As far as light-hearted, romantic-harems go, Dragon Crisis doesn’t set out to achieve more then it physically does. What do I mean by that? Simply put, priority has been placed on producing as much pre-teen sickly sweetness as possible, rather than attempting expand the already overpopulate genre in terms of depth and innovation. Dragon Crisis doesn’t pretend to be anything more than a sit-back-and-switch-off show. At least it’s honest.
Dragon Crisis opens with a classic, the magical-girl-in-a-suitcase scenario, a red dragon named Rose. Rose appears to know Ryuji and is fanatical about him, shifting the plot focus onto the antics of living with a girl-dragon with the mind of a two year old. Sure it’s funny but it completely bypasses giving a credible explanation for why Rose was in the suitcase to begin with. From start to finish Dragon Crisis prefers to distract the audience with the big picture, the Ryuji and Rose affair, rather then taking the time to fill in the small but gapping plot holes. This half-arsed approach prevents it from excelling.
There is one main arc to open and close the show, featuring the one and only major villain, whose actual motive seems particularly disincentive, not to mention a tad clichéd. Other then being required to as the primary antagonist and for the sake of the plot, there is no real reason for him to be interested in Rose. If Onyx knows something about red dragons we don’t, isn’t the finale the place to say it? Unfortunately most characters also suffer from acting out of convenience rather then of their own accord. Unsurprisingly this is a commonplace problem when you try to shoehorn a formula.
The middle consists of several sub-stories, primarily to connect another magical girl into Ryuji’s life. This introduction process starts to become tiresome pretty quickly, considering most characters tend to resort to the same tactic of attacking Ryuji first, asking questions second. The show is almost incapable of progressing without (literally) dropping a magical girl into our laps. In a sense there is no real commitment, just a series of half-hearted attempts to expand the cast and ultimately Ryuji’s harem. This is just sloppy storytelling, pure and simple.
In addition, the fact that Ryuji even has a harem gets increasingly difficult to swallow. As the leading male, in theory there should be plenty of room for him to grow as a person. Initially Ryuji is blander then a beige dishtowel and somehow manages to maintain the same level of dullness throughout the show. The only female fancy that feels halfway believable is that of equally drippy classmate, Misaki, but even this crush feels staged when Misaki recalls her first encounter with Ryuji and most treasured memory. While an explanation is later given for Ryuji ‘magnetic’ personality, it seems to cover dragons but not humans nor the wolf girl, so it’s hardly concrete. Interestingly this concept is actually quite appealing, but frustratingly before it’s even given a chance to develop, it’s immediately rejected in the next episode. The writing on this show is such a big flop.
Obviously the main romantic couple are Ryuji and Rose, despite having zero chemistry. For a large portion of the show, their relationship appears entirely one sided, while Ryuji appears to humour Rose and her constant declarations of love, yet regarding them with some embarrassment. Although a male teenager, Ryuji is unduly chaste, never showing romantic interest in any of the growing number of girls flocking towards him. Until the finale that is, when the plot needs him to man up and kiss Rose. Honestly the entire show has been so formatted that even the inevitable couple feels clinical and contrived.
Dragon Crisis is enjoyable, especially if you like light-hearted, fluffy anime that ultimately doesn’t go anywhere. Its fun, it’s bright and it’s cheerful, so there is potential to be easily drawn in. However the overall premise suffers from lack of sufficient thought, planning and of course, creativity. This is entirely a surface anime, what you see is entirely what you get – one long cliché. As long as you go in knowing this, you won’t be too disappointed.
Rating: 5/10
