Panzer Dragoon

Okay, this is the review for Panzer Dragoon, an OVA adapded from a videogame with the same name. Now, I haven't played the game, but I wanted to see this anyway, just because of its absurdly low score. And the only reason i rated 4 this anime on my list is because i want lots of other people who seek bad anime to see this masterpiece. First of all, don't try searching it subbed, it doesn't exist. Probably the only version is the English Dubbed one on youtube, but it's worth it. The Plot is exactly the same as what it's written on the synopsis, and,yes, it's bad. It's Absolutely bad. But it's so bad that you will laugh the whole time. It's full of awful battles, clichès, plot holes, stupid characters and everything else. You can see this OVA in two ways: -Considering it an anime like another, and judging it as the giant piece of crap that it is. -Knowing that it's gonna be awful, and laughing at every single minute of this. There aren't many animes that will make you laugh like this. GO WATCH IT. NOW.

A post modern masterpiece, which will be remembered in centuries. The genius writing, the clever use of symbolism, foreshadowing and depth, combined with lifelike characters, create one of the most unique and immersive experiences I have ever come across in my life, even rivaling classic novels and puts them to shame. It even crosses the line of some taboo topics such as racism and conspiracy theories, a marvel indeed. But it doesn't stop there, it comes with top-notch visual fidelity, even now for a 20 year old title and a soundtrack, that will make you forget Hans Zimmer, Michael McCann or Yuki Kajiura existed. Awonderful composition, which will make you ask the important questions in your life. I wrote this review listening to some of the tracks and I had to tear up so many times thinking about the fantastic ending this anime had. This is truly a masterpiece and it's a shame, that only so few people know of this timeless classic. A must-play for the thinking otaku. The savior of this rotten anime industry. Play this anime, buy this anime. As a human being which calls itself a otaku, playing this title is your holy duty

I think people are being too harsh on this anime. Is it good? Not really. Is it worth your time? Probably not. But it's not some horrible piece of trash. It's based on a video game that I haven't played and only vaguely heard about from Segata Sanshiro commercials, so maybe it would have helped me enjoy this more. The main issue with Panzer Dragoon is that it feels like I decided to watch the final episode of an anime without watching the rest, but it's the only episode out there. There's no context, no lore, no character introduction, no development or progression. I think it had potential,like maybe it would have been a decent 6/10 anime but it's like I said, it feels like watching the final episode. If they only had to make one episode, why did they decide to make this? What prompted them to do so? It's just my theory but I think it's the ending of the game and they decided to turn it into an anime for fun. At least that would make sense. Also the dragon feet make me uncomfortable, it's just one claw. It's probably painful to stand on that.

Panzer Dragoon is four video game series developed by Team Andromeda and released by Sega. While the latter three installments were very good games in their own right, it was their aesthetics that made them transcendent. The visual and sound design did more than the plot and dialogue to paint a world littered with the remnants of a fallen civilization (similar to El Hazard: The Magnificent World), giving everything a poignant, almost-gloomy atmosphere. Don't expect any of that here. This OVA is a cheap rush job of a tie-in to the (mediocre) first game, a trite, directionless adaptation of something that really didn't have much of aplot to begin with. It becomes clear very quickly that they are only paying the slightest lip service to the empire and their huge role in the series, with their scenes serving only as useless padding that could be cut altogether. The story they actually care about is just yet another "young guy's love interest is kidnapped and a magical creature helps him rescue her... and also save the world or something". Events happen with little development and everything about it seems designed to hit every infuriating fantasy cliche possible. The characters (all eight of them, only half of which really matter) are all transplants from a million other heroic fantasy stories. They think and speak only in the bluntest exposition, little of which adds up to any cohesive explanation of the world or the motivations of anybody but the simplistic hero. Not a minute goes by without something infuriatingly stupid happening, with plot points that go nowhere and sudden, unexplained powers cropping up out of nowhere. It's really clear this is a completely-missing-the-point adaptation of something with considerably more depth than they cared to put into this production. Attention must be given to the groan-worthy translation. This was only released dubbed and the original Japanese version (subtitled or otherwise) doesn't seem to exist on the internet. The script is at best unbearably corny, at worst tone-deaf and unintentionally creepy in the way the hero keeps referring to his kidnapped love interest as "his lady" as if she were a stolen trinket. Nothing anybody says sounds like anything a real human being would say. The actors deliver their lines in the classic bad dub style of hammy indifference, everybody sounding like they're thinking about their grocery shopping instead of conveying any convincing emotion. No attempt is made to line up the speech with the lip flaps and there are many moments where I'm convinced they gave characters lines that weren't in the original. The animation is a discordant mix of traditional 2D cells and CGI. It's pretty clear they took the 3D models straight from the game and did zilch to give them any real weight or presence, with awful integration of the two styles. The human character designs are stock mid-90s anime fantasy designs with nothing to really distinguish them and their body language doesn't really match their supposed emotions. The dragons are taken directly from the game, so they at least look passable while sitting still, but move in a weightless, inconsistent manner. The fights are laughably bad in their cinematography and pacing while also lacking any real impact. The sound isn't as bad as the animation, but it's still subpar. The dialogue is often murky and drowned out by the ambiance, but generally doesn't sound like it really exists within the world. The sound effects sound like they come from one of those CD compilations and fail to give any weight to the actions they accompany, made worse by the couple-frame delay of many of them. The music of the video game series didn't really find its unique voice until the second game, so this has the cheesy synth-orchestra score from the first game. It doesn't even base it on any of the actual good tracks (the main theme or either version of "Flight"), instead sounding like generic fantasy mush. I'm not even sure I'd recommend this as so bad, it's good. It's mostly just sad and pathetic, really. It's certainly a study in how not to produce a fantasy story, but only in ways that are self-evident to a well-read twelve year old. It's twenty six minutes of your life you won't be getting back and considering how obscure it is, you won't even get the benefit of at least being able to talk about it with others. Just don't bother.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers