But FUNimation wasn't done. As of the December 30 announcement, Rebuild of Evangelion is now in the hands of the most powerful company in the American anime industry. With AD Vision (owners of the Evangelion TV anime and the presumptuous licensees of Rebuild) unfortunately out of the picture due to financial problems, FUNimation has finally picked up the one franchise that truly represents their new found prominence. My friends, the torch has been passed.

All that remains to be seen is how the release will pan out. Will the original dub actors reprise their iconic roles? Spike Spencer is a little too old to whine his way into Shinji's character, and I'm sure it would be lots of trouble to bring back everybody else as well. Plus, will the practically-defunct but still-functioning ADV be doing the dub, or will FUNimation take up the reins? If you hear anything about the Eva 1.0 release, be sure to let us know.

Evangelion has found a new home. What an interesting way to usher in a new year for anime in America...

The first season, a convenient boxset sold by FUNimation, can be found pretty cheaply these days, which only adds to the bargain of owning this series. Slayers, though slightly younger than Record of Lodoss War, plays through standard adventures with a barrage of zany characters that grow on you, delivering as many laughs as it does explosions. It features that old school cel animation that your grandpappy remembers, which only contributes to the vintage pacing. One of my favorite situations takes place in a city populated by self-proclaimed "champions of justice." As people charge forward to collect the bounty on Lina's head, she and Gourry take turns keeping track of how many "champions of justice" they blow away in one blow, knocking down adversaries until Lina proves herself not to be the bad guy.

Which is like selling pot to your parole officer.

What I love about the characters is how stereo-typical they can be while breaking the molds at the same time. Though morality is very clear-cut (good versus evil) anyone who proclaims themselves a force of either ultimately turns out to be false. Initially, the homunculus Zelgadas (eat your heart out, Moonlight Knight) quickly shifts from villain to ally. The Red Priest Rezo is a world-renowned White Mage/Mother Theresa only until he can cure his own blindness. And best of all, Lina and Gourry never claim to be good or evil, just hungry.

I'm a sucker for old anime humor and mayhem on a medieval scale. Sometimes the pacing brings the action to a rough halt, especially when Lina explains the intricacies of the three schools of magic, but these scenes are few and far between. Slayers loves nothing more than blowing up the monster and getting to the next one. The voice acting is a very early job, one of Crispin Freeman and Lisa Ortiz's firsts. Just for that, I'm gonna cut them a lot of slack on the mediocre production value.

Not the fantasy genre rewriter that Scrapped Princess turned out to be, but a Hellsing of a lot funnier. Grab your friends and dive into Slayers. Okay, so start at episode five, then grab your friends and dive in.

Animation:		2.5		Average: (1.9 stars)
Plot:		1.5
Voice Acting:		1.5
Sound:		1.5
Overall:		2.5