The swordsman - Gourry Gabriev

Gourry Gabriev is a tall, blond swordsman who is roughly 22 years old when the series begins. He is originally from Elmekia, a desert-like country and has at least one older brother who doesn't like him. Gourry's family holds the Sword of Light, one of the strongest weapons in the Slayers world. It first appears in lore when one of Gourry's ancestors uses it to save Sairaag, one of the major cities on the continent. A fight among Gourry's family members prompted him to take the sword and flee home when he was 17. Sometime during the next five years, Gourry fought in a war and eventually became a wandering mercenary, at some point saving Sairaag in an incident that isn't detailed during the series. It's significance is that he met Sylphiel Nels Lahda, a young priestess that grew to idiolize him. In the novels, Gourry is finally driven to throw away the Sword of Light because it has caused him nothing but grief. He is stopped by a traveling merchant carrying a fishing pole. Together, Gourry and the merchant defeat Mazoku who have come to attack a town and the merchant urges Gourry to do something useful with his sword. Days later, Gourry comes across a young woman surrounded by a gang of 10 men in the middle of the forest.

In Gourry's initial appearance, he comes across as chauvanistic, but his true personality quickly settles into place. It's not that he's chauvanistic, he has a tendency to say what pops up in his mind. Gourry is known for his so-called jellyfish tendencies - he's not book smart and tends to space out when he's being offered important background information.