Dragon Half (US)

Introduction

"The Funniest Anime Ever Made", it says on the back of the case. So naturally I sit down in front of the television, stony faced, arms crossed, daring it to make me laugh. If you're going to make extravagant claims like that, you had better be able to back it up. You may as well promise to cure hair loss and impotence into the bargain. It doesn't look too promising at first glance. After all, Dragon Half was a flop in its native Japan, an intended 4-episode OVA run never materialised after the first two episodes were met with less than open arms. But what one nation rejects, another can embrace, and among US anime fans, Dragon Half developed quite the cult following, and it's that cult that regularly pronounce these two episodes as the pinnacle of mirth. The credit crunch is making my chuckle muscle atrophy, so one cheap import later, and I'm ready to laugh dammit!


Once upon a time, an evil king ordered his bravest slayer to go slay him a dragon, except the slayer wound up falling in love with and marrying the dragon. Now their daughter Mink is all grown up, and she's fallen for the charms of a popular idol named Dick Saucer. Only Dick is also a slayer, and not liable to fall for a dragon half. The king is still around, and wants revenge on his traitorous former knight, as well as now wanting to marry Mink's mother. Then Mink hears tell of a potion that can turn a person human, and she decides to get it so that Dick Saucer can fall in love with her. It turns out that she has a rival, the king's daughter Vina, the sorceress princess. It turns out that she is half slime; her mother was a slime that drank the potion and became human… Anyway, there are two episodes of this mayhem, 50 minutes of anime on one single layer disc, Mink's Journey and The Brutal, Killer Martial Arts Tournament.

Picture

It's an older cel animation from the early nineties, and it gets a 4:3 transfer which works, although the age of the anime is apparent with the odd bit of dirt and crud. Frankly I'm glad it did work, as some of the trailers and logos on the disc had missing frames and visual glitches. Remember that this is a Region 1 NTSC disc if you import. There is also a Region 2 disc available should you choose. It's a comedy show, so expect lots of zany animation and Super Deformed moments.

Sound

And there is sound too, DD 2.0 Japanese and DD 5.1 English along with translated English subtitles. There is a second subtitle stream on the disc but it isn't used, as the signs have translated overlays burnt into the video stream. Please go with the Japanese option, as the English dub equates the idea of loud with funny. It is not so.

Extras

The disc autoplays with trailers for Anime Network, and Newtype magazine, both of which are now defunct.

The jacket picture is an advert for other ADV product, which is a bit too commercial for my liking, especially as the same titles, Slayers: The Motion Picture, Chrono Crusade, Sister Princess, Martian Successor Nadesico, My Dear Marie, and Azumanga Daioh are trailed on the disc.

In terms of real extras, you get the clean closing animation that is mentioned on the back of the case.

What isn't mentioned is the audio commentary on the second episode, from ADR director Matt Greenfield, Brett Weaver (Damaramu) and Tiffany Grant (Dug Fin). They talk about the dub and the rest of the cast, and generally have fun watching the show.

Conclusion

Liars! It's not the funniest anime ever made, it isn't even close. On the other hand, it has been ages since I laughed out loud that much, so there's no denying that it is funny. It's one of those high paced, zany, laugh riot comedies, with oddball characters, bizarre contrived situations, double takes, and surreal nonsense. And a main character with the name of 'Dick Saucer'. That's funny in and of itself.


It's hard to go into what makes Dragon Half work without overanalysing it and killing the humour. I'd rather avoid that, as I already made the mistake of leaving a couple of days between episodes, and thinking about the first episode before watching the second. My instinctive reaction to the first episode was far more positive, while I started worrying away at the second trying to find out what made it tick. As a result, it fell flat for the first 10 minutes before I remembered to switch my brain off and just appreciate the toilet humour.


Dragon Half simply subverts a familiar fantasy genre and has fun with it. In a world where slayers hunt dragons, one fell in love with his prey, and they got married. Their daughter Mink is a Dragon Half, who makes the mistake of falling for a slayer herself. All the archetypes of the genre are there, brave knights, evil kings, their devious sorcerers, ruthless princesses, all set in a fantasy world that has all the trappings of modern society, be it television or jet planes. It's best to expect the unexpected, and just go with the flow. There's always something to put a smile on your face, even if it is just the Beethoven inspired end theme with its nonsense lyrics.


Dragon Half is ridiculous mayhem, but it's still a shame that it was never finished. Still, these two episodes are a great way to waste an hour, and it ends on a booby shot in the best tradition of ribald comedy. Worth looking up.