Blue Dragon

Epimondas Jun 22, 2016

3

Wow.  Not only did this show start off with a lot of lame manufactured over used anime cliches, but it did the worst kinds and not a very good job at that. Sound/Voice:  The voices so did not match the characters.  This is pretty unusual because more often I find Japanese anime voices are more off the mark then the English translators.   Animation: Tiny kids with big heads and ill proportioned bodies.  There are probably adult characters but they are not easy to distinguish from very underaged children characters given they look similar.  What I guess passes for adult characters, also have over sized heads and malproportioned bodies plus they are rather small and close in size to child characters.  All main characters appear to be children.  Not that it is necessarily impossible to find a child with such experiences, but it doesn't feel right nor does it add well to the story.  The story gives the impression that Jiro and Zola have alot of training and combat experience, but it doesn't really match their look.  It is harder to believe that not only one but two major characters look a bit underaged and still have such backgrounds.  You add to that 2 more child characters, apparently thrown into the mix, and it feels like the blind leading the blind.   Characters:  It is too difficult to distinguish so called adult characters from children given how similar they look proportion, over sized head wise, and mismatching voices for their supposed ages.  It is annoying that so many major characters always look pissed off.  Seeing that tends to put the viewer on guard and ready for a fight or flight response in the back of our subconcious minds.  That's not a good effect for so called good guy characters to have on viewers.  It seems to be almost an annoying cliched standard in crappy anime.  Often anime has weird or stupid character names, but this show has some of the lamest so far.  Kluke??  Bouquet?  That weird looking mutant cat elf character doesn't look or feels like it belongs and I am reminded of "The Last Action Hero" through flashbacks whenever I see it onscreen.  The Last Action Hero was one of the lamest and worst movies ever made because it put a character into the story that didn't seem to fit. Story:  So far, I have seen a severe lack of forshadowing.  Sometimes I wonder if any Japanese animators understand the concept and structure of stories since so many animes lack any forshadowing whatsoever.  It is not until the second episode maybe that Kluke even shows an interest in robots.  Then suddenly shes a tech wizard without any background to that effect since they never showed her building a robot, or playing on computers or reading tech books, it creates a sense that it comes nearly out of nowhere.   This is so filled with terrible anime cliches: pissed off expressions on main characters; too many underage child characters in a non child like story setting; lack of forshadowing; bizarre characters or creatures that do not belong or fit right with the story or setting; and tsundere/yandere/kuudere/dandere type character who are often more like enemies than allies among others that it becomes hard to watch it without getting bored or losing interest.  It just is not interesting or unique enough since it is so filled with lackluster routine cliches.  The way the shadow power/creatures look is a little bland.  It isn't the worst thing or type of ability in an anime and is certainly imaginative but I am sure they could and should have executed how it was done a little better.  It just looks a bit too odd to see such a tiny body at the bottom connected to the characters.

ThatAnimeSnob Apr 17, 2012

3.5

Ahhh... A series with artwork by the guy who made Dragon Ball. What can go wrong? ... Surprise! Everything did. It got some fame because of the hype behind the illustrator and then lost it all in a few episodes because it’s a show for children. If you thought Dragonball’s plot and characters were simple, they are Shakespear next to this one. The show was obviously a callback to old JRPGs which were by default simple and cheerful, but that is not enough to make an interesting show out of them. Not even the similar in tone Dragon Quest anime adaptation managed to do that, despite being the most famous title all fantasy and isekai anime were inspired from.Without much of a source material to work with, the result was a dull fantasy adventure any 10 year old can think of. Not that a good source is enough to have an amazing adaptation, since as we all know by now, they suck as a whole. Classics like Final Fantasy, Persona, Shadow Hearts, Xenogears or Chrono Trigger don’t translate to series well. They are meant to be played, not turned into a story you sit back and do nothing. As good as the plot may be, it will feel very weird if you don’t interact with it. So imagine how worse it will feel when it’s just a fairy tale that lasts ten times more than most people would stand.The characters are not even fun to follow. They are the most cliché stereotypes you can imagine. As simple as Mahoujin Guruguru was, it had fun characters. Blue Dragon has white noise. You will struggle to remember their name, much less their personality or looks. And no, simply using the Toriyama artstyle doesn’t make them stand out.Seriously, there are thousands of better series to watch or things to do in general than wasting your time with this thing that is nothing more than a lazy advertisement of a subpar videogame. Blue Dragon only managed to blue ball anyone who expected something more.