Kûtei Doragonzu

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.

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!

It started with potential. I will say right away that I got about half way and could not handle the lack of anything interesting happening. No plot twists or anything about if they should question the killings like I sort of expected.

Or any other story development. They do that thing that I've seen in other anime where they say, "So THIS is what a _____ is". In this case it's a dragon hunter. I just feel that's quite cliche. Maybe I've watched too much anime at this point.

But back to the plot... or lack there of. It was pretty much, kill the "dragons", then eat them. Talk about the ways to eat them. Repeat each episode. How boring.

Maybe it gets better but I could not stop falling asleep so I gave up.

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.

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.