REVIEW: The Dragon Prince: Book One (Patreon)

There has been a buzz of excitement going on about this Netflix animation due to it's connection to The Last Airbender. Writer Aaron Ehasz has returned with a new adventure and I sat down and binged all the episodes while working yesterday.

NOTE: I am trying to keep this review as vague and spoiler free as possible, so even if you haven't watched the show yet, it will not ruin any surprises.

The Characters

Just as we saw in his previous writing, Aaron Ehasz is able to create extremely likable characters, from the main quartet of adventurers, down to the villain, his minions and all side characters. The main characters have a very light sense of humor, just like Aang and his friends, with the occasional playful joke and lightly cringey pun sprinkled here and there. Each character is fleshed out further and further into the story, leaving none feeling flat and undeveloped.

I did think some of the voice acting choices where a little bit strange and out of place, but I'd chalk that down to personal preference.

I applaud the racial diversity in show and I look forward to see how the characters develop further before where we leave them.

The Universe

The show immerses us into the magical land of Xadia and the Human Kingdoms. It does a very good job in explaining the history of the land in only the first 5 minutes of the first episode. Having said that, I felt that throughout the entirety of the first book, we only caught small glimpse of what this land, it's magical creatures and it's mysteries were really about. Perhaps we will need to venture further into Xadia before we the universe is fleshed out a little bit further. 

The Storyline

The good thing about these Netflix shows is that there is very little space with filler episodes. The Dragon Prince has a fairly fast paced storyline from A to Z where each episode enriches the plot further and further, making it a very easy binge. 

I don't want to get into the plot itself for spoiler purposes, but if you enjoyed the journey-type plot of The Last Airbender, I don't think you will be disappointed with this one. 

The final episode alone makes you crave more of it and had me browsing online for a Book Two release date!

The Art

I will admit that I went into watching this show expecting the art style to get on my nerves and put me off early on in the series. I do not have much love for animation that looks like an in-game-graphics CG hybrid such as this one. 

You are often left with a tonne of missing animation frames or odd polygonal shaped character designs, both of which take away from the immersion of the moment. But if you are willing to overlook that, you'll be fine.

Having said that, it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

The action shots and combat sequences are very well made, displaying intense dynamics and great flow. Successfully conducting a conversation with a using proper sign-language was also something I had not scene before in an animated series. (Minus the missing frames during parts of the scene.)

Animation aside, the character designs are very interesting, creature concepts absolutely beautiful, especially the dragons. I can see a lot of stuffed toys being made in the various colors of Bait. Maybe I need a Bait night-light for my office!

Overall

I believe this series can evolve into something great, just like it's predecessor. The story and concept are exquisite. It is certainly not a hollow universe that will run it's course in a few weeks time. It has all the right elements to keep growing into an epic saga and I for one am very excited to continue watching.