Dragonar Academy - Anime Review

Duration: 12 episodes
Published: Funimation
Supplied: Blurays purchased via RightStuf

Dragonar Academy is set in a world where many people have the fortune to be "Breeders". People who are specifically marked with a "Star Brand" to show that they will one day give birth to a dragon. Dragons are a key component in this society and they are held in extremely high regard. We follow one such breeder, Ash Blake, who has yet to give birth to his personal dragon companion.

I am just going to say right now that I did not like this series at all. For a few of reasons, too. I have seen harems with a whole lot more going for them than this. The characters were just hopelessly bland from the start and had almost no development. The plot, basically, did not matter or have any point or direction. There is nudity in this as well but it felt like it was used very poorly and for no other reason than "because". It just became awkward and silly after a while.

This is the price that I pay for buying so many things at random.

I'll start on the first point with the characters. Ash Blake is a total loser. No, really, that's his character. He has a wicked Star Brand but no dragon. He, for some reason, has the ability to ride other people's dragon, though. I could guess a reason for this, but I know for a fact it is never explained. Also, I do not even care about this character. Everything about him is bland. The "waifus" or female counterparts are also, hilariously uninteresting; even visually. The only one I even remotely liked, Sylvia, was the only one to gain any character development. However, that character development came from the most overly contrived pile of stupidity that I cannot wrap my head around it. And everyone was okay with this? Are you kidding me? Rebecca, Jessica, and Luka all felt very tacked on and completely superfluous. Oh, we can't forget Eko. Eko is the most criminally underdeveloped character in this entire series. She is Ash's dragon(who took on a human form for some reason). You would think they would build a relationship and perhaps get together in the end. The problem is everything is so poorly done we have no idea how anyone should feel about anyone by the end of this train wreck.

Now for the plot. There are at least 2 subplots that go along with the main plot(that I could easily distinguish). There might be more in this mess but I'm not about to look again. The main plot ends up being some kind of crazy conspiracy that, I will admit, I never saw coming; however, it did not shock me, or impress me, or make me feel anything at all. I'm aware I did not mention much about the plot. That is because that is all there is; just about nothing. As for the subplots: the first subplot is about this one girl's long lost sister. It is eventually resolved, hilariously, and in the most awful afterthoughts in history. This was so stupid they might as well have never shown anything. The second subplot is in regards to the boy Sylvia met as a child and how she looked up to him. Ya, that goes absolutely nowhere. Don't bother trying to look for clues. Who cares anyways?

Nudity can be tastefully done and doesn't have to feel awkward, out of place, and potentially creepy. Now I am not against nudity at all, but there's a time and a place for it. It was all over the place here and it was just wrong. Everything about it was something you would see out of an early-teenager's idea of how it should be done. Oh, ya, it had tentacles too. Lots of them. Loads. It just got tiring after a while.

It was not all bad, though. I did like the costume designs for the academy students; both formal and informal. Too bad the characters in them were so uninteresting. I also really liked the theme of a dragon-centric world. There was also, fortunately, enough humor to get me through it all with minimal scarring.

Conclusion
This show was a mess. Nothing about it was anything to praise. I would probably not watch this again. This was almost as bad as Bodacious Space Pirates. The only thing that makes it better is that it is half the length.

Recommendation
Nope. Not on your life. If you are looking for a harem, look literally anywhere else. This is just bad.