I think I've finally pinpointed the source of my problem with most anime. In order to do so, I had to reach back more than a decade into what turned out to be a very different era for the art. Anime in the first half of the 90's was, for the most part, neither slick nor self-conscious. Watching Slayers is like watching a playful puppy you know will one day turn into a neurotic, old dog with no new tricks.

Everything I've ever called bad about any of the movies or series I've watched for this project occurs in some form in Slayers and yet I enjoyed this show more than most of the things I've watched for Anime Friday. The animation is often laughably bad. The camera pans over obvious stills, the color work for a character's hair bleeds over into their eyes, stock cycles are employed. And yet, none of this bothered me.

The voice acting, aside from the distinct enthusiasm of Lisa Ortiz, was pretty weak and exaggerated. The script is nothing but exposition dumps and unnecessary reiterations of plot points. The story itself is barely passable. So, why was I compelled to watch several episodes every single day for a solid week?

When I first started watching Slayers I was pleasantly surprised at how unabashedly cartoonish it was. It was fun, it was goofy, it felt like a Saturday morning adventure show. That's where it hit me. I can tolerate and even enjoy all of the many bad parts of Slayers because it never asks me to take it seriously. Like a candy bar brings with it no expectation of nutrition, shows like Slayers never ask their viewers to engage with any weighty drama.

So, there it is. I've watched several anime movies and series, most of them from the past five or ten years, and most of them are so self-serious that I can't help but scoff at all of their sub-par executions. Slayers is an inherently goofy romp through high fantasy in which even saving the world from a giant demon is treated as light fare.

In the end, I respect projects like Slayers so much more than the myriad failed attempts at stony drama and social commentary in anime. No matter what it's about, how good the voice actors are or how slick the animation is, anime is still just a cartoon medium. It exists below an extra layer of make-believe where actors can't react with a simple facial expression and set pieces interact with characters on the same level as the represented flesh on the screen.

Comprehension: 10/10- If I wanted to be snarky, I'd give this one an 11. Most of the dialog consists of one character bluntly explaining some element of plot or meta-plot to another.

Enjoyment: 10/10- It was popcorn and candy, pure and simple. Slayers has no subtext, no commentary, no character depth. It is watching familiar archetypes having an adventure, but it never asks its viewers to expect anything more than that.

Improvement of Understanding: 10/10- In short, I get it now. Unless something seismic happens in the next few weeks, I don't know how much farther I can go with this project.

Next Week: Dragon Half