Dragon Half (1993)

[ドラゴンハーフ]

Volume 5

Author/Artist: Ryusuke Mita
Publisher: Fujimi Fantasia Comics

Synopsis:
The Demon King Azatodeth himself appears to personally oversee Mig's rematch with Mink.

Story/Characters:
Azatodeth finally appears in person and he's not quite what you'd expect. I do really like how Mig and Vena have developed into a villainous battle couple. There's some nice dramatic tension with the element of the power limiter to delay Mink's second ecdysis. We later go to the Sea Kingdom and get introduced to characters like Dick's cousin Sonic and the mermaid warriors Rosa and Lydia. Queen Anna was fairly interesting and it might have been interesting how a character like her would be handled in a more serious story. Log the eldest of Azatodeth's sons moves more into the foreground, but I don't enjoy his screentime as much as Mig's or even Dug's (who's been pretty well pushed to the sidelines). I did enjoy Suzuki, though. More demon lords should have Japanese receptionists handling the front desk.

Art:
If you're familiar with the OAV, it represents the stage of Mita's art in this volume. It's more distinctive than his work at the start of the series but isn't quite as overdeveloped as it gets by the end. Also, I find Rosa and Lydia to be particularly cute.

Other:
The continuation of "High School Detective Mink" acts as bookends for this volume.

Conclusion:
There is some good material here, particularly with the Sea Kingdom. We're gearing up for the final stretch and if you're a fan, you're going to want to keep reading.

Rating:
Read It