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is a fictional character and the
main protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the
comic fantasy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre ro ...
-themed
light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...
,
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
and
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
series ''
Slayers is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine (Fujimi Shobo), Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into indi ...
''. Lina Inverse is a young yet very powerful sorceress travelling the world in search of adventure and treasure. Lina has been consistently voiced by
Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...
in Japanese, dubbed by Lisa Ortiz in the English version of the TV series and by Cynthia Martinez in the English version of the films and
original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...
episodes. ''Slayers'' novels are narrated by Lina herself from her point of view. Lina was one of the most popular anime characters of the late 1990s and has since retained a sizable fan following. There have been also characters based on or inspired by her in both ''Slayers'' and in other works.


Creation and design

The ''
Slayers is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine (Fujimi Shobo), Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into indi ...
'' creator
Hajime Kanzaka is a Japanese novelist and manga story writer from Asago, Hyōgo Prefecture. Kanzaka is best known for writing the '' Slayers'' novels that were adapted into the hit anime series, OVA and manga spin-offs. Career After graduating Kobe Art Tech ...
had originally created the characters of Lina and Luna (the name of Lina's unseen sister in ''Slayers'') as the heroines of his science-fiction story that he had written when he was in high school and in which Luna was the protagonist and Lina was her clone. Years later, when Kanzaka began writing ''Slayers'' as a Western-style fantasy saga of Lina Inverse, his friend and the series' illustrator Rui Araizumi took an inspiration for her visual design when he by chance came upon a vintage film with the actress
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...
on TV. According to the NTUT's John Lance Griffith, "To the extent that Lina is an independent, powerful woman ('a girl today' in contrast to the traditional Japanese woman), she follows in the tradition of Western lady knights and sorceresses: the tradition of Spenser's Britomart, of Tolkien's
Arwen Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in the novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. Arwen is one of the half-elven who lived during the Third Age; her father was Elrond half-elven, lor ...
and Eowyn." As envisioned by Kanzaka, Lina has a petite body type and is 147 cm (4 feet 10 inches) tall. She has two moles on her forehead, which are usually covered by her headband. Despite her supposed to be having a very flat chest, so much she can be confused for a boy, Lina is often depicted by Araizumi with larger breasts due to his personal preferences, which would be then carried over to much of other media too. Lina's appearance whilst wearing her homeland's folk clothing in the film '' Slayers: The Motion Picture'' is a nod to
Ranma Saotome is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the manga series ''Ranma ½'', created by Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma is a Japanese teenage boy who has trained in martial arts since early childhood. As a result of falling into an enchanted ...
, the titular character from ''
Ranma ½ is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from August 1987 to March 1996, with the chapters collected in 38 volumes by Shogakukan. The story revolves a ...
'', who too (like Lina) is voiced by
Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for ...
in Japanese.


Character and appearances


Lina Inverse

Lina Inverse was born in the fictional country of Zephilia. Since her mother used to be a mercenary magic user, Lina, suffering from inferiority complex to her sister, decided she would like to be a sorceress and coaxed her parents to send her to the Sorcerer's Guild school. Her older sister, the Knight of Shiphied Luna Inverse, was the darling of both her parents and the town, excelling in martial studies and quickly beginning to make a name for herself. Although Lina has faced down dragons, monsters, and even dark lords with little fear, the mere mention of Luna's name sends her into terrified hysterics. When Lina was a child, she sold images of Luna naked in order to earn money and, in turn, Luna punished Lina so severely that Lina has feared her ever since. Lina has many different nicknames, including "Bandit Killer" and "Dragon Spooker", neither of which she likes. To her, her most embarrassing nickname is "Lina the Pink", which is her official title amongst the Guild. In the light novel, manga, film and OVA prequel stories, Lina meets an unhinged and secretive sorceress calling herself
Naga the Serpent is a fictional character in the light novel, anime, manga, radio drama and game versions of Hajime Kanzaka's media franchise ''Slayers'', who was introduced in '' Dragon Magazine'' in 1990. She is also often known as Naga the White Serpent, which ...
and maniacally obsessed with Lina as her "greatest and strongest rival", with whom Lina then both travels with and often ends up fighting against during their adventures. During that time, Lina earns her reputation of someone who tracks and destroys numerous bandits for fun and profit, stealing their ill-gotten gains for their own use. In ''Slayers Revolution'', Lina embarks on pirate hunting after bandits have become an "endangered species". According to Kanzaka, Lina and her self-proclaimed rival Naga are the mightiest human magic users in the world of ''Slayers''; while Naga has a larger potential magical capacity, Lina knows the ultimate
black magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...
spells, notably the devastating Dragon Slave, which is her famed signature attack. Although she is an adolescent (between 15 and 17 years old in most stories), she is an extremely powerful mage, with a great love for money, treasure (especially the magical sort) and food. In the anime and manga (but not the light novels), Lina recklessly uses overly destructive magic, often with little provocation (though depicted lightheartedly). As such, she is widely reputed to be an evil and calamitous "Enemy of All Who Live", among many other similar monikers (such as "Empress of Destruction", "Natural Disaster Mage", "Raven-Black Witch" and "No-Breasts Demon"). In spite of her infamy and an underdeveloped body, Lina likes to see herself as a genial, dignified, and beautiful sorceress. Adding to her mental instability, she is also selfish, short-tempered and gluttonous, and suffers an inferiority complex over her chest size, especially when alongside the very busty Naga who likes to taunt Lina over this. Lina's accomplishments include the destruction of a piece of the
Mazoku In Japanese mythology and fantasy, are supernatural beings, normally evil ones such as devils or demons. A or maou is a ruler of mazoku, or in fiction more generically a dark lord or powerful monster. Etymology The name ''ma'' ( – devil) ...
Lord Shabranigdo and having a hand in the destruction of the lesser demon overlords such as Gaav and Hellmaster Phibrizzo, as well as defeating Dark Star, Shabranigdo's counterpart from another universe. Due to these accomplishments, she is increasingly piquing the interest of the Mazoku demonkind and has become a frequent target of their schemes and attacks. At the beginning of the main series, Lina meets a swordsman named Gourry Gabriev and a chimera boy named Zelgadis Greywords. Lina encounters and destroys a part of Shabranigdo with her ultimate Giga Slave spell, which draws power from the Lord of Nightmares, the highest deity of the ''Slayers'' universe, but has no plans to ever use it again after almost ending the world. She befriends a princess named Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and the priestess Sylphiel Nels Lahda. She later meets a mysterious priest Xellos and gets caught between Chaos Dragon Gaav and Hellmaster Phibrizzo. In the anime-exclusive series ''Slayers Try'', Lina is recruited by the dragoness Filia Ul Copt to save the world. In ''Slayers Revolution'', Lina gets arrested on false pretense which later comes leading her on a journey against another incarnation of the Demon Beast Zannafar. She also meets an odd little creature named Pokota, who too has the ability to use the Dragon Slave. Lina and Gourry have traveled with each other ever since they met, and they have been featured in every form of ''Slayers'' media that takes place in the timeline after they meet. Lina appears to fall in love with Gourry, once even risking the destruction of the universe in order to save him. There is a distinct lack of romantic development in the series, even after it is affirmed that Lina and Gourry love each other. Kanzaka addressed this by jokingly stating that he is not adept in writing romantic scenes. The final climax of ''Slayers Next'', the second season of the ''Slayers'' TV series, the two characters share a kiss, though they cannot later recall the incident. However, both Gourry and Lina remember that something important had happened between them. In any media taking place after the two met, they have been featured together and should they ever get separated, are never apart for too long. The audio drama ''Slayers Kita Kaette EX #4'', which provides a pseudo-closure to the entire ''Slayers'' saga (since it was made before ''Slayers Evolution-R''), features the retired Lina and Naga, both now elderly in their eighties (with almost all other characters already deceased) and vacationing together while still quarreling and fighting each other. Lina is also the main protagonists through the entire official series of the non-canonical ''Slayers'' role-playing video games from the 1990s, and further appears as a player character or an avatar option in the role-playing video games ''Elemental Story'', '' Heroes Phantasia'', ''Fantasia Re:Build'', and ''Toram Online'', with Naga in the action video game ''
Magical Battle Arena is a Crossovers in video games, crossover third-person shooter game developed by Fly-System in 2008. The game features characters from ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'', ''Magic Knight Rayearth'', ''Cardcaptor Sakura'', ''Slayers'', and ''Mahōjin ...
'' and in the role-playing video game '' Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin'', with Gourry in the role-playing video games '' La Tale'' and '' Langrisser'' and again in ''Valkyrie Anatomia'', with both Naga and Gourry in the role-playing video game ''
Granblue Fantasy ''Granblue Fantasy'' is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Cygames for Android, iOS and web browsers, which first released in Japan in March 2014. The game reunites music composer Nobuo Uematsu and art director Hideo Minaba, who pre ...
'', and with them as well as other ''Slayers'' main characters in ''LINE Rangers'', ''
Puzzle & Dragons is a puzzle video game with Role-playing video game, role-playing and strategy games, strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android (operating system), Android, and Amazon Fire platforms. ''Puzz ...
'', '' Tales of the Rays'', ''Overlord: Mass for the Dead'', ''Ragnarok M'' (only in China), '' Guardian Tales'', and ''Elemental Story''. Her character has been also featured in a range of ''Slayers'' merchandise, such as food in the ''Slayers'' theme cafe in Tokyo, many various figurines and dolls, including
Nendoroid The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company since 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearan ...
and Dollfie among others, licensed cosplay outfits, a perfume line, another perfume, and even an augmented and virtual reality compatible digital figure.


Derived characters

Several different versions of Lina populate the world of ''Slayers'' due to various plots. In one story from the prequels, Lina and Naga are exposed to a mirror that creates an exact opposite of whoever looks in it. The wizard using it expects this to produce dark and violent version of the two that would side with him and destroy the originals, but the mirror copies turn out sweet, kind, generous, and extremely concerned about the feelings of each other and everyone around them. In their attempts to break the spell, Lina and Naga actually wind up creating dozens of such
doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
s of themselves, which go on to found an entire village full of philanthropic Linas and Nagas. A slightly adapted version of this story, which resulted in the mirror being destroyed without creating more than the initial copies, served as the basis of the '' Slayers Special'' OAV episode "Mirror Mirror". In the ''Slayers'' TV series, Gourry and Lina are both the subject of an attempt at cloning, which spawns a number of miniature,
super deformed ''Chibi'', also known as ''super deformation'' (''SD''), is an art style originating in Japan, and common in anime and manga where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby with stubby limbs, oversized heads, and ...
versions of them both; the tiny clones fight to humorous effect, and after the mini Linas win, they all disintegrate. Even more, in this case mostly lifelike, clones of Lina were created by Xellos' master Zellas Metallium in the video game ''
Slayers is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine (Fujimi Shobo), Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into indi ...
'' in which one of them, who believes herself to be the real Lina, is a playable character and the game's initial protagonist. Furthermore, a super deformed, giant, toylike fighting golem named "Piko-Piko Lina-chan" is constructed in the film '' Slayers Great'' in a distorted image of Lina's that emphasises her
kawaii ''Kawaii'' is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. ''Kawaii'' culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime ...
(cute) attributes, much to Lina's dismay and anger as she believed she had been chosen to model for its creation because of her (self-imagined) great beauty; it is also featured in the video game ''
Slayers Royal 2 is a tactical role-playing game developed by Onion Egg and published by Entertainment Software Publishing and Kadokawa Shoten in 1998 for the Sega Saturn and in 1999 for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation, exclusively in Japan. It is a foll ...
''. In the science fiction themed ''
Lost Universe is a series of science fiction light novels, running from 1992 to 1999, by Japanese author Hajime Kanzaka. It was later adapted into a 26-episode anime series by E&G Films that ran from April 3rd to September 25th, 1998. The series aired o ...
'', Hajime Kanzaka's another media franchise set in a universe parallel to that of ''Slayers'', the traits and personas of Lina and Gourry were mixed together to create its male protagonist, Kain Blueriver. The manga miniseries ''Slayers Light Magic'' features a young boy named Light Inverse who dreams to become a mage in a scientifically advanced futuristic world.


Reception

Lina Inverse has become a popular and critically praised character both in Japan and overseas; writing in 1999,
Dave Halverson Dave Halverson is an American video game journalist who has been the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of ''GameFan'' (where he wrote reviews as E. Storm, Skid and Takahara), ''Gamers' Republic'', ''Play'', and currently the new versions o ...
called ''Slayers Lina and Naga "two of anime ediums brightest stars in both Japan and the U.S." Lina won ''
Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine published by Tokuma Shoten since July 1978. Notable works serialized in the magazine include Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli a ...
'' magazine's
Anime Grand Prix The is an annual Japanese anime awards giving to recognize the best in anime of the previous year, decided by the votes of readers of entertainment magazine ''Animage'', published by Tokuma Shoten since July 1978. The Anime Grand Prix started i ...
1998 award for the best female character of 1997, also placing second in 1997 (after
Rei Ayanami is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. In the anime series of the same name, Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the enigmatic pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00. At the begi ...
, also voiced by Megumi Hayashibara), fourth in 1996, and eight in 1999. In 2000, she won the Best of '' Dragon Magazine'' popular vote in two categories, including Best Heroine. In 2004, readers of the Japanese magazine ''Animedia'' voted her the seventh most popular female character in the Animedia 23rd Anniversary Anime Awards. Retrospectively, Japanese magazine ''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'' declared her the 15th top anime heroine of the 1990s. In 2020, from Anthony Gramuglia from
Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...
ranked her and Usagi Tsukino from ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...
'' as the best anime heroines of the 1990s, describing them as "two fantastic characters who have remained popular and iconic for decades." The voice of Lina Inverse has since remained one of Hayashibara's best known roles. Lina's local dubbing also became one of the most popular roles of Emanuela Pacotto in Italy. Lina has been also included in many top lists by various websites. For example,
The Mary Sue Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, and author. He is currently the host of '' On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz, and ''The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law'' on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. cha ...
's Citlin Donovan included her among "Six Leading Ladies of Shonen Anime" and the
SBS PopAsia SBS PopAsia is an Australian digital radio station that broadcasts music, most notably from East Asia and Southeast Asia, on digital radio, online and on mobile devices. The station originated as a two-hour segment on SBS youth radio programme ...
's Jamaica dela Cruz named her as number one "baddest anime female".
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...
's Lynzee Loveridge put "Lina Inverse and Company" at second spot in "Traditional Fantasy Parties", while Gia Manry from the same website ranked her first among all anime's "Easiest Good Guys to Make Angry", as well as placing Lina second on her lists of "Destroyers of the
Fourth Wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...
" and "Most Destructive Heroes".


Cultural impact

The character's enduring popularity led to several
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s in various other media, including the role-playing game ''Ironclaw'' (a fangame furry style homage on the First Edition cover, along with Naga), the video game ''
Shadow Warrior ''Shadow Warrior'' is a series of first-person shooter video games that focuses on the exploits of Lo Wang, a modern ninja warrior who fights through hordes of demons. The original series is made up of one game, '' Shadow Warrior'' (1997), and t ...
'' (in an in-game poster), and in the first episode of the anime series ''
Full Metal Panic! is a series of light novels written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Shikidouji. The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist private military organization known as Mithril, tasked with protec ...
'' (shown on a cover of ''Dragon Magazine''). The protagonists of the 2002 anime miniseries '' Cosplay Complex'', Chako and Reika, dress up as Naga and Lina in the third episode, and Lina and Naga themselves made a cameo appearance in French comic book series ''Les Légendaires Origines'' in 2014. A ''Slayers''-inspired player character Lina is part of the ''Dota'' video game series: in the ''
Warcraft III ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', after '' Warcraft II: Ti ...
'' mod ''
Defense of the Ancients ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod (video gaming), mod for the video game ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, ''The Frozen Throne'' (2003). The objective of the game is ...
'', she shares the name of "Lina Inverse", while simply going by "Lina" in ''
Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve Corporation, Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created Mod (video gaming), mod for Blizzard Entertainment's ''War ...
'' and is referred to as "Lina the Slayer" in the games lore; in both games, she is a redhead whose spells' names reference these in ''Slayers'': "Dragon Slave", "Light Strike Array" (Explosion Array), and "Laguna Blade" (Ragna Blade). Lina and her "Dragon Slave" are also parodied in the 2012 anime series ''
Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions , also known as ''Chū-2'' for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Torako, with illustrations provided by Nozomi Ōsaka. The work won an honorable mention in the Kyoto Animation Award competition in 2010, leading the company to a ...
'' (in the episode "Regret of... the Scriptures of Darkness (Mabinogion)") and in the 2015 American animated series '' Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' (in the episode "The Battle for Mewni").


See also

* List of ''Slayers'' characters


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inverse, Lina Animated human characters Anime and manga characters who use magic Fantasy film characters Fantasy television characters Female characters in anime and manga Fictional characters based on real people Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional characters who can manipulate darkness or shadows Fictional characters who can manipulate light Fictional characters with air or wind abilities Fictional characters with earth or stone abilities Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional characters with fire or heat abilities Fictional superhuman healers Fictional characters with ice or cold abilities Fictional characters with mental disorders Fictional characters with water abilities Fictional shamans Fictional swordfighters in anime and manga Fictional characters who use magic Anime and manga characters introduced in 1989 Slayers characters Teenage characters in anime and manga