Dragon Quest: One Of The Best Anime That No One’s Watching

It's one of the best anime currently airing, so why is no one watching it?
entertainment · 4 min
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Every season of anime, there are always going to few shows that fall underneath people’s radar; sometimes the promotional material doesn’t leave a good impression on people, and other times, it’s just simply that there are too many anime airing for everything to get an equal amount of attention.

No anime is immune to this effect, no matter how high-profile it might try to come across as, but it’s always a shame when something that had the potential to truly be a hit never quite catches on with people, and the latest show to fall into that something that truly had potential to be the next big thing: Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai
Credit to TV Tropes

How Dragon Quest Was Geared For Success

Dragon Quest is one of the most, if not the most, recognizable JRPG franchise of all time, what with its classic stories of good versus evil and character designs by Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball. The Adventure of Dai is a manga spinoff of the series written by Riku Sanjo and illustrated by Koji Inada.

The story is essentially your average Dragon Quest game in the form of a manga, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. It hits a lot of cliches of its genre, but it did it with such earnestness that it all circled back around to being endearing. Not only that, but Inada’s art was able to perfectly mirror Toriyama’s aesthetic while still remaining visually appealing in its own right.

All of this led to the series running for over seven years in Weekly Shonen Jump and becoming one of the best-selling manga of all time with over fifty million volumes sold around the world. With a new anime announced for 2020 nearly twenty years after the first one, which only covered about a third of the series, ended, it seemed like it would be easy for the show to become a major hit, yet nothing of the sort ended up happening.

Why Dragon Quest Never Caught On

It’s a bit strange that The Adventure of Dai never caught on, but it’s not as unbelievable as one might think. For starters, the show airs on Saturday mornings in Japan, meaning that it goes to streaming late Friday night in Western territories.

At that point in time, most people are either out doing something with their friends or fast asleep, so they probably wouldn’t get to watching anime until the following day, at which point a bevy of shows will have new episodes out, and in the process of watching everything that just came out, something that came out the night before will end up falling to the wayside.

Not only that, but the lack of any sort of licensed material making its way to most western territories made it hard for the series to build up a fanbase over the years outside of Japan; countries in Europe managed to get the rights to it back in the day, but beyond that, the most people have gotten is characters making appearances in the occasional video game, which doesn’t do a whole lot to create a fanbase.

Finally, and this is most likely the most damning, but as endearing as the straightforward nature of the story may be, it doesn’t change the fact that it does utilize a lot of cliches of its genre, so a lot of people might look at it and see nothing more than your average fantasy series, never giving it a chance to see that it’s much more than that. In the end, it was a perfect storm of giving people reasons not to watch.   

Dragon Quest: Forever An Unnoticed Gem

It truly is a shame that Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai hasn’t caught on with people outside of Japan. The characters are all endearing in their own right, the art and animation are on point more often than not, and as cut-and-paste as it might be in regards to tropes and genre conventions, the fact that it plays everything so straight gives it a bit of charm in an era where stories are always trying to be subversive or deconstructive.

It seemed like it had everything going for it, but thanks to a lack of a pre-established fanbase, a bad air time, and the same writing techniques that make it endearing also making it seem boring to some, at the same time, it also had everything going against it. It doesn’t look like the show will be a big hit outside of Japan anytime soon, but at the very least, there are some people watching it now, and with any luck, that number will get even bigger in the future.

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Opinions and Perspectives

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TVBinger_24 commented TVBinger_24 3 years ago

It's become my go-to recommendation for fantasy anime

8
Wallace_Watch commented Wallace_Watch 3 years ago

The animation quality never drops even in slower episodes

2
Bella_Whimsy commented Bella_Whimsy 3 years ago

Wish more people would give this show a chance

4
Evelyn_Clark commented Evelyn_Clark 3 years ago

You can tell the creators really loved the source material

6
SkylarHansen commented SkylarHansen 3 years ago

Each arc builds naturally on what came before

0
TVShowAddict99 commented TVShowAddict99 3 years ago

The voice acting is top notch across the board

1
Comic-Con_Lover commented Comic-Con_Lover 3 years ago

This deserved way better marketing

5
Jason_1988 commented Jason_1988 3 years ago

Really impressed by how they adapt the game mechanics into natural story elements

6
SamanthaB_77 commented SamanthaB_77 3 years ago

The world-building is detailed without being overwhelming

5
Winona_Lavish commented Winona_Lavish 3 years ago

My favorite part is how they handle character motivations

6
Cohen_Comment commented Cohen_Comment 3 years ago

It's like comfort food in anime form

3
KimberlyGray commented KimberlyGray 3 years ago

Even the filler episodes are entertaining and develop the characters

3
CamilaBailey commented CamilaBailey 3 years ago

The show respects its audience's intelligence while remaining accessible

1
Adalian_Article commented Adalian_Article 3 years ago

Anyone else catch all the subtle Dragon Quest game references?

6
MovieTheaterVibes commented MovieTheaterVibes 3 years ago

The special effects for the magic spells are really well done

5
Sundance_Festival_Addict commented Sundance_Festival_Addict 3 years ago

This could have been the next big shonen if more people gave it a chance

0
Mayer_Media commented Mayer_Media 3 years ago

The emotional moments hit harder because the show earned them

4
Noa99 commented Noa99 3 years ago

Love how they balance action and character development

1
CameoSpotter_99 commented CameoSpotter_99 3 years ago

The fight choreography is seriously underrated

4
TVShowRerunKing_77 commented TVShowRerunKing_77 3 years ago

Been playing Dragon Quest since the NES days and this captures the spirit perfectly

3
CyberWave commented CyberWave 3 years ago

Each character arc feels complete and meaningful

7
CharlieT commented CharlieT 3 years ago

The world feels lived in and real despite being fantasy

8
Witchy_Cinema_Girl commented Witchy_Cinema_Girl 3 years ago

Actually like how straightforward it is. Not everything needs a plot twist

7
LeilaniXO commented LeilaniXO 3 years ago

The production values are consistently high throughout all episodes

1
Phoebe_Soul commented Phoebe_Soul 3 years ago

This show proves you don't need to reinvent the wheel to tell a great story

8
IndieFilmLover_Jazz commented IndieFilmLover_Jazz 3 years ago

The character growth over the series is really satisfying to watch

5
Helena_Hope commented Helena_Hope 3 years ago

Started watching because of the Toriyama connection, stayed for the amazing story

5
ThemeSong_Addict_88 commented ThemeSong_Addict_88 3 years ago

Love how they incorporate elements from the games without making it feel like fan service

2
Riley_Joyful commented Riley_Joyful 3 years ago

The action scenes remind me of classic Dragon Ball without feeling derivative

1
VFX_Wizard_333 commented VFX_Wizard_333 3 years ago

Finally a show my whole family can enjoy together

7
Hayes_Herald commented Hayes_Herald 3 years ago

The friendship themes might be common but they're handled really well here

6
IMAX_Junkie_007 commented IMAX_Junkie_007 3 years ago

I appreciate how they balance humor with serious moments. Never feels forced

8
ColeLaughs commented ColeLaughs 3 years ago

The monster designs are so creative. They really capture the Dragon Quest game aesthetic

2
Grateful-And_Grounded_555 commented Grateful-And_Grounded_555 3 years ago

Would have loved to see this air in a better time slot. It deserves more attention

7
DakotaPerry commented DakotaPerry 3 years ago

The side characters are actually well developed instead of just being background decorations

5
Scarlett_F commented Scarlett_F 3 years ago

It's refreshing to see a show that's not trying to be edgy or dark just for the sake of it

6
SciFi_Cinema_Nerd_42 commented SciFi_Cinema_Nerd_42 3 years ago

The way they handle power progression feels natural and earned

0
BollywoodBlockbusterFan commented BollywoodBlockbusterFan 3 years ago

Just binged 20 episodes and I'm blown away by how consistently good it is

0
Christina_Star commented Christina_Star 3 years ago

Can't believe more people aren't talking about the incredible world design

4
HorrorIconFanatic commented HorrorIconFanatic 3 years ago

The villain development is surprisingly nuanced for a show that appears straightforward on the surface

4
ReelTalkMike commented ReelTalkMike 3 years ago

Watching this reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons from back in the day

8
Aurora_Hope commented Aurora_Hope 3 years ago

The magic system is actually really well thought out for what seems like a simple show

0
Netflix_Obsessed_91 commented Netflix_Obsessed_91 3 years ago

I feel like this could have been huge if it had gotten a Netflix release instead

7
HolisticHealthPath commented HolisticHealthPath 3 years ago

The soundtrack deserves more recognition too. It really enhances the fantasy atmosphere

6
BingeMode_Alex commented BingeMode_Alex 3 years ago

My kids absolutely love this show. It's perfect for family viewing

1
Inner_Peace_Unlocked commented Inner_Peace_Unlocked 3 years ago

Anyone else think the pacing is really well done? It never feels rushed or dragged out

3
HBOAddict commented HBOAddict 3 years ago

I actually love how it doesn't try to deconstruct the genre. Sometimes you just want comfort food for the soul

5
ShadowByte commented ShadowByte 3 years ago

The character designs are fantastic. They manage to stay true to Toriyama's style while still feeling fresh

5
MindfulMomentsDaily commented MindfulMomentsDaily 3 years ago

Interesting point about the timing. Friday night releases do tend to get overshadowed by Saturday shows

0
GlowUpGoals commented GlowUpGoals 3 years ago

Just started watching after reading this article and I'm already hooked. Can't believe I almost missed out on this gem

2
DarkVisionary commented DarkVisionary 3 years ago

Sometimes I wonder if being associated with a game franchise actually worked against it. People might have dismissed it as just another game adaptation

4
CinemaKing_2024 commented CinemaKing_2024 3 years ago

The fight scenes are incredibly well animated. You can tell they put real effort into the action sequences

3
Kessler_Keys commented Kessler_Keys 3 years ago

Been following this since episode 1 and I still can't understand why it isn't more popular

0
AlinaS commented AlinaS 3 years ago

The world-building reminds me so much of playing the games as a kid. It really captures that classic JRPG feel

0
MelissaCreates commented MelissaCreates 3 years ago

I disagree about the cliches being a problem. Look at how many isekai shows use the same tropes and still get huge followings

0
Irene_Spring commented Irene_Spring 4 years ago

Maybe if they had given it a better time slot it could have found its audience

3
Carla_Lavish commented Carla_Lavish 4 years ago

The animation quality is surprisingly good for a long-running series

5
PhantomShadow commented PhantomShadow 4 years ago

I actually prefer this straightforward storytelling to shows that try too hard to be different

5
Mackenzie commented Mackenzie 4 years ago

Totally agree about the characters. Their earnestness makes them endearing rather than cliche

0
AdamHenderson commented AdamHenderson 4 years ago

You know what I love most about it? The characters feel genuine despite following typical fantasy archetypes

8
JamesMoore commented JamesMoore 4 years ago

The lack of western licensing really hurt its chances. Hard to build a fanbase when people can't easily access the content

5
SashaM commented SashaM 4 years ago

Not every show needs to subvert expectations or be super complex. Sometimes I just want a well-executed traditional fantasy story

5
Arielle_Lux commented Arielle_Lux 4 years ago

I've played almost every Dragon Quest game but never knew about this anime until now. Definitely adding it to my watchlist

4
CrunchyrollFan commented CrunchyrollFan 4 years ago

The art style is absolutely gorgeous though. You can really see Toriyama's influence while still having its own unique flair

5
Blissful-Soul_01 commented Blissful-Soul_01 4 years ago

Honestly think the biggest problem was marketing. I had no idea this even existed until I stumbled across it randomly

7
Margot_Spring commented Margot_Spring 4 years ago

The Saturday morning time slot really killed its chances in the West. Most of us are either sleeping or busy when it airs

5
Phoebe-Harrington commented Phoebe-Harrington 4 years ago

Actually been watching this show since it started airing and I really love how it embraces classic fantasy tropes without trying to be ironic about it

3
TheRedCarpet commented TheRedCarpet 4 years ago

I find it fascinating how Dragon Quest anime struggled despite having such strong source material. The manga sold over 50 million copies worldwide, yet the anime just couldn't catch that same magic

3

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