Kuutei Dragons tells the story about a group dragon hunters called, drakers who travel in the airship called, Quin Zaza in search of several and different kinds of bizarre giant monsters who known as dragons. These strange and life threatening monsters are the source of living of drakers as the giant bodies of these dragons can become means of some of their useful resources for drakers as well the townspeople like ingredients for medicines, oil, and even meat which turns out to be great ad very tasty if cooked well.
An amateur nosy woman named, Takita has been shoved into the world of draking who is still trying to be good at the job of draking with the support of other drakers as they fly above the skies in their air ship hunting dragons and roaming around the world and trying to enjoy the life of draking which is very hard and dangerous.
The world building in this anime is detailed and the most compelling thing to watch. The amazing airships, strange looking monsters and the imaginative world are portrayed in a very intriguing way. Although such an incredible setting could have been explored more but the way it has been portrayed with attention to detail is brilliant. The life of drakers while travelling in Quin Zaza is comprehensive to the extent of inculcating the travelling enthusiasm among the viewers while giving motivation for some adventure in our real life. Although it is set in a fantasy world but the detailed world building makes it look almost real.
The design and animation of the monster is eye catching and peculiar with a unique blend of strange alien which makes the series even more fascinating and compelling. The 3d animation supports these designs in a great way and in addition to that the delicious extracted food from the dragon is so compelling that one could actually drool over the screens while watching this anime. Apart from the animation and the designs the relationship of drakers with the inhabitants of the town goes deep and very intriguing which also describes the nature of many characters and their reason for choosing this profession.
If we talk about the characters, the cast of Kuutei Dragons is very solid with a lot of variety other than the female protagonist. They all are peculiarly intriguing which include dragon-nut Mika who is wildly focused in his work and, Jiro, who is clever when it comes to observation and much relaxed and stern, beautiful Vannie, who is a little aloof and an extraordinary drinker with a secretive delicate side.
The relationship and the communication of these characters with each other is another strong point of this anime. These characters are well written and their characters development is brilliant especially the characters of Takito and Jiro as they interact with each other while learning from each other. Even other characters also get to show their spark which makes us more familiar with the group and their journey.
Although this anime is not filled with much intense action but still, the Dragons scenes are nerve-wracking particular during the scenes of hunting these giant and strange looking dragons. The action scenes of Mike who is the most courageous among them looks stunning when we see him roaming in the skies with ropes and getting on the back of the monsters and doing some more thrilling actions like this. He also solely handled and got on the pirate airship who were planning on to destroy Quin Zaza!. Other than Mike we also get to see other charcters in action as well like Jiro bravely standing on the back of a big dragon in Quon City when the whole ship is about to bump into it in a matter of few seconds. 3D is animation is a plus point when it comes to visualize these scenes making it look more appealing and realistic.
One of the biggest negative of this series that may end up making viewers frowned upon is its weirdly similarity to the whaling in the real world which you might be familiar about as it is one of the most unique culture of Japan that most of the people do not like. It does not mean that we do not like it or it being significant in the setting but Kuutei Dragons could have given much focus on the moral grounds when it comes to dragon hunting and it can be seen as something unacceptable and a biggest lacking that could be a biggest strength.
It’s not just the dragons but more than that, which could be portrayed with more depth in Kuttei Dragons but was not utilized sufficiently. There are not many lose ends in the series and neither things are described more than needed which could make it slow paced and boring, but it could have explored so much more in such a detailed setting.
Characters like Vannie and Jiro who have been indicated to have an interesting backstory but there was not given much attention and there as also not much explanation of them being drakers that could have linked to their past. Same is the case with Takita where we have questions like what’s her motive. Where did she come from? What made her being ended up with such a dangerous, defamed and tough profession. The story could be more comprehensive and deep which seems missing and makes us hope for another season that could answer these queries of ours. These characters and this world deserves more in-depth story.
There are some minor flaws in the 3D animation. Although in general it is very brilliantly done but the expression of the characters are not very clear or realistic as they look better in 2D. This is something very minor but expressions can make a big difference in some scenes which if not done in a clear way can be confusing and a bit disappointing. But in general, Polygon pictures has done an excellent job if we compare it with other 3D anime, so their efforts are worth admiring.
Kuttei Dagons has a lot to offer in almost all aspects and is fascinating to watch with few things that are left unanswered and unexplored in this incredibly rich setting. These loopholes may make his series fade away in the future with only detailed and interesting world building and interesting characters being the only reason to watch the series for some viewers that may not be enough to make it unforgettable for a longer period. We would like to see how these unexplored things are handled in season 2 but till then you can enjoy watching this series if you enjoyed reading about it in our review.
All in all, Drifting Dragons is a show I could watch with my kids.