Dragon Quest : Your Story (2019) Movie Review

 

Dragon Quest: Your Story | 2019 | 1h 43m
Genre: Action/Adventure/Animation/Comedy/Fantasy/Family | Country: Japan
Director: Makoto Hanafusa, Ryuichi Yagi, Takashi Yamazaki | Writers: Yûji Horii, Michael Allan Schneider
Cast: Takeru Satoh, Kasumi Arimura, Haru
IMDB: 6.5
My Rate: 8/10

Luca, who is trusted as the legendary hero, embarks on a journey to find the Zenithian Sword to save his mother who was kidnapped by a monster. A thrilling battle awaits him and a fact that will change everything.

Warning:

Contains scenes of violence and alcohol.

 

Synopsis:

Mada, Luca’s mother, is kidnapped by a monster named Ladja. Pankraz (Luca’s father) and Luca travel to find her whereabouts and rescue her. They arrive at the castle where Prince Harry lives.

While visiting Coburg, Harry, who was playing with Luca, is suddenly kidnapped by Ladja. Harry quickly asks for his father’s help. Unfortunately, Pankraz is killed during the rescue mission, and Harry and Luca are enslaved by Ladja.

Ten years later, Harry and Luca try to escape by pretending to be dead and hiding inside a barrel. They manage to escape with help from Dr. Agon. Harry and Luca then return to Coburg.

After delivering Harry to Coburg, Luca decides to return to the home where he lived with his father. Luca meets Sancho, his father’s companion. Sancho believes that Luca is the legendary hero who can defeat Ladja. However, they must find the Zenithian Sword that will allow Luca to defeat Ladja.

The sword is in Mostroferrato, ruled by Briscolletti. To get there, Luca must fight many other monsters. Luca meets Gootrude, a slime who will accompany him on his journey. He also reunites with Purrcy, a cat he cared for when he was little. Together, they set off for Mostroferrato.

Will Luca be able to find the sword?

 

Review:

Dragon Quest: Your Story is a film whose story adapts the 1992 video game Dragon Quest V. Although there was a problem with a novelist named Saori Kumi who felt that the film used character names she created in her novel without permission. This also caused some confusion among viewers.

As a note, I personally have never played the Dragon Quest game, and this review is purely based on the animated film. The story idea presented is quite interesting with a unique opening scene that shows characters in a game-like appearance. The animation is also very good, neat, systematic, and dynamic, with a stunning color composition. However, for some reason, it feels a little less like a 'Japanese animation' atmosphere. Perhaps because of the clothes the characters wear or the style of the images presented.

The background of the story and characters is built quite well. At the beginning, the main character’s story and what drives him to adventure with his father are introduced, as well as the encounter with the antagonist monster created to introduce that character to the audience.

Then, with that strong foundation, the conflict is built gradually with various clues presented. Some battles are also presented quite interestingly. Unfortunately, reaching the climax of the conflict takes quite a long time. The excitement only really feels in the last third of the film. Besides that, there are too many scenes wanting to be presented, making the story sometimes show transitions that are a bit choppy and less smooth.

The story’s resolution might be somewhat unsatisfying for fans of the game. #spoiler. With the appearance of a virus supposedly ‘intentionally’ created by the game’s creator to make players realize they are inside the game, it feels a little illogical. Because it’s unlikely a creator would intentionally destroy their own game just to make players ‘aware’ of real life.

Nevertheless, the ending is still presented quite well and unexpectedly. With narration that also explains the conclusion of the main character’s feelings and how important the game is to him.

The choice of music and sound effects is done very well, matching each scene. Although the voice acting is done by actors, not VO actors, it is still done very well. The story and emotions of the characters are conveyed effectively.

Overall, this film is interesting to watch but may be a bit heavy for children.

 

Memorable scene:

Luca realizing his feelings, proposing to Bianca in the middle of a restaurant and in front of the restaurant’s guests. The dialogue spoken by Luca truly shows how much he loves Bianca. Through this scene, we realize that often we do not recognize the feelings we have for someone until we really explore those feelings.

 
Memorable dialogue:

"Your true love is someone you can tell anything to"

 

Ending:

Happy Ending

 

Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna)