#norst

Which one is your favourite?

I think just about everyone has their mailed versions of this, so even though it's a month after the fact: Happy Slayersmas to all my social media peeps, and 明けましておめでとう！ 💙

12/2020 

Q: What is the height of Xellos in human form? Since he is described as "medium height" in volume 5, can I assume he is smaller than Zel (178cm) who is described as "tall" in volume 6?

Also, so far the character height settings in the original Slayers story are unofficially "Lina 147, Gourry 182, Zel 178, Amelia 155" in Blaster, but already in the anime and in Araizumi's illustrations, the height is Lina > Amelia or Xellos > Zel. Is it possible that the above height-related settings will be changed when it becomes necessary to include character heights as official settings in Dramaga magazine, etc., in consideration of this?

(Aside from Lina and Amelia, the height relationship between Zel and Xellos would be inconsistent with the original work's depiction if it were adapted to the anime, etc...)

KANZAKA: "In my image, Zel is slightly taller than Xellos. However, if this were to be visualized, I am sure the staff would have calculated how it would look, etc., so I basically won't say anything about it."

Q: What the relationship between Norst-kun and Sherra like? In contrast to Sherra, who was very serious, Norst seems to have a somewhat casual personality, but does his little sister Sherra, who is serious, takes care of him? Does he lie in front of her and say, “Sherra, give me some ramen?” Or is Norst the little brother?

 KANZAKA: In the first place, they don't often communicate with each other for a long time when they're in the same place, but there was a time when Sherra was internally annoyed by Norst's carelessness, and Norst didn't notice it at all. However, it never really surfaced.

Q: Are all elves vegan? Or do some elves prefer to eat like humans? Do they also eat kasumi?

KANZAKA: "Basically, elves in the Slayers world are omnivores. However, they prefer fruits and vegetables to meat and fish at a higher rate than humans. Also, they do not eat kasumi. It is not because they need less calories than humans, but because of the digestive enzymes they have.”

 11/2020 

Q: I am curious about the question "On what principle do people see ghosts?" which was written in the "Sotogaki" in the Slayers Vol. 16 bonus. Is there any chance to talk about it?

KANZAKA: "Ah. As you can imagine, it's too long to answer here, but I hope we can present it some day at some occasion (someone else's)."

Q: It is necessary for mages to study and understand spells on their own in order to be able to use them, but do multiple mages ever get together to study spells as a collective knowledge?

KANZAKA: "Of course there is. Even though spell research is basically individual work, that is why basic spells such as 'Lighting' and basic magic theory are usually taught at the Sorcerer’s Guild."

Q: In the third volume, there is a small "Jewel Talisman" stuck to the inside of Lina's bandana, which is constantly pressing on her forehead. Does this mean that Lina always has a small dent on her forehead right after she takes off her bandana? If so, what does it look like?

KANZAKA: "Yes, seriously, it is there. It is oval shaped, about the size of a woman's pinky fingernail."

10/2020 

Q: I have a question about "identification". In the specials and up to the 15th volume of the long story, when Lina went to the Sorcerer’s Guild to say hello, they forced her to work on the assumption that she was "Lina Inverse", but how does she prove that Lina was "Lina Inverse"?

I doubt if they can be trusted just by saying their name, since fakes can appear in terms of name value, and there is a separation between rumor (rabid) and appearance (tiny girl). Do they have any kind of identification?

KANZAKA: "Of course, there are locally acceptable IDs, such as colored robes, but there is no such thing as an area-wide acceptable ID. For this reason when guests give their names at the Sorcerer’s Guild, it is common for them to chat about magical knowledge in a petite mage test."

Q: I understand that Astral Vine is "a spell that can be used to increase the power of an object by applying magical power to it," but can it be used over something that is not hard, such as a hand towel or a radish? If so, is there any difference in power compared to a metal sword?

KANZAKA: "'Astral Vine' is to give anti-demonic attack power by covering the core part with magical power. The core itself is not strengthened, so if you put it on a towel and hit a demon, it will become sticky. It is only a sticky core, so it does not mean that it can cut.

 Q: In the anime, it is said that "demons don't lie," but what is actually true? In the original story, when Laddock went on a business trip, he said something like, "I was knocked out by the first blow....”

I am very curious about this, especially since I have the impression that Xellos "doesn't tell lies, but invites misleading with ambiguous statements.”

KANZAKA: "It depends on the demon, but it is true that many of them are, in a sense, ridiculously honest, if not totally untruthful."

09/2020  

Q: I have a question about Demon’s Blood Talisman. The talisman was broken in the battle in vol. 15, but did Lina throw it away after that? Or is it stored somewhere? I am wondering if magical tools remain valuable as research materials even if they are broken, or if they need special treatment when they are discarded.

KANZAKA: "The jewel itself has completely disappeared. The frame and other items that held the jewel in place were ordinary precious metals with no research value, so Lina sold them."

Q: How are Amelia's favorite heroic lore songs spread in the Slayers world, where there is no letterpress printing technology? Is it something that is read or is it something that is passed down orally by bards? Is it possible that the upper class, such as Amelia, and people of the intellectual class, such as Lina and Zelgadis, often have access to the original texts and manuscripts for reading, but the common people basically know the stories in the form of bardic songs? Which was more common for Amelia, to hear them as bardic songs or to read them? Also, did the writers of heroic folklore songs dedicate the original to Princess Amelia ...... in the same way that Murasaki Shikibu dedicated The Tale of Genji to the royal family?

KANZAKA: "As you pointed out, there are two patterns: one is left in books and the other is handed down to bards, and such a state of affairs makes it difficult to identify which one is the original. The stories that Amelia has come to know are probably in the ratio of 3 that she has read and 7 that she has heard. There are no direct dedications from writers to individuals at this time."

 Q: The attack power of the Sword of Light was increased by applying the black magic Giga Slave and Dragon Slave to it. Was it possible to apply spirit magic such as Fireballs and Ra Tilt, as well as white magic such as Resurrection, if you wanted to?

KANZAKA: "It may have been possible, but at any rate, the Sword of Light itself is a demon, so it is not necessarily the case that a Blade of Resurrection or a Blade of Fire was created with it. And even if a Fire Blade was created, it would normally be weaker than a blade of light."

 08/2020 

Q: I'd like to ask you a question because the other day when we had a Slayers talk with other fans, there was a disagreement and discussion. I think that when a demon tribe (especially a high-ranking demon tribe) has a subordinate who is given conflicting orders by his or her superior, the order of the immediate superior has the highest priority (as in the case of the Demon Dragon King and the Dark Lord).

Otherwise, for example, if Dynast is not told anything by Greater Beast, can he use Xellos freely?

Even if the Greater Beast has not told him anything, I would like to know if he can basically refuse orders from superiors other than his immediate superior if he does not want to do so.

I would like to know because there was a discussion among fans that it is possible if neither of them violated the direct superior's order.

KANZAKA: "Very well!　The answer is ...... for each person!

“Well, seriously speaking, the demon tribe has its own individuality, so what is considered absolute compliance or the priority of the chain of command varies from demon tribe to demon tribe. In the questioner's example, it depends on how Xellos judges the importance of the orders they receive."

Q: About the demon tribe. Is the personality of the demon tribe determined by the one who created them as "this kind of personality"? Or is it fixed little by little after they come into existence, like we humans are? Or is it fixed little by little after they come into existence, like we humans do? Do they create their own personalities?

KANZAKA: "The general framework is fixed at the time of creation. Of course, there are changes that occur later in life, but for the demons, who are spirit beings, changes in personality are directly related to changes in their existence, so they don't change too rapidly or drastically.”

Q: The five direct subordinates under the control of the five confidants, such as Xellos, are created by their respective masters, who divide their power, but how do the other pure demons increase in number?

Is there a relationship between the affiliation of Kanzel under the Demon Dragon King, Seigram who was formerly under Greater Beast, etc. and the generation of pure demon tribe?

KANZAKA: "The number of pure demons is increasing in a carpet-bombing manner by high-ranking demon clans. To put it sensibly, it is like randomly scattering large and small seeds. Sometimes the smaller species become lesser demons, but very rarely they become pure demons as a result of the lower demon clans accumulating power."

 07/2020 

Q: The subordinate S once referred to the Xellos as an intermediate demon, but in the work, the Xellos were said to be a high ranking demon. Since Xellos is right below his confident, so I think he has a high position, but is he an intermediate demon? Isn't the term "high-ranking demon tribe" used to refer to the demon tribe above the mid-level demon tribe?

KANZAKA: "The discrepancy in the perception of Xellos' rank is the difference between the classification from the demon tribe side or from the human side. The demon tribe evaluates them purely on the basis of their power, so they are middle class compared to the demon king and his confidants. On the other hand, from the human point of view, the class of demons that can look like humans is clearly impossible in battle, so they are high-ranking demons."

Q: In volume 16, Lina said that the elves' technique of manipulating plants by making them grow rapidly from seed is impossible for humans. In the short story "For Whom Sleeps the Treasure" (vol. 16), a mage named Cid uses a technique called "Chaos Beard" to rapidly grow and manipulate his own beard. Or is it a magic technique that you perform day after day, and then unleash it when the moment is right?

KANZAKA: "As for the mustache, it is more like 'healing' or 'resurrection' since it is an activation of one's own physical body. In contrast, plant growth requires the simultaneous replenishment of water, nutrients, and alternatives to photosynthesis, so the precision of control is needed."

 Q: I got a library-style card at the Slayers Cafe, and it was the first time I learned about Zel-sama's favorite food. I have become an old lady with a sweet tooth who still doesn't like spicy food, but I wonder if Zel-sama has a taste for sweet foods? How was his childhood as well as his adulthood?

I am very anxious to know if Rezo has been properly caring for the childish Zel by giving him sweets (or button candy at this point). Wishing Zel-sama all the best in his childhood.

-Yeah, Gourry’s strong. Here he has a plain old regular sword yet “with a cry of exertion but little actual effort, Gourry tore through the oak planks with his sword.”

And then there’s the whole thing with Gourry intercepting invisible throwing knives…because he is that badass. Gourry is in rather top form in this novel but even then he gets his ass handed to him in the end.

-Mileena also gets special mention for her smarts with making the invisible throwing sword visible.

-ZOMG! Lina refers to Gourry as “my dude” again! He is hers. She definitely thinks of him as hers! I hope to see this in future novels.

-So much foreshadowing with Luke’s reaction to the men in black throwing knives at Mileena and his comment about how they threw away their humanity.

-There was some discussion about Luke’s sword, and in this chapter Lina describes it as a “nameless” sword that can produce a Diem Wind type spell based on how Luke moves it.

-We see Gourry’s moral outrage in this novel. When Lavas reveals his true motivations and what he has done with Veisam Gourry doesn’t wait to follow Lina’s lead, he says he doesn’t understand what is going on but he can’t let Lavas get away with it. When Veisam dies Gourry also gets angry at Lavas’s callousness.

-Luke’s attitude towards Lina and Gourry has changed by the end of this novel, and he thanks Lina “bashfully.” I get the feeling that Luke is impressed with Lina and Gourry despite himself and starts to respect them as a result.

-Lina’s response to Luke thanking her is to ask for 1000 gold coins, at which Mileena “expressionlessly” spits out her soup. Considering Mileena seems to take everything else in stride this is surprising, but it’s also hardcore that she can manage to spit out her soup expressionlessly, lol.

-I will say, Lina is a bit slow connecting the dots with Lavas and the Ruvinagald kingdom. How many royal families has she seen that have been experimenting with fusing demons with unwilling people? I hope it’s only been Ruvinagald!

-As far as Mileena’s motivations, it is worth noting that when Lina asked them what their plans are, Luke responds to continue to look for treasure and that their ‘romantic journey’ continues, and Mileena agrees with the exception of the romantic journey part. Their exchange damages the idea that he just follows her around and she can’t get rid of him. What is worth noting is that while Luke is definitely a treasure hunter, Mileena appears less interested in it and does seem to take jobs when she becomes suspicious about demon activity involved. For instance, when Luke and Lina find a room full of treasure they both get distracted from the larger mission. Mileena does not. Mileena got involved with Sherra because she heard about the demon attacks and she got involved with Lavas because she had been tipped off about his true intentions. While Mileena says she is a treasure hunter and travels with Luke, it almost seems like a cover for her true mission.

-It’s more difficult to pin down a timeline for the second story arc, but Wizer does say they will have to stay in Solaria for a month to wrap up all the bureaucratic stuff and so Lina and the others won’t be blamed for murdering the royal family. So we can assume at least a month passes between Conspiracy in Solaria and Crimson City.

I know I haven’t drawn in a hot minute, so sorry for shitposting I guess.

🌔 Nectar turned sweet You shivering in my touch Sweet, sweet. Just for me.

Took us a whole month.