Dragons: The Nine Realms

This 6 part show isn't a solid stand-alone series the plot, animation, background story, ending, motive, setup, and delivery is jarring and poorly done. This diverse cast is the most substantial part of the show, and it's easy to follow along with the story are the best parts of the show. (The motive of Tom, the lead, is dumb and against the people of his new town and the dragons he kills more than he protects. Just to keep the dragons a secret.

My personal favorite piece of HTTYD content is Race to the Edge, I thought it was fun well developed and interesting. This show is not that. It honestly feels more akin to a bad modern AU fanfic than a proper show. It also doesn't help that the animation might be the weakest the series has had since Riders of Berk. The characters just aren't as interesting as the original Dragon Riders in RTTE and you can try so hard they're trying to emulate those dynamics but without any of the chemistry or dialogue that made it work. The issues for this show are made more frustrating by the fact that the show is only 6 episodes which prevents any interesting or real change from happening.

The only character that really works is the nerdy character who has some very good delivery and some of the only good lines in the show. They alone are keeping it from a 1/10 Even if you're a big fan of HTTYD I still wouldn't suggest checking it out honestly if you like the concept just go on a fanfic site and I guarantee there's something that does concept better.

Everyone talks about how bad the animation is... lets talk about the story.

It's called Project Icarus. Well that's original.

Mom says, "Poisonous gas, razor sharp rocks, rivers of lava..." So she takes her son there?!

In fact, all the adults at this facility have a child on board, each of distinct ethnic backgrounds. The big tough black guy is security, the tiny asian lady is the boss, so naturally they have a loud-mouth Black kid, a cool girl love interest, the nerdy girl, etc. Etc. (Face palm)

This is remedial writing at its worst. Nothing new or different. What made the original HTTYD movies and series so special is hard to sum up in one review, but this follow up series definitely didn't hit the mark. They're trying to hit all the diversity checkboxes but struggled to make it make sense.

My kids and I sat through all the films and the series together but I'm not even going to tell them this came out. Can't risk them damaging brain cells.

As an enormous fan of How to Train Your Dragon franchise I was, like many others, not very optimistic, even doubtful for this show when it was first revealed.

While many of my concerns did crop up, my expectations were fairly low and I am happy to say the show surpassed or subverted many of my worries.

If you were a doubter, I would say to give the show a chance. While it is nothing groundbreaking, I do believe The Nine Realms will give most fans the feeling of a return to his universe, even if it is in the modern world.

Most of the stories are fairly simple, and the animation is a hugely mixed bag, but there are some compelling elements to be had amongst it. Feathers and Alex are two characters who are the most interesting, as having a dragon as a sort of support animal is both a new and rich concept that I hope will be explored further.

Huge props must be given to the composer who modernised, but captured the feel and soundscape of the Dragons soundtracks that have preceded it and honestly do the most work in carrying much of the show throughout its six episodes.

On the note of number of episodes, 6 episodes means the show is neither a huge investment for a viewer, which is good, but also leaves a lot to be desired, with rushed pacing and character moments that sometimes need more time to set.

I feel like I'm not able to give it a lower score in good faith simply due to the restrictive structure a short 6 episode season brings. In my eyes, they've done alright with what they got, and the first season essentially acts as an extended pilot.

While I really appreciate some of the nods and parallels to earlier Dragons iterations, I hope the show expands in scope in a lengthier second season to capitalise on all the promising aspects yet to be fully explored.

There was an opportunity to make this show as exciting and as wonderful as The Race To The Edge. But it fell short on just about every count. Weak storyline, weak characters and the ending was just a huge let down. What exactly was the point of doing this series any way. If the point was to make sure that not another How To Train Your Dragon series ever gets written again, then mission accomplished. I doubt any network would gamble on another spin off especially with the show runner that created this monumental stinker of a show. I really hope the show runner has a back up job that isn't writing for TV.