Preview

In the distant future, mankind faces a grave danger: A moon-sized creature called "Thanatos" hits and destroys pluto. Soon the ISDA (International Solarsystem Development Agency) starts the D-Project aiming to destroy Thanatos before it's arrival at Earth by using nothing less than Dragons. It's just so that a pack of Dragon eggs were found at Earth, and now the ISDA is able to develop Earth-born Dragons controlled by human masters (and while in their "communicator" form, a Dragon is pretty much like a human). However, the existence of Dragons and Thanatos appearance seams related.

3 years ago, when Kamishima Jin is on route for a moon trip with his family on a shuttle piloted by none other than his father, a Thanatos attack accidentally hits the shuttle at take-off, mysteriously killing everyone but Jin. The answer for this might be on the pretty girl who saves Jin when he is attacked by a strange creature on present day his way home, Toa.

Pacing

"Dragonauts" focus on Jin and Toa, and their predicament and complicated relationship as Toa, A.K.A. Album by ISDA, is somewhat related to the Dragons and Thanatos. While the earth-born dragons fight alongside the ISDA to counter any menace and find other possible dragons, several organizations aim to get hold of this amazing technology, all at the same time as Thanatos approaches.

However, something must be clear to prevent you from watching Dragonauts with the wrong mindset:, It's all about the relationship between dragons and humans, about love transcending form, friendship over prejudice. The title deals with it using the usual humane subtleness put to create a complex character development while all the Thanatos and "war" behind it are just settings for this drama, and indeed, you won't see many battles, and Thanatos itself don't even play a role until much later in the show.

While Humans riding Dragons who have a human form but "actualize" into big dragon-like (emphasis on "like") creatures, the title manages to keep a believable plot and most events are coherent, though in several episodes, there is a sudden change in mood and the viewer finds himself wondering if he missed an episode - don't worry, you didn't, it's just they fast forward without telling you, and more often than not, they will later explain the changes in a flashback or on-the-fly explanations. Unfortunately, however, this brings down the story-telling quality.

Jin and Toa romance is somewhat dragged, and while most of the first part of the show it's not a serious issue, it get old really fast, and the viewer might get tired of so much "I love Toa"/"I love Jin" rhetoric on later episodes - however, the whole point of the show, as mentioned, end up being about love and human relationships, and while annoying at times, one can see where this is important for the closure. Do not watch expecting an action thriller, this is not the point.

Be warned about huge breasts and also at random personality changes on Kazuki character.

Conclusion

Pushing the limits of reason a little far but maintaining one feet on the ground, "Dragonaut"'s mythology and events are somewhat believable, and the characters are interesting enough to make you skim thru with little worries (except when they start to die, and you are again left with the weird plot with some random pacing issues). The romance is pleasant and some secondary characters manage to steal the focus most of the time, like the little cute Sieglinde, master of dragon Amadeus, or pretty Machina, dragon of tomboyish Akira.

While the title have some degrading issues with pacing and a bad direction, both plot (about relationships) and characters partially make up for it. The visual art is also usually a plus, though Gonzo should know better when NOT to use CG, and some dragons look like they came from late 90's video game because of the overly used 3DCGI's. If Toa and Jin romance does not manage to make the title interesting, the issues that fall into the Dragonauts and the relationship themes eventually manage to raise some good points, and the final sequence also deploy nice issues, and while the theme is nothing new during the last episode, the show have a convincing closure with some positive twists.

If not much, Dragonaut boasts a good ending and some entertaining fights for the fan addict (though most of the title is focused on character development and not action), while also covering enough drama and romance on its secondary characters to please most fans.

A standard gonzo-like anime with a lot of eye-candy, charismatic characters and a plot you can get on board with. However, exactly because Dragonaut strong points are at characters and their relationships, it might not connect to some action lovers. Usually, a die-hard fan of less demanding titles like Gurren-Laggan or Gundam will not be pleased by "Dragonaut" proposal. Otherwise, if you can connect to the characters and don't mind a polemic plot, Dragonaut is a welcome sci-fi with real people as victims and villains on an epic battle. It's very unfortunate that the direction failed so much in so many passages, damaging the pacing of this title.

Be sure to read our essay on the polemic this title has caused