#3: The Slayers
This is actually by far the best fantasy series anime I have seen to date. The characters are all enjoyable and where as the action is good you more than likely spend your time laughing. If I had to compare to something it would be the way you would be in party with your friends in a D&D game; good times will be had by all.
Season 1 introduces us to our hero, Lina Inverse and along the way you meet several adventurers who become her allies in the fight against the Dark Lord. This season is actually my favorite out of the 5 (though I have only seen all the way through 3). I really enjoyed the character's first encounters with one another in addition to the build up to its climax.
The opening song; Get Along, is my favorite among the openings as well. As it basically just rocks out and gets you psyched up for what should be a grant adventure. I couldn't find the Dub version on Youtube, but the opening monologue was dubbed over and I can honestly say Lina's voice actress really sounded like she got into it.
Season 2; The Slayers Next, the party once again returns for more crazy adventures. This time around the group focuses on finding the mysterious Clair Bible, which is said to hold all the answers of the universe. In their process of finding this artifact they once again face off with a god known as Hellmaster Phibrizzo. This season was an absolute joy to sit through and you can be sure you will be on the edge of your seat as you see how it all plays out.
The opening song, Give a Reason, is pretty good too for an opener. If their was one word I would use to describe it I think it would have to be; Energetic. The tone starts off kinda slow and series and then it comes off with high energy and makes you smile. So for me it never failed to get me jazzed for the start of the episodes.
Season 3; The Slayers Try, brings back the party once again, save for one character, as the story of their adventures now center around a certain object that Lina had her eye on within the first season and a war between the black and gold dragons begin to rise. Like the other two, Try was an entertaining season and seemed to actually flow through a little differently with all the main characters together at once where as in Next they had to meet up together again. It was a nice change.
Try's opening, Breeze, was rather interesting in comparison to the other two. It comes off more like a ballad and unlike Fruits Basket with its slow paced opening, I thought this was a nice change. The song is beautiful and the imagery flows perfectly with it.
The greatest thing about The Slayers is that with the first three seasons you don't really have to watch them in order. I had watched through the first season and then watched Next and Try at the same time, and I could still understand the plot lines to both.
There are other things for this series; as I mentioned there are 5 seasons to the television series as well as movies and OVAs. Most of the movies and OVAs do not have the same cast of characters that the television series does and where as those plots still had the same charms that the TV series does, I feel they lack a little without those characters. (the reason the other characters aren't there is because the movies and OVAs take place before the events of season 1)
Dub or Sub? Dub all the way. The Japanese cast was great, but the dub cast really brought these characters to life.
#2: Cowboy Bebop
This show is probably a "duh" for the veteran otaku. I can't think of a single person to whom I had recommended this to who didn't walk away saying it was good. In a way, some might say it's the "perfect" series as it has plenty of action with little breaks in between it, the characters are all pretty interesting, the music is just epic win in how it helps the show move along and the plots for the episodes are well deserving of your attention. The story revolves around Spike Spiegel and his crew of the bounty hunting ship, The Bebop.
As I mentioned the music is just win and the opening theme, Tank, is catchy and very different from other openings to anime. The imagery is very basic as it doesn't really rely on anything flashy and the first part of the song is the only part with words. It's really simple, but it's that simplicity that makes it awesome.
Dub or Sub? This is another one that would have to be dub all the way. I had only seen 1 episode and the movie in the original Japanese and much like The Slayers, I felt that the English cast really brought these character's to life. They were so perfect that it's really hard to hear them in any other language.
So there you have it, my numbers 2 and 3. I have to admit I know I said less about these two than I did on the others, but honestly I can't really think of anything to say about them that won't 100% spoil them. See you all next time for number 1! ^^/
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