Dragon Half

(OVA Series - 2 episodes)

6 reviews - 22.0 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (3.7)

6. Iodine

A two-part venture into a strange fantasy world populated by SD characters. Our heroine is Mink, a half-human, half-dragon girl whose goal in the OAV is to go to town and see her brawny idol perform live. Of course, all sorts of villains block her path, including a particularly vain little sorceress. Filled with gags and puns that make fun of the genre at every turn, the intent of the show is to be funny, but it doesn't do anything we haven't seen before and done far better. Much of the problem lies in the OAV's short length, weak characters, and perfect willingness to resort to fanservice for its own sake.

As the animation only has to keep up with the SD designs, there's nothing particularly interesting to see. Mink is a perfect example of the airheaded anime bimbo and fails utterly in her attempts to be cute. The rest of the characters are more or less wallpaper, though her parents do get in some decent riffs. Dragon Half felt like the beginning of a much longer series that was, thankfully, scrapped at the last minute. Perhaps the only thing of worth on the entire tape is the bizzare "Potatoes and Eggs" song Mink belts out over the ending credits.

5. Tempy

This show is a lot of fun, with lots of silliness and superdeformed moments. Mink is the daughter of a human warrior and a red dragon, and a big fan of warrior-idol Dick Saucer. King Civa and his daughter Vina are out to get Mink however - they send the incompetent Damaramu and even get Dick to go after her. Eventually it all leads to a fighting tournament where people get to smack other people around. Dragon Half's production values are strictly average, but nonetheless it had me in stitches throughout; it's a shame though that there's only 2 episodes of it.

4. Corkscrew

A short, 2-episode comedy series (whether there was more planned or not, I don't know) that tries very hard to be funny, and succeeds sometimes. There really isn't much of a plot to speak of; most of the situations in the show are just to draw more laughs. There are lots of super-deformed moments, which is not something I really go for, especially in the amount it's used here. Really, I think what bothered me about this series is that it was trying TOO hard to be funny. It's not that pure comedy shows bother me (hell, I love Excel Saga)... it's just that a few small things I disliked about this show added up. Most people seem to feel differently, though, so don't take my word as law. At least it's not longer.

3. hakootoko

This one just didn't sit right on me. Sure, it had plenty of good jokes. But the frequent transitions to cheaply done SD and the lack of an overall plot in the show left me no longer laughing or interested at the end. I guess I expect something more from a comedy than just a series of jokes and gags.

2. weasl

Dragon Half is almost to strange too put to words. Mixing outrageous fantasy comedy, and lots of super deformed moments, Dragon Half had me laughing so hard I had trouble breathing. Also of special note is the end song, which has to be the craziest rendition of a Beethoven song I have ever heard. A must see for anime fans. Now if only they had made more....

1. Jeneki

Dragon Half is an immensely entertaining high-energy show with lots of humor. The characters are irresistible and fun to watch. There is also a lot of subtle humor that goes on in the backgrounds that require a few viewings to notice. It's a rare thing when I stop laughing while watching Dragon Half. Once the plot starts moving, you'd best stand back because nothing can slow this one down. It stands up to multiple viewings very well, and I'm almost ashamed to admit how many digits are in the number of times I have watched this show. This is also the show that first got me into super-deformed mode, which is used very appropriately here.