'Drifting Dragons' Season 1 Spoiler-Free Review: Delicious mix of action and comedy with just a pinch of drama
Netflix's brand-new anime series 'Drifting Dragons' is here and it is an absolute feast. Over the course of its 12-episode first season, the show takes you on a rollercoaster ride through breathtaking visuals and a lovable crew of characters.
The anime adaptation of Taku Kuwabara's Seinen manga series published by Kodansha, 'Drifting Dragons' (also known as 'Kuutei Dragons' in Japanese) is a unique blend of fantasy and comedy. It follows the adventures of a crew of dragon hunters who capture and kill these dangerous rulers of the sky in order to fill their wallets as well as their stomachs.
Every crew has a newbie and in 'Drifting Dragons' that newbie is Takita (Sora Amamiya) a young, inexperienced draker (that's the show's word for dragon hunter) with lots of heart and a bright, sunny disposition. It's through the eyes of this eternally kind soul that we learn about the dangerous world of dragon hunting and her growth is what drives the story forward.
Takita finds a mentor of sorts in Mika (Tomoaki Maeno), a lazy, gluttonous, and absolutely fearless draker who is arguably the best on the crew of the Quin Zaza, the ship our heroes belong to. He comes from a long line of drakers and his love of food is second only to his love of hunting dragons (for food).
Serving as a foil of sorts for Mika, we have Jiro (Sōma Saitō). This serious young man was the newbie on the ship before Takita but he commands a lot of respect from his crewmembers and he can be pretty brusque, though he does have a softer side that comes out on occasion.
These three are just a sample of the Quin Zaza's endearing crew, from the silent, hard-drinking badass Vanabelle (Kana Hanazawa) to the ever-reliable Gibbs (Junichi Suwabe). The show has a lot of funny moments with Mika, who's basically the crew's resident "OP hero", serving as the primary comic relief.
But to call 'Drifting Dragons' a comedy series would be a gross simplification. There's also a ton of really cool action sequences and some romance along the way, not to mention some deeply emotional moments that question the morality of hunting. Plus, there are some mouthwatering scenes involving dragon-based cooking.
It's easy to see parallels between what the show's heroes do and the work of whalers and other people who hunt endangered animals. It can be a bit difficult to stomach the glorification of hunting what are, at the end of the day, valuable and unique living creatures but the show doesn't hesitate to show the moral struggles that this line of work brings with it.
The first five episodes of the show more or less stand on their own, while episodes 6 to 9 tell a continuous story arc. Episodes 10-12 also form an arc, which is where a lot of the best moments from the show come in.
Netflix has had pretty mixed luck with its anime releases but 'Drifting Dragons' is definitely one of the best the service has brought to the world.
'Drifting Dragons' Season 1 is currently available for streaming on Netflix.