'Legend of the Dragon Kings' aka 'Souryuuden' is one of the anime I watched earlier in life. I rewatched it because 1) I remember it being decent, and 2) it came from the same author as 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes.'

It's basically about how the four Ryuudou brothers, who descended from dragons, are being targeted by people in the government. Little do they know that there's a larger conspiracy.

We have to distinguish between text and subtext: text, being the plot and all that, and subtext, being what is implied by what is presented.

The story is decent but ultimately it's far from its full potential. Although this OVA series was released in the early 1990s, the entire novel series from which this is based hasn't been concluded (in 2025 at least). I reckon that, if the entire novel series is finished, this would have been ripe for a new and longer adaptation. For now, we can only content ourselves with this adaptation.

There's a strong politickal text and subtext in this series, which I did not fully appreciate when I first watched it. It leaves you wondering if the author is actually promoting the values of Imperialist Japan and bemoaning the corruption of what was then the Japanese government. (Perhaps the social critique still holds true.)

Then again, something in the anime will contradict this notion. I won't spoil you, but suffice it to say that this is no different from what a Platonic dialogue does. It presents different ideas, and it's up to us, the viewers/readers to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and decide which ideas to accept, reject, or even modify.

Note also that it has a strong anti-American subtext with how the villains are from the West and how the USA is effectively still occupying Japan and that there are powers lurking in the shadows of the white house. This is no different from some real-life conspiracy theories about certain people which I won't mention.

But for me, it has an anti-war message, and for this part, I am recommending this despite some ideas that I might not be comfortable with.

Eri's OP and ED are lovely. They may sound dated to our ears, but one cannot deny how powerful her voice was.

Like many anime based on cel animation, either you like it or you don't. It looks dated but one can argue that the art direction is consistent because it doesn't include CGI.

So far, I haven't seen 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes' though it's probably safe to conclude that 'Legend of the Dragon Kings' might not be as good as that anime that has a reputation for being a masterpiece. Despite that, this is still a decent watch. The story is far from the masterpiece that it might have been, but it's still worth watching because of some the ideas it presents, either directly or indirectly.

NOTA BENE: A grade of 6 out of 10 [or 60 out of 100 in anilist] means that I find this anime slightly above average and I enjoyed watching it.

A 6 means a decent score and one notch above average. If you're the kind of viewer who treats anything below a 7 as irredeemable, I'd encourage a broader, more nuanced approach to rating.

My enjoyment spectrum lies from 4 to 10. If I have scored an anime below 4, I actively dislike it.