Dragon Half

By Paul Jacques     July 11, 2003
Release Date: July 21, 2003



What They Say
So you think YOU have problems? Mink's mom is a dragon and her dad's a knight, and that's just the beginning of her list of teenage anxieties! After all, when you're part reptile and you're in love with a handsome singer who's also a dragon slayer, you just know somebody's going to get burned!

So what's a love struck Dragon Half to do when the man of her dreams wants her head on a platter and Mom and Dad are too busy fighting to notice? Why, go to his concert all on your own, of course, even if it does mean a long, strange journey filled with sinister villains and bizarre encounters. It's a good thing Mink inherited wings and the ability to breathe fire from her mom's side of the family, because when you're half-dragon, you don't make friends easily.

The Review!
Dragon Half is a funny, crazy, off-the-wall OVA, the instances of which are few and far between in the Anime world.

Audio:
The English and Japanese sound track was clear and presented in Dolby Digital Stereo with no distortion. Only one slight instance of tinny sound in the English dub was detected.

Video:
The transformation from the original 1993 version onto DVD is OK, with no blocking errors. I think it’s fair to say that it’s as good as the original, but the original wasn’t top draw quality to start with. Although it is good enough for TV viewing, I wouldn’t run it full screen on PC monitor, otherwise you’ll see the encoding flaws (oh for a global motion compensator). I did notice one bad scene transition in episode one (two episode story line), but otherwise the film presented itself in a fluid manner.

Packaging:
The front cover art is bright, showing Mink with Princess Vina behind her. The rear of the box shows some stills and menu screenshots. I’d just like to add the colors used on the cover are richer than the film itself.

Inside the box is a simple ADV insert card with a nice picture of Mink to lick… sorry I mean to admire.

And a nice touch is that the disc itself has a printed picture of Mink on it.

Menu:
Basic items- Episode selection, Scene selection, Language, plus the Closing scene which includes the crazy song “My Omelette” scored to Beethoven 5th (don’t ask).

Extras:
The only extra was to have the closing sequence song “My Omelette” without any credit text scrolling over. The usual ADV preview trailer was included for our edification.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Well it’s been a while since my mind was boggled, and after watching the first episode I was spraying anti-boggle formula onto my head for relief. Right from the get-go everything about this OVA defies categorization. Is it a comedy piece trying to serious, or a serious piece trying to be comedy? Drawing parallels was extremely difficult as I hadn’t seen anything like it before. And that was my mistake, all through the first episode I was trying to analyze the what and the why; Why do the characters keep changing from Anime anatomically correct characters to SD style characters and back again? Then the penny dropped, it was a comedy that was lampooning itself, with the Director or Writer pointing out the gags (no, really, an arrow points out the gag sometimes) in an effort the share his amusement with us. No one could say that this title was produced by someone with no sense of humor.

The plot, such as it is, revolves around a half human-dragon teenager called Mink, who has a crush on a Dragon Slayer come Pop singer called Dick Saucer. In an effort to see her heart throb for real, she and her friends Lufa, Pia (and her mouse that can turn into a monster), set out to go to a concert in the big city.

Along the way they get into fights with other characters, and this is where most of the gags are sprung.

In no time at all they make enemies with the King (who fancies Mink’s mother), the King’s Daughter Vina (who is half slime, on her mother’s side) and even Dick Sother himself!

I was chuckling a little towards the end of the first episode and laughing out loud by the end of the second episode. This is a fun Anime that should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

It isn’t for young children as some strong words are used, plus a “Fan Treat” is included at the end.

So would I buy this DVD… well no, but that’s because I NEVER buy comedies. Would I watch it if I had 55 minutes to kill, sure, and if you can get over the ever changing presentation style you’ll have a few laughs in those 55 minutes as well. I think it can be summed up as different.

Features
Japanese Language,English Language,English Subtitles,Textless Closing


Review Equipment
JVC 28" Pure Flat Wide Screen TV, Pioneer 454 Progressive Scan codefree DVD player, Logitech Z-680 THX DD/DTS receiver & Speakers.