出典 : Amazon.co.jp

The Drifting Dragons looks just like Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind! Yes, there are similarities, but the content is very different, and we’ve compiled a list of highlights and characters from the upcoming winter 2020 anime, Airborne Dragons.

What is 【Drifting Dragons】?

Airborne Dragons is a manga work by Taku Kuwabara. It is still being serialised in “good! The book has been published in six volumes. (As of October 2019)
Ranked 14th in the male edition of  “This manga is amazing!! 2018”, this popular work is set to be broadcast as an anime for TV in the winter of 2020! We’re expecting an even greater increase in popularity!

Synopsis of The Drifting Dragons

The “Dragon Catchers” (Orochi) make a living hunting dragons in the sea of clouds, breaking them up and selling them.
The “Quinn Zaza” is a ship carrying 19 dragon catchers who are also challenged with the task of catching dragons.
They spend most of the year in a cramped boat, flying from east to west, north to south, east to west in search of dragons. Sometimes they risk their lives to catch a ferocious dragon.

One of the crew, Mika, is a so-called “dragon idiot” who will go to any length to slay a dragon, is eloquent when he talks about dragons and, above all, lives to eat them.
Today, the “Quinn Zaza”, which is led by Mika and not a few others with scars on their shins and chests, continues to catch and eat dragons. This is the story of the daily drama of these dragon catchers. ……

【Drifting Dragons】Does it look like Nausicaa?

As you can see from the cover of the first volume, the clothes the main characters are wearing, the design and atmosphere of the airship they are riding in, and the description of the sky above them are very similar to Ghibli’s “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” and “Castle in the Sky”!

出典 : Amazon.co.jp

In fact, in an interview with the author, Taku Kuwabara, he said: “Hayao Miyazaki has had a huge influence on me (laughs). In ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ I still have a lot of lines that I drew out of habit. I think I was able to create the design for ‘Airborne Dragons’ because I felt I was still good at it.

Some readers have said that it’s a rip-off, but as the author himself has said, this is a “respect” for Ghibli’s work.
Great works are increasingly referred to and made even better by referring to them. Isn’t this the greatest compliment to the one being respected?

A proper reading of Drifting Dragons Dragons will also convince you that it’s not a rip-off of a Ghibli film, but a new story of something else entirely.

【Drifting Dragons】Here’s the best part!

出典 : Amazon.co.jp

What is it about “Drifting Dragons”, which has been ranked as one of the best manga and has been made into an anime?
‘It’s like Ghibli! There was a scene like this! But here’s a summary of the original highlights.

world of everyday dragons and action scenes

It is noteworthy that the world depicts dragons as an everyday creature and not just a fantasy.
When we think of dragons, we often think of them as ‘legendary creatures’, ‘unknown creatures’ or ‘enemies’.
However, the dragons in Drifting Dragons are something you can catch, dismantle, sell, buy and eat. They are not “enemies”, they are everyday beings, no different from other animals.
However, when they appear in the skies above the city, people can be harmed by them, so they may be more like vermin or disasters.

The battle against the dragons, which takes place above the clouds with no escape, is one of the greatest highlights of The Airborne Dragons.
Confronting a flying dragon with a single lifeline is a true risk of life! In a way, it could be crazy!
The reason why they don’t use super-heavy weapons when they are fighting a large creature like a dragon is because they want to capture it for food.
This is one of the most important aspects of the film’s stance that the dragon is not an enemy, and it’s not a ‘kill it and be done with it’ kind of thing.
By the way, you can’t see the ground because you’re above the clouds, but it’s definitely not a profession for people who are afraid of heights!

And then there’s the visuals of the dragons being hunted. Lots of visuals that are a far cry from the existing dragons!
According to the author, these dragons are designed to look like marine life, but to be honest, there are also dragons in the shape of “I wonder if these are good to eat ……”.
But Micah, the main character, describes them all as “delicious”. And apparently they actually taste good!

Delicious recipe for dragon!

‘Back to the clouds and back to the good wind’

These are the ‘chanting words’ spoken by Takita after he captured the dragon.
They are a parting gift from the person who gave his life to the dragon. The act of taking a life cannot be done underhandedly or negligently.
That’s why we enjoy the dragon we catch!

So, in Drifting Dragons, you’ll find a recipe for how to eat a delicious dragon in each episode!
Many of the recipes are rather simple, boiled or baked, but they all look so delicious that you’ll want to try to copy them.
According to Mika, a lover of dragons, freshly caught dragon meat is delicious raw.
That’s definitely not something you can imitate, but why not try your hand at cooking dragon meat using the meat you are familiar with?

A drama of unique characters

Total of 19 crew members live together on board the Quinn Zaza for most of the year.
Some of them have hidden pasts and live their lives today, whether they like it or not. ……
As the story unfolds, the characters’ pasts and thoughts are revealed. This is the drama that is portrayed through Dragon Catcher.