Netflix's Dragon's Dogma Season 1 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This is a spoiler-free review of Netflix’s Dragon’s Dogma anime series, which is based on Capcom’s fantasy RPG of the same name. [poilib element="accentDivider"] We’ve seen some remarkably successful adaptations of video games recently, such as Netflix’s own Castlevania series and the Sonic the Hedgehog movie -- but those are based on relatively linear games. The Dragon’s Dogma game, by contrast, is the polar opposite of that: Capcom’s dark fantasy RPG has a sprawling open world, dynamic combat, and detailed character customization, and it clearly presented challenges for adapting the source material into a straightforward, seven-episode anime. Having a character with a strong drive and powerful motivation is definitely an improvement over the game’s silent, empty vessel, and the animation is well done, but the quest to slay an evil dragon is both underdeveloped and meandering. Generally speaking, the framework for the plot is the same here as in the game: Ethan (voiced by Greg Chun) is a resurrected warrior who sets out to reclaim his stolen heart from the dragon (voiced by David Lodge, reprising his role from the game) who wiped out his family. Ethan’s backstory and wife, Olivia (voiced by Cristina Vee), are new creations for the show and really don’t get enough screen time. Olivia is one of the best new additions, delivering an emotionally-charged performance that adds much-needed levity during early moments and a key flashback. However, due to the purpose Olivia’s character serves, she’s barely in the show at all. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=66dfc090-dd0c-4928-87f9-8bc11c6a732a"] After the opening, Dragon’s Dogma the anime deviates from the game by naming and theming each of the seven episodes after a specific deadly sin. Most of the time this idea ends up with stories that are a bit on the nose: Naturally, Ethan battles a succubus in the episode titled ‘Lust,’ and ‘Pride’ is, of course, the final battle, featuring an ending that’s dramatically different from the game in mostly worse ways. It’s thankfully nowhere near as convoluted as the weird mashup of twist reveals, but the way it ties up the seven deadly sin allegory is entirely unoriginal and frankly anticlimactic after the spectacle of previous major fights. While I certainly appreciate the effort to establish a narrative framework around the show’s story, it comes off as a bit hamfisted. Seven 25-minute episodes just isn’t enough time to cram in all the legwork for the kind of story the writers are trying to tell here and it feels both rushed in the lack of time spent on plot development and also like a bit of a slog in how it gets bogged down with irrelevant side plots. By honing in on the minor moments along the path to fight the dragon, the anime loses the grand scope of the game’s world and misses out on memorable areas like the Everfall and Witchwood. Most side characters show up for a few minutes before dying and you’re rarely given time to appreciate who they are before being expected to care about their deaths. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/15/top-5-pokemon-show-seasons-power-ranking"] Episodes act as standalone stories in a way with big set-piece boss fights at the end in most cases with pointed lessons at the end about the folly of man, but there isn’t enough consistency. On the bright side, this means the anime is not beholden to the storyline of the game and is free to explore alternate areas of the world since the game is pretty thin on story to begin with. Plus, it helps that now we’ve got actual character development for key roles like Ethan and his ethereal Pawn sidekick, Hannah (voiced by Erica Mendez). As wonderful as Dragon’s Dogma was as an epic open-world RPG, it’s not particularly well-known for its characters and writing. With this adaptation, they’ve done a bit of leg work to remedy that. For example, large portions of several episodes depict Ethan and Hannah either traveling between cities and after battles, or interacting with other people along the way, with nothing to do but chat. It’s in these moments that Hannah became my favorite character in the entire show, thanks to a personality and independence her counterpart in the RPG was never allowed to display. She grows more affectionate and protective of Ethan over the course of the anime and is a vital foil to his hardened exterior. Fortunately, there is zero romantic development between them to muddy the waters -- that common anime misstep would have come across as forced. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Seven%2025-minute%20episodes%20%20isn%E2%80%99t%20enough%20time%20for%20the%20kind%20of%20story%20the%20writers%20are%20trying%20to%20tell."] This is where the short overall runtime feels like a major hindrance once again. There was tremendous potential here to explore how each Pawn interacts with the human world differently or at least expand on how the relationship develops other than on the battlefield. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-anime-series-on-netflix-right-now&captions=true"] It’s a wise choice to focus on the relationship between her and Ethan, and that helps ensure the show doesn’t spread itself too thin across its collective three hours. The rest of the show, though, is overflowing with nudity and sex. Nearly every episode includes graphic sex scenes, sometimes overlapping with brutal gore and blood. The dark, twisted fantasy setting is on full display here, and perhaps unshackling the world from the bounds of an interactive game allowed the more provocative material to shine here, but it does come across as a bit gratuitous in some episodes. Visually it’s quite striking, especially during the action scenes. Epic battles against iconic enemies like the cyclops, griffin, hydra, lich, and more are all on full display here and fantastically realized with gorgeous animations. Ethan’s a ferocious fighter that charges forward at full speed while Hannah hangs back to mix things up with her bow and magic. They make a good team and it’s always interesting to see how Ethan will react to meeting strangers on their journey versus how Hannah reacts. And more importantly -- noting how Ethan reacts in the first few episodes versus his attitude near the end of the adventure. While Ethan’s main quest is always the same -- defeat the dragon -- he gets repeatedly sidetracked by other objectives, which feels like a nod to side quests in open-world RPGs. I also loved subtle callbacks to moments in the game, such as Ethan pounding his shield to attract an enemy or Hannah making call-outs during fights to alert Ethan mid-battle. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/15/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer"]

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