Kuutei Dragons
Drifting Dragons
空挺ドラゴンズ
It has been half a century since humans took to the sky to hunt dragons. Although dragons present a great danger, every part of them is extremely valuable, and brave dragon hunters, called "drakers," risk their lives aboard special dragon-hunting airships to pursue them. However, despite the thrill and excitement of hunting, the life of a draker is not easy. Ostracized by society, the drakers have no place to call home. Life in the air is not any easier either: maintaining an airship is dull and expensive—and dragons are even harder to catch, as each one is unique. One of the last remaining such airships is the Quin Zaza. Its courageous crew includes Takita, an eager newcomer trying to earn her place on the ship; Mika, a reckless but highly skilled hunter; and Jirou, an earnest young man chasing both the dragons and his past. United by the same goal, these hunters face arduous aerial battles that involve daring feats of skill, strategy, and more than their fair share of danger. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Synopsis
It has been half a century since humans took to the sky to hunt dragons. Although dragons present a great danger, every part of them is extremely valuable, and brave dragon hunters, called "drakers," risk their lives aboard special dragon-hunting airships to pursue them. However, despite the thrill and excitement of hunting, the life of a draker is not easy. Ostracized by society, the drakers have no place to call home. Life in the air is not any easier either: maintaining an airship is dull and expensive—and dragons are even harder to catch, as each one is unique. One of the last remaining such airships is the Quin Zaza. Its courageous crew includes Takita, an eager newcomer trying to earn her place on the ship; Mika, a reckless but highly skilled hunter; and Jirou, an earnest young man chasing both the dragons and his past. United by the same goal, these hunters face arduous aerial battles that involve daring feats of skill, strategy, and more than their fair share of danger. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Reviews(18)
delta5
February 11, 2020
Kuutei Dragons had all the components necessary for a really interesting show but ultimately failed to put them together in a satisfying way. Airships straight out of Laputa, amazingly beautiful dragons, world travel and adventure...what could go wrong? Well, a few things. First off, the sole motivating force of the show is just "we hunt dragons for money and because they taste good." We never get much more than that, and it's just not enough to drive twelve episodes unless you really, really like watching dragon hunting (and eating). Almost every one of those scenes, and there are a lot of them, play out identically: peoplefire guns at dragons, dragons get hit, one particularly reckless character (Mika) jumps on the dragon to kill it, and then we see Mika drool over whatever dragon meat dishes the cook prepares. This is a shame because there are so many suggestions of what might have been. There are hints that some characters, especially the outwardly cool beauty Vanabelle, have complex prior histories that they're trying to escape by signing up to become drakers on the Queen Zaza. Takita, the newest crew member and the main character of the show, is given slightly more character development but we still never know why the hell she joined up for what is described, by all present, as a thankless, low-paying, and low-status job. And then there's the resident glutton, Mika, who lives only to eat every species of dragon possible and take insane risks in pursuit of that goal. You'd think that, as much screen time as he gets, Mika might become more complex. You would be wrong. The other characters just fall flat, even when they're given chances to shine. Similarly, the world building is actually really great, but it rarely gets the attention it deserves. The episodes spent with a focus on towns or cities shone as great examples of how to create a complex backstory about an economy and culture that's in some ways dependent on dragon hunting yet suspicious and possibly a bit fearful of those who do the actual dirty work. There are also great moments that expand on the insular world of the drakers, who have a history and hierarchy all their own. I really wanted more of this, as it provided a richness that the vast majority of the other episodes just lacked. Secondly, the CGI animation is frequently very distracting, especially when it comes to characters' facial expressions. I'll fully admit that, compared to a lot of CGI shows I've seen, Kuutei Dragons was far better than most, but the faces were frequently awful and drained a lot of emotional impact from otherwise intense scenes. And finally, I just wasn't sure what this show wanted to do. It clearly didn't want to problematize the idea of dragon hunting in a moral way. It also wasn't sure if it was a slice of life story that just happened to be about dragon hunting, or if it was mainly an action story that put hunting first and foremost above everything else. Because what we got was a lot of slow, slice of life material without any character development, and hunting scenes that ended up being too formulaic and repetitive to drive an action-oriented series. Without having read the manga, I can only hope that, if Kuutei Dragons gets a second season, we delve more deeply into the characters and the world they live in. The show has potential, but after twelve full episodes they didn't convince me that anyone knows what to do with it. (Also, could they please build a railing around the entire ship's deck? That's been annoying me to no end, and it's ridiculous).
