in August 1996 (released also in the low-budget "miniartbook" version), followed by Slayers Return Anime Comic in November 1996. The scripts for Return, Great and Gorgeous were published in the book Slayers Original. The film's 1997 manga adaptation was written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Shoko Yoshinaka. It is the fourth volume of the main Slayers series, although it represents a break in the continuity of the story. It was published in North America by Central Park Media on February 4, 2004. Soundtrack The original soundtrack Slayers Return: Motion Picture R (KICA-314) was originally released on CD in Japan by King Records on August 28, 1996. It was later released in North America by ADV Films on November 19, 2002 (B00007BH7R). The soundtrack contains all of the film's background music (BGM) composed by Takayuki Hattori, the ending song (as well as its special version called "Movie Size Version"), and two characters songs ("image songs") along with a special version of one of them (called "Fireball Groove Mix") and a karaoke version of the other. All vocalized songs were performed by Megumi Hayashibara and Maria Kawamura. The film's theme song "Just Be Conscious" was released as a single CD (KIDA-136) by Starchild Records on July 5, 1996. Both "Just Be Conscious" and "Run All the Way!" were featured in Hayashibara's 1997 album Irāvatī. The songs from the film were also later included in the CD collection The Best of Slayers Vol. 2 (From OVA, Movie & Game). Reception The film was well received by most Western anime critics, including a score of 79% from Patrick King of Animefringe. Dani Moure of Mania.com gave this "hilarious little movie with endearing characters" a B+ and positively compared it to the first Slayers film, writing that Return, despite a shorter run time than its predecessor, is "still immensely enjoyable, and actually manages to be a complete story that doesn't totally alienate those who have no prior experience with the series." Mania.com's Chris Beveridge too praised the film, especially for how it "tells a fun little tale with a fair number of quirky twists and physical comedy that it has something that would make just about anyone laugh," also giving it a B+ and declaring it "definitely a keeper." Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network recommended it as a classic of its era, stating, "anime was somehow different back in the mid-1990s, and Slayers