Dragonaut 1 – what a mix!

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A great cast of seiyuus including Goto Yuuko, Chihara Minori, and Hirano Aya (albeit in a small role, damn), Ono Daisuke, Sugita Tomokazu, Mizuki Nana, Chiba Saeko, and others, animated by Gonzo, and a not so common story, sounds like a winner, right?

It’s hard to say for sure based on first episode. I can tell you this though, it seems to me the feeling and the genre of the story changes quickly and then settles on Sci-Fi monster/mecha and resonance (really, it’s kind of like Eva’s synchronization).

In short, the story starts with Kamishina Jin and Tachibana Kazuki (both had simply awful hair style) and a little bit about their friendship before something happens and Jin becomes sullen, quiet, and often kept to himself.

We are introduced to other characters – a reporter, a couple of researchers and one of them has titanic breasts *drools*, a team of specialized fighters of some sort, a evil henchwomen (that makes a double shot of titanic breasts…*double drools*), an organization behind the fighters. For a complete list, see here at ANN.

The series quickly changes from a young man’s inner struggle to mechanized fighters, monstrous fleshing man fight the female romantic interest, the organization is trying to hunt the romantic interest – Toa, the long, pink haired girl (without titanic breasts) played by Minori. The episode ends with Toa (Minori) saving Jin, and for the first time since what happened to him a few years back, he doesn’t feel alone anymore.

The animation is Gonzo quality. I’d say think a little of Solty Rei, Witchblade, and maybe even Kiddy Grade (Hirano Aya played Lumiere in Kiddy Grade, btw). I didn’t notice the music. As for the voice acting, I feel that at least for the women, gone are the days where a female seiyuu’s voice is immediately noticeable and easily distinguished – like when Mitsuishi Kotono speaks, I would know that it was her right away, or when Kikuko plays the villain or Miria in Claymore, I knew right away. I mean, maybe I’m just haven’t seen enough works by Chihara Minori or Goto Yuko, but I had a hard time telling that they are doing a couple of the voices. Hell, I didn’t even know Aya-chan is in this show until the preview for the next episode!

The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the genre mix just seem so obviously done. Lonely Shonen drama + Sci-Fi+mecha+possibly space opera.

Comparing to the other show that I watched – Blue Drop, this one is definitely trying to do a lot more and mixing a lot more elements into one show. Not to mention the long list of characters. I hope it works even though I’ve got a feeling this is going to be another mediocre show that Gonzo seems to love to churn out these days simply because they can churn them out fast.

In any case, my recommendation is 77% for you daily anime diet. Remember I’m critical, and I give this one lower score than Blue Drop but I was definitely attracted by this one more…And YES, having women with mouth-watering-sized breasts really does help.

Author: Ray

I'm a hardcore Anime Fan and I'm proud of it. I know so many things and I've acquired so much knowledge you wouldn't believe. But my love is anime. I've been drifting in this world for so long that I don't even know what an anchor means. I've seen so many shows that I've lost count. The only thing I'm sure of myself is that I care for the lowly and disenfranchised. I hate the rich and powerful and I love what I do, or what I can do. I like anime and I don't mind watching different types of shows. I have experience in different types of Japanese animation. I would be called an "expert" in a bizzaro world. One day, I'd like to start a revolution. I love the US, pizza, beer, sashimi, Chinese food, and steak. But I love freshly baked bread more than a well-aged steak. In reality, if I were born Japanese I'd be a real, hardcore Otaku. I love to love and I can hate strongly. I'm passionate in nature and I don't mind shedding tears. I can be reached at rayyhum777 at animediet. My Twitter is rayyhum777 at twitter.