Review - Dragon Half
Reviewed by Mikey Dowling on 6.27.2006.
Score: 9/10
Mink is an average girl. She loves her friends. She has a crush on an idol singer. She has wings, horns and a tail. Okay, maybe a girl having parts associated to a dragon isn't so average. But that isn't abnormal at all to Mink the dragon-half, title character to Dragon Half.
The story for Dragon Half is that Mink wants to see Dick Saucer (yes, that's his real name), popular idol singer and slayer of dragons--no really--in concert. But, tickets are too expensive. The threat comes in when the evil king--known only as the King--wants to punish the knight who betrayed him by marrying the red dragon he was supposed to slay for his royalness (which is bearing a child, which is where Mink comes from). But in the king's mind, if he gets rid of the former knight, the dragon can be for his taking (don't worry, the dragon can turn into a woman).
To do this, the king goes to his trusty servant whom he often forgets is his servant, Rosario, to figure out a plan to get the red dragon to be his. Rosario comes up with the idea to go after Mink, and that's when the insanity begins.
Dragon Half is filled, literally filled, with laughter. It switches from super deformed to normal art styles at the bat of an eye, but it never feels like it's being excessive. It just feels like it is the right thing to do.
The cast of characters is exceptional. From the titular Mink to the no-brain-all-brawn soldier Damamaru and his pet Roshi; everyone in the story is likable and everyone offers anywhere from a bit to a ton of humor to enjoy. The writing and timing is so well done on the jokes that even after repeated viewings you will still laugh at a number of scenes. It's that good.
The animation will take some getting used to. It's an older anime, so expect big heads of hair and animation that isn't really poor, but isn't near the standard set by the likes of Cowboy Bebop. Also, as mentioned before, characters will go SD at whim. If that isn't for you, you might want to steer clear of this one.
The music, done by Kouhei Tanaka (Dirty Pair OVAs, One Piece--the original score, not the new one--Desert Punk), is very over the top at times, but fits in with the style of the anime quite well. Lots of strings make the fights sound more epic than they should be since you're usually just busy laughing at the fact that someone got a sword through their head due to stupidity.
The biggest complaint comes in the length. The anime is only two half-hour OVAs long and doesn't really finish the story that is set up. It finishes the stories that are set up in each of the individual episodes, but the overall story is missing. Apparently the manga goes much further on and is just as funny. Here's hoping someone decides to bring that over.
If you're looking for an anime to just laugh uncontrollably at until tears come down your face and your mouth hurts when you're not smiling, buy this anime. The length is bothersome, but that just means that you can watch it over and over again that much easier.
