The evilness of Hajime Kanzaka and the terrible curse of Tokyopop

[pip25]

No, this is not a Tokyopop-bashing entry. On the contrary, actually. A few days ago, I've been put into a situation that reminded me quite a bit of what they must have faced when trying to localize the Slayers novels.

Comments

[pip25]

Well, it's never elaborated upon, but I would say that she had no idea how powerful it was before she used it for the first time here. That's the only explanation which at least makes some sense.

(As far as I know, the Sword of Light is helpful to keep it under control, but it isn't necessary.)

[pip25]

Well, chronologically Slayers Special 13 was written in 1998, when the first main novel arc was already over and Fibrizo was dead. Even the NEXT anime was finished by then.
So he wrote this while fully knowing what the Giga Slave was and what implications it had on the plot of the stories which took place later on.

[gruic]

She does not know. She knows it's dangerous for her AFTER this first use and she will know it's dangerous for the world AFTER her meeting with Sylphiel in the third novel.

It makes sense.

[gruic]

In fact he wrote that after first books of the first arc, so Kanzaka and readers already knows what it was.

It's a japanese light novel, Ichiban Victory explained very well how it works.

[pip25]

Well, all of Kanzaka's works are light novels, actually. What stands out here is the fact that this part lacked detail even compared to his own works, specifically the ends of novel one and eight.
Of course, no one really expected the same level of detail, but one could expect a bit more than this.

[gruic]

Yep, but plot of the main serie is on 4 chapters (5 for second novel) where stories in Special is one chapter only (sometimes 2). It has to be very quick. Something people can read on the metro before or after the work.

Anyway, I agree with you when you say one could expect a bit more than this.

[ichiban_victory]

But it's not until Next when she has contact with the Clair Bible that she does realize just what she was messing with. Before that, she made up a spell based on some old manuscripts she had found, but she couldn't have any concept of just what she was dealing with since she didn't know anything about the true nature of the Lord of Nightmares.

Lina was actually more dangerous in her days traveling with Naga because she tossed around powerful spells without remorse. Even easier to do when you don' t know what you're dealing with.

[pip25]

That's certainly true.
But it is also true that, when Lina remembers this occasion in novel 1, she notes just what kind of widespread destruction the spell caused, which seems to indicate that reckless or not, she was affected by its power to an extent. She never used it again until confronting Ruby Eye, after all.
But in this special chapter, there is not even a trace of that, which is both what I and kumicho_zz are missing. Something like "woah, that was huge" at least.

[ichiban_victory]

Considering the novels are written from Lina's point of view, and seeing how right before she cast the spell she was extremely upset, only to suddenly be so badly drained of energy it took her a moment to realize the wet stuff on her was her own hair, I think it's a safe bet that she wasn't functioning on a normal level. Aside from the bit of rage she'd had that fueled her spell in the first place. ;)

Seems like one of those things that she didn't think on more until a later time, probably when she wasn't so drained. (I sort of have an idea of this, having been in a collision that should have killed me. At the time I was too focused on the fact I was alive and still had miles to go before I got to my apartment. It wasn't until the next day when I saw my car that the reality of the situation smacked me upside the head.)