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Alright , alright. So it took some getting used to but, like its spiritual cousin, ‘Naruto’, persistence pays rewards and, despite being a bit ‘anime by numbers’, there’s something about ‘Blue Dragon’ I like. Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to watch, undemanding and childish, but also a lot of fun; escapism in its purest form.

For the uninitiated or those who have gone hazy since my review of the previous two-disc set, here’s a quick reminder of what Blue Dragon is all about. It started out life as a video-game first. Then came the manga, and finally the anime. It features a youngster (14-ish?) called ‘Shu’ who, as a young boy, spent a lot of time dreaming of becoming a great adventurer. When seeking out some thrills he awakens a legendary ‘shadow’ – the Blue Dragon of the title. Alongside his new gang (Jiro, Kluke, Zola, and Marumaro) they set off on an epic adventure, travelling across the world to confront the evil King of the Gran Kingdom, Nene, and stop him from dominating the world. And if that ‘journey’ sounds a bit like levels in an adventure game, that’s because, to all intents and purposes, it is.
The cute character designs are by Akira Toriyama, creator of DRAGON BALL and DRAGON BALL Z, though there’s certainly nothing mould-breaking about any of them.

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Anyhow, back to this double-volume serving. We’re now nudging the half-way mark through Season 1, which looks like it will be a 13 DVD set housing all 51 episodes. Volume 5 & 6 houses episodes 17 – 24 inclusive, as well as a few trailers (including one for mega-series ‘Bleach’, as well as the intriguing looking Nintendo DS spin-off game ‘Blue Dragon Plus’).

The series is fairly episodic so joining the party here won’t make a lot of sense. For those who’ve joined the party thus far, here’s what you can look forward to.

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