DRAGON-HALF
Parts One and Two
I suppose that the name DRAGON HALF has been whispered in my ear ever since its release, long ago, but the first time that I ever took a conscious look at it was during it's trailer attached to PLASTIC LITTLE.
From the first moment I saw that mad cap, zany teaser the name DRAGON HALF was etched into my mind. I immediately searched out information about this title.
Time passed.
I searched along and far to find it.
Months passed.
The journey is always more important than the reward.
Finally, I found it at rightstuf.com as I was looking for the ROBOTECH PERFECT COLLECTION 2 CD SET. It took only a few nanoseconds of thought before DRAGON HALF found its way into my shopping cart along with the out of print ROBOTECH ANNIVERSARY album.
I then had to wait again.
I placed the order.
The ROBOTECH ALBUM came on 7.20.99.
DRAGON HALF came on 7.22.99.
Pure joy spilled into my veins as I caressed the box.
I slowly inserted the white plastic cassette into my arcane VCR and watched.
There were trailers in the beginning, although the only one that I can vividly recall is for CUTIE HONEY. Wow!
So, on to DRAGON HALF.
DRAGON HALF is a mad cap slap stick rush through a satirical fantasy world.
We follow Mink through two volumes... Mink's Voyage and The Brutal Killer Martial Arts Tournament.
Here's the basics.
Mink is a dragon-half. She is half human and half dragon. Her father, the Red Lighting, was a famous dragon slayer who fell in love with a red dragon he was to kill.
The Red Lighting and the red dragon... um... make a baby.
This baby is Mink, an all too cute red head with horns, wings, and a tail. Oh yes, she has super human strength and can breathe fire, too.
The plot revolves around Mink and a famous singer / dragon slayer named Dick Saucer.
Mr. Saucer is an interesting character. Esthetically, he seems just a bit identical to Ronin Warriors's Sage of Halo / Seiji Date. The only difference? Dick's hair is just a bit longer.
Even Mr. Saucer's sure kill is a nod to Sage. His "Saucer Special" seems awfully similar to Sage's "ThunderBolt Cut".
I love it. It's a loving nod to my favorite anime series.
Now, Mink is a huge fan of Dick Saucer and tries to make her way to his concert.
Along the way, she clashes with an evil king, his evil daughter (just wait until you see her origin and true form), his evil advisor, Rosario, and his evil minions.
The king wants the Red Lightning's wife, so he concludes that if he kills Mink, she'll be his.
Just wait until you see Damaramu, his lightsabre, his rodan-esque ride named Roshi, his explanation for still being alive, his mechanical body forged by Tony the blacksmith, and Mecha-Roshi.
DRAGON HALF is a mad cap satirical thrill ride.
The evil Rosario appears out of mist wherever he goes. Spooky, huh? It is until you see that he's actually got a bucket of dry ice behind him.
DRAGON HALF is only available in the US with subtitles. I normally prefer dubbed tapes, as I feel that the subtitles take away from the art that is on screen, but I'm overjoyed that DRAGON HALF is subtitled. There is no way US voice actors could ever capture the same emotion and energy of the original Japanese ones.
There are actually two layers of subtitles. The first are footnotes from the original Japanese version. The closest thing to them in the US are pop up videos. They provide useful (and not so useful) information about the present scene.
The second layer of subtitles is just your standard English translations.
They keep going through the credits, which are wonderful.
Mink's song is nothing but complete gibberish about eggs. I guess it's the Japanese equivalent to the end theme from Fraiser.
Things heat up when, in order to get to the concert, Mink's friends offer her up for the night. Things ultimately pan out when she enters a martial arts tournament, instead.
The fighting is fierce and the victories are unexpected. Poor Saucer. Poor, poor Saucer.
The animation is wonderful. There are three distinct styles. Closeups are done with superbly detailed art. Medium shots use a more liquid and cartoony style. While, wide shots use full blown SD charas.
It all boils down to a match between Mink and little furry fellow named Dug Fin. The fighting's intense. When Dug pulls out his sabre, the Godslayer, things only go from bad to worse.
On a side note, the Godslayer's gotta be one of the most powerful blades ever forged, next to the Genesis Climber wielded by Sniper Wolf in the abandoned 'War of the Shining Star' series.
Dug strikes a crucial blow when Mink's armor (snicker, snicker) is blown apart, leaving her in a state of shock.
Mink manages a final physical strike to end the tournament.
As Mink's friends celebrate, DRAGON HALF ends just when you hope it's starting.
It's a wonderful 55 minutes that are over far too fast.
Go, see DRAGON HALF today.
You won't be disappointed.
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Peter Tatara
7.23.1999