The Last One to Finish the Race: Evolution-R!

[llybian]

So... I finally finished Evolution-R. And I like to think of myself as fashionably late, thankyouverymuch.

I wish I could give you guys a great over-arching review about how I feel about Revo/Evo-R, but I guess that's not going to happen besides me saying that there were things I really liked, and things I wish were different, but over all, I'm very

Comments

[harlock999]

You haven't watched Record of Lodoss War yet?? Two years ago I was poking through a video store going through close-out and I picked up a VHS of the first three episodes. Now that was a blast from the past.

And now that you've finished Evolution-R, I can point out something that annoys me about current Slayers fanfiction. A lot of authors still have Zelgadis chasing after a cure -- but now we know it cannot be.

[llybian]

It's one I've been meaning to watch for a long time, but haven't gotten to.

Yeah, and that was a bit of closure I really didn't expect to get from Evolution-R, so that's... interesting. Though I have to admit that it's probably still included in fics because 'Zelgadis's search for a cure' is one of the EASIEST ways to get the plot started going. I guess they could claim that Zelgadis decides that Rezo was lying over a lack of cure because at that point he wanted to be destroyed. *shrug*

[janegray]

A lot of authors still have Zelgadis chasing after a cure -- but now we know it cannot be.

To be fair, that's not 100% sure. Rezo says that there is no cure, but while Rezo is extremely knowledgeable, he isn't omniscient. It's technically possible that there exist a cure Rezo is unaware of.

Though personally I wish Zel just gave up and married Amelia already :P

[llybian]

Yeah... I still have my doubts too.

I'm almost totally with you on the giving up and marrying Amelia already except for one thing: aging. I've never heard this mentioned in any of the novels or manga or the anime I've gone through, but I guess in an interview Kanzaka said that because Zelgadis is a chimera he ages at half-speed. To me, this is significantly more horrifying than any qualms he might have over his appearance. It keeps him stuck in an age time warp and... if he does give up and settle down with Amelia, for example when she's 70 he'll look about 45. It'll turn Amelia into a cougar!

I mean, it's not insurmountable or anything, but it'd certainly make life more awkward for this. That fact alone would make me hope he finds his cure. But then again, since this was an interview, who knows what place it has in anime of the canon series.

[pharoah999]

i liked evo-r a little more than rev. Next is still my fav!! I look forward to reading some of your stuff if you do continue!! do you post on fanfiction.net??

[llybian]

I would have to agree. I think Evo-R felt a bit more focused. Try's my favorite, but Next is awesome as well and was my favorite for a long time.

Yeah, I'm on ff.net. My username there is Llybian Minamino.

[cmy_47]

Nice to know ye've finished watching the 4th season. I also really wanted a direct mention or reference to Filia at some point. Instead, we get Sylphiel. Too much of a typical good person to really fit in our group of misfits (even Amelia dosen't count, she's the Crazy Girl

[janegray]

as well as the legendary Claire Bible being utterly useless to him

This is something I could never understand.

Sure, the stone tablets were utterly useless. But the original Claire bible, the one within the dimensional warp and which spoke to Lina, was most definitely not. While Lina was talking with it and asking it questions, why didn't she also ask it for a cure for Zelgadis? And why didn't Zelgadis point out that she should have? Why didn't he look for other entrance points so that he could ask it himself?

[llybian]

I believe they addressed this a whole lot better in the novels. I know that at least Lina was about to ask about Zelgadis's cure (asking how to defeat a monster like Gaav being somewhat more important to their group's survival in the long run) but the monsters broke in and Milgazia insisted that they had to leave. After they got out of the dimensional labyrinth she apologized to Zelgadis for this, but he said that fighting the monsters was more important at the time.

As for looking for another entrance, I feel like that was discussed in the novel, but I don't remember specifically what happened. I'd have to check.

But yeah, it's bizarre in the anime that Zelgadis doesn't even MENTION the idea of Lina asking for a cure for him, despite the fact that the Claire Bible has been the carrot he's been chasing this whole season.

[llybian]

I'm not gonna complain about Sylphiel coming back... it just provides more precedent for a character returning, which is what I want. Though... Sylphiel already got her return in NEXT