Ryuuki Denshou

Synopsis:

Characters:

• Caliver, Millie (Main) - Voice Actors: Miyamura, Yuko, Schwartz, Jessica
• Caliver, Sedi (Main) - Voice Actors: Ishida, Akira, Sefton, Jay
• Keeves Fearudo, Rain (Main) - Voice Actors: Seki, Toshihiko, Haddock, Gray
• Myuu (Main) - Voice Actors: Kouda, Mariko, Chauhan, Bina
• Bapu (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Sonozaki, Mie, Hester, Boni
• Bashua (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Ootsuka, Akio, Dudley, Adam
• Caliver, Tesera (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kajimura, Hiroko
• Caliver, Raymond (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Sugou, Takayuki, Webster, Ken
• Gabriel (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Iizuka, Shouzou, Paul Shepard, John
• Ganto (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Matsumoto, Dai
• Keeves Fearudo, Fiona (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Doi, Mika
• Lilith (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Imai, Yuka, Brockman, Jana
• Randall (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Yasuhara, Yoshito
• Randy (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Koyasu, Takehito, Wise, Bill
• Reverend (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tsukada, Masaaki

Staff:

• Maejima, Kenichi (Director, Storyboard)
• Imai, Yuka (Theme Song Performance)
• Campbell, Charles (ADR Director, Editing)
• Ishimoto, Eiji (Key Animation)
• Kawashima, Akiko (Key Animation)
• Murakami, Yoshie (Color Design)
• Nagata, Masami (Animation Director)
• Nishikura, Chikara (Art Director)
• Nishimura, Tomoyasu (Production Assistant)
• Nishimura, Satoshi (Mechanical Design)
• Ootsubo, Yukimaro (Key Animation)
• Sakamoto, Shuuji (Key Animation)
• Terauchi, Satoshi (Editing)
• Yamamoto, Harukichi (Music)

Reviews:

• User Ikusagami (Score: 7/10):
  Dragoon, not to be confused with the easier to find Panzer Dragoon, is an anime spin-off of the Japanese Playstation/PC-98 RPG Ryuuki Denshou: Dragoon. As such, this three episode OVA features all the trappings and familiar cliches you'd expect from both a JRPG and a nineties fantasy anime. The story follows Sadie, a young swordsman who finds a naked girl unconscious in the woods. In a completely original twist for the genre, she suffers from amnesia, remembering only her name, Miu, and is therefore completely clueless as to why she's being pursued by an evil empire. Blessedly, Sadie's the strong-willed, chivalrous varietyof protagonist (I find the classical genre alternative of strong-willed but dimwitted protagonist to be annoying) so he doesn't hesitate to protect Miu and aid his newfound (and newly clothed) ward in escaping the clutches of their malevolent--and generically faceless--pursuers. nn The young duo's flight from the Garubado Empire leads them on an exciting journey in which they encounter all the classic genre trademarks of betrayal, imprisonment and escape, ambush, and fighting overwhelming opponents with old family grudges. Along the way they find likeminded allies in the form of a healer, a mage (who doubles as a thief), and a prince, forming the kind of well rounded party you would need for such an epic adventure. nDespite the seemingly generic predictability of the show's structure, the character archetypes work for it. I found the interplay between the cast to be charming, and the growing relationship between Miu and Sadie gave it depth, especially as Miu comes to question whether it's really in her best interest to regain her memories. nnThe show bears the mark of its era, as well. As one would expect from a 90s OVA, there's a decent share of needless nudity to set it apart from children's cartoons. Not too much, but enough that some would consider it ecchi by modern standards--every female heroine has at least one scene in the buff. nThe enigmatic scenes of villains speaking cryptically about their plans really showcase old fantasy trends: evil empires use pauldrons to denote evil like the Catholic Church uses hats to denote holiness--I suspect the reason nefarious villains always know teleportation magic isn't to make them seem enigmatic and omnipresent, but because trying to fit through doorways would be too embarrassing for somebody wider than he is tall. nThe animation style, likewise, is reminiscent of the times, and really adds a nostalgia factor for those partial to the generation. nnIn fact, while the list of cliches may make this sound like an unfavorable review, the truth is that, as any JRPG fan knows, some cliches are common because they work for the fanbase. All these elements came together to make an enjoyable experience for me, and in the end, while Dragoon certainly isn't on par with Berserk, I quite liked it, and found it a good deal more enjoyable than Record of Lodoss War. . .nnExcept for a single, fatal, flaw. nThe show is unfinished.nThe script…
• User ktulu007 (Score: 4/10):
  Dragoon is a three episode fantasy OVA from the late 90s. It's kind of an obscure one too. I couldn't find much information for it. I'll be honest, the only reason it even caught my eye was because I saw the title and thought of the playstation classic, Legend of the Dragoon, although the two works aren't related in the slightest. This is based off of a different game that I've never played. Still, I like fantasy as a genre. So, let's give it a shot. Story: We open with a battlefield where a naked woman emerges from a dragon machine that bears more than a slightresemblance to Chrono Trigger's Dragon Tank. Don't ask me why she's leaving an armoured machine and making herself vulnerable or why she's piloting a hunk of metal completely starkers. Anyway, that short intro ends and we cut to a different time where the same woman is being transported somewhere. She escapes after being threatened with rape and she's found lying naked in the snow by Sedi, our protagonist. He takes her somewhere safe and warm, but can't be bothered to find her any clothes, and asks why the soldiers are after her. She can't remember because of that old RPG cliché, amnesia. She only knows that her name is Myuu. The pair eventually go on a journey to discover who she is and why the Empire is pursuing her.nnThe biggest issue with the writing in this is just that it's incredibly generic. Every single major plot point: the invading Empire, the amnesiac with a mysterious power, the son of a hero going on a journey to come into his own, the character seeking revenge for their destroyed home, the evil minister who holds the real power in a monarchy... These are all common elements to not only RPGs but fantasy stories in general. And they've all been in works where the execution was vastly superior to this. This one just doesn't do anything new or interesting with them. Rather, it reduces them to their most basic, bog-standard usage. It doesn't help that the OVA also has plenty of moments that are just kind of stupid. The aforementioned dragon tank thing is one. Sedi randomly gaining new abilities because he's given his father's sword is another. No, he doesn't just have them because he's been training with his dad for years. He gains them because his dad levelled up his sword. The prince being unable to do anything even when he has proof that their minister is evil is another big one. Yeah, the minister has the real power but you'd think having proof he was aligned with the enemy would be enough to take that away from him.nnThere are some elements of this series that could have been promising. The mystery surrounding Myuu's identity had promise. The way it mixes magic and machinery has potential. The indirect connection Sedi has with Bashua could have worked. All of this generic stuff has been used to…
• User SgtSalamander (Score: 5/10):
  Dragoon is good old mindless, generic fun. It finds itself adrift in the teeming ocean of 90s fantasy OVAs, and exists as the platonic form of that particular genre, indistinguishable amongst the crashing tide, stumbled upon only by mere chance, be it in the back of a video rental place back in the day, or deep in the internet's virtual recesses today. Beginning with the story, it is, like I said, extremely generic. A boy finds a mysterious magical girl with amnesia and goes on an adventure to find out about her past- with his father's sword in hand hegradually accumulates an adventuring party made up of various common tropes, all while fighting against an evil empire that has advanced technology. I could have told you the rest of the story as soon as I finished the first episode. Despite this, Dragoon is still passingly enjoyable, and if it were to randomly come on TV somehow, I'm not sure if I'd change the channel right away. Notably, there are some ecchi elements that feel a bit out of place in the rest of the story, which were for sure included to sell some more copies of the OVA. At it's core, it's still a good old adventure story, and while it doesn't stand out, it doesn't really do anything wrong, and follows the well-worn footpaths of its formula well.nn The art is that familiar, warm 90s style, complete with a visually interesting, if somewhat generic, fantasy setting. However, it leaves something to be desired in terms of animation, which feels stiff and rigid throughout. nn The sound, like the rest of the anime, meets all basic standards for quality, though the voice work is distinctive. nn The characters are pretty much all tropes, with Sadi being your young idealistic swordsman with dark blue hair, Myuu being the mysterious amnesiac magical girl with white hair, Prince Rain being the long-haired blonde aristocratic gentleman, Lilith being the red-haired tomboy with fire powers, and so on. Despite how tired and predictable this is, the characters are still my favorite part of the show, given that their interactions feel engaging, and at times, natural. Of them, my favorite was the villain Bashua, as he was badass whenever he was onscreen, and had cooler lines than pretty much anyone else in the show. Overall, Dragoon is a fun, paint-by-numbers 90s romp that almost feels like you took all the other ones, blended them together, and diluted the essential principles of what was left into a short OVA series. While it's not a must-watch by any means, and there are certainly much better anime out there, it must be said that if you particularly like the genre, or are just looking for a way to kill some time, it might be worth a watch.

Forum Topics:

• Ryuuki Denshou Episode 3 Discussion

External Links:

• AniDB
• ANN
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