Kûtei Doragonzu

The animation is deceptive as the premises are good, a world of dragons and humans on air balloons going dragon hunting. But the story itself is shallow, nothing much happens, no character development or backstories, it is without substance. This is a disappointment considering the animation art, background score and voice overs good.

I'm by no means a vegetarian. I realized animals are slaughtered every day to provide food for humans. But there is a marked difference between quickly and painlessly killing a cow (which is done by instantly deadening its brain)... and hunting down and slowly "executing" a whale. Not only are whales far more intelligent than cows, the pain they go through in the whaling process is nothing short of torture, beyond butchery. Many won't be able to enjoy this anime because it will make them sick to their stomach. It's very difficult to identify with a crew of people who seeming take enjoyment out of slowly executing what some would consider a magnificent creature. In short, this anime is too predictably offensive to earn a good rating. I'm actually surprised that anyone gives his an 8-10 star rating... and that we don't see more under-5 ratings based on thematic issues alone.

Anime should not be judged purely by the graphics and characters. Story and theme is equally important.

The art and production values are great. I thought at some point that this would turn into a story of at least one of the characters changing their ways and becoming a friend to the dragons (whales). I've watched four episodes and it doesn't look like it's going to happen. So this is just unapologetic propaganda about whaling. It's too bad because otherwise it's quite interesting.

A bunch of reviews seem to say they stopped at like ep. 3-5. Actual moral conflict doesn't start until the later episodes. There's a saga around 8-9(?) that starts it off. No spoilers, but episodes 10-11 are especially sympathetic to the dragons. My tiny cold heart!

Ignore any supposed real life thematic applications. I really didn't get that "political glorification" of whaling. But it IS a slice of life anime about living aboard a dragon whaling sky-ship, so if PG/PG-13 carcass prep or hunting is unpleasant to you, I'd avoid watching. They emphasize respecting the killed dragon, and not wasting anything, which I appreciate!

I think it's a pretty cool setting. Hay-day of dragon hunting is over, so the ship basically runs on sweat and dreams. The camaraderie and interpersonal relationships between the crew members is super cute. Its also like, half cooking show? Which makes sense, 'cause food is such a big deal with boom & bust resources, ex. On a ship like this one.

Honestly, its just a comfy anime. Soft spot for the big sis little sis dynamic two of the girl characters have going. Animation style grows on you, but it's a negative in my book. Dragons remind me of the creatures from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, which is neat!

Ideology/propaganda controversy aside, this show doesn't have much to offer in terms of plot or action. Arguably a great premise and setting, this show fails to imbue a sense of 'adventure'. I was hoping it would be more like 'Castle in the Sky' (or even One Piece) what with the airships and landscape, but it's more like a Rick Stein travel/food log, because all they seem to care about is food and recipes.

The characters are all your traditional anime archetypes, of course, but I've learnt to just accept that, and instead focus on the story/plot, which, as noted above, is pretty non-existant. I did wonder if we were getting a Moby Dick kind of plot, but that dragon was killed and eaten fairly quickly. I do use the term 'dragon' loosely though, as they're more like aliens/fancy goldfish.

Overall, a rather forgettable show.