Blue Dragon - Volumes 5 & 6

Alright , alright. So it took some getting used to but, like its spiritual cousin, 'Naruto', persistence pays rewards and, despite being a bit 'anime by numbers', there's something about 'Blue Dragon' I like. Maybe it's because it's so easy to watch, undemanding and childish, but also a lot of fun; escapism in its purest form.

For the uninitiated or those who have gone hazy since my review of the previous two-disc set, here's a quick reminder of what Blue Dragon is all about. It started out life as a video-game first. Then came the manga, and finally the anime. It features a youngster (14-ish?) called 'Shu' who, as a young boy, spent a lot of time dreaming of becoming a great adventurer. When seeking out some thrills he awakens a legendary 'shadow' - the Blue Dragon of the title. Alongside his new gang (Jiro, Kluke, Zola, and Marumaro) they set off on an epic adventure, travelling across the world to confront the evil King of the Gran Kingdom, Nene, and stop him from dominating the world. And if that 'journey' sounds a bit like levels in an adventure game, that's because, to all intents and purposes, it is.
The cute character designs are by Akira Toriyama, creator of DRAGON BALL and DRAGON BALL Z, though there's certainly nothing mould-breaking about any of them.



Anyhow, back to this double-volume serving. We're now nudging the half-way mark through Season 1, which looks like it will be a 13 DVD set housing all 51 episodes. Volume 5 & 6 houses episodes 17 - 24 inclusive, as well as a few trailers (including one for mega-series 'Bleach', as well as the intriguing looking Nintendo DS spin-off game 'Blue Dragon Plus').

The series is fairly episodic so joining the party here won't make a lot of sense. For those who've joined the party thus far, here's what you can look forward to.




Episode 17: The Informant
Shu and his friends try to hire an informant to help them find the Extra Seven but are told that the informant called Homeron the Great died in battle against Gran Kingdom. However, they meet other Homerons, such as Homeron the Original, Homeron II, Homeron the Legitimate, and Homeron Jr. (I think you get the picture!) To pay for another informant, Shu heads off on his own to defeat a monster called the Gigarus and claim the reward. With the aid of the Blue Dragon manages to win the battle and the group learns that the woman that hired Shu is actually Homeron the Great after all. Who'd have thunk it!  But...and here's the Eastenders cliff-hanger - Marumaro has gone missing!  

Episode 18: The Innkeeper's Secret
This is quite a fun episode as it picks up on what actually happened to Marumaro.  He gets into a spot of comical bother when he flirts with the innkeeper's wife, and he's in even deeper trouble when it turns out the innkeeper is a Shadow Wielder who deserted the Gran Kingdom's army with the "wife" being his shadow. Whoops! However, he redeems himself somewhat when he and Saber Tiger defend them from a Gran Kingdom captain and his troops who has the innkeeper on his bounty list. Marumaro and Saber Tiger defeat them before re-uniting with Shu and the others.



Episode 19: Cave of the Phoenix
Shu and his team arrive at Flame Phoenix's ruins and Kluke disappears and ends up in the area where she first met her Phoenix shadow. She asks it how she can call upon its power again and Phoenix says that the answers lie in herself. Kluke then receives a necklace and rejoins Shu. When they find Jibral's army being attacked, they join the battle and defeat the robotic soldiers and their shadows. Shu and Co. are attacked by a giant robot so Kluke brings out her Phoenix Shadow to use as a barrier to protect everyone long enough for Shu to use Blue Dragon to destroy the giant robot.  Meanwhile, Homeron receives news the mysterious woman who stole the Extra 7 is heading west. 

Episode 20: Decoy Mission
Shu meets Homeron yet again. He reveals that the information of the Extra 7 is somewhere in Gran Kingdom's Castle Des La Teste and they will have to infiltrate it to get to its master computer. (Sounds a bit gamesy?) Zola comes up with a plan to lure the guards from Castle Des La Teste in order to rescue Conrad and get the information. As the others attack the prison, Homeron, Kluke, and Bouquet sneak into the castle. They rescue the soldiers and free Conrad. Unfortunately, they bump into Cynthia who, with the help of Lemaire start to battle with Shu and Jiro until the Blue Dragon and Minotaur arrive to weaken their attack.  


 
Episode 21: The Informant's Quest
Whew! What a lot of fighting in this episode! Conrad takes his soldiers to head to the west side to gather others that will fight Gran Kingdom. Homeron continues to look for Castle Des La Teste's master computer. Gilliam and his followers (Todd and Bishop) attack the recently-released prisoners so Marumaro and Saber Tiger battle him with Shu's Blue Dragon and Kluke's Phoenix whilst Jiro and Zola fight Todd and Bishop. Eventually Gilliam's group retreats. Oh - and Homeron finally finds out the name of the blue-haired woman who is to be Delphinium. 
 
Episode 22: Fading Beauty
Cynthia is jealous of Bouquet and sets out to destroy her. A fight on the narrow path causes everyone to fall into Death Valley. Bouquet brings out her Hippopotamus shadow to turn into a ball.  Cynthia learns from Andropov that the fog has softened the cliff sides and they can't get out.  As Andropov tries to find a way out for Cynthia, and Bouquet and Hippopotamus secretly follow her to find a way out with Bouquet leaving a trail of her clothes for the others to follow. Then Cynthia attacks...


  
Episode 23: Mission: Information
Homeron tells Shu his news about Delphinium who is a Secret Intelligence Agent from Gran Kingdom who has been responsible for the theft of the Extra 7. The group then sees some warships overhead which are from Sabalu Country. Zola says she should give them a warm welcome until she notices that the Warship Norg is amongst them and they use Blue Dragon to get Homeron on board. He then gets the information he needs to stop the Norg from crashing, and quizzes the captain in the whereabouts of Delphinium. Once he has the information, the ship begins a rather rapid descent!
 
Episode 24: The Monster in the Woods
Shu looks for the crew of the Norg in the Great Brandish Forest which is on the border of Gran Kingdom. Delphinium is also in the woods searching. They are attacked by one eyed bears with a horn. Delphinium uses her shadow to kill Homeron, and manages to escape from Blue Dragon.  The Captain of the Norg tells Shu that the Extra 7 are on General Logi's ship.


 
The overall picture quality is fine, though the animation occasionally so primitive it looks almost 'Pugwash' like.  It has none of the finesse of a hand drawn cell animation though has enough charm to get away with it.

It's a simple enough series for even ten year olds to get their teeth into, though occasionally descends into slightly saucy 'adult' humour which makes me think its target is probably slightly more mature teens and upwards. This is not a series that will appeal to mature and hardened anime fans but rather teenagers who enjoy the game(s) and / or this type of fast action, fantasy adventure.
The story, growing in its scale, is very much an epic journey, and unlike most 26 episode series this pulls in a vast 51 in its first season. So if you don't want to build up to the full 13 DVD's in the set, don't join in as it is strangely addictive, even if you don't fit the demographic!

 'Death Note' it aint, but it's fun nonetheless.