Dragon Crisis! - Eps. 1-3

Dragon Crisis has caused me a great deal of personal conflict and heartache. Not only is this the third incarnation of my review for this particular series, but Dragon Crisis alone has caused me to completely drain the battery on my mobile phone as I have attempted to watch it via Crunchyroll’s Android app on two occasions this week. The other problem is that although I shouldn’t... I think I am enjoying Dragon Crisis.

First and foremost, Dragon Crisis does not involve any thought whatsoever. Don’t bother to engage your brain cells, you won’t need them - the writing and premise simply does not require it. Dragon Crisis is a mix of one part romantic comedy involving a blonde child dragon and a junior high school boy, stirred with an curvaceous adventurous companion with affiliations to a secret society of treasure hunters and a dash of an enemy with a seemingly endless supply of guns and henchmen. The end result is a tastefully generic series which surprisingly provides a lot of mindless smiles, especially when watched just before bed.

The detailed back story of the show is actually quite nice as well. The young chap, Ryuji, whose parents are both famous treasure hunters and magic users, finds himself dragged out of his classroom by his adventurous associate and dipped headlong into an international war between rival societies trying to collect sacred and cursed artefacts, referred to collectively as "Precious". Quiet, Smeagol! One evening, while watching a transfer of a seemingly important artefact, and after a brief tidal wave of magical pink butterflies, Ryuji finds himself in the custody of a huge metal case, hiding in the back of a large van and escaping from a hail of gunfire. Cue a Dukes of Hazzard style car chase, a few stray bullets and a poor securing mechanism on the metal case which leaves Ryuji with a semi-conscious blonde girl in his arms, just before she proceeds to incinerate all of the pursuing vehicles and henchmen. The girl is called Rose, she is a dragon and she likes Ryuji to an almost obsessive level.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Rose looks like an aged version of my niece, I would probably like her more. But from the moment she talks and that high pitched voice pierces my eardrums, I can’t help but wish for the time that she returned to her silent fire-breathing self. It actually physically hurts to hear her say “I love you”. If I had a dog, it would be reacting badly to her presence on screen.

Dragon Crisis has been called generic, which is a fair enough comment. It takes a lot from series that have preceded it in the years before. However, as a person who normally avoids these sorts of series, I am ironically finding it actually quite refreshing, if a little clichéd when it comes to the dialogue.

To summarise, I didn’t like Dragon Crisis to begin with, but after being forced due technological failure to watch the first two episodes again, I have found myself enjoying it as a nice brainless end to the day - for that reason alone, it will remain on my to watch list for this season.

You can currently watch Dragon Crisis! in streaming form right here at UK Anime Network!