Dragon Quest: the adventure of Dai
I've read a lot of action manga in my time. Jujutsu kaisen, dragon ball, ozanari dungeon, karakuri circus, and so so so many more. It's an extremely common genre, so in turn, the quality between these different manga is astronomical. Lumping them together even feels wrong on some level because when you say "action shonen manga," you get an idea of what to expect. Fake out deaths, power ups out of nowhere, the final boss just never staying down, and an ever climbing scale that only the main character can keep up with. DQ Dai embodies all of these and more.
Dragon Quest Dai started in October 1989. I mention this because I'm unsure if these common tropes can be attributed to it, like common shojo tropes can be attributed to hana yori dango. Some of the especially egregious ones i know can't be. At the very least, dragon ball from 1984 did the perverted mentor character first. Unlike Dragon Ball, however, Dragon Quest quickly gets rid of them. I hope these various "dragon" names don't confuse you because there will be more. If there is anything i can attribute to Dragon Quest, it's not having a great story, but having some great characters to sort of make up for it.
Whatever story you think Dragon Quest may have because of that opening paragraph, you're probably right about. It's strange, it's contrived, and maybe at the time it was breaking the mold, but by todays standards, it's nothing new. If you've ever played a Dragon Quest game, you know the story of this manga. A hero goes to beat the demon lord. Gathering friends and allies along the way, getting stronger in the meanwhile. Dragon Quest Dai is a chosen one story. Like the Captain said 2 years ago, i have never seen a chosen one story work so far. I would say this is the closest it has ever come. The reason i say this is because a chosen one story usually involves a near flawless character that jumps into their role without thinking. In DQ Dai, the chosen one, the main character Dai, has always wanted to be a hero and is not flawless. Dai is 12 years old, the youngest in his party, and was raised outside of human civilization, making him extremely naive. The image of a hero in his mind did not match up with what his job ended up being. The weight of the world being on his shoulders was much heavier than he could have ever imagined. If it wasn't for the party he accumulated pushing him on, he would have run away from the pressure.
Speaking of the hero's party, for the most part, they're pretty cool. The actual full party consists of over 10 characters, and I'm not gonna talk about all of them. I'm not even gonna talk about the 5 main party. I'm cutting it down to just 3.
Dai. The hero. I already mentioned that dai is the youngest and naive. Beyond that, he steps into the role of hero pretty well. He doesn't let the title go to his head, nor does he ever put others down with his title. Dai has 1 objective. Defeat the demon lord. He's the only one strong enough to do it, and everyone knows it. Dai's "class" is actually more than just "hero." Dai is a Dragon Knight. A legendary class of hero created by the 3 gods of each race. Demon, Dragon, and Human. The Dragon Knight is only born when the world is in an imbalance of power. When one race is much much stronger than the others. The previous Dragon Knight had to kill some dragons, dai has to kill some demons, and the next one may have to kill humans. Their objective is to bring back the balance of power only. Dai embodies this legendary class as much as he can. He uses its skills alongside the normal hero skills. Dai may be young, but he has always been a genius fighter. He's uncomfortable with the weight of being the hero, but he'll try his best regardless.
Popp. The wizard. Popp is my favorite character. Since he is my favorite character, I'm actually not gonna talk about him much as a character. Popp is a coward. He's terrified of the role he was given and rarely puts himself in situations where he has to try hard. He's comfortable cruising through and supporting instead of ever taking the limelight. The problem with this is that popp is extremely adept at magic. Even more so than dai, and as enemies get stronger and scarier, popp needs to step up to the plate. Whether he's up to the challenge or not, you'll just have to read this story to find out. Popp is Dai's best friend, and he was there on Dai's home island when he left to start the adventure. Popp is the most normal of the hero's party. He doesn't have a grand background that gave him his magical capabilities. He's the son of a blacksmith in a remote village. There is no twist. For this reason, and many more i can't talk about, popp is my favorite character.
Maam. The warrior cleric. Maam's name is pronounced like "mom" but with a less round "O" sound that is also dragged on just a teeny bit. Maam is a mixed class, sort of like Dai. Unlike Dai, whose classes work into each other, Maam's almost work against each other. Maam is okay at healing spells and is strong in hand to hand combat, but not as good in each class as one would be if they were solely that class. So Maam had to be smarter than her opponents to make up for that inherent weakness. She has 2 things her opponents typically don't. Speed and always being looked down on because she's a woman. Maam is very hot-headed. She's also very kind towards those she cares about. She'll fuck you up in a fight and heal you back to full strength for being a capable fighter. Maam usually plays a supporting role more than popp. Since popp can actually deal damage to enemies with offensive magic and sort of strong punches just don't cut it with the ever climbing scale. Her kindness is her true weapon. She's always helping Dai and Popp get through the rough parts of battles. She never plays typical feminine roles in manga like this. She's not just a love interest to look pretty as a trophy, nor is she always getting in the way as a damsel in distress. When she's out of her league in fights she does what she can. She never comes across as useless and i never found myself annoyed at her presence. She brings a balance to the party that it desperately needed.
That's all of the hero's party I'm gonna cover. There's plenty more to see and learn about, like the dark knight hyunkel or the beast king crocodine, but for my purposes, they can stay a mystery. Overall, the characters in this manga are what carried it through the rough patches of the story. The story is primarily about Dai defeating the demon lord. Dai does get character development throughout the story, and the fights mostly revolve around him getting the killing blow. So while others are extremely capable fighters, don't expect them to ever do much if dai is conscious and nearby. While this manga is mostly fights, they're usually pretty painless, and most of the characterization comes from them. So again, while the fights are usually resolved by Dai, the others get some spotlight before he kill steals. So, while i have many issues with DQ Dai as a story and a manga, i can look past them because of how strong these characters are written. The story is flat, the fights aren't interesting, and that's most of what makes up DQ Dai. The characters' motivations are usually to get to the demon lord and support Dai. That is why they fight. So their individual stories of getting there in the first place is the heart of this manga, really. And if that ain't the most jrpg coded thing ever, i don't know what is. Quite fitting for Dragon Quest.
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