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.

OK, so it would be unfortunate to compare this with the Japanese whaling industry, but there it is. That aside, it is a very interesting idea to translate the whaling industry concept into a fantasy world where dragon hunting in airships is a thing. Yeah, sure, they say that dragons are a threat to humans and their numbers must be controlled. There again, that said, this seems like it might be worth watching. The animation is mediocre. There are quite a few personalities to track. There are conflicts, such as in the first episode the dragon hunters encounter hostility from the landlubbers they serve due to their nomadic, non-town based existence. All-in-all, as I said, it looks like it might be worth following.

Substitutes whales for dragons, hunting "dragons" is portrayed as only for eating. Even has an episode that references the annual massacre of dolphins. Again, the "dragons" get hunted because they taste good.

Tone deaf Japanese propaganda.

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!

A glorification to whales killing, dragons are just an excuse. Anyway, mediocre. It's a boring attempt with a very weak trama. At the end of every episode there is a stupid recipe, who would care? And 'the whales fly because of their big heart'. A waste of time, poor dialogues, poor environments, nothing really stand out. It's not bad, it's just so 'meh'. Unsophisticated.