Dragon Half

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Dragon Half
ドラゴンハーフ
(Doragon Hāfu)
Genre Adventure, Comedy-drama, Fantasy
Manga
Author Ryūsuke Mita
Publisher Flag of Japan Kadokawa Shoten
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Monthly Dragon Magazine
Original run March 1988 – June 1994
Volumes 7
OVA
Director Shinya Sadamitsu
Studio Victor Entertainment
Licensor Flag of the United States ADV Films
Episodes 2
Released 26 March 1993 (vol.1)
28 May 1993 (vol.2)

Dragon Half (ドラゴンハーフ Doragon Hāfu?) is a manga created by Ryūsuke Mita and serialized in Monthly Dragon Magazine from 1988 to 1994. It was adapted into a two episode anime OVA series in 1993.[1] ADV Films licensed the anime series in North America. [2]

The story follows Mink, a half human/half dragon teenage girl on a quest for a potion which will turn her into a full human so that she can win the love of the legendary dragon slayer Dick Saucer. In the manga, in order to get the potion, she must slay Azetodeth, the greatest demon in the land.[3][4]

The story (which is a parody of the Dungeons and Dragons genre) is very tongue-in-cheek, and pokes fun at a number of anime clichés,[4] most notably its overuse of super deformation and its wide range of genres in a similar way to anime such as Excel Saga. Much of the manga contains references to RPG games and occasionally either other manga or anything that begins with the word 'dragon'.

Ryūsuke Mita's favorite animal is the dragon. So several dragons play an important role in the manga, most notably Mana and her father, Titan.

Contents

[edit] The story

Mink was born to a man who used to be a skilled swordsman and a female imperial red dragon. At age fifteen, she is in love with a singer named Dick Saucer but because he is also a dragonslayer, she has no choice but to get a potion that can change her into a pure human. But only if she can slay the most powerful lord, Azetodeth and go to his place known as the Demon King's island. Not only does she have to reconstruct the gourd of the saints, an item that can seal Azetodeth, she also has to be aware of Princess Vina, her rival for Saucer's affections. Mink is aided by her friends Lufa, Pia, and a fairy mouse named Mappy, on her quest.

After so many adventures, mainly a conflict with a vampire and her four handmaidens and discovering Dick Saucer's past, Mink finally comes face to face with Azetodeth. During the fight, she chooses to remain half-human, half imperial red dragon forever.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Dragon Half characters
Mink (ミンク Minku?)
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Jessica Calvello (English)
Daughter of Rouce the Red Lightning and Mana, a red dragon, and the star of Dragon Half. She is like your typical teenager except for the fact that she is half-dragon. She can fly with wings that appear when needed, can breathe fire, and is overall very strong and resistant to most forms of damage, including poisons. She also seems to be jinxed, bringing all sorts of misfortunes to herself and anyone around her and also making herself a lot of enemies. In the manga, her main enemies are Azetodeth (AKA the Demon king), Princess Vina and King Siva.
Mink is also infatuated with Dick Saucer, the handsome dragonslayer and popstar. However, because of her half human/half dragon heritage, she is actively seeking out the legendary People Potion, which would make her fully human.
Notably, in order to eat during the quest, anything that is slain by her or the group, except Damaramu, is cooked and eaten shortly after the battle ends.
Lufa (ルファ Rufa?)
Voiced by: Mariko Kouda (Japanese), Jennifer K. Earhart (English)
Mink's best friend. She is an elf who has wonderful healing powers, but is bad at magic and has absolutely no skill with a lightning cane — she usually hits everything but the target.
Her original name is Rufa, but due to the nature of translation, both Lufa and Rufa are used (Though Rufa appears to be the more correct one). In the manga, she has a father named Link. She never mentions her mother, although later on, Link is seen with a female elf who is either Lufa's mother or a girlfriend.
Pia (ピア Pia?)
Voiced by: Taeko Kawata (Japanese), Hillary Haag (English)
A young dwarf girl who is friends with Mink, Lufa and a small mouse-creature named Mappy. Pia constantly wears body armor, due to her overly-protective parents. In the original Japanese version and manga, Pia is male but he is a sixteen-year old girl at the very end of the story.
Mappy (マツピー Mappi?)
Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki
Pia's pet fairy mouse. Mappy acts as Pia's bodyguard whilst traveling, able to transform to the size of a grizzly bear at will. This tends to deter Lufa from whacking Pia when she gets on her nerves, as Mappy often whacks Lufa straight back. He also reflects his mistress' moods; in the anime episode two he becomes dreamy-eyed just like the girls when Dick Saucer happens to come upon them, while as a mouse he shouldn't have any interest in him.
In the anime Mappy is present from the beginning, whereas the manga has him enter at the end of Volume 1.

[edit] Series concepts

[edit] The Demon King's island

A island where Azetodeth and his three sons live. This island has tall rugged rocks and is surrounded by a wall that prevents anything that goes through unless it goes into the main entrance which is difficult to find or a gate guarded by a receptionist named Suzuki who is beaten by Mink and runs off. The island is first seen at the end of Chapter 13. After making several more cameos, Mink finally gets on the island in Chapter 50. There is also a castle which is completely destroyed by Azetodeth in Chapter 64.

[edit] The Gourd of the saints

The Gourd of the Saints is a bottle that took 200 years for Mink's dragon great-grandfather to make. It was broken into three pieces which transformed into three holy artifacts 2000 years ago. The artifacts were Parza's holy grail (a goblet), Lorelo's Ball (a black ball that 'provides super-screw') and Gill's crown. The Gourd of the Saints is extremely important as it is the only one that can seal Azetodeth away.

[edit] The three holy artifacts

There are three sacred treasures required to resurrect the gourd known as the three holy artifacts(sango no jingi in the Japanese version). They are loosely based on the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Parza's holy grail represents the mirror of wisdom, Lorelo's ball represents the Jewel of Balevolence and Gil's crown represents the sword of valor. However only Lorelo's ball and the jewel of balevolence have correspond to each other and have connection with Dragon Half.

[edit] Anime

The first OVA, Dragon Half: Mink's Journey (ドラゴンハーフ～ミンク旅立ち Doragon Hāfu: Minku Tabidachi?), was released on March 26, 1993. The second, Dragon Half (Final): The Brutal Killer Martial Arts Tournament (ドラゴンハーフ(後編)～凶殺武闘大会 Doragon Hāfu: Kyōsatsu Butō Taikai?), was released two months later on May 28, 1993.

The OVA series is based on sections of the first two volumes. There were originally going to be 4 OVA episodes but there was not enough interest so only two episodes were produced.[5]

[edit] Staff

  • Original Story: Ryūsuke Mita
  • Director: Shin'ya Sadamitsu
  • Screenplay: Shin'ya Sadamitsu
  • Character Design: Masahiro Koyama
  • Music: Kōhei Tanaka

[edit] Music

The ending theme song, My Omelette, was written to the music of Beethoven (Symphony No. 7, 4th movement) and sung by Kotono Mitsuishi while in character.

[edit] Manga

Main article: List of Dragon Half chapters

The comic was released in two versions. The first was as seven standard tankōbon, and the second was a wideban release comprised of three volumes which included extra galleries and interviews with Mita not found in the original releases.[6] The manga consists of 65 chapters. After Dragon Half ended, Ryūsuke Mita created a sequel called Dragon Half Z about Mink's seven-year-old daughter Pink.

The manga is available in several countries but is only available in English as a fan scanlation. There are two reliable websites - Dragon Half in English (Last updated August 10, 2006) and Ahojed's scanlation project, the latter that started in early-mid 2006 and is updated every week and takes notes often in the form of a page added at the end of a chapter.

A example of a Ahojoed's scanlation project scanlation note
A example of a Ahojoed's scanlation project scanlation note

The most unusal thing about the manga is while manga volumes have character profiles and a blorb, Dragon Half does not, not even in the Trilogy edition! Another unusal thing is many characters fail to appear in the anime.

The artwork is also unusal; at the beginning, it was similar to Osamu Tezuka's art but starting from Volume 3, the character's designs changed and over time, they became more bishōjo/bishōnen and more detailed.

[edit] Differences between the manga and the anime

  • In the Japanese language version of the OVA and manga, the "People Potion" is called the "Pido Potion".
  • In the manga, King Siva and Rosario plan to kill Mink because she killed one of King Siva's assassins (and Rosario's childhood friend) by accident.[7]
  • Lufa tells Mink and Pia she borrowed her lightning cane from her grandfather, but in the manga she got it from a treasure chest following an innkeeper disaster.[8]
  • In the manga, Dick Saucer is 17 but in the OVA series, he is 20. Mink is 16 in the OVA but in the manga, she is 15.
  • The brutal Killer Martial Arts tournament is called The 28th Malice-Slay Championship in the manga.

[edit] Other significant differences

  • Princess Vina's hair color is purple in the OVA whilst in the manga it is pink.
  • You do not see the parents of Pia and Lufa but in the manga, you do.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dragon Half (OAV). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  2. ^ ref name="anidvd2">Beveridge, Chris (2002-09-05). Dragon Half. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  3. ^ Guder, Derek (2004-12-16). Dragon Half Essential Anime. AnimeOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  4. ^ a b Dragon Half. Animefu (2003-02-24). Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
  5. ^ Dragon Half at Anime news Network 28th February 2008
  6. ^ Mita Ryūsuke English Fan page(English)October 20, 2007
  7. ^ Dragon Half guide(does not work anymore(?)31st October 2007
  8. ^ Dragon Half Volume guide and character summary

[edit] External links

[edit] Reviews