Mega Brand Q&A with Hajime Kanzaka, 7/2018 to 12/2018, translated
And I am just about caught up to when @kaette-kita-slayers stopped posting, I know for sure she covered 2017 but I am going to have to double check for the first part of 2018 as she started going by issue rather than date at some point to make sure I don’t redo the wonderful stuff she’s already done, and I’m not sure if this is one of those things that I worry will take forever but will be straightforward, fast and easy once I get started or if it will actually take forever. So there may still be some more or there may not.
I am also pursuing some avenues to try to get the full versions of the Blaster Interviews, but no guarantees there.
And also, I would totally be following that black cat with HK, lol.
12/26/2018
Q: I have a question about the magical capacity. In a previous question, you mentioned that Gourry's magical capacity is high, but what is the average magical capacity of humans in that world? The fact that Flare Arrows and Fireballs are rather popular (of course, partly because of their practicality), does that mean that there is enough magical capacity to trigger them? Also, are there people who have no magical capacity at all?
KANZAKA: "The average is that you would be able to fire two or three "Fireballs" in a row if you could only learn it. Basically, there is no one in that world who has no magical capacity at all."
Q: Infectious diseases afflict even modern people, and Gourry saved Lina's life in a pinch by saying, "You'll catch the disease," but haven't they developed a spell or something to cure infectious diseases? Also, is it something that can be cured if it is as good as the red priest Rezo?
KANZAKA: "Infectious diseases cannot be lumped together because of the differences in infection routes. There have been cases where individual mages in a region have developed magic that is specially effective for a particular disease, and it can be cured in that region but not in other regions."
Q: There are stars and suns in the world of Slayers. Does this mean that space exists in the world of Lina and her friends? Also, does the existence of multiple worlds on the sea of chaos mean that there are multiple universes with different dimensions?
KANZAKA: "Basically, they are universes with the same structure as our world's universe. The other worlds of the Demon King are other worlds with the same structure. However, this is only with regard to the structure of the universe, and there are differences in many areas."
12/01/2018
Q: In volume 1, when Zelgadis and Lina first meet and negotiate, Zel casually asks, "Would you like to help me?" If Lina had joined forces with Zel, what would Zel have done after that? And as for the "two or three times the amount of money that could buy an entire castle," how was he going to make it? Did he intend to incorporate Lina into one of Rezo's crew as usual, or was he thinking of defection at that point, and was he going to dump her from the crew and from Lina once she had joined the crew and obtained the god statue? Or did he step on the fact that Lina seemed quite capable, and he rather wanted her as a force to be reckoned with when he defected from Rezo and struck back? What was Zel's plan at that time?
KANZAKA: "Zel's inner thoughts are of course flexible. At that point, Zel did not know Lina's true ability, and it was also unknown how powerful the item hidden in the god statue was. Probably in Zel's mind, all of the means mentioned by the questioner would have been possibilities. As for the price, Zel did not calculate to pay what he said he would since Lina had refused."
Q: Now that the Underworld King Fibrizo has been destroyed and magic using his power is no longer available, what happened to the "little nifty and improvised zombies" that used to appear in the Specials? Are they still in existence since they require Fibrizo's power to create but not to exist afterwards? Or does it require even a small amount of Fibrizo's power to exist, so it is back to being just a corpse at the same time that Fibrizo was destroyed?
I would think that people who are necromancers for a living would be in a lot of trouble if they could no longer borrow Fibrizo's power, and I would like to know what they are doing after Fibrizo's demise, if you don't mind my asking.
KANZAKA: "Once generated, the small, chic zombies continue to exist even after Fibrizo's demise. They need Fibrizo's magic power when they are created, but once they are created, they do not need Fibrizo's magic power to maintain them. And since necromancy in general in that world did not specifically use Fibrizo’s power, few necromancers would have been troubled by Fibrizo's demise."
Q: Alaina called Lina "a child playing at being a mage. 1. from an elf's point of view, all young humans are children 2. it's just that Lina is really a child. 3. Alaina just said something bad. Which of the following would it be...? I am curious.
KANZAKA: "I think she probably genuinely looked like a child. I guess she just let it slip out of my mouth. Also, at that time Alaina didn't want outside interference, so she's trying to give MacLyle the impression that Lina is unreliable."
11/2018
Q: I would like to talk about the "paper made from plants" used by Alaina, the elf. I am wondering if this one is papyrus-like or Japanese paper-like. I thought it might be Japanese paper-like since it seems to fold up small. Also, Lina said at first glance that it was made of plants, but is it a substitute that is normally distributed among humans? If so, which is easier to obtain, parchment or vegetable paper?
KANZAKA: "If I had to say, I would say that I lean more toward Japanese paper. I can assume that Lina has probably seen some kind of prototype of plant-based paper on some previous occasion. However, it is not in common circulation among humans."
Q: The gemstones held by Alaina played an important role in the amplification device, but is that because gemstones are still a thing of high magical power in the natural world? Lina can synthesize gemstones and process them to embed magic circles, but their artificial (?) Is it possible to use gemstones for Alaina's camp?
KANZAKA: "Think of the tools used by Alaina as a kind of pseudo-circuitry using natural objects. It does not matter the amount of magic power each individual has, it is only used as a catalyst. In that sense, it is possible to use Lina's jewelry as a catalyst as well, but that doesn't necessarily make it dramatically more effective."
Q: I have a question about the battle between Ceifeed and Shabranigdu. How big were these two bodies? Also, I heard that half of the continent disappeared due to the impact of the battle between the two bodies, but where was the battle fought? Was it a battle in the world visible to humans and other people and boom, boom, boom, or was it a battle in the spiritual world and the aftermath materialized and suddenly blew up without any warning? If it is the former, I think it would be a great nuisance for both gods and demon kings, since they are in a state of two great monster battles.
KANZAKA: "Because it was a half embodied, half astral-side battle, the size varies depending on where and how you look. Think of it as ranging from human-sized to mountainous. The location of the battle is not a specific place name, as it is now an ocean in that world. Regarding the recognition that Ceifeed is a god, shrine maidens around the world sensed it through 'prophecy.'"
10/01/2018
Q: I have a question about the division of a day in the world of slayers. There are inaccurate Nantoka clock but they are uncommon, so does the average person in that area go to bed after sunset, wake up, and if the sun is up, it's the next day? I wonder if assassins or people who work at night would be able to tell the passage of time to some extent by the height of the moon or something, but not until "Oh, the sun just changed.”
KANZAKA: "It is true that they don't know the exact time, but at night they seem to make general judgments based on the movement of the stars and other factors."
Q: I have a question about the Demon Tribe and the Demon King. Shabranigdou was divided into seven parts by the great war in the past, and each part has 1/7th of the power of the other part. Even if Shabranigdu before the Great War had the same level of power as the demon kings of the other world, now it has been divided into seven parts, so it would be easy to say, "Oh no... that demon king over there... is too weak...?" I am worried that Master S. might be licked by others like that.
KANZAKA: "Perhaps there are demon kings from other worlds who see it that way, but basically they are occupied with their own world, and if they observe something about Shabranigdu's world, I think they would just say, 'You're having a hard time, well, good luck.'"
Q: The Blast Sword that feeds on the magic power of its surroundings and turns it into sharpness. For example, in Gourry's case, the sword's sharpness would be sharper if Lina, who has a high magical capacity, is by her side... If so, what is the effect on those around him of magic being used to feed the sword?
KANZAKA: "Basically, the power will increase or decrease depending on the magical capacity of the surrounding beings. But of course it also depends on whether the magic power is being released to the outside or not. The sharpness may increase or decrease depending on whether or not Lina is in the vicinity, but this is only a margin of error if the magic power is about the same as that of a human. Also, Gourry's magic capacity itself is actually quite high, although he cannot use magic."
08/2018
Q: I have a question, Lina's magic became more and more useless because of 'that day'. From what I have read in the anime and novels, it seems that technology has not advanced much, but have they bought anything to use on that day? Or is it covered by magic or something? Sorry for the stupid question. I just couldn't help but wonder if I were to go to that world....
KANZAKA: "It depends on the person and the region, but I believe they use cotton or cloth."
Q: I saw in a past BLASTER! If there are only "manuscripts" for books, it seems to me that the cost of producing them would be quite high. If so, are libraries with large collections of books more heavily guarded than we think of them today? In addition, there is a description of Lina reading a zoological illustrated book in the special "The Forest of the Phantom Beast", but I think that the production cost of an illustrated book is even higher than that of a text-only book, and that publishing, mass-producing, and recovering costs for an illustrated book is also very difficult.
In the work, Mr. Estalee is a delightful creature researcher mage, but from the description that he has published nearly ten books continuously, I wonder if he is a very competent and authoritative person.
KANZAKA: "Certainly, books are expensive in the Slayers world. Naturally, manuscripts are made by apprentices or hired artisans, but if there is an "artist" among the apprentices, it is quite a big deal. According to Estalee, he published 10 books, but it is not clear whether they were solid books or 10 sheets of parchment, so the number of books he published does not always tell the whole story."
Q: I think that some of the chimeras in Slayers are not in human form or are beastmen, and I don't think we see many chimeras like Zelgadis that have kept their human form, as if they have poured other creatures into humans. (Although some of them have a form that does not hinder them in their human life even though they are a combination of a human and a demon thing...)
So my question is, is the difference in the appearance of the chimera simply a difference in the power of the magician who creates the chimera? Is the non-human form more powerful, or is there a difference in output?
KANZAKA: "In the world of Slayers, we call the synthesis of multiple life forms "chimera" as a general term, but the shape depends on the concept to begin with. If you use a human being and try to keep the human form, you will end up with a chimera, and if you cross animals with each other, you will naturally end up with an animal form. Of course, the skill of the surgeon has some bearing on this, but the main difference is the concept."
07/2018
Q: Is there any kind of jinx or test to get luck in the world of Slayers, such as "If a black cat crosses you..."* or "Katsudon (pork cutlet served on top of rice) before an exam"? I'd like to know what it's like if there is one. *I love black cats, so when they cross my path, I want to follow them!
KANZAKA: "Of course, there are all kinds of jinxes in that world. However, they vary from country to country and region to region, so there is no particular nationally famous jinx. And, as a side note, when a black cat crosses over, the author also follows."
Q: I have a question about spirits. Do the spirits of spirit magic inhabit the astral side? Or do they inhabit the material world? Is there more than one individual in the name of a species, such as Bephimos? Or only one with power?
Can spirits, like demons, fight if they want to? If so, how strong are they?
Can the demons, aiming to weaken the humans, eradicate the spirits that are the source of Ra Tilt?
I am not asking for all the answers, but rather a list of questions I had about the spirits. Thank you in advance for the above.
KANZAKA: "No one has observed spirits in human magical knowledge. However, since they exist and can actually draw power, magic is built on the assumption that such things exist. I think it is safe to assume that it is a kind of law rather than some kind of creature. Therefore, 'destroying a particular spirit' is like rewriting part of the laws of physics, so it is not an easy task even for the demon tribe."
Q: I have a question about the oracle that informs us of things like the resurrection of the demon king and even the price of radishes, but is there an oracle for male priests as well as priestesses? Also, are there priestesses who specialize in oracles? Also, do fortune tellers in this world have anything to do with magical powers like priestesses do? Or is it like the real world, where even if you get it right, it's like bagua (Eight Trigrams)?
KANZAKA "There are male 'miko' as well, but they are often not recognized as 'miko' by the people around them. Appearance is important. There are basically no miko who specialize in oracles. This is because oracles are not always given. Therefore, fortune tellers in that world may have some magical power involved, but it is basically a matter of luck or oracles..."
