Review: DRIFTING DRAGONS Is Another Netflix Anime Aimlessly Floating Away

I have never read the manga for DRIFTING DRAGONS, but I wonder if there is an actual plot in it because there isn’t one in this anime. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a more “by the books,” predictable and safe anime. The only thing that sets it apart is that every episode there is at least one cooking and eating scene as if it was getting ready to sell a “Drifting Dragons Cook-Book.” I just had no idea why it was there, it gave no depth to the story except being a pretty easy device to make the characters share some kind of emotional or social bond. This show isn’t terrible, it just has no reason to really exist.

Let’s break down the story, a young girl is new to a dragon hunting (whaling for all intents and purposes) ship and learning the ropes. The crew finds increasingly stronger and different dragons and the girl learns more respect for dragons. That’s it. Yeah, each episode has its own little subplot and the ending involves some “dramatic stuff,” but nothing really changes from Episode 1 to Episode 12 other than the main character learning how to kill dragons, cook food and not die.

The visuals are a little better than most other 3D anime that have appeared on Netflix in recent years, but the style seems more like a cheap way to produce something instead of a creative choice. I understand that they probably need to and want to pump out anime quickly and easily, but it doesn’t make it any less bland or stiff.

Overall this anime has very little to offer, possibly in later seasons there will be a real story, real character growth, and fewer tropes. Sure, the 3D animation looks a little nicer than normal, the characters are entertaining with pretty good voice acting and the inclusion of food makes the show have a lot of interesting elements. But as for now, Drifting Dragons as a whole is about as generic and pointless as it gets.