The anime adaptation of 2012’s criminally underrated video game Dragon’s Dogma dropped this week and well it isn’t the most compelling Netflix adaptation one would hope for, but it is savoury enough to hold its ground above the sea, even if that sea is incredibly shallow.Also Read: Sword Art Online Progressive Anime Adaptation Announced, New Teaser, Key Visual and More
Right off the bat, there are two things that would hold one’s attention in Dragon’s Dogma Anime adaptation. That is its soundtrack and its ability to surprise.
The show’s carefully composed orchestral soundtrack would send one’s heart racing in its most climactic moments and also calm it efficiently in its most ambient ones. The crisp sound of the shivering fire at night or the delicate flute’s melody wafting along the countryside has been done really well and it carries the weight of the show’s fantastical setting with elegance.
Dragon’s Dogma surprises with its pacing, its ability to keep one hooked till its incredibly short seven-episodes adventure. And it desperately tries too, especially if you haven’t heard or seen anything about the show or the video game it’s based on. The end of every episode gives a glimpse of what’s to come next: perhaps a new mystery, or a new enemy.
And honestly, it works. I effortlessly finished the entire season in a sitting and it’s saying a lot considering I’m not at all a binge-watcher. Its tale of vengeance and the seven deadly sins are not complex and are neither overly simplistic, however, what it wants to convey is pretty easy to grasp.
The main protagonist is Ethan, a common villager with an extraordinarily chiselled appearance( not that I’m complaining) who is marked as an Arisen, a chosen one that could slay the ferocious dragon that brought havoc to his entire village including his wife: Olivia.
Heartbroken and Heartless( literally) as the dragon eats away his heart and flies away into the horizon, Ethan is saved by Hannah, a beautiful woman known, a pawn, that are humanlike creatures whose sole existence is to aid and protect the chosen Arisen. Alongside Hannah, Ethan vowes to avenge his family’s death and goes on a journey to find and kill the gigantic crimson dragon.
Throughout their journey, Ethan and Hannah explore the precarious nature of human beings that ties directly to the seven sins. In fact, every episode is named after these sins as well and serves as the major theme of the show’s short yet decent storyline.
Along their journey, Ethan and Hannah also fight off vile creatures that are directly adapted from the 2012’s video game version. Creatures such as Cyclopes, Griffin, and the four-headed vicious Hydra were all part of the game and as fighting them was a major highlight in the game, here it feels like a missed opportunity.
First of all, the CGI of these creatures seemed like a cheap gesture to the game’s intricate creature designs from the PS3/360 era. As far as the flora and the facial textures of the different characters are concerned, well, they looked decent enough, decent enough for some tantalizing fan service every now and then.
And like every video game to series adaptation, I wished and wished that I was the one controlling Ethan and button-mashing my way out of all of the dangers.
Overall, Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma feels like a safe and entertaining short adaptation that will either compel you to replay the game and button-mash your way out of all the boss battles that Ethan fought in the show or just start afresh for the first time if you missed out on all the fuss from back in 2012.
However, if you have neither played the game nor have any interest in playing video games altogether, there’s not much you would be missing out in here. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to install the definitive version of the game on my PC.
