(Main) Characters:
* Lina Inverse
Lina Inverse (Japanese: リナ＝インバース lit. Rina Inbāsu) is a teenage sorceress and the main character of the Slayers series. She is voiced by 林原めぐみ Megumi Hayashibara in the original Japanese version and by Lisa Ortiz in the English T.V. series. In the English movies and OVAs, she is voiced by Cynthia Martinez.
When Hajime Kanzaka was in high school, he created a story where Lina was a 10-year-old clone of her now-older sister, Luna Inverse. In this story, Lina was obsessed with machinery. When Kanzaka began writing Slayers, he made Lina five years older and obsessed with magic instead of machines. And, Rui Araizumi claims that Lina's design was based on a young Audrey Hepburn.
In the first part of the Slayers series, Lina informs the audience that she is 15 years old. As the series progresses, she grows older. Regarding the anime, a good rule of thumb is to remember that in the first series, she is 15, in Slayers NEXT, she is 16, and in Slayers TRY, she is 17. Her age is more difficult to determine in the Slayers novels and Slayers manga. She is understandably younger (around 13 or 14) in the Slayers Special series.
Lina is known as the most powerful and feared sorceress in all the land. By the age of 14, she had already become famous. Despite her bad habits of eating too much (justified by her serious magic usage, a characteristic she shares with Pokota) and taking money from bad guys, she has good intentions. Most of her bad nicknames such as Dra-mata, Robbers' Killer, and The Enemy of All Who Live come from the fact that she sometimes causes plenty of collateral damage when fighting the forces of evil. Lina is a member of the Sorcerer's Guild, and her assigned mage color is pink (Official title: Lina the Pink), much to her embarrassment. At times Lina appears to be fearless, but there are (at least) two things she is afraid of: Luna and slugs. She is also uncomfortable around fishmen, such as Noonsa and Rahanimu.
-Abilities
Lina's attack specialty is offensive black magic, yet she is also skilled in shamanism and swordsmanship. Lina has an extremely high magic capacity, and she is able to draw upon indescribably powerful chaos spells such as Ragna Blade and Giga Slave. When she acquired the Demon's Blood Talismans from Xelloss, she was able to increase her magical capacity even more, giving her the ability to cast more powerful spells more often. However, even one Ragna Blade can drain her of all energy. Lina has used Giga Slave four times. The first time she tested it, she turned a body of water into a sea of death, where no life would grow. The second time was when she summoned it into the Sword of Light in order to defeat Ruby Eye Shabranigdu, and in NEXT, when she intended to defeat Hellmaster Phibrizzo. However, this time, the Lord of Nightmares possessed Lina's body and used it as a medium for destruction. Lina almost cast the Giga Slave in TRY to kill Dark Star Dugradigdu, but she was stopped by Sirius and Erulogos. And finally, she used the spell once again to defeat the ghost of Shabranigdu in EVOLUTION-R.
In addition to battle skills, Lina is also a master businesswoman. This is to be expected, as she grew up in a family of merchants. She tries to get the best bargain on everything, and when she does not get her way, she gets violent, often pressuring people into selling (or even giving) her items.
-Relationships
Family
Lina's parents own a grocery store in Zephilia. Her father is an ex-mercenary and her mother an ex-sorceress. According to Kanzaka, Lina's grandparents died before her birth. Her older sister, Luna Inverse, is a Knight of Ceifeed, and she works part-time as a waitress. Lina is terrified of her sister, and she probably deserved these feelings. When she was younger, Lina wanted to make money, so she sold projections of Luna bathing, and as a result, Luna punished her. It has been said that Lina started training to be a sorceress as a result of an inferiority complex to her sister. Nevertheless, Luna was the one who suggested Lina go out and explore the world.
Gourry Gabriev
Lina's initial impression of Gourry Gabriev was not too great. While she did find him physically attractive, his lack of intelligence and tendency to treat her like a child quickly became an annoyance. Over time, however, she became attached to him, and they became the best of friends and partners. Gourry is supposed to protect Lina, when in reality, they both look after each other. They share a mutual understanding that goes beyond the means of conventional friendship. Throughout NEXT, Lina found herself becoming increasingly self-conscious and flustered around Gourry, especially when he would do something nice for her. At the end of NEXT, she realized she had fallen in love with him, and she gave her life so that he could be spared. However, she was returned to her original human form, and she and Gourry were reunited. In the end of the novels, Lina and Gourry traveled back to Zephilia together, and in the anime, it is assumed they simply kept on wandering the land with each other.
Naga the Serpent
Lina and Naga the Serpent's relationship is certainly strange. One day, Naga appeared before Lina, declaring herself to be Lina's greatest rival. Ever since then, they have shared a love-hate friendship and rivalry. Sometimes they are on opposite sides, but most of the time, they work together. Lina often gets annoyed with Naga's over-confidence and tendency to overlook important facts, and in return, Naga teases Lina about her short stature and underdeveloped body. It is not known why they parted ways, but Naga was the one who told Lina to travel to Saillune to meet a prince. Unfortunately, Lina didn't realize who exactly this prince was, and in the end, Naga got the best of her.
Zelgadiss Graywords
Lina and Zelgadiss Graywords are able to respect each other as both friends and allies. They both share some of the same battle instincts and skills, and they help to keep each other in check. Lina forces Zelgadiss to get up and do things, while Zelgadiss forces Lina to calm down and pay more attention to what's going on around her. They are nearly equals in intelligence, and as a result, they are able to hold intelligent conversations when everyone else is going crazy. However, Lina gets easily fed up with Zelgadiss's low self-confidence, and in turn, Zelgadiss hates Lina's quick temper and bad habits.
Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune
When they first met, Lina thought Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune was annoying, and she wanted to ditch her as soon as possible. Eventually Amelia proved she could be useful and more than just a tagalong, and Lina accepted her as a friend and companion. They share an almost sister-like relationship, showing affection at some times, and jealousy and irritation at others. One thing is for certain: Lina is envious of Amelia's physique. She does not think it is fair that a younger girl has a more developed body than her. It should be noted that, in the novels, Amelia is the same age as Lina, while in the anime, she is younger.
Xelloss
Lina and Xelloss share a mutual respect, not a friendship. Each knows the other is capable of utterly destroying him or her, so they both have a sort of truce with each other. They help each other, but only when their interests overlap. Xelloss often gets the best of Lina, using her greed or quick temper to his advantage, and she usually gets her revenge. The fact that Xellos seems to know everything but never wants to tell anything perhaps annoys Lina the most.
Sylphiel Nels Lahda
Lina feels sympathy for Sylphiel Nels Lahda, and she tries her best not to become annoyed with Sylphiel's shy and reserved nature. Despite her intelligence, Lina is not fully aware of Sylphiel's attraction to Gourry, or at least she pretends not to know so that no feelings are hurt.
Martina
Lina's relationship with Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova is bizarre and varied. Lina destroyed Martina's kingdom, and as a result, Martina became intent on getting revenge, doing everything from putting curses on Lina to messing her up at every possible opportunity. Lina saw Martina as an annoyance that had to be dealt with. In the end of NEXT, Martina helped Lina realize her feelings for Gourry, and the two of them became somewhat closer to being friends.
Filia Ul Copt
When Filia Ul Copt came to Lina asking for help, Lina did not understand why she, of all people, was being chosen as the representative of the human race. She was initially annoyed with Filia's way of "testing" her power (attacking a port during an important delegation). Throughout TRY, Lina and Filia were often irritated at each other, but they still worked together despite their differences. Lina helped Filia to see the truth in the world, and they got along well by the end.
Pokota
The relationship between Pokota and Lina is an interesting one. They are both serious magic users with similarly huge appetites, and are similarly sensitive to teasing from others, especially from each other, which results in frequent fireworks from the two. However, that very similarity enables them to connect with and understand each other, and ultimately they became friends. However, their friendship sometimes seems to be more akin to that of a mentor-apprentice relationship.
Gourry Gabriev
Gourry Gabriev (Japanese: ガウリイ＝ガブリエフ lit. Gaurī Gaburiefu) is a master swordsman and the self-proclaimed protector of Lina Inverse, the main character of Slayers. His Japanese voice actor is 松本保典 Yasunori Matsumoto, and his Central Park Media voice actor is Eric Stuart. He is voiced by Chris Patton in the Slayers Premium movie.
Even though characters on Slayers do age with time, Hajime Kanzaka has stated that he sees Gourry as "forever 22." It might be reasonable to predict that this is his age at the beginning of the series, and he ages at the same pace as Lina and the other characters as the series progresses.
Nothing is known about Gourry's immediate family, except that he has a brother. Gourry ran away from his homeland of Elmekia with the Sword of Light in order to stop the fighting it caused in his family. Rowdy Gabriev is his distant ancestor, but it's not known how exactly they are related. It should be noted that Rowdy's girlfriend in Slayers: The Motion Picture, Melliroon, an elf, is not related to Gourry, as elves age at a much, much slower rate than humans. Melliroon would still be a young girl when Rowdy would be an old man.
Gourry is an ex-mercenary who gave up his wandering lifestyle when he met a man who advised him to do something important with his life. In an odd twist of fate, this man turned out to be Lina's father (neither Lina nor Gourry know this), and shortly after parting with the man, Gourry came across Lina in the woods. The rest is history, as from that point on, Gourry became Lina's full-time "protector."
Gourry is semi-famous in Sairaag, due to a task he performed there some time ago (it is not known what exactly it was). Gourry is extremely protective of his sword, as it has been in his family for many generations. In both the novels and the anime, Gourry gave up the Sword of Light. In the anime, he gave it to Sirius so it could return to its rightful place in Dark Star Dugradigdu's world. In the novels, Hellmaster Phibrizzo took it and returned it to Dark Star. After this happened, Gourry acquired the Blast Sword, with a blade so sharp that it cut through anything it touched. Milgazia the golden dragon had to put a spell on it so that it would be dull enough to be useful.
Gourry is one of, if not the most skilled swordsman in the world. His battle ability is formidable, especially taking into consideration that he does not use any sort of magic whatsoever. However, his abilities are often overshadowed by his poor memory and intelligence problems. Gourry often does not remember important facts, or even the names of his enemies. Sometimes he cannot recall things he did only a matter of minutes beforehand. Despite this, he still has great battle skills, and he can sometimes sense the motives of other people, such as when he would know what Lina's attack plan would be without her telling him about it first. Surprisingly, Gourry has a magic capacity close to Lina's, but he does not use it because he cannot remember spells.
One running gag regarding Gourry is that he has been seen dressed as a woman in the seventeenth episodes of the first three seasons of the Slayers anime. This tradition was not continued in Slayers EVOLUTION-R.
Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune
(Japanese: アメリア=ウィル=テスラ=セイルーン Ameria Wil Tesla Saillune, lit. Ameria Wiru Tesura Seirūn; English: also Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun) is the second princess of the kingdom of Saillune and a specialist in white magic. Her Japanese voice actress is 鈴木真仁 Masami Suzuki, and her English voice actresses are Joani Baker (EP11-EP13), Veronica Taylor (EP14-EP7 cool , and Luci Christian (Slayers Premium).
In the novels, Amelia is the same age as Lina. In the anime, she is believed to be one year younger. This would make her 15 when the novels started, and 14 when the anime started. In Slayers NEXT, she would be 15, and in Slayers TRY, 16.
Philionel El Di Saillune, the crown prince of Saillune, is Amelia's father. When she was very young, her mother was slaughtered by an assassin, Booley, and as a result, her older sister, Gracia Ul Naga Saillune, left Saillune to learn offensive spells and the ways of the world outside royal boundaries. Her uncle, Christopher Wil Brogg Saillune, still resides in Saillune with Phil. Her uncle Randionel Saillune and cousin Alfred Saillune were both killed while attempting to make (separate) plots to take over the throne.
Amelia's grandfather, Eldoran Saillune, is still the king of Saillune, but he is presumed to be bedridden, so Phil more or less runs the country. Being her sole guardian, her father is probably the most important person in her life so far, and she looks up to him with utmost respect and even emulates much of his behavior. When they are together, they act more like good friends than father and daughter.
Amelia is the second princess of Saillune, and third in line for the throne after Phil and Gracia. She does not flaunt her position (when she does, it is for a good reason) as most princesses would be suspected to do so. Amelia is not stuck up, and she cares about everyone (as long as they are not villains, and even then, she stills shows some sympathy to them on occasion). She has only used her status three times in the anime series: once to enter a jail to get information from two wrongly accused prisoners, another time to tell some Saillune palace guards to let her through, and lastly, to go straight to the semifinals in a Brass Rackets tournament so she could help Zelgadiss Graywords. Amelia is also a priestess, but even she admitted the position isn't that special, as the powerful holy spells of long ago have been long lost from the knowledge of humans.
Being a priestess of Saillune, Amelia is acutely skilled in the practice of white magic. While not as proficient in the art as Sylphiel Nels Lahda, she possesses a wider range of magical abilities that make her on a whole more formidable. In addition to white magic, Amelia also practices shamanism and occasionally black magic. Amelia created Visfarank, which concentrates magical energy into her fists (think boxing gloves). The art of creating spells runs in her family, as her mother created the spell Chaos String, and her sister works with her own golems. Of course, there are also Amelia's justice-themed physical attacks, including the Hammer of Justice, Saillune Tornado, and Justice Shoulder Attack. Some of these attacks are executed with assistance from Phil.
It is rumored and hinted at throughout the different Slayers series that Naga is really the daughter of Prince Philionel El Di Saillune, and the oldest sister to Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune. However, despite the hinting, it was never confirmed until the creator, Hajime Kanzaka, revealed in an interview that Naga is indeed the lost heir of the Saillune family.
Naga appeared specifically in the OAV’s and movies, however there is a debatable cameo appearance by her in the first season of the TV series midway through (during a crowd scene, several people walked in from of the 'camera' including a shapely lower torso that bore an uncanny resemblance to Naga's design, though the long trailing hair was red so it may have been an homage. Amelia notices the character during the brief scene.
Relationships
Amelia's best friend is definitely Lina Inverse. At first, Amelia had kind of an idol-worship view of Lina, wanting to be just like her in nearly every aspect. As time went on, she realized that being like Lina probably isn't all it's cracked up to be, and she resolved to be her own person from then on. They have a solid, sibling-like friendship, even though on several occasions, like sisters, they will tease or become irritated with each other.
Second to Lina in friendship and respect is Zelgadiss. This is another relationship that started off on the wrong foot, only to turn into something completely the opposite. When she first met Zelgadiss, Amelia thought he was creepy and mean, but that changed when she saw that he really did have a conscience and a good heart. In return, his initial view of her as an annoying, optimistic, "Miss Sunshine," changed into acceptance and respect. Amelia and Zel often make small talk with each other, conversing on everything from Lina and Gourry Gabriev's relationship to what kind of food to eat. It is a well-known fact that Amelia has romantic feelings for Zelgadiss, especially in the Slayers anime, while in the main novels they are just comrades.
Her relationship with Gourry is not nearly as developed as it is with Lina or Zel. Amelia needs to talk to someone who can listen to her and make intelligent conversation, and Gourry is not that person. She doesn't quite understand the mechanics of Lina and Gourry's relationship, but she accepts and encourages it nonetheless. For two episodes in Slayers TRY, Amelia and Gourry were separated from the rest of their companions and they worked together to accomplish the tasks at hand. Amelia's relationship with Gourry is more of a friend-of-a-friend thing than true friendship. Gourry in turn treats Amelia almost like a younger sister.
Despite wanting him to leave the forces of evil, Amelia still respects Xelloss and treats him as an equal. Even after she learned he was a mazoku, she still called him Xelloss-san and accepted him being with her group. However, this does not mean she doesn't tease him. Many a time, Amelia bombards Xelloss with "life is wonderful" speeches, making him cringe and become woozy.
The only other person that Amelia has significant interaction with is Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova, with whom she can identify, as they are both princesses. Most of the time, they acted like rivals (although not nearly as much as Lina and Martina's skirmish), but on occasion they would team up if their interests overlapped.
Amelia refers to most non-family members with the Japanese honorific -san (さん). In the English dub, this is translated more or less literally as "Mr." or "Miss" (e.g.: "Miss Lina" and "Mr. Gourry").
Zelgadis Greywords
Zelgadis is notable for his determination, focus, and strength of will, as well as his obsession with regaining his human form. He is quiet, distant and aloof, very much a lone wolf type. At times he tries to act on his own or leave the group in order to stay focused on his goal when they are either being oblivious to his needs or are just goofing around. He is also the straight man of the group and sometimes the one who either has to be the peace maker or the one who has to calm Lina down in order to get her to think rationally. He can be very commanding and adept at getting people to do what he either wants or needs them to do in order to accomplish the objective at hands, very much an ends-justifies-the-means person. At the same time, he becomes frustrated very easily, especially when his comrades are incapable of focusing themselves long enough to either solve the problem at hand or solve his own.
Another notable aspect of Zelgadis is his arrogance—a highly skilled shaman magic user, Zelgadis is good and he knows it. His confidence and self-assurance often border on arrogance, though not without justification. He also frequently behaves in a selfish, almost holier-than-thou manner, as if the suffering of others does not even begin to compare with his own, and frequently puts his own needs before his friends. This is most likely another factor in his reactions to the absurdity that surrounds him.
He appears to have developed a strong crush on Amelia, as he blushes the most around her and tends to protect her throughout the series, though he still scolded her for acting irrationally from time to time, sometimes even hitting her head. Additionally, in the closing credits of the last episode of TRY, his interest appears to have become mutual since we see him drinking from a canteen with her wristband on it. So far, in Revolution, he is travelling as her bodyguard, at the request of her father, the Crown Prince, hinting that Zelgadis has gone to Sairune sometime between TRY and Revolution. He and Amelia seem to be more comfortable around each other, along with an instant understanding of the others thought process. In the second episode of Revolution, he states he was hired by Prince Phil to be Amelia's bodyguard--and is acting as "deputy king" (which fans believe was left open to interpretation). He also took a bit of abuse from her in Episode 4 without yelling as he would have done in previous seasons, instead grumbling under his breath and has somewhat mellowed out since last time; even enjoying a massage on a cruise ship and firing a spell at assassins before Amelia had the chance. So far in Evolution-R, he has shed tears of joy and awe while watching Amelia (and "Nama") battle a dragon.
Appearance and powers
While the third of him that is human maintains his original human form/figure, the two thirds of him that are golem and demon changed the appearance of his skin and hair considerably. The demon third of his being gives him blue skin and the wire-like, silver/bluish-purple/violet hair (depending on whether you're reading the manga or watching the anime) and possibly the leaf-shaped pointed ears, enabling him to run faster than the eye can see, and grants him great power in Shamanist magic while his other golem third outlines his skin with rock and stone. Though he often complains about his freakish appearance, the stone hide has proved useful to him on many occasions, as the stone hide is virtually impenetrable to ordinary weapons such as swords or bombs - he commented early on that nothing short of the Sword of Light would hurt him - while the combination of stone and demon stamina most likely was the only thing that allowed him to endure being struck down repeatedly by Gaav, one blow of which actually caused him to bleed. In an early episode of TRY, Zelgadis was struck in the forehead by a fired cannonball while protecting Amelia, suffering little more than being knocked out a moment later in a delayed-reaction sight gag. (The cannonball itself broke in half after the impact.) The demon aspect of his body also seems to endow him with a certain measure of superhuman strength as demonstrated by him being able to carry Filia's mace with casual ease.(whereas Lina could not even lift it)
On the other hand, his stone hide makes him extremely heavy - so heavy in fact that he was used as a replacement anchor when the gang was seeking a lake dragon that was key to a very special cuisine.
Physically he is much shorter than Gourry, presumably of average height, with a very slight physical build.
Zelgadis is a Shamanism style magic user, and also a durable swordsman in his own right. He can perform some black attack magic, healing spells, and specializes in earth, wind and spirit Shaministic magic, most noticeably the Ra Tilt. He is also adept at safe-cracking and lock-picking for reasons he'd rather not explain in detail when asked. He seems to have learned many things from Rezo (assumed to be before he was turned into a chimera) including how to plot his whereabouts on a map and possibly even how to pick locks and crack safes.
// Thanks for: http://en.wikipedia.org/ , http://kanzaka.wikia.com/ //
