Editing Slayers (section)

==Reception==
[[File:Slayers school mural.jpg|thumb|upright|A ''Slayers'' themed mural featuring [[Lina Inverse]] in [[Seville]], Spain. Along with ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' and ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', ''Slayers'' was one of the most popular anime series in the country during the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reportajes/magia-slayers-82602|title=La magia de Slayers: Reena y Gaudy|first=Thais|last=Valdivia|date=August 17, 2014|website=HobbyConsolas|access-date=January 31, 2021|archive-date=May 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508162522/https://www.hobbyconsolas.com/reportajes/magia-slayers-82602|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Including the spin-off series, the ''Slayers'' novels had 18 million copies in print by 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/07/03/slayers-25th-anniversary-art-exhibition-to-be-held-this-summer|title="Slayers" 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition to be Held This Summer|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901023105/http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/07/03/slayers-25th-anniversary-art-exhibition-to-be-held-this-summer|archive-date=September 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> This number had grown to over 20{{nbsp}}million copies by 2018.<ref name="20million"/> In January 2025, it was announced that the franchise had sold over 22 million copies, including digital sales.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=Slayers_30th |number=1880450042789609895 |date=2025-01-17 |script-title=ja:メモリアルイヤーの始めはど派手な吉報から✨ ✌️✌️の2200万部突破🎊 皆さまの応援のお陰です。 本当にありがとうございます❣️ 35周年スペシャル企画の情報もこの後公開‼️|trans-title= |language=Japanese |access-date=2025-03-28}}</ref> Writing in 2020, Iyane Agossah from DualShockers opined ''Slayers'' "is still rarely equaled 30 years later, with an incredible mix of comedy and tragedy, an intricate amount of world-building, great story developments and iconic characters."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dualshockers.com/slayers-tales-of-the-rays-crossover-lina-inverse/|title=Slayers, The GOAT Anime Better Than Anything You're Watching Right Now, Joins Tales of the Rays|date=November 17, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2021|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206202323/https://www.dualshockers.com/slayers-tales-of-the-rays-crossover-lina-inverse/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Of the various media which make up the ''Slayers'' franchise, the anime has by far reached the largest audience and is considered to be one of the most popular series of the 1990s, both in Japan and abroad.<ref name="Anime encyclopedia" /> As it is a parody of the [[high fantasy]] genre, the series' driving force lies in comic scenarios alluding to other specific anime, or more general genre [[Trope (literature)|tropes]] and [[cliché]]s. Its focus on humor and entertainment and "old school" anime feel make it a nostalgic classic to many.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/anime/6487-Anime-Review-The-Slayers|title=The Escapist Anime Reviews: The Slayers|publisher=www.escapistmagazine.com|access-date=February 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710082200/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/anime/6487-Anime-Review-The-Slayers|archive-date=July 10, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to [[Anime News Network]]'s Daryl Surat, 1996 was the best year of ''Slayers'' anime with the releases of ''Next'' and ''Return''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2016-10-21/twenty-years-ago-the-best-anime-of-1996/.107944|title=Twenty Years Ago: The Best Anime of 1996 (And Some Others Too)|website=Anime News Network|access-date=January 31, 2021|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205061736/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2016-10-21/twenty-years-ago-the-best-anime-of-1996/.107944|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Slayers Next'' took the third place as the overall best anime of 1996 in the [[Anime Grand Prix]] '97 awards (in addition to winning in the category best female character), while the next year's series ''Slayers Try'' placed second but technically also third (the first place was a tie between the films ''[[Mononoke Hime]]'' and ''[[The End of Evangelion]]'') in 1998.

''Slayers'' was sometimes compared  with ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'', another hit Japanese fantasy franchise that began around the same time. In ''Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know'', [[Gilles Poitras]] wrote: "More humorous and less serious looking than the characters in the ''[[Lodoss War]]'' series, the stars of ''Slayers'' provide action and laughs."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Anime Essentials: Every Thing a Fan Needs to Know|last=Poitras|first=Gilles|year=2001|page=40|publisher=[[Stone Bridge Press]]|isbn=978-1-880656-53-2}}</ref> In ''[[The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917]]'', [[Helen McCarthy]] similarly called it "the antidote to the deadly serious ''Record of Lodoss War'', with a cynical cast modeled on argumentative role-players. (...) Ridiculing its own shortcomings, ''Slayers'' has successfully kept a strong following that watches for what some might call biting satire, and others bad workmen blaming their tools."<ref name=tae>[[Helen McCarthy]], ''[[The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917]]'', p. 591.</ref> Joseph Luster of ''[[Otaku USA]]'' called it "the very definition of an all-encompassing media franchise. (...) ''Slayers'' certainly has that in its memorable lineup, and they'll likely cast some sort of spell on you, regardless of age."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/The_Slayers_The_First_Three_Seasons_1698.aspx |title=The Slayers: The First Three Seasons|date=December 17, 2009 |work=[[Otaku USA]] |access-date=December 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219003244/http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/The_Slayers_The_First_Three_Seasons_1698.aspx |archive-date=December 19, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Paul Thomas Chapman from the same magazine voiced a more reserved opinion on the "franchise whose remarkable longevity and popularity is matched only by its remarkable averageness," especially regarding various aspects of the TV series, to which nevertheless he returned for "light entertainment".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/Slayers_A_Retrospective_1215.aspx|title=Slayers: A Retrospective |work=[[Otaku USA]] |date=January 9, 2008|access-date=December 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219004431/http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/SearchAudience/News1/Slayers_A_Retrospective_1215.aspx|archive-date=December 19, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>