DICK SAUCER
DS
The kingdom's impossibly handsome singing star is also a famous dragon slayer, because apparently being a pop idol was not enough of a career. Mink adores him long before meeting him, and continues doing so even after King Siva convinces Dick that she is a dangerous red dragon in disguise. Dick is skilled, vain and completely comfortable singing his own praises while walking into battle. The joke works because Mink never stops seeing the glamorous idol while the audience gets increasing amounts of evidence that perhaps she could aim a little higher.
DICK THROUGH THE ARCHIVE //
MINK'S IMPOSSIBLE QUEST //
Open page →Dick Saucer Is Both Dream Boy and Natural Predator
Open →Dick Saucer is a famous singer, a glamorous celebrity and an accomplished dragon slayer. Mink is already obsessed with him before the two are properly thrown together, which means the joke is built into his job description.
King Siva exploits that contradiction by convincing Dick that Mink is the dangerous red dragon he should be hunting. Mink then has to deal with the surreal problem of being attacked by the person whose posters she would probably still keep afterward.
King Siva exploits that contradiction by convincing Dick that Mink is the dangerous red dragon he should be hunting. Mink then has to deal with the surreal problem of being attacked by the person whose posters she would probably still keep afterward.
Why it matters
Dragon Half turns the usual romantic obstacle into a fantasy-species problem. Mink's crush is funny because every new fact about Dick should make her reconsider it, and absolutely none of them do.
Mink Is Half Dragon and Completely Certain This Is the Problem
Open →Mink's situation sounds like the beginning of a serious fantasy tragedy: she is the daughter of the legendary swordsman Rouce and the imperial red dragon Mana, and the boy she adores is a professional dragon slayer.
Dragon Half immediately refuses to treat that premise with the dignity Mink thinks it deserves. Mink does not conclude that Dick Saucer may be a terrible romantic choice. She concludes that the obvious solution is to stop being half dragon.
Dragon Half immediately refuses to treat that premise with the dignity Mink thinks it deserves. Mink does not conclude that Dick Saucer may be a terrible romantic choice. She concludes that the obvious solution is to stop being half dragon.
Why it matters
The People Potion quest works because Mink's goal is emotionally sincere and logically ridiculous at the same time. The OVA never laughs at her for wanting to be loved. It laughs at the spectacular route she decides love requires.
The People Potion Gives the OVA a Quest It Never Finishes
Open →Once Mink hears about the People Potion, the OVA suddenly has the shape of a larger fantasy adventure. If she can obtain it, she believes she can become fully human and finally remove the obstacle between herself and Dick Saucer.
The important part for this adaptation is what does not happen. The two-episode OVA never reaches the full manga quest. Episode two is still Mink Enters the Tournament to Fund the People Potion Quest.
The important part for this adaptation is what does not happen. The two-episode OVA never reaches the full manga quest. Episode two is still Mink Enters the Tournament to Fund the People Potion Quest.
What changed
The People Potion turns Mink's crush into an adventure objective, but the anime ends while that objective is still opening up. Dragon Half is a surviving fragment of a bigger adaptation rather than a complete version of Mink's story.
BRUTAL KILLER MARTIAL ARTS TOURNAMENT GUIDE //
Open page →Mink Enters the Tournament to Fund the People Potion Quest
Open →Episode two gives Mink a brutally practical obstacle: adventures cost money. The Brutal Killer Martial Arts Tournament offers a 50,000-gamble prize large enough to keep the People Potion search moving, so Mink enters.
Naturally, the tournament also gathers almost everyone who has a reason to make her life worse. Dick Saucer is there. Princess Vina is there. Damaramu returns rebuilt as a cyborg. Dug Fin enters as an actually dangerous demon warrior. Rosario and King Siva are still trying to turn the event against her.
Naturally, the tournament also gathers almost everyone who has a reason to make her life worse. Dick Saucer is there. Princess Vina is there. Damaramu returns rebuilt as a cyborg. Dug Fin enters as an actually dangerous demon warrior. Rosario and King Siva are still trying to turn the event against her.
Why it matters
The tournament is not a detour from the quest. It is Dragon Half's version of travel expenses.
Dug Fin reaches the final as the tournament's most credible fighter. He has enough speed, firepower and control that Mink cannot simply stumble through the match while everyone else defeats themselves.
The Breakdown
The fight finally lets Mink's half-dragon strength operate as an advantage instead of the embarrassing feature she wants the People Potion to erase. She survives Dug Fin's attacks, answers with the power she normally wishes she did not have and wins the tournament.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The OVA never gives Mink enough time to rethink her entire quest, but its last major fight quietly makes the contradiction obvious. The dragon half she wants to remove is the reason she can keep moving forward.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The OVA never gives Mink enough time to rethink her entire quest, but its last major fight quietly makes the contradiction obvious. The dragon half she wants to remove is the reason she can keep moving forward.
DRAGON HALF COMEDY MECHANICS //
Open page →Mink is embarrassed by the part of herself she cannot easily hide, while Vina has a concealed mixed-species problem of her own. She is half slime and maintains the appearance of an ordinary human princess through magic.
That makes the rivalry wonderfully dishonest. Vina uses Mink's dragon heritage as ammunition in their competition over Dick Saucer while hiding a heritage that is no more conventionally human than Mink's.
That makes the rivalry wonderfully dishonest. Vina uses Mink's dragon heritage as ammunition in their competition over Dick Saucer while hiding a heritage that is no more conventionally human than Mink's.
Why it matters
The joke underneath the rivalry is that both girls are measuring themselves against an imaginary standard of normality for the benefit of a man who has done very little to earn this level of effort.
