Dragonautas

I kinda dislike how Dragon Flyz is only remembered in popular culture as some toyline which "traumatized" kids by causing them physical harm (Typical post-modern cynicism which assumes kids are brainless babies unable to handle anything more intense Blue's Clues without being scarred for life)

In real-life, I loved the Dragon Flyz toys; actually, I only got one, based on my favorite character based on Summit, my favorite character. (Green is actually my favorite color)

It was one of my favorite toys; and I played with it constantly. Of course, my parents always warned me about being careful while playing it, and I was.

Loving so much the toys, I was hyped for the animated series, and I wasn't disappointed: The series was fun, with a very interesting setting and an awesome theme song, like most of 90s cartoons.

This show deserved way more love, and sincerely, it also should get at least one reboot or movie (preferably animated) I wonder how much inspiration the movie Reign of Fire took from this: When I saw the trailer, my first thought was to remember this series.

Sadly, Reign of Fire was nowhere as fun as this show.

I remember seeing this TV series a long time ago, but I always thought it was called dragon flies :p so I kind have lost contact since the last episode. I'm glad to have found these animated cartoons by accident so many years later. The story takes place in the future, in a flying city, where the last of the humans gathered, after a huge war has destroyed almost the entire Earth. The radiation caused many new species to appear, including dragons, some of which now help the humans find crystals that power their city. They meet obstacles from some terrestrial beings who want to see the flying city destroyed. At one point they find a huge cave unaffected by the war, where life has flourished, but it also gets destroyed by their enemies. The search for an uncontaminated spot on the planet continues. I hope I remembered well the storyline and also preserved the beauty of these cartoons. I recommend them to everyone :)

No wonder this was the first television series produced by Xilam (formerly Gaumont Multimédia). This is, hands down, one of the most awesome shows ever produced in the 1990s. It's so cool! It had hardcore action sequences, and great animation. Dragon Flyz may not be one of the shows I used to watch as a kid, but when I watched it online, I was amazed by it. I even had a VHS copy of their straight-to- (TV/video) movie for Christmas back in 2015. It was awesome. I loved the TV show, and its movie (which I know was a compilation of the first three TV episodes, but so was Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie). One of the greatest shows, not only in the 1990s, but also of 1996. All I can say for now is flight is might! Dragon Flyz Maximize!! I love Dragon Flyz.

Looking at a list of 1990s cartoons on the Skool Days site, the link to this title in the "D" section caught my eye. I'm not sure if I remember somehow hearing of this show premiering in that decade, but if I did, then I simply passed or slept on it. Then, over two decades later, I decided to give it a go on Youtube. This was inspired by my desperation to find better cartoons to try out after having overlooked them previously in lieu of the dreck that passes for the medium. It has since been added to my favorites list (both of the '90s and in general) and, once again, to my list of 'toons I wish I had bother to check out sooner. Considering this is what I'd consider to be one of the most impressive programs I've ever seen. So far, I've seen only the first episode, but it left a great impression on me in such a big way. I found something new to me on which to be hooked.

Although other reviewers prior to me already explained the premise, I'l try to discuss some things about it differently, in that they haven't been mentioned. This series follows the titular characters, who make up a team of four siblings: The three brothers, Z'neth, Summit, and Peak, along with their sister, Apex. Evidently, all their names are various references to the top or highest point of something. Set in the 41st century, they and others used to make the ground or land their home, but were forced to take refuge to the sky in a place called Airlandis, as their new home, due to a war outbreak that destroyed much of the planet, Earth. Crystals are searched for with the help of their pet dragons to keep their stratospheric safe haven balanced. Also, they go in search of a place that hasn't been devastated by the war and radiation outbreak, which resulted in the appearances of unprecedented species, like the aforementioned dragons. But their are several mutants, led by Dreadwing, that are out to devastate Airlandis as well. The Dragon Flyz have special wings that are built into their seemingly ordinary suits that turn them into wing suits and allow them to take flight. Again, each of the siblings has his and her own dragon and like the human foursome, most of them are male: Riptor for Z'neth, Sky Fury (the lone female dragon) for Summit, Wing Storm for Peak, and Blazewind for Apex. Funnily enough, I would've thought a female dragon would be paired with Apex, but ironically not. Sometimes their owners use their steeds for transport to travel. The first three episodes comprise a story arc and a feature film. Amazingly, this show seemed to predict that one day wing suits would become a reality. In addition to this being an animated action/adventure/sci-fi/fantasy/drama, it could be considered environmental with the near-ruins of Earth used as a focal point to get its message across.

On the technical, both the art and animation are breathtaking; the characters (both heroes and villains) are a great bunch; the story is written flawlessly; the music is fine too. The presentation had its own toy-line by Galoob, but due to inconsistencies by different sources, I can't be sure if the toy-line inspired this or if it was vise-versa. I don't know which came first, but if it's the former, then this is another toyetic 'toon that managed to outdo itself in many more ways than one. Proving that not all toy-based cartoons are useless, other than being extended commercials and it's surely among the better ones. At first, it seemed like things were going to go sky-high for the Dragon Flyz. But due to the toys failing to sell, it wasn't quite sky's the limit for them and the series. That misfortune led to this being yet another potential but short-lived program that was dropped too soon. It seems to be one of those shows that didn't get a proper nor satisfactory ending. Not only does this seem to have been underrated, but the toys seemed to be as well. If only this were brought to DVD in the U.S., as I'd like to own my own copy of the complete series. I may not had been as appreciative of toons like this at the time, but now I have a whole new appreciation for material of this caliber. Please, don't pass this up, as this is really amongst those that are truly worthy. Recommended.

This is another edition in the under the radar video series. I have heard about this series before, but I was never able to watch it as I was focused on so many other animated properties at the time. I was able to recently and I'm glad to say this is another hidden gem to add to the 90's animation collection.

The setting of this show is awesome as it's something different in the post-apocalyptic genre of sci-fi, but also really like the series and mature feel of the show which shows the big steps animation is taking, that's just like with the dragons can soar to heights never achieved and have yet to be now.

I really love this post-apocalyptic world which is fascinating and not one I see much except in Anne McCaffrey's "Pern" book series and the video game series "Panzer Dragoon". What I like about this series is just like with both properties, this is post-apocalyptic sci-fi not fantasy. Yes, there are dragons and mutants but they're not the products of fantasy but of science itself.

I even like that the post-apocalyptic world is one of a futuristic world. Even though this world does have high technology that still works and is far more advanced compared to ours. We still see there are still pieces of technology and practices that have become lost in time, due to the devastating war aftermath.

The world it takes place in is also dark as we see humans have become an endangered species. The remaining humans live on a floating island that is unfortunately the last oasis that can support and sustain them. But not for long as they need a fuel source which is a mineral called amber. Of course, this isn't easy to find nor retrieve, and so we see the humans are both on a quest for fuel but also time to find a promise land where they can live and rebuild the Earth again. This really is thoughtful and sad premise, but an important lesson showing that we as a species aren't immortal, how we might not go the distance, and that when the world of the past is gone, it's gone for good.

The animation is solid, it's the kind you'd expect from the 90's, here they utilize French animation which I think looks great as there is this elegance to their style. From the backgrounds, character models, along with creatures, most notably the dragons which look cool as rightfully as they should.

The action is very good as it consists of shootouts, but mainly arial combat. The arial combat/dog fighting is well choreographed, really love seeing the use of the dragons, but also as they dismount, we see the Dragon Flyz utilize their technological wings and the mutants their organic wings. It was just cool, and you can say by their nature there were kind of ballets/dances but in the sky. I even like some of the stories and writing which has some memorable stories, but we see there is a revolving mystery in the show as in each episode we discover a little more about this lost world and what possibly lead them to where they are now. Also, the show explores mature and relevant themes of environmentalism, the victories, and follies in scientific/technological advancement, as well as prejudice and racism.

The only bad thing this how the characterization is a bit two dimensional. I know that most animated shows then and even some now aren't always known for deep character drama. But I felt with a show like this it could have benefited from it, making the show gain more altitude than ever through depth. As I would have liked to see more into the main villain Dreadwing's motives as to why he wants to wipe out all of humanity. I know seems complicated, which I don't mind if you don't overdo it. Though you could say this show is more plot driven which could be the reason for this, so I can't complain too much.

It would be cool if this had a revival or a licensed comic book series so we can take the series to higher altitudes; like being able to explore and get more answers on this futuristic post apocalypse like clues on what the war might have been about and even possible explanations on the existence of the Dragons and mutants. See if there are other floating cities and other regions on the ruined earth ruled by different hierarchies and see how different they are and how they affect the war. Could even be a bit like the "Planet of the Apes" series where we'd get a perspective from both sides of the war and the moral grey area that exists as there's no black and white between both sides nor are either entirely on the right. Though this won't happen due to the show's small fanfare, however, there have been some recent resurgences on certain properties, so the possibility is still out there.

This is a hidden gem worth a flight.

Rating: 3 stars.