{"id":652,"date":"2018-10-25T21:30:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T12:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/?p=652"},"modified":"2018-10-25T21:40:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T12:40:59","slug":"the-dragon-princes-first-season-lays-the-groundwork-for-an-epic-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biggestinjapan.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/25\/the-dragon-princes-first-season-lays-the-groundwork-for-an-epic-tale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dragon Prince<\/i>\u2019s First Season Lays the Groundwork for an Epic Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey everyone. Before we get started, I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his\u00a0Patreon<\/a>\u00a0donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick one 13ish episode series to be reviewed\u2013which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) This time around he chose a non-anime, the new Netflix cartoon\u00a0The Dragon Prince<\/i>. So let\u2019s get down to the review!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Dragon Prince<\/span><\/i> is set in a fantasy world where humans have been exiled to the western half of the continent after inventing their own powerful form of destructive dark magic. In the years since, humanity and the magical races have existed in a state of cold war with the all-powerful Dragon King sitting on the border between the two lands–enforcing the tremulous peace with his presence alone. <\/span><\/p>\n

But know the Dragon King is dead and his child smashed while still in the egg. Worse yet, it is the human kingdoms who are at fault. And as tensions rise, a band of elvish assassins approach one of the human Kingdoms, planning to take vengeance for the Dragon King by killing this King and his young son in kind.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Thrown into this situation we have our hero, Callum. Half-brother to the crown prince, he is a young man struggling to find his place in the world. He\u2019s royalty, but only by marriage. He\u2019s not strong with the sword nor is he particularly book smart. He sees himself as somewhere between a failure and a freeloader. <\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s clear he would do anything to repay the King\u2019s kindness for not abandoning him after the death of his mother, there is little he can do beyond being a good brother to Ezran. However, despite his perceived weaknesses, when the chips are down and action is called for, he is brave and quick-thinking–able to do far more than he\u2019d ever have imagined.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As the assassins enter the castle, he meets his opposite in Rayla. A young moonshadow elf, she is blessed with talent, accelling at everything she puts her mind to–at least in training. When it comes down to the real thing, the pressure always seems to get to her. She begins to overthink things and becomes easy to distract from her purpose. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though an assassin in name, she\u2019s not a killer–nor does she take joy in the idea of killing others. She believes in justice and wants peace more than anything. This is why when she, having cornered Callum and Ezran, discovers that the egg of the Dragon Prince was not destroyed after all, she immediately switches sides. In that moment, her own mission, to kill the King and Ezran is not justice: it is simply murder.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As the series continues and the three begin their quest to return the egg to the lands of the magical races, Callum and Rayla grow thanks to their interactions with each other. Callum discovers that his talents lie not in the sword but in magic–and not the dark kind. Rayla learns what it\u2019s like to be part of a team that will cover for your mistakes. And best of all, both have found a purpose they fully feel is right in their journey to return the egg. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other side of the story are the villains, namely Viren and his children, Claudia and Soren. Viren is the kingdom\u2019s court mage and a practitioner of the dark magics. But he is not some one-note villain. Rather he is incredibly loyal to his king–up until the moment when the king belittles and humiliates both Viren and their friendship. At that moment, he sets upon a plan to take the throne for himself and prove that he is the old King\u2019s equal. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The problem is the Viren is an extremely pragmatic man. Once he has set upon this path, he will do anything–including torture and murder–if it gets him closer to his goal. (Though it\u2019s likely that the most \u201cevil\u201d thing we\u2019ve seen him do isn\u2019t exactly what it appeared to be.)<\/span><\/p>\n

His children are likewise layered characters, despite being on the side of the devils. Soren is a strong and loyal member of the royal guard. He is also friend and teacher to Callum. Though it is obvious that he doesn\u2019t think Callum is up to his standard of what a \u201creal prince\u201d should be–more than once picking on him in full view of anyone who happened to pass by.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Claudia, on the other hand, is a powerful dark mage like her father–and that is likely where their bond comes from. She is incredibly book smart but is often oblivious to the rest of the world. She is also Callum\u2019s good friend and his longtime crush. She believes she is on a quest to rescue Callum and Ezran (along with recapturing the egg) from elvan kidnappers and has no idea that she is one of the \u201cbad guys.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The story to return the egg is one of a journey–both literally and metaphorically. This framework allows <\/span>The Dragon Prince<\/span><\/i> to be episodic even as it continues an overarching plot across episodes. Each episode, the party of heroes comes to a new location with new dangers to face and information to obtain. This, in turn, either progresses the overall journey or causes some lasting bit of character development–or both at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s really what the first season of <\/span>The Dragon Prince<\/span><\/i> is really about: introducing us to the world and characters. This is only bolstered by the mysteries in both plot and character backgrounds–both resolved and unresolved. After all, we\u2019re a season in and we don\u2019t know anything specific about major issues like Callum\u2019s past or the fate of his father. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s really captivating about the season is its last few minutes and how they turn everything we\u2019ve seen so far on its head. In the climax, the titular Dragon Prince is hatched from his egg. Almost immediately, he leisurely cuts off the band that\u2019s slowly strangling off Rayla\u2019s arm. This is shocking because Rayla has tried everything imaginable to get it off–even using a magical blade known to be able to cut through anything. All failed. But the Dragon Prince removes it like it\u2019s nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that the Dragon Prince has magical power beyond imagining. While originally our heroes were carrying an object that could stop (or start) a war, they are now carrying a WMD–and one that just so happens to be a newborn child with a mind of its own. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How our heroes raise it on their journey could have implications for centuries to come. And if that task weren\u2019t hard enough, at some point it’s going to learn that humans–specifically Ezran\u2019s father–are responsible for killing the Dragon King. The drama is practically baked in. <\/span><\/p>\n

So now that the groundwork for the world, it\u2019s magic, and the characters has been laid, the story is ready to shift into high gear in the seasons to come–And I for one am fully on board.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dragon Prince<\/span><\/i> can be seen on Netflix<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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