head. Together, they stumble upon a plot to revive a dark lord, and hilarity ensues. This new edition is quite different from the previous adaptation. The dialogue isn't as embellished, and there's one scene that can rightly considered a trigger warning, though played for laughs. The afterword has been changed, as this release is based on the Japanese 2008 reissue. I imagine that the premium release you can get from J-Novel Club may have it, among other things. Overall, this is worth checking out.
February 4, 2018
Overall this book doesn't seem too bad, whoever it loses massive stars to that whole trying to rape Lina thing. Even if it was changed to "A kiss" it's still sexual assault and the author thought it was a good idea to put in his book.
In the afterword he mentions how he has to "think like a girl" which, men just can't do. Considering they never listen when women are talking and just assume things I can only wonder what the next books will be like.
At least in the end it's Lina that gives the finishing blow and not Gourry.
In the afterword he mentions how he has to "think like a girl" which, men just can't do. Considering they never listen when women are talking and just assume things I can only wonder what the next books will be like.
At least in the end it's Lina that gives the finishing blow and not Gourry.
September 22, 2021
Having already watched the first season of the anime 15 or so years ago, and already read the Chinese version of this book, and a Japanese abridged version, this was just a refresh of the story to me. However, the anime seemed really long, and the books too. Perhaps reading in a language you are not proficient in makes the book feel longer.
This was a surprisingly quick read. Come to think of it, of course, it's a light novel. Breezed through the English version of the book. It was nice and nostalgic. Now on to the next book!
This was a surprisingly quick read. Come to think of it, of course, it's a light novel. Breezed through the English version of the book. It was nice and nostalgic. Now on to the next book!
March 9, 2023
Like I'm gonna give Slayers anything less than a perfect score.
ETA: The only aspect of this book I cannot be biased about is the narration. Not being from the USA, I have no nostalgia attached to Lisa Ortiz¡¯s performance. So when I say I enjoyed it, you know I mean it. I think she did a fabulous job with all characters. More importantly, I think the fact the team behind this chose her for the narration shows true love for the project.
Fingers crossed it sells as much as it should so the rest of the series gets adapted into audio form as well.
ETA: The only aspect of this book I cannot be biased about is the narration. Not being from the USA, I have no nostalgia attached to Lisa Ortiz¡¯s performance. So when I say I enjoyed it, you know I mean it. I think she did a fabulous job with all characters. More importantly, I think the fact the team behind this chose her for the narration shows true love for the project.
Fingers crossed it sells as much as it should so the rest of the series gets adapted into audio form as well.
June 9, 2020
Surprisingly, the anime adapted this very fatithfuly in the first season. As a light novel, the story isn't very complex, but it serves as an introduction for 3 out of the 4 main characters. The humor in the book differs from the humor in the anime series, being mainly due to Lina's POV, which is something good to differentiate it both from the anime and from other light novels.
May 21, 2023
Wow, this was a quick read. There is one sequence that doesn't really land any more (and frankly probably never did), and the actual length is remarkably short. Only 125 pages!
Kind of amazing that this volume got adapted into a full cour of the original anime. I guess that just goes to show you how much filler there was in the Slayers anime.
Kind of amazing that this volume got adapted into a full cour of the original anime. I guess that just goes to show you how much filler there was in the Slayers anime.
October 15, 2018
This first volume lines up with the anime almost scene-by-scene, but there is a bit of lore and explanation of the magic system that you don¡¯t get in the anime. I¡¯m a huge Slayers fan so of course I enjoyed this, but it could have used a much better editing pass on the translation.
March 2, 2019
If you have watched the anime many years ago (like myself), then this is a well retelling of the story. The book is great paced, it's light read and won?t take long reading. Give it a try and if you like it, you can read the whole series!
January 21, 2020
It was... OK? Maybe the translation doesn't help, but despite obviously having all the basic elements as the anime, it doesn't quite reach the same level of humour, and the plot rushes on so quickly that there's precious little time to develop any sort of chemistry between the characters.
October 28, 2021
The goal was to be charming and entertain, which it accomplished. Target audience is unclear with regards to age. Written at a young adult level with one sequence aimed to more mature readers. Not spectacular but I was entertained while on lunch break.
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