#slayers translated

Tamiki: "Where is Zelgadis from? Lina and the other three are known, and I would very much like to know."

KANZAKA: Unknown. Zelgadis himself doesn't remember because he hasn't lived in the area since he was a child, and since Rezo was like that, his parents would go along with it, and sometimes he would run away from them because he was so upset with Rezo. 　

His parents are already dead, so he can't ask them about it.

Tamiki: "In Zephelia, how strong would Lina fit in?"

KANZAKA: It's like she's one of the top 500.

Tamiki: I wonder how big the total population of Zephilia is. ......

KANZAKA: I wonder how big it is. That kind of world population is completely different from modern Japan.

Tamiki: "Are there any conditions for a demon king to be sleeping? (Red eyes, red hair, etc. ......)"

KANZAKA: No, not really. You don't want to say, "He is the Demon King because his cheeks are red.”

Tamiki: "Were Zel and Rezo good friends before they were altered?"

KANZAKA: I don't think it was particularly good or bad; it was just the usual feeling of being relatives. It was a normal relationship, with age-appropriate rebelliousness and all that.

Tamiki Oh, there was a continuation of this as well. “I would like to know how close are you to your cat? I’d like you to make it official (laughs)."

KANZAKA: Um, ......I don’t really understand how to apply it officially, but does that mean I should answer, for example, that they are as close as Amelia and Xellos? I mean, what is a "cat" in the first place? ......

Tamiki: It depends on which cat it is. Some have already been dropped and others have not.

KANZAKA: Well, there are cats that run away as soon as they are seen.

Tamiki: At any rate, he is confident that he can drop any cat within a few days (laughs).

KANZAKA: Why would I do that?

Tamiki: "What is Gourry’s exact age?" I remember that in an old interview, you said that both Gourry and Zel were about 22 or 23 years old.

KANZAKA: Well, then, it's just as I said long ago. Well, I think Gourry has forgotten how old he is.

Tamiki: Perhaps the questioner saw the answer and sent it to me in order to clarify which one he was referring to. However, the principle of this interview is that the numerical answer is not absolute as an official setting, so please allow for a little ambiguity.

Now next up is another one of the oldest and most common questions. “What are the names of Lina's parents?"

KANZAKA: It's a secret.

Tamiki: "Why don't you put Xellos in the Slayers Super Series?"

KAMISAKA Because it would be a mess.

Tamiki: I guess this question means that Amelia and Zel had short stories in the past.

KANZAKA: A short story? If it were serious, it would be ...... black (laughs).

Tamiki: I don't think there are many people who would rather read a black story like that. However, with Slayers, when there is a request from fans to read such a story, I think there is a tendency not to try to write such a story, so you shouldn't expect too much from it.

Tamiki: Then, here's a question. I love cats, but it seems that dogs and other animals rather than cats appear in your works more often than cats.

KANZAKA: Because if you put a cat in the work, people would be drawn to it. For example, the scene in the film where the dog is startled by the explosion, barks, and runs away. If it were a cat, you would think, "I mustn't scare the cat!” 

Don't you think? Don't you think so?

Tamiki: ............. Ah, that's it, isn't it? I've heard this theory before: "It's better not to have the character you like the most appear in the work.

KANZAKA: Yes. That's absolutely true, of course, isn't it?

Tamiki: Why is your answer there in question form? How much sleep do you get? (What time do you go to bed and wake up?)"

KANZAKA: I am susceptible to sleep deprivation, so I sleep for about eight hours. I go to bed between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. and wake up around noon.

Tamiki: Oh, I do the same on my days off, but even on days when I have to get up at 7:00 a.m. for work or an event the next day, my bedtime doesn't change. When my average sleep time is less than 5 hours, I think I have to go to bed at 2:00 a.m. because it will be hard the next day.

KANZAKA: It's like that when it's something I enjoy. But when it is work, or some kind of obligation, I prioritize the fact that I have to go to bed because it will be hard the next day.

Tamiki: Ah, yes. That's exactly right.

KANZAKA: I think that humans are useless creatures.

Tamiki: Maybe it's just us. You write various works, but don't you get mixed up with ......?

KANZAKA: Yes, they do (laughs). In fact, when I was writing Lost Universe and Day Trip Quest in one-week shifts at the same time, there was a case where the names of the guest characters were switched in the middle of the story.

Tamiki: This is another common question, so I'll put two together. “When you are stuck for an idea, what do you do first?” What do you do to refresh yourself?

-And Lina casts a dragon slave. She mentions that a kingdom with a single sorcerer who can use the spell is not to be trifled with, which brings a lot of questions about how many people in the Inner World can cast it, or whether the more powerful kingdoms are in some sort of stalemate like modern countries with nuclear armaments are is hard to say.

-Gourry is as always attuned to her emotions.

-Church of Ceifeed seems to be popular in the Outer Lands, building on the idea that humans tend to worship the Dragon Lords.

-Opens up the possibility of Lina learning spells to summon the power of the Dragon Lords.

-Well, if Lina and Gourry do have a baby, I think the scene with naming Ran’s staff goes to show they would be of similar minds about naming it, lol.

-Damn, those dragons are frightening opponents. Those are some interesting visuals.

1. When Dynast was forced to separate the terminal in the material world from his main body in the spiritual world by the Zenafa armor, why did he not immediately remake a new terminal and rescue the separated terminal?

　If the consciousness of Dynast was left behind in the terminal and the consciousness of the main body was lost for a while, wasn't Dynast actually in danger of extinction at that time?

 KANZAKA: "At that moment, Dynast split the main body in two, if I may say so, but he judged that it was possible to reverse the situation from that situation.

　However, this did not come to pass, resulting in a significant weakening of the body."

 2. Poison Elimination Spell (I assume they mean Dei Cleary but I am not sure on this). Does this spell work for food poisoning, mushroom poison, pufferfish poison, and so on?

 Kanzaka: "Basically, it is a technique that raises the self-healing ability of the patient, so the results will completely vary depending on the constitution of the patient. People with a high immune system will show a high level of effectiveness.

 3. In the last part of volume 8, Lina said, "I gave an unmarked magic sword as a souvenir to my sister in my hometown.”

Did she intend to prepare any souvenirs (not swords, but famous sweets, sake, magic items, etc.) for this trip home?

Did she have anything in her possession at the time of the Atessa in volume 16?

-Lina and Gourry’s finances seem to be one and the same by now, and Lina is the one managing them. Gourry is pretty much straightforward asking her whether they have the funds to get home.

-And everything about the scene with Lina and Gourry talking about being homesick is wonderful. Lina handles the pragmatics of traveling, they both share the weight of the fighting (and people tend to underestimate Gourry there because Lina’s spells are so flashy, but Lina points out that he puts in more work there), meanwhile Gourry really takes charge of taking care of Lina’s emotional needs. Gourry notices that she’s not feeling happy and she first tries to insist that she’s fine but realizes that she can’t hide it from him. Gourry suggests that she’s homesick and Lina initially says that she was more adrift before she met Gourry, implying that he provided a sense of grounding and stability for her, so basically what I hear is that he is her home, OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!

-Gourry is so damn good for Lina! And he could totally be a counselor. He is so good at helping her admit her feelings and understand the needs and reasons behind them, which does bring about the relief that Lina describes feeling after talking with him. No other character is so focused on taking care of Lina the way that he is and that is why this is the best ship ever.

-Gourry sure doesn’t let her get deep with him though. She says she knows he’s from Elemekia but when she starts to probe he deflects.

-Given the anime, novel Lina has a surprising modest streak about her abilities. She’s uncomfortable being referred to as Lady Lina by Ran.

Q: The first time in history that the "Sword of Light" was confirmed was in the defeat of Zanaffar one hundred and twenty years ago, but was it rather modern when Dark Star created five weapons and one of them, "Gorun Nova," drifted ashore in the Slayers' world?

Rezo-Shabranigdou, who had just been resurrected, knew the "Sword of Light" only as "the weapon that defeated the magical beast Zanaffar," while his followers, who were still active after the Demon King was sealed away, knew about the "Gorun Nova" and recognized it at a glance.

Based on the above two points, it can be inferred that the five weapons were created after the Shinma War 5,000 years ago, and that the Gorun Nova was converted into the Sword of Light after the Incarnation War.

Also, did the Mazoku know how the "Gorun Nova" became the "Sword of Light" after it came to their world?

KANZAKA: The Sword of Light appeared in the Slayers world about 120 years before the incident occurred.

The reaction of the demons to the appearance of the Sword of Light was something like, "Here comes another troublesome thing....”

They were rather cautious about whether they could touch it or not, since it was the weapon of the Demon King of another world.

Q: Did Gourry ever hear of Lina’s two names or rumors of her before he met Lina? He might not remember even if he had heard it.

 KANZAKA: "As expected of a mercenary, I think he had at least heard of her. But since it was about a mage from a different field, he probably didn't recognize it that much. It’s also doubtful whether he recognized it to the level that he’d remember it.”

 Q: As of Volume 16, does Amelia know that Zelgadis and Rezo are related by blood? If so, who did she learn it from?

Tamiki Well. I would like to start off with a normal Q&A corner.

KANZAKA Umiu.

Tamiki: Starting this term, "Mega Brand" has abolished its membership system and converted "Lina Tsushin" into web content.

For this reason, many of the questions we received this time were ones that have already been asked in previous interviews with the author. ......

Among them, the most common question, request, or earnest wish was the following. ...... There are some differences in expression, but to summarize, the following is the most common question

The most common question was "Do you have any plans to write a continuation of the Slayers story? (Please write it!)"

KANZAKA: I wonder how many times I have to answer that question.

Tamiki: Well, you really have to answer that question as many times as you want. So, please go ahead.

KANZAKA: First of all, there are no plans. I know there are a lot of hopes for the resumption of the main story, but there is no possibility of resumption. However, please consider that the possibility of resumption is only about the same as the possibility of the discovery of Nessie.

Tamiki: Since the announcement of the fabrication of the famous Nessie sighting photos, the topic has been toned down considerably. I guess there is no Nessie, after all.

KANZAKA: Well, I don't think we can completely deny the existence of Nessie, as in the case of the coelacanth. ...... Loch Ness has been thoroughly researched. ......

Tamiki: Well, that's why ......Now, everyone, please look forward to the new series...Now for the first question.

What happened to the Demon’s Blood Talisman that Lina ate in volume 15 of the main series? Does it have any residual effects on the body, such as an increase in magical capacity?"

KANZAKA: If you are talking about the effects on the body, I would say it's more like "I ate something a little more nutritious than usual" or "I ate vegetables with a little more pesticides on them.”

Tamiki: In other words, even if you ate something like that, it would be no big deal.

KANZAKA: If you continue to eat the Demons Blood Talisman every morning and evening without fail, you may eventually see some effects (laughs).

As for what happens after eating them, I was wondering if the Demons Blood Talisman are physical in nature or rather astral in nature.

Lina temporarily took in the magic power of the Demons Blood Talisman by performing the "ritual" of "eating" = "taking it into the body," not by dissolving and digesting it with enzymes in her stomach .......

So even if it had the initial material form, it may have already disappeared by the time it passed through the throat.

Tamiki: Next question. Is Naga a human being? (laughs).

KANZAKA: If you mean the question in the sense of whether they are actually a high-ranking demon tribe or something like that, the answer is no. Biologically speaking, she is definitely a human being.

However, whether or not to recognize that thing as a human being, the answer is in each person's own mind (laughs).

Tamiki: This is a completely redundant question. How old is Xellos? (In volume 7, he told Mr. Gourry he was over 1012 years old, but I would like to know more about him.)"

KANZAKA: As I answered before.

Tamiki: Specifically, it is in the notes of the previous interview, so if you would like to know more about it, please refer to that~.

Some questions about Sherif Stars follows, and I’m not going to clean them up. Anyone who wants to is free to do so. There is some more about writing Light Novels and Slayers after this in Part 2, though it isn’t much.

Tamiki: I'm going to get into a question related to Sherif Stars.

　I heard that there is actually a disease in which people are born without pain, and because they don't feel pain, it is difficult for them to control the amount of force they exert, and even just walking can damage their legs.

　　In Meny's case, how do you manage the subtle adjustments in force?"

Kamisaka: In the case of Meny, she was created that way, and she has been trained that way during her upbringing.

Tamiki: "I heard that Menyi's preference for tofu is based on its texture.

　　Do you also like chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), pudding, jelly, etc., which have similar textures?

Kamisaka: Yes, I think I am probably more of a silken tofu person.

　　But I think I would probably make yudofu with silken rice as well.

Part 2, and yes, once more this interview cuts off on a question, and in this case one I would have liked to see the answer to.

Tamiki: How are sales of light novels themselves? I hear that in the industry as a whole, the number of copies of the first edition per work is decreasing.

KANZAKA: As the number of books published is increasing, the number of copies per book is decreasing. ......Well, that's a matter of course.

Tamiki: That is not limited to light novels, is it?

KANZAKA: That's right. How many people buy all five kinds of green onions at the grocery store? ...... I accidentally bought three kinds, though (laughs).

Tamiki: Now, two new series of Kanzaka's works are about to start under such circumstances. Do you have any ideas about what you would like the new series to be like?

KANZAKA: Well, with so many works out there, I feel that no matter who writes what, it is inevitable that it will resemble something written by someone else in some way. So it all comes back to the question of what I want to write now.

Tamiki: So, can we assume that the new series is purely a work in the style that you wanted to write? Of course, since it is a commercial work, I don't think it is just because you like this kind of thing.

KANZAKA: Well, I guess you can think of it that way. Fujimi's new series is, let's say. It's like "My Idea of Cthulhu" (laughs). When you talk about balancing the work as a commercial work, I mean the process of deciding what parts should be "my idea" and what parts should be left as is.

If you can write everything based on your own taste, then you shouldn't even think about selling the work in the first place (laughs).

Tamiki: If you were to write a story that was 100% your own taste, what kind of story would it be? What would it be like if you wrote a story that was 100% about your hobbies?

KANZAKA: I wonder. Well, Slayers! is also a story that I wrote quite naturally, so if I say it's true, it's true too.

Tamiki: Lina seems to be able to cook (probably because of her sister's training), but what about Amelia and Naga, who are from royalty? I don't think they have been taught. What are their specialties?

KANZAKA: Ah, I certainly haven't thought about Amelia's cooking! I think she has a discerning palate. She may be able to cook simple dishes like grilling meat, but I don't think she can cook elaborate dishes.

Tamiki: What about Naga?

KANZAKA: Naga has been traveling alone for a long time (......), and I believe she was involved in a cooking competition with Lina when she went undercover as a housekeeper in one of the episodes, so I think she can cook. However, I don't think she can compete with Lina in terms of cooking skills.

Tamiki: "In the animated version, Amelia is obliterating dishes at the same speed as Lina and the others (except Zelgadis), but is she a big eater like her sister? How much can she 'get in'? It's a mystery."

KANZAKA: Amelia, huh? ...... My image of her was that she was a single serving, or at least normal. Well, the TV anime is a bit deformed in that respect.

Tamiki: Last time we talked about the general setting of birthdays, but do you have an image of the character's blood type?

KANZAKA: "I'm thinking that Lina might be type O, because Mr. KANZAKA and Ms. Megumi Hayashibara are type O."

I don't have an image of blood type ....... I don't know much about blood type fortune-telling.

Tamiki: Do people in the Slayers world have blood types?

KANZAKA: Well, I think people in that world have blood types. However, the ABO classification is only one of dozens of blood type classifications, and in some countries or ethnic groups, more than 90% of the population is type A.

In the world of Slayers, there is no such thing as blood type divination.

Tamiki: It was said that magic during pregnancy was OK as long as you can concentrate, but does it affect the mother or the fetus? If you use offensive magic stupidly will the development be hindered or will the child’s development of magic powers be affected?

KANZAKA: I think there is such a folk belief. However, I don’t think it’s possible to judge whether it’s the result of prenatal care, or the effect of using magic all the time during pregnancy, or whether it is the effect of the mother's personality, who uses offensive magic to the hilt even during pregnancy.

A discussion about a different series follows, Sheriff Stars, I’ll include it but not clean it up. Once again anyone who wants to is free to clean it up. And then the interview wraps up with some basic questions about what HK likes. And yes, the part of this interview that is online does end that abruptly with a question asked but not answered.

Tamiki: Let's go to the Sheriffstars' question!

　Meny likes tofu, but do you like soy milk, okara (bean curd), dried tofu, or tofu hamburger steak? 　

　Or do you have to have the soft and fluffy texture of tofu?

Kamisaka: Menyi is in love with the plump texture of to-fu, so I have a feeling that she actually doesn't like okara and koya-tofu.

Tamiki: There are people who like tofu but don't like okara. I am one of them.

Kamisaka: I also like tofu, and I can handle okara and koya-tofu, but I actually have a bit of a weakness for soy milk.

Tamiki: So, you are saying that Menyi genuinely likes "otofu"?

Kamisaka: Yes, that's right. I eat it with hot tofu or cold yakko.

Tamiki: And then, because they were out of soy sauce, she went to ask them to share it with her, carrying a bottle of soy sauce (laughs).

Kamisaka When Meny didn't come back, Letty called him and Sammy, who was on the other end of the line, said.

　Lettie would then call Sammy, who was on the other end of the line, and say, "Meny is eating at my house, so come and eat with Lettie.

Tamiki: I'm afraid I'm going to get in trouble for leaving people who don't know what I'm talking about behind!

Tamiki - "Divas also have wings on their backs, but how do they sleep?　Dragno was lying on his back, and Gioram was cowering."

KAMISAKA: I wonder if they sit down, after all. I guess they sit down, after all. Whatever it is, they should be in a position that does not put a burden on their wings.

Tamiki: "What kind of creatures do the ga-sha, which were used as vehicles in Draguno's country, eat and what kind of habitat do they originally live in?

　Is it an insect in the biological classification?"

KAMISAKA: Ga-Sha is essentially a Gundam botsu mobile suit that lives on helium-3. Its weapon is a hammer over the mountains.

　Any questions?

Tamiki .................. Well, the next question is~

KAMISAKA Why do you let it slide?

Tamiki: That's why Gundam wotas are so ...... 　

　Okay, okay, so what kind of creature is Ga-Sha?

KAMISAKA It is an omnivorous insect that is more of a carnivore, sometimes eating even small rodents.

　Originally, they were not that big, but Dragno modified them to make them into vehicles, and they ended up like that.

Tamiki: The image I had was that of a dung beetle, but I wonder if it is more like a centipede in terms of its habits.

KAMISAKA The image was ...... a bramble beetle ...... No, it was a fungus beetle. There was a fungus beetle. 　

　Well, it doesn't have legs that long.

Tamiki Is a giant crucian beetle ...... a shockillas?

　Whatever it is, I'd hate intensely to ride one like that......

Tamiki A fairly basic question follows. What are you most addicted to right now?"

KANZAKA: What I'm most into right now: ...... It's hard to say what I'm into the most, but I often have a lot of fun talking about Higurashi with my acquaintances, so if I had to say, I'd say "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni".

Tamiki: "Where would you like to visit now?"

KANZAKA: In Tottori Prefecture, there are places like Mizuki Shigeru Road in Sakaiminato City!

Tamiki: "What is your favorite yokai? (In terms of Japanese and Western yokai)"

KANZAKA Actually, I love backbeards~!

Tamiki: I don't have to ask why ......?

KANZAKA Because they are black with eyeballs. Perfutto!