Dragon Half

The early and mid 90's were probably the golden age of mindless comedy in anime as far as my viewing goes. A lot of it was just as hit and miss as any other period of time, but the field was vast, filled with various styles of comedic offerings, like Compiler and Junk Boy. Dragon Half is one of these, an OVA parody of RPGs and fantasy adventures, and is the best of the sub-genre I've seen to this day, without a close second.
The plot is incredibly simple, but it's all the motivation a comedy needs. Something as easy as a half dragon ... who wants to win the affections of a super pop star who slays her kind in his off time by becoming human is just absurd enough to rank very high on a comedy scale. Getting into a comedic show for a plot is asking for trouble, and you might rob yourself of fun. So, it's about as easy as The Little Mermaid-er, Dragon, as Mink and her friends make a complete mockery of the adventure genre. It deserves it after giving me Those Who Hunt Elves.
Character designs are really cute and vibrant, with virtually every cast member shifting between vaguely serious mode to wacky chibi in a matter of frames. The show spends most of the time in super-deformed mode. It's hammered down your throat, but this was back when chibi characters using physical comedy was still pretty damn funny and fresh to me before becoming a fairly predictable and stale novelty that it is today. The animation is mildly dated, but still looks pretty great with Production I.G, as the visual gags and dialouge are perfectly timed, making the best out of SD characters and a silly script. I loved them all, from Mink's completely perverted father, to Vina and her father, including his assistant. As well as Damaramu, who was Kamina from Gurren Lagaan for his time, only 5000 times funnier and more enjoyable to me.
The English dub is one of my favorites, including some of ADVs best best talents from the mid 90's like Marcy Rae as Mink's mother, the fantastic Brett Weaver doing what he does best; voicing a loud-mouth buffoon as Damaramu, and Jessica Calvello (A woman who needs more work) as Mink. Probably the only English dubbed animes I've found this funny were GTO and Azumanga Daioh. The ending theme is very, very catchy as well, I believe it's singing about breakfast. God, I dig it so much.
IN CLOSING: This is a rare treasure. It's from a different era of satire, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea for younger veiwers. Probably the biggest drawback against it being a satisfying experience is that the manga continues the story, so you might feel a little gipped when the OVA just abruptly ends. Even above and beyond that, it's almost comedy perfection that does little wrong and is probably only hurt by the passage of time and the fan's palette for what defines a farce. It's earned a permanent, golden plaque on my shelf as one of the funniest things I've ever seen come out of Japan.
P.S. Sorry for sounding like an old man again in my reviews.

STORY: 6
ART: 9
SOUND: 8
CHARACTERS: 10
ENJOYMENT: 10
OVERALL SCORE: 9 out of 10

PROS: Fantastic retro satire, Dungeon & Dragons-inspired parody, a pioneer of the chibi-SD humor, great ADV English dub,
CONS: Lack of continuation might dampen experience, out of date style of comedy might not sit well with younger audiences

Note: this is a review of the R1 DVD released by ADV films. That includes the English dub and Extras. Enjoy ;)

"Dragon Half" is a little OVA, that does a lot more then I ever thought it could. It's not the deepest most profound anime, and it's not the most exciting thing to watch either. But it's got some wild and crazy characters, and it's laugh out loud funny. Sure it's a little stupid, and a bit shallow. But it's a cute show, and hey I LOVE the dub.

Plot/Story - 7

This little OVA series takes place in your standard "sword and sorcery" fantasy realm, ... and although it's not original, it gives the series a bit of an edge. It's a great setting for a comedy in my opinion. Also it does have a bit of a twist, like for example some non-coventional stuff will apear from time to time. Anyway this anime is about Mink and her friends trying to get tickets to this concert. Yes they have concerts ther ein this fantaysy world, and the guy Mink wants to see is some famouse idol, who sings all around the land, and fihghts bad guys, and does everything else. He's quite the hot shot, and "big thing" going at this time. Mink's a huge fan. The King of this land has it out for her, however, and wants nothing more then for Mink to be dead! He wants to marry her mother, and will do whatever it takes. For some reason he thinks if he does away with Mink, it will make this much easier on him. Her mother is a dragon by the way, and she's still married to her father, a knight who slays dragons. Yeah a match made in heaven...or hell :P. Anyway the King and his men try to capture/kill Mink, Mink doesn't seem to notice much and wants to go to the convert, her friends join her, hijinks ensue. It's a very simple story, but one that works. Later Mink ends up in this huge tournament/fight against some of her enemies, and that's where you will really start laughing your but off! The story is interesting, and never boring, thats for sure. Crazy things keep happening, at yet the story still moves along. And the ending is also quite fun. The show is very light hearted, goofy, and stupid at times, yet never too dumb. It may not be a smart show, but the way it does everything makes you feel dumber then the show is. This is a plus in my book. Also when everything is over, you get to see Mink with her top off. Not sure if this is good or bad, but you do. As Matt Greenfield so blunty puts it (in his commentary track) "And there's the fanservice. The reword for watching it to the end ;) ". Boobies and humor. Yes this show has it all folks.

Usually when/if I review a comedy I'll try and describe the type of humor (slapstick, dialogue based, character based, parody, satire, puns, nonsensical, etc), but trying to pin down the type of humor in "Dragon Half", is like trying to pin down a tiger. It won't be easy, it's crazy, and you will probally fail trying. So I'll just say that "Dragon Half" is incredbly fast paced, and very very funny. To try and get you to understand what type of humor this is perhaps this will help. Greg Ayres once called it "Excel Saga...before we had Excel Saga". So yeah...think about that one. I think that works quite nicely. This show outright paradies many different fantasy tropes in anime. It makes fun of a lot of things, and it also makes fun of its self. It doesn't "reference" any shows in perticular (that I noticed), but it makes fun of common fantasy themes. It's also completly random, and makes no sense. Yeah there's a story, and it ends. But nothing you will watch will make any sense at all. This show is incredbly surreal. Laugh as things that make no sense happen in weird ways! I know I did! Much of the humor is slapstick, but not in an anoying way. There is some great wordplay once in awhile (and I must compliment ADV Films for the great script), and off the wall stuff happening constantly, and the dub really makes everything 10 times funnyer. You can tell ADV had fun dubbing this one. Anyway yeah the type of humor in this changes with the mood, although it tends to stay clearly on the "stupid" side of the humor equation. So yeah no real witty remarks, or intelligent satire. Just plain, dumb, (but FUNNY) jokes. And it's not even high brow stuff. It's not offensive, but this isn't "Jokes with Einstein" either. Oh and although all the characters are stupid, even they laugh at Damaramu for being an idiot. He's one of the "bad guys" out to get Mink for the King. And you should too, because he's pretty stupid, yet funny. He keeps saying his own name when he talks, not because it makes him sound tough. But because if he didn't he'd forget his own name. Yeah dumb as a herde of snails, running right into a pile of salt.

Art/Animation - 6

This is an OVA, and so I judged it as one. Despite being an OVA, it seemed to have gotten a rather poor budget. It has aged quite a bit by today's standards. Comedy seems to never get the big budgets, but boy did they save on this one. It's not bad or anything, but the animation is rather average. It does it's job, with all the crazy and random things happening, but it is nothing to write home about either. The art is nice looking, although rather plane and undetailed, even for 93. It has some cute character designs that I really liked. And the color palette is very nice, incredbly bright, full of like, and cheery. A little TOO colorful at times, but I liked it. The backgrounds are rather average and plane looking.

Also I must bring up the fact that the characters are constantly changing from super deformed (aka Chibi form) to regular anime form throughout the show. They do a good job at this, although they didn't blow me away either. It was a great choice however, and I admire the effert. It works with the crazy pace of the show, and the just so bizarre and outlandish nature of it all.

Sound (Music & Dub) - 9

Music

The background themes, when played are quite good. Light hearted, poppy, and very cute. But where this series shines is in it's AMAZING ending theme. "Watashi no Tamagoyaki" is a crazy pop song verson/remix of a famouse Beethoven song. Yeah they don't mess around here. On top of that you have the meaningless, nonsenical lyrics such as " Pappara funi-Funi Papparu hoe-hoe" song with such effert, feeling, and enthusiasm that you can't help but love it. It's so in your face, it's so cute, it's so fluffy, yet it all sounds very nice. This si the type of song you will get stuck in your head, and never be able to sleep. Yet you won't care because the song is so catchy.

Dub

Dragon Half was dubbed in 2002 by ADV Films, in their Houston studio (Amusement Park Media, although its been known as a lot of things over the years. They keep changing the damn name I have no idea what they called this studio back in 2002. Anyway I rank it as one of, if not THE top ADR studio in North America). This is an anime ADV released sub-only YEARS before hand, and was known in some circles as "un-dubble" just because of how fast paced it was, and how much is going on. According to the commentary track, this was dubbed around Christmas, so they could have the largest talent pool possible (many actors who moved away come back for the Holidays). Also they seemed to have wanted Jessica Calvello to play the lead, and by this time she had already moved to New York City. Greenfeild (the ADR Director) said they could have dubbed this whenever, but he waited until it could have a great dub, as best as they could do. And I must say I am truly glad they waited to dub this. As this is one of the funniest dubs out there. First the casting of Jessica Calvello as Mink...dead on! I love her in this role. She's perfect in every way. Not that Mink is a very difficult charcter to "get", but I really can't picture anyone else playing her. Also Amanda Winn Lee as Vina, the main bad girl and the King's Daughter, was another brilliant casting. She is truly funny in this. Like I fell off my stea with some of the stuff she says. Hilary Haag as Pia, one of Mink's friend, was another great choice. She fits these "little, tiny and silly" characters quite well.

As far as the performances go, Not sure what I can say really. This isn't a Shakespeare play, it's a lowbrow comedy, off the wall anime, with lots and lots of crazy dialogue. But as far as comedies go, I dare you to find a better acted one out there. This show's dub is just great, truly top grade! I just love how insane everyone is. The main cast, the small roles, the one line guys, everyone does a great, no wonderful job. And as I already said, Jessica Calvello is amazing in this. You can tell she had a lot of fun with it. No one out there could do what she did with this one here. Also shout out to Tiffany Grant, who plays a small, but important character from the second episode. She gives Dug Fin, this small magical critter, such a cute, yet mean spirited voice, that you just gata love it. Everything she says will have you rollying on the floor laughing. Aaron Krohn as the idol Mink wants to see, Dick Saucer, is so OVER THE TOP, you will smile. You will just totally get this guy, every bit of him. He did a great job as Kaji in Eva, and you can tell this was no fluke. He's a real fit for these types of characters in my opinion. In fact you can tell a lot of thought went into the casting of this show. And Greenfield's mark is all over this one. I expect the best from him, and I got nothing less then that. One of the best ADR directors in the biz.

Enjoyment - 9

This is very subjective, as if this humor style doesn't work with you, you probally won't like this show very much. But I can't help but to love it. I laughed, I laughed,I kept laughing, I laughed some more. It's really a fun, enjoyable, and cute little OVA. I'm glad it didn't overstay it's welcome, as two episodes is more then enough. Anymore and the jokes would get stale, it wouldn't be able to keep up with it's fast paced nature, and the characters could get anoying. But as this is it's perfect. In fact all of the characters are likeable and cool, even the truly stupid ones. That takes some good writing, because sadly many times the truly DUMB characters get anoying fast. Not so here. Now the show is kind of hallow, shallow, and devoid of anything more then joke after joke really. But I feel the crazy characters get me though that. They're not really deep, or very well developed, but their likeable, and you enjoy watching them.

Extras:

Commentaries can sometimes be the most boring thing ever, or the best extra feature on the DVD. Luckily for us, the latter is true for this one. Matt Greenfeild the ADR director, and one of the head honchos at then-ADV Films (now Section 23) is main voice you will be hearing. And he actually talks in debth about the this very shallow show, and explaisn the dubbing process. His wife, and voice actor Tiffany Grant (who has an important role in this) joins him. And he tried to talk matter-of-factly about the show, but he really can't because it's so funny. Ok maybe because I'm a nerd, and fan of Greenfeild, or perhaps because this commentary track is truly funny, either way I found I really enjoyed this.One of the better commentaries out there by far. Not only is it interesting and informative, but it's also very funny. It's like if your up for more laughs after watching the show, put this on to kill another hour. Now it's not as good as his commentary on "Puni Puni Poemy" but it's still very good. (In the commentary for "Puni Puni Poemy" he tries to talk about the show, but CAN'T because the entire cast is there with him, and everyone is constantly saying something laugh out loud funny. This constant struggle between Greenfeild trying to talk in debth about another very shallow show, and everyone just goofing on the show is really an undrescrible listen. It's one of my favorites! Very enjoyable. In fact funny/more interesting then the show its self, at least for that OVA). So in short, give the commentary a listen if your a dub fan. It's one of the better ones out there.


Final Vertic:

This is a very shallow, and stupid show. But it's also very very funny. It's humor is hard to pin down, and you never know what it's ganna do next. The fantasy setting is a plus, and the characters while, 2 dimensional, are very likeable (even the bad guys and stupid dudes). The dub is one of the best for a comedy, and you will be on the floor with this one. The show may be a little too crazy and fast paced for some, but it's weird nature is something I couldn't help but love. Also Beethoven ending theme for the win! And boobies. First they try and hide them, but then they show all. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it's boobies.
Yeah...watch this crazy show. It's well worth the price of the DVD.

Just to preface, I would have rated "Dragon Half" a 10/10 if it were even one episode longer, the show simply isn't complete. I wish I could go back in time, rob a bank, and then buy buttloads of VHS and LD to fool the studio into producing more installments (and then hopefully figure out a way back to the future to avoid prosecution). I love this show!! I even feel that it makes the world a better place with its good-natured silliness. But animating shows isn’t cheap…

…And it is possible that coming hot on the heels of the classic "Record of Lodoss War" OVA, ... but before the perennial 90’s staple "The Slayers," that Dragon Half’s screwball envisioning of the anime/high fantasy world simply got lost in the mix. It is shame, as the manga was fairly long lived (Update: I have read it now!) and could have supplied at least a few more adventures. One can find the show’s kindred spirits in stuff like "Ultimate Teacher" and of course "Excel Saga," but "Dragon Half" is still a shining gem that old-school headz likely love already and younger peeps should give a chance.

As you may have surmised, this joint is funny. and not always in the usual anime manner either. The creative staff were clearly fans of Merrie Melodies/Looney Toons tradition: mallets, rope-weights, X-Lax and other tricks out of the Warner Bothers playbook are thrown in with hilarious results. And where else can you get a “sinister royal vizier” who uses dry-ice to make his dramatic entrances? If you know, please DM me RIGHT NOW.

What really sells this pair of OVAs are the lovable and well designed characters that are expertly used by the screenplay and voiced to perfection. Our heroine Mink is a bucket of fun (voiced by none other than Sailor Moon herself, Kitono Mitsuishi, and Jessica Cavillo, who seems to be training for her throat-murdering work as Excel). Think Judy Jetson if she was also a half-dragon wrecking ball. Mink follows the proud tradition of anime girls who are harder than steel and not always aware of their strength. It is a trope that I like, and she could hold her own against the likes of A-Ko and the mighty Diacon-Girl if the need arose. The supporting cast are equally awesome, and feature Princess Vina, a stuck-up fire-mage with a (hilariously) tragic past, the doofus warrior Damaramu, who has a “compact brain,” and the perfectly named Dick Saucer, who is somehow both a teen idol and a chivalrous dragonslayer. Saucer also is the object of affection for most of the female characters, and has to balance his duty as a warrior along with entertaining his legions of adoring fans. Mink and Vina, of course, are among those fans.

Visually, the show is awesome, showcasing highly fluid and dynamic battle scenes alongside adorable and goofy “chibifications” of the characters when events go awry. And these two styles are tied together seamlessly, not a simple task. At the same time, many of the backgrounds are a little simplistic, but work because they keep the focus on the characters. Even so, a prospective viewer should keep their eye out for any sight-gags not immediately obvious. Of course, when watching anime featuring scantily clad females, one can just FEEL the loving attention paid to their bodies by the animators. As the titular dragon-half leaps about the screen, we see that the pen and paint jockeys took care in telegraphing her gainaxing whenever possible and making sure that her bikini-bottom is visible from all sorts of compromising angles. Princess Vina and Mink’s friend Lufa get affection from the camera as well. Extra-kudos for the “generous” proportions of the female character’s lower-halves. It is cool to see a Japanese character designer who enjoys the booty and thighs. I digress.

As stated before, this series is incomplete. It’s pretty upsetting how we are left hanging after the awesome “Brutal Killer Martial Arts Tournament.” Seriously, mega-bummer. We never get to find out who Azetodeth the Warlock is or if Mink can win over her beloved Dick Saucer. What isn’t upsetting is that the show has survived in the fandom over the years with several reissues. And the long awaited release of the manga in English is terrific. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Or if you take yourself too seriously…don’t.

**More extra points for the best song about omelets ever conceived***

Story:
In all honesty, there isn't one. Well, there is, but it's not the focus. The comedy is the focus. So, is it funny? Heck yeah! I had a blast watching Dragon Half and the biggest joke of all is that nobody ever picked this show up for real. First off, why are there only 2 episodes? Ridiculousness, I say! RIDICULOUSNESS!!

Are there drawbacks with a weak story and an intense focus on comedy? Sure, cause I forget mostly everything, but I do know that I had a great time watching and can't wait to show a friend or two when I get the chance.


Art:
Impressive animation that ... goes very well with the comedic theme of the show. I just wish everyone's outfits were a little less... provocative. Beyond that, I felt everything looked pretty great, characters each had significant differences, and the show itself was as enjoyable to watch as it was to laugh at.


Sound:
I can't remember a dang song from the show but I recall the VA work being quite excellent. Everyone's voices were all over the place and really helped sell some of the jokes, puns, etc.


Character:
Since it's a comedy, you can't expect characters with a lot of depth. That said, everyone sells their part well when it comes to the comedic department.


Enjoyment:
This is one of those gems you come across when you're perusing short anime you wanna watch just to increase your 'completed' list. Highly recommend watching solely for the comedy, though. This was pretty dang fun and I'm eager for another watch sometime down the road.


((If you liked this review, feel free to check out my others! I review most manga and anime I finish!))

The story of Dragon Half was surprisingly original for a comedy anime. It is very short, but it sets up a ton of hilarious events that resonate great with the tone of this series which is a very lighthearted comedy. This anime also does well in parodying common tropes of medieval stories which was great.

The art and sound are fine overall. I do like the unique art style which really ressonates with the comedy of this anime.

The characters of this anime are excellent at making the audience laugh for this anime. The characters are very silly, but ... their motivations are well done. I thought this series was very enjoyable overall in which it had the funniest tornament arc of all the anime I seen so far. Overall, this anime is definitely a hidden gem retro anime that I would reccomend to any fan of comedy in general. It is very short, but definitely worth the time to watch!

This is a good thing to watch if you want a good laugh. Being only two episodes the whole story does get across, even though the plot does tell you over and over what it's about. This particular anime is mainly good for laughs.

A young girl born to a dragon mother and a former dragon-slaying father becomes infatuated with pop-singing dragon-slayer Dick Saucer. Unplanned interventions occur when the dragon-half girl and her friends set out to attend his concert.

Dragon Half is a short 2-part dumb-fun comedy with lascivious undertones. The humor is mostly slapstick, the circumstances in which the characters find themselves are often absurd, and the story is ridiculous. The animation fluctuates by the scene, caricaturizing its own characters and oversimplifying their designs, and then shifting back to fully illustrated; the animation itself is good. The writing is parodical of the fantasy/adventure genre, picking on classic tropes ... and characterizations.

Somehow, this very brief OVA has bundled adventure, villainy, rivalry, fan service, a tournament arc, a love interest (and the subversion of mutual attraction), and a myriad of classic fantasy elements into 40some minutes of runtime. It is a whacky and somewhat amusing ride, though a lot of the gags would appear to be simple compared to what else has been released in the past 30 years.

If you are seeking a quick fantasy comedy with low viewer investment required, I recommend Dragon Half. It is short, simple, and stupid fun. It does nothing outstanding, but nothing wrong either.

You know, as a general rule in anime, OVA series that are 1 or 2 or even 4 eps long are quite simply..Crap.

But as is not so often the case there are some rascals out there that manage to not only break that rule but produce to the world something amazing, something that is worth watching.

This little blast from the past is possibly the best comedy show I've seen in a great long while and maybe i'm wrong here, but i think it has to do with the fact that it's only 1 hour of pure fun.

I mean take this for a-somewhat-story! Half dragon girl…Dragon ... slayer…And a dude named Dick Saucer. i do really believe that someone was on some very very naughty stuff when writing this but i don't care a bit..In fact i want to meet the whole team that made this possible and have some old school time fun with prostitutes, drugs and silly anime.

Back to the story, a dragon slayer and a dragon fall in love…Now before you say AWWwwwwwww or anything like that i need to remind you that despite what this anime wants you to believe having fiery sex with dragons is not only illegal but cruel to these noble animals. Well the dragon slayer not only fucked the creature but also impregnated her which resulted to a half dragon daughter, Mink. Like most female teens everywhere in the world she tends to have a crush on pop idols..Enter our pop idol and her fated enemy Dick Saucer and my god what a beautiful lad and what a name..Strikes fear into the hearts of maidens.

As the "plot" thickens we learn that there is another pervert in town..Namely the king of the land who wants to take his revenge against the fellow bestiality enthusiast(the father of Mink) and have the female mama dragon for himself..So basically the king tries to kill the father to become the rightful dragon fucker and Mink is trying to find the magic “People Potion” which will make her all woman cause as it seems Sir Fucksalot is the only one not into dragon pussy.

At this point you might think that this sounds a lot like another kids story...I think it was called "Pinocchio"..You know, he wanted to be a real boy so that he could join the fun the other kids had..It's a sad story really but what pinocchio lacked was fan service and that was the main reason it never really caught on. But Dragon Half has fanservice in spades and thank lord for that..Who came here for the story anyways?

Which brings me to this..What is this anime all about then?

I trully believe it was made to poke fun at all the anime being made that time period, with its' weird characters and weird animation and even more weird music...It's a giant orgy of parody,hysterical laughter..Who gives a fuck about the animation? It doesn't need great animation! It works like a charm for this show and the characters themselves are quite well developed considering this is 1 hr long.

Should you watch it? Hell yes and if you don't i'll smack you silly.

When going into this OVA knowing ADV’s track record it was going to be bad, however after watching this I loved it was pissed that there were only 2 episodes. Let me get this out of the way, don’t take it seriously assholes it’s a comedy. Its humor while at times off the walls it’s incredibly fun to watch. If you’re going to watch it I recommend the English dub as opposed to the subs as the English voice acting is surprisingly good.

Animation:
The animation to me is a mixed bag. While most of the non-human characters look fine, the human looking ones have derpish ... faces, likely intentional at that. Also many of the woman’s faces are weird elongated at times.

Characters:
This aspect of an anime is important as if you don’t have characters we like your anime will fall flat, Dragon Half doesn’t have this issue. I’m astonished this ova gave us characters like this. Even the main character while some may consider her annoying at times is very fun to watch. The characters in this ova can range from demon warlocks like Doug Finn or musical sensations like Dick Saucer (yes that’s his actual name) and he has his own theme song.

Overall:
Like I said before I had no expectations for this OVA going into this and was pleasantly surprised. If you’re looking for a funny off the walls ADV dub with likable characters then this is for you. However if your that one guy who watched attack of the killer tomatoes was stupid for all the wrong reasons then don’t watch this anime.

Picture this. A Dragon and a Human fall in love and have a child. Yep that is basically the premise of this story.

It is a very simple concept and I found it so enjoyable, I went into this BLIND. And what I took away from this was buying the manga along side it. This OVA was so wild and insane, it goes a mile a minute and if you get overwhelmed easily this can be a lot to take in. Basically a Dragon Girl is a teenager who attends pop concerts and wants to become a human again because is mocked by everyone she meets ... along the way for being a Dragon Half.

It seems stupid but I understand the feeling of being unwanted by society, what I did not expect was the insane stuff that happened afterwards. It really feels like something you should watch with a group of friends, I still find it...odd as it relies on that one word: "Fan-service" especially with a teenager. That screams screwed up to me.

Just try it and hey you may personally like it.

Dick Saucer is the best name for a character ever, hands down.

Story:
Dragon Half is a fantasy parody, plain and simple. This is all about the jokes and not so much about actual adventure. Back in the early 90s fantasy was more about D&D stuff than what we get to see today and it plays with all the clichés. The two OVAs are episodic in nature and while there is somewhat of a goal (the concert), it's just an excuse for the plot to revolve around Mink, Dick (hihi) and the others. For a comedy, that's all you need, provided you are able to work with ... it. Dragon Half is more slapstick oriented, which is not my favourite kind of comedy, but I don't mind it either. What I missed however was any kind of ending. It appears that more episodes were planned but never came to be.
8/10

Art:
Simplicity in comedy is not at all unusual and works well most of the time. Dragon Half takes simplicity to new heights though. Even for 1993, this is very...whatever the opposite of visually amazing is. The times a character is drawn "seriously" can probably be counted on one hand. At times I started to wonder if Mink ever had feet to begin with or if that was just the way she's drawn right now. It's still above ugly, but you might be appalled by the quality.
3/10

Sound:
You can tell the voice actors had a lot of fun recording their lines. They also did a really well job, since most characters have a serious and a joke voice, so it's basically twice the work they did. The background music is stereotypical fantasy fanfare, which contrasts nicely with the slapstick sound effects. The ending song is awful in a funny and cute way and quite the earworm.
9/10

Characters:
They are all jokes, no exception. While they are not as clever parodies as the characters in Konosuba for example, they still work. Mink is the one closest to normal, a likeable, happy-go-lucky girl who just wants to see her beloved Dick (hihi) in concert. They're all funny and that's what counts (not that you could give them much depth in two episodes anyway).
7/10

Enjoyment:
I had a good laugh with this, even though some jokes are a bit dated, which is to be expected in a comedy that is more than 20 years old. The artstyle looks horribly dated, which will undoubtly put off many people from giving Dragon Half a chance. But if you're into slapstick and you don't demand an artistic masterpiece, you should be able to have an amusing hour with this.
7/10

Overall:
6.8/10

The 90s OVA laid claim to some of the wackiest, experimental shows the anime industry had release thus far. This period wasn’t quite as sensational and over the top as the wild West of the 80s, and although much of the OVA market at this point was made up by industry veterans and they were the ones deciding to throw ideas to the wall and see what sticks, the OVA shorts affected by the economic decline still had some hidden gems not often discussed in most modern otaku internet threads. Normally, if it was an anime original, under appreciated manga, light novel, or even literary ... adaptation it would be made as an OVA. One such example is Dragon Half.

Dragon Half was once meant to be a four episode OVA but then, ironically taken the title literal, and halved the planning into two episodes instead. This was unfortunately another incident related to budget and interest from the higher ups. Despite the concern of adapting a couple arcs of this show into two episodes (even after the knowledge in assumed issues that come from only having four episodes originally), they made it work. These episodes are not anything extraordinary in terms of a suspended payoff you could only get from a story set in the span of 12 or 24 episodes, but they are simple fun and enough to care about the characters. Out of the OVAs I’ve watched from this decade, this one is a personal favorite of mine.

Comedy is the key component of this show. Part of the enjoyment of Dragon Half stems from recognizing the RPG parodies and overall nonchalant take on being a teenage girl who is half dragon and the pressures that come from it. Mink is that girl. She is the daughter of a dragon mother and human father. She’s a fangirl over her celebrity crush Duck Saucer, a pop star who also happens to slay dragons, something Mink happens to be. To combat this she wishes to turn into a human to remove this conflict form ever taking place before she meets and marries him, hopefully. Some hijinx occur from this and it becomes more of an ill fated romance (maybe quite literally), but this isn’t a shock or deal breaker for Mink as she kind of expects it. She’s also very aloof and stubborn which certainly seemed to add a mental block between that problem.

If you thought Dragon Maid was the start of cute dragon-humans trying to fit in with society, realize Dragon Half was the precursor to that. This show was no short of ecchi moments, and although comedy governs most of the writing, never did those lewder moments feel like I was being pandered to. The funnies came first here people. In fact, I’d even argue those moments were done more tastefully and at “earned” checkpoints of the show. It’s just a nice bonus to those who enjoyed what they were laughing at and hope to check out the manga after these episodes.

You can find these two episodes on YouTube and will be the first to pop up too. If I were you, do what I did and knock these two episodes out of the way and log in the progress made on here. The parodies, the chibis, the RPG elements turned inside out, they’re all there! I haven’t looked into the manga yet, but if it’s anything like this then I’m sure I’d enjoy it. Kind of frustrating when you remember there was a lack of an interest during the pre-planning of Dragon Half’s production. It’s a cute comfy sort of show and although its on the short side, has good art but nothing that standouts out too far from the crop, and has a lack of progressive story that isn’t rushed, you’ll still find plenty to love about the show and not even bother with much of the downsides because you’ll be far too enamored with Mink and her friends to even worry about it all. It’s a show that’s a mix between Dragon Maid and Mahoujin Guruguru but only two episodes, and if that doesn’t sell it for you, then maybe check out those awesome shows too and come back, then you’ll know what I mean.

Dragon Half is a creative, self-aware, raucously funny parody of 90s anime and all its stereotypes, complete with complicated fantasy setting, slimes, dragon girls, and magic. It handles itself with the exact amount of seriousness it ought to- none at all. It is archetypal of the mindless good time that many of these tiny OVAs had on offer during that era. Beginning with the story, it's a simple setup that makes sure not to get in the way of the comedy. Mink, a girl who's half dragon, and her two friends, are under attack by a fat oaf of a ... king and his hapless henchmen, whose ridiculous and self-absorbed plans always fall through. I'll call the story the strongest part of the anime, since the comedy is just so hilariously well-written. With such a short total runtime, they make sure not to waste a moment when it comes to making you laugh, be it through physical comedy, ridiculous gags, or writing which scathingly parodies anime of the era, especially fantasy adventure stories, while still remaining eager and independent as its own thing. Dragon Half, in this way, can be enjoyed both for what it is and what it's making fun of. In short, I cannot stress just how funny it is throughout- the comedy holds up fantastically well, even to this day.

The art is unique and distinctive, with a fun, playful style which changes on a dime. This sometimes proves to be a boon for the prominent and well-executed physical comedy, but other times is a little jarring. Though, the character designs are great throughout, managing to be unique yet referential to the popular styles they're poking fun at.

The sound is really great, with strong, characteristic voice work and a soundtrack that is wacky, energetic, catchy, and emblematic of an early 90s OVA. Copious use of synthesizer paired with creative musical direction combines to form a fun, carefree, and memorable soundtrack, adding to the generally lighthearted tone of the anime as a whole.

The characters are also pretty good, save for Mink's dad, who comes off as flat and unfunny. He doesn't get much screentime, but in a show which doesn't have that much screentime to begin with, it is still suboptimal. Of the otherwise hilarious cast, my favorites are definitely Rosario and Damaramu, both for the same reason- they absolutely nail the inept henchman schitck. Rosario's constant attempts at being a mysterious mastermind and Damaramu's regular failures to live up to his boastful warrior persona mirror each other in their hilarity, and watching just how bad they crash and burn is probably one of the best parts of the show. Overall, while it isn't perfect, Dragon Half is a blast of an OVA, and deserves to have more episodes than it does.