Parents' Guide to

Drifting Dragons

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Ethereal anime has hunting and fantasy violence; weak plot.

TV Netflix Science Fiction 2020
Drifting Dragons Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • Drifting Dragons TV Show: Looking out at the skies for dragons
  • Drifting Dragons TV Show: Takita tries to keep up
  • Drifting Dragons TV Show: Mika won't share his gourmet dragon tale sandwich

Community Reviews

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Amber G.
Amber G. Parent of 13-year-old
August 13, 2021
age 18+

Stopped watching on episode #4 where they show an "intimate drawing" of one of the girls multiple times

The original review only covered the first 3 (of 10) episodes. Description for episode #4 says, "Hijinks ensue when an intimate drawing of Vannie appears...." The picture is a drawing of Vannie with part of a sheet covering her private areas. The picture is shown multiple times throughout the episode and there's much discussion about where the picture could have come from and who could have drawn it. When the group figures out who drew the picture, several guys made requests to have pictures drawn of women so they could keep them. We'd rather our 14yo son not watch shows like this. Had the scene with the drawing only been shown at the beginning of the episode, we would have considered skipping that scene and telling him what happened... but they showed it throughout the episode. We decided not to continue watching after this episode... so not sure about the rest of the series.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Based on the popular manga series of the same name, DRIFTING DRAGONS is an anime show that follows a group of career dragon hunters. Takita (voiced by Cassandra Lee Morris) is new to the "drakers," a crew dedicated to hunting the graceful dragons that drift among the clouds for their oil and meat. But their airship, Quin Zaza, isn't registered as an official vessel and has no port, so the crew lives independently and basically hand-to-mouth. Land dwellers have their own fears and superstitions about the dragons and the people who kill them. Takita has to learn to get along with the team, including more hardened drakers like Mika (Billy Kametz) and Vanabelle (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) as they sail through the air searching for their next hunt.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

This flighty series chronicles the antics of the Quin Zaza's crew from the point-of-view of newbie Takita. The hunting action offers some entertainment, but the rest of the narrative is filled with quirky conversations designed to keep the viewer interested until the crew chases the next dragon. Parallels can be drawn to Moby Dick and the seabound team of hunters trying to harpoon whales. There's not much of a story arc here, but the premise and characters are intriguing, and Drifting Dragons is fantastical enough to keep audiences interested.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the way dragons are depicted in Drifting Dragons. Are they like the fire-breathing creatures featured in many fantasies? Do any characters have ethical dilemmas about killing them?

  • Do you think a TV series can be poorly written and still be entertaining? Other than the storyline, what other things are used to hook audiences? Can those tactics compensate for weak storylines?

  • What are some ways Drifting Dragons reminds you of Moby Dick? How does the hunting and killing of dragons compare to whaling, from the practice's origins thousands of years ago through today?

TV Details

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