is a 1997 anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama

Kunihiko Yuyama

' is a Japanese director of anime films, television, and video series. His best-known work involves Pokémon productions. Other anime he has directed include Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning, Plawres Sanshiro, Wedding Peach, and the adult-oriented Weather Report Girl.Developing an interest...

 and Hiroshi Watanabe and written by Hajime Kanzaka

Hajime Kanzaka

is a Japanese novelist and manga story writer.Kanzaka is best known for writing the Slayers novels that inspired the hit anime seasons, OAVs, and manga spinoffs. Kanzaka was born in Osaka, Japan. At present, his Slayers novels have reached 54+ novels...

. It is the third film to be released in the Slayers

Slayers

is a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...

saga. It was released in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 on August 2, 1997 as a double feature

Double feature

The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...

 (along with Tenchi Muyo! Manatsu no Eve

Tenchi Muyo! Daughter of Darkness

Tenchi Muyo! Daughter of Darkness known as in Japan is the second of three films set in the Tenchi Muyo! multi-verse directed by Tetsu Kimura and written by Naoko Hasegawa. The film was released in Japan on August 2, 1997 as a double feature, along with Slayers Great. The film was later released...

).

Plot

Sorceress Lina Inverse

Lina Inverse

is a fictional sorceress and the primary protagonist from the light novel, manga, and anime series Slayers.-Plot overview:Lina was born in the fictional village of Zephillia. Her older sister, Luna Inverse, was the darling of both her parents and the town, excelling in martial studies and quickly...

 and her traveling companion/arch-rival Naga the Serpent

Naga the Serpent

is a fictional character in the novel, movie, OVA and manga versions of Slayers. Her Japanese voice actress is Maria Kawamura, and her English voice actress is Kelly Manison in the OVAs and movies, and Eva Kaminsky in Slayers Evolution-R....

 arrive at a town where the art of golem

Golem

In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....

-manufacture is highly prized and become involved in the rivalry between a father and son with very different ideas on how golems should be made. When two rival lords seek the aid of the men in efforts to build golem armies to enhance their power and prestige, the two sorceresses find themselves the central attractions in a festive duel of massive golems powered by their magic. Interestingly, the two main antagonists bear remarkable similarity in their personalities to two characters in Slayers Next, who are also fighting each other for control of the city.