Ranked #741

Tower of Druaga - the Aegis of Uruk

Its really hard to tell where GONZO is going with Druaga. The first episode of Druaga is the funniest (and probably the best) first episode of any anime I have seen. It starts off with an RPG-style party (a sword user, an archer, etc) with the aim of climbing the Tower of Druaga to defeat the evil Lord Druaga There was me thinking 'Oh no, the lame shounen of this season', however that all changed quickly. The rest of the episode is about the protagonist's (Jil) journey to climb to the top, and the comic manor it all happened. The not-so-slapstick comedy in this anime has been somewhat refreshing and different to anything I've seen before, which is the reason for the 10 for enjoyment.

However, this actually turned out to be a dream, and from episode 2, it became more serious. The rest of the series continues the party's journey to the top, with less jokes along the way, but ones that will make you uncontrollably laugh nevertheless. Sometimes there are really hilarious episodes, and sometimes more sober-sided ones, which is why I can't really tell where this series is going and why I have given a 7 for story (sometimes the serious episodes aren't that interesting).

The art is average for this day and age, and likewise with the music (though the opening is very misleading as it shows the characters in modern school uniform, when this is set in medieval-ish times - though this raises the theory that these people could be playing an RPG all this time, like .hack, as it is very game-like with the parties, monsters, maps/levels and the different classes). I do however, like the characters in Druaga; there are no lame characters (the shy one, the overly-clever one) and its epically good there's no 'the-useless-one' of the party; they all seem to have a purpose.

All in all, a very amusing, but peculiar, anime which is showing good potential. I just hope it doesn't end with the 'power of love' saving the world. read more

It would appear GONZO seem to think they can use their unique release format to gloss over the fact this series is riddled with flaws. There are three experiences to be had from Druaga, a hilarious comedy one, a somewhat below average action one and a dire fantasy one. It is literally a lottery as to which genre will be dominant in each episode.

The storyline couldn't possibly be any more generic; explore dungeon, defeat evil boss, find legendary treasure etc., its not even well executed. When its not being generic, it's being downright predictable, major plot points are seen coming a mile off. The pacing is atrocious, the characters will spend multiple episodes in floors relatively close to each other then magically be much further in the dungeon just so the series can finish within the episode count. Much of which is taken up by almost filler like pointless episodes that do nothing to progress what little plot there is (episode 6 in particular). GONZO have tried to justify this shambles by confirming a second series to continue the storyline, but such a weak reason doesn't excuse this mess. A real shame after a genuinely fantastic opening episode, that made it look like the series wiould break a lot of these clichés, sadly it fails. If the storyline can't even meet its own expectations, what chance does the viewer have?

Animation is top notch, nice to see GONZO are still capable of doing something right. Very impressive scenery and backgrounds throughout the series, with some solid, likeable character designs. The enemies are also (for the most part) very well designed.

The audio is another highlight, very nice opening and ending themes that fit the series well enough. The background music is good enough and usually appropriate to whatever is going on. Voice acting is another strong point, with an impressive display from the seiyuu's.

Character wise, Druaga once again fails to live up to its own expectations, the cast is initially nothing short of excellent; likeable characters with interesting personalities, unfortunately there is next to no character development in he entire series, kind of to be expected when there are more characters than episodes though. Once again the excuse "it'll be fixed in the next series" isn't valid in an analysis of this series. As a result of little character development, it is hard for the viewer to get attached to the characters and the dramatic scenes lose much of their impact.

Druaga remains an enjoyable enough experience despite these flaws, thanks mostly to comedy episodes, but it can be a genuine atruggle to get through some of other episodes. The comedy episodes if reviewed individually would get nines and tens, whilst the rest of the series would get between four and seven. It keeps the viewers attention with the promise of better future episodes, which is sort of admirable. It'd be a lot better if it were a 26 episode series, that'd allow fleshing of the plot and characters as well as removing the rushed feel to the series. Worth a watch regardless. read more