byusf4life on2012-09-22 15:59

very nice anime, great song and fantastic ending

bytrilandian on2006-03-18 16:23

Even though Dragon Drive puts up a somewhat immature and even childish front, it’s actually more along the lines of being whimsical and amusing. It tells the story of a kid who started out as a world-class bum, but someday, something happened that turned his world upside-down and forced him to grow up and become responsible. And it’s all because of one little dragon.

Animation (4):
The animation may be clean and esthetical but it’s also stiff and highly unimpressive. Not only are the character designs mediocre at best, but on top of that, the dragon designs are plain ug-lee (I also hated the use of low quality, amateurish 3D graphics that looked like something from the mid-90s). Also, the combat scenes were somewhat repetitive.

Sound (8):
The sound is one of the highpoints of Dragon Drive, it has excellent effects, well-merged BGM and very good opening and ending songs.
The voice acting is pretty good too.

Story (6):
One word – “Strea-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ached”! The creators of Dragon drive made abig mistake using a 38-episode format. The story may be very eventful, but it’s not eventful enough to fill such a tremendous series length. Cutting down on the stale go-betweens would have contributed quite highly to the all around quality and enjoyment. I did, however, like the rather frequent use of the “It’s not over yet!” effect (You know, it’s like when you think the heroes managed to tie up all the loose ends and then suddenly something happens and it’s all messed up again. You see it a lot on TV in drama or adventure series.).

Characters (8):
Now, here’s when we see the only real contribution of the show's great length. Dragon Drive presents an above average amount of active characters, and unlike most other shows, it actually steps up to the challenge of developing themall properly. I’m most impressed by rei’s and dice’s complete turnaround, Dragon Drive really shows the viewer what it means to grow from your experiences and become a better person. There are of-course characters like Sayeka for example that don’t change one bit. The characters’ personal design is also very impressive, you will not findany two characters that behave similarly, this variability is quite an accomplishment.

Overall (6):
Nice light story, I can’t say it impressed me but I’m pretty sure that any real anime fan would like it at least a bit.

bygambit on2003-05-19 12:08

When you start watching this series you'll probably think of Pokemon. Although they have something in common, it's nowhere as childish as pokemon, and the story is actually pretty okay.
I have to admit that this series is directed towards a younger audience (my little brother loved it, I thought it was a bit boring every now and then).

The animation is pretty good. Nice, clean animation which has a great feel about it. The only thing I didn't like were the countless reused frames (they tend to use the same scene everytime something similar happens, which gets annoying after 2 or 3 times). That's why I decreased the value from 8 to 7.

The voices are okay, but Hagiwara's voice is annoying everytime I heard it. The others are okay - nothing much, perhaps a bit young. The OP/END are very nice, and that's why it gets a 7 after all.

There are lots of characters, and not everyone gets a decent share of development. Rokakku gets quite some time to tell his story, but he never really gets through with it. Enough time, not enough done with it. In the end, the characters haven't been interesting enough to give them a good mark.

I liked the series, and I'll probably rewatch it when I want to lay back and enjoy some easygoing series. It's nowhere really serious, although it has its serious moments, but I never got really touched by them. I can imagine that a younger audience might be.

Overall: Nice anime, enjoyable, but don't expect too much depth of it, and you'll have to bear some childish aspects.