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This Week in Anime - Is Drifting Dragons Worth Watching?




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Calico



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 383
PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2020 4:28 pm Reply with quote
Regarding it being connected to whaling - yeah, it really is and I hate it. It's really just fantasy whaling. Honestly, I reread the first chapter of the manga just to remind myself of the stuff I didn't like, and what stood out to me was how the crew is attacked by a dragon in the first chapter, and someone claims that it knows that they just killed and dismembered its offspring. And honestly, anything that's sentient enough to recognize its own kin and hold grudges against people for killing them sounds too sentient for me to want to eat it.

(Also, people who watched the show/read more of the manga probably know more, but the first chapter mentioned that there were few remaining drake ships left. I figured that was because people had hunted dragons near to extinction (like whales) before and it was no longer profitable enough for most people to pursue it. I guess that isn't the case?)
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1354
PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2020 5:45 pm Reply with quote
The story-telling in this series (manga and anime both) is top-notch. You have a diverse ensemble cast and you get to know many of them. (Well, spoiler[Mika taking out a pirate ship single-handedly] was something of a stretch.)

Polygon Pictures have gotten pretty good at this --- it's more fluid than Sidonia and looks much better than (a different studio's) Magnificent Kotobuki, particularly the character movement. Plus, the writing is good.

I'm willing to give them a pass on the whaling analogies, I guess, when really it's just an excuse for cloudscapes and buckled swash.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4074
PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2020 7:15 pm Reply with quote
I made it to the first CG dragon and immediately lost interest. Over designed and under animated, if this is the future of anime then I'll stick with what I already have.

I made it through episode 1 because of how much it looked like Last Exile when the actual Last Exile sequel didn't but I had my fill of dragon meat by the end that first episode.
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nargun



Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 924
PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2020 9:18 pm Reply with quote
Calico wrote:
(Also, people who watched the show/read more of the manga probably know more, but the first chapter mentioned that there were few remaining drake ships left. I figured that was because people had hunted dragons near to extinction (like whales) before and it was no longer profitable enough for most people to pursue it. I guess that isn't the case?)


In the real world, declining whale-oil prices [petroleum coming on-line] had marginalised whaling by the start of the 19th century. If it weren't for the world wars, the industry probably would have more-or-less wound itself up by the thirties as the capital equipment became life-expired. As was it only really lasted a couple of decades more.
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JaffaOrange



Joined: 01 Apr 2011
Posts: 251
PostPosted: Fri May 15, 2020 10:05 am Reply with quote
Japan's relationship with whaling is bizarre. I far as I've read, the industry is small (employs around 300 people directly) and the demand for whale meat is dwindling. And not only does it harm Japan's international relationships, but the government needs to subsidise it with taxpayer money because it isn't profitable. I would have been able to understand the cultural aspect if they didn't use modern ships with modern equipment.
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TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5823
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Fri May 15, 2020 10:07 am Reply with quote
Dragons vs Blimps/Zeppelins= Dragons win every time.

These are faux dragons. Show should have been called Drifting Whales.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Fri May 15, 2020 10:11 am Reply with quote
JaffaOrange wrote:
Japan's relationship with whaling is bizarre. I far as I've read, the industry is small (employs around 300 people directly) and the demand for whale meat is dwindling. And not only does it harm Japan's international relationships, but the government needs to subsidise it with taxpayer money because it isn't profitable. I would have been able to understand the cultural aspect if they didn't use modern ships with modern equipment.

Worse than that, there's a law that says the whale meat has to distributed across the nation, but the only place where there's any interest in it are the few ports where they still do whale hunting (mostly as a tourist things). So a lot of it goes to waste in an attempt to popularize something that almost nobody want.

From what I understand it's mostly the work of a small but influential group of lawmaker that just don't like the idea of bowing to international pressure. iirc I think Abe also represent a circumscription where there's some whaling.
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nargun



Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 924
PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 6:41 am Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
iirc I think Abe also represent a circumscription where there's some whaling.


This is understating it! There's only one japanese whaling fleet, and it's based out of the only significant city in Shinzo Abe's Yamaguchi 4th district.
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1354
PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 2:55 pm Reply with quote
The fleet is so small, and employs so few people that I've always wondered why an organization like Greenpeace doesn't just raise funds and buy it (and the one in Iceland).
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