Drifting Dragons: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Drifting Dragons: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Drifting Dragons is an action-adventure anime series. Created by Taku Kuwabara, Drifting Dragons features high-flying dragons. Distributed by Sentai Filmworks in North America and available on streaming from Netflix, Drifting Dragons has plenty of action for anime fans. Featuring original animation produced by Polygon Pictures (Knights of Sidonia, Ronja the Robber's Daughter), Drifting Dragons provides some excitement for genre fans.

Takita (Sora Amamiya) is a new recruit for the Zaza organization. Alongside his crew member Mika (Tomoaki Maeno), Takita finds himself encountering a myriad of experiences while training in his unexpected vocation. The entire crew works together to harness the valuable oils of dragons.

The dragons are seen as a goldmine for oil. The dragons are also seen as good food for the villagers. As such, the Zaza find themselves chasing after the dragons. The Zaza risk their lives to procure as much from these incredible dragons as possible. Adventures await as the Zaza rise to the challenge.

The series has decent enough characters but the personalities on display are not as interesting as on some productions. Takita isn’t as creatively developed as a character in regards to their personality. Similarly, Mika is also a cookie-cutter character in some respects: decent for what the series is but certainly not as memorable as on better productions. These characters have a modest amount of depth and it could have been a bit better in this regard.

The character designs by Kyoko Kotani (Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyō Shō) are underwhelming. The designs look a bit too artificial and lack the kind of creative wonderment that some would hope to find. The CG element is a huge reason why. The designs are simply less inventive than they might have been with a more traditional animation style. The style of these designs feels amateurish at times.

The art direction by Chihiro Omi (Ajin) simply fails to make much of an impression and is the weak point of the series. The series animation lacks the type of distinct and absorbing animation that one would possibly hope to find. Rather, the animation is often dull, unimaginative, and lackluster. There simply wasn’t much creativity in regards to the animation style and that is a major bummer. The art style is something that most viewers will find decent but it simply lacks a great creative spark.

The score composed by Masaru Yokoyama (Arakawa Under the Bridge, Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches) is one of the best elements of the production. The music certainly is effective and this is something that adds a sense of charm to the production. The score by Yokoyama has a breezy atmosphere and it has a sense of energetic fun that helps the series be more enjoyable than it might have been with a different composer. While the music can’t completely resolve or make up for some other shortcomings with the production, the score still delvers on some basic elements that make the series a little more engaging.

Written by Makoto Uezu (Assassination Classroom, Is This a Zombie?), Drifting Dragons has a decent concept and that is one of the best things going for the series. Anyone with an interest in fantasy and adventure series will appreciate that this series provides some of those genre staples. These elements certainly help provide a bit more imagination even if some other elements of the series have greater shortcomings. The results are certainly mixed but Uezu certainly provides decent enough dialogue. Considering how fantasy elements are a big part of the script, the dragons play a big role in the series. As fantasy anime goes, the series brings an emphasis to this element and it will appeal to genre fans who are interesting in this type of mythology. Though not a total home run in the scripting arena, scriptwriter Uezu does a decent enough job and this makes the story a bit more interesting.

Directed by Tadahiro Yoshihira (Knights of Sidonia: Love Woven in the Stars, Knights of Sidonia: Battle for Planet Nine), Drifting Dragons isn’t a perfect example of a well developed or ambitious fantasy-action anime. Yet the production does have some interesting creativity in the visual style of the director. A reasonably effective directing style even if the less sophisticated animation style prevents the series from looking as fluid or organic as something hand drawn would have provided. Though Drifting Dragons won’t appeal as much to everyone it will be appreciated by some fantasy audiences.

Drifting Dragons: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Drifting Dragons is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation is excellent on the release. The encoding is top-notch and there is a lot to appreciate about the quality of this presentation. Colors "pop" with considerable depth. The image looks crisp and clear during the presentation.

The action is well reproduced and the encoding capably handles the material. The presentation also benefits from one of the most important aspects of the Blu-ray disc format: higher bit-rates. Compared to streaming services, which offer video with a much more compressed stream of data, Blu-ray encodes offer a more well-rounded presentation and this release is no exception to that rule. A streaming option usually is only utilizes a fraction of the amount of data as what is provided on Blu-ray. A solid effort from Sentai Filmworks.

Drifting Dragons: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles). The lossless, high resolution audio sounds crisp, engaging, and dynamic. The surrounds are actively utilized during the presentation. This is one element that makes the series stand out.

Many anime series are limited to a 2.0 stereo audio sound design. The surround sound is well utilized to highlight the sounds of the dragons and this gives the production a more enveloping soundstage. Dialogue sounds clear and easy to understand. The score is well reproduced.

The set also is an improvement over the lossy sound quality provided on streaming services. Another major advantage is the lossless encoding. Lossless audio provides a more crisp and rewarding audio presentation.

Drifting Dragons: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release doesn't have an extensive supplemental package. This is one area where the release could have used some significant improvement. The release may have benefited from some behind the scenes featurettes, making of documentaries, or audio commentaries. Even a slideshow art gallery with colorful illustrations would have been appreciable. Instead, the release has next to no extras and the results are certainly underwhelming. On disc extras are as follows:

Clean Opening Animations (HD, 4:36)

Clean Closing Animation (HD, 1:32)

Japanese Promos (HD, 5:55)

Web Previews (HD, 6:24)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Ingress: The Animation (HD. 1:32), The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (HD, 1:37), Princess Principal: Crown Handler – Chapter 1 (HD, 00:38), and Food Wars! The Fifth Plate (HD, 1:32).

Drifting Dragons: Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Drifting Dragons isn't a classic anime in any sense of the word. The series isn't as imaginative or as creative as one might hope to find. The animation is one of the weakest elements of the series production. There is too much reliance on clunky CG animation.

There simply isn't that much to appreciate about the designs and it is lackluster. Underwhelming. On the other hand, Drifting Dragons is decent in some other respects (such as voice acting and direction).

The Blu-ray release includes an impressive high-definition presentation and this is one of the best aspects of the release. Not only does the release include a pleasing 1080p presentation, the set includes a nice lossless audio sound mix. The quality presentation provides a robust 5.1 surround sound mix.

The release doesn't include much in the supplemental department. Even despite some drawbacks to the release, fans of Drifting Dragons will certainly want to consider picking up the collection. Everyone else should consider checking it out first.