Taro the Dragon Boy Review

Hello there!

Well, today marks number 9 of the reviews I got left. My number 9 is also a special review, much like my review for La Blue Girl a couple months back. Whereas that review was very adult, today’s is very much child-friendly, and wonderful in so many ways. With that said, let examine the enchanting Taro the Dragon Boy, and see if it’s the children’s classic that everybody says it is.

Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb webpage:

“Lazy and selfish Taro loves to eat and sleep, and wrestle with the animals. With no direction in his life, a wizard appears that gives him a special potion. With this potion, he gains the strength of a hundred men. But the catch is he can only use it when he is helping others. Taro learns that his long lost mother was turned into a dragon, and he is suddenly given a purpose in life: Track down his mother and free her from the spell, all the while trying to help the peasants of his village.”

That’s all there is. This isn’t a deep story, yet somehow it’s very deep, and full of emotions both positive & negative. There’s also a lot of things to learn in this story, especially for kids (But teenagers & adults might get something out of this also). Overall, it’s simple but nice.

Setting
Taro the Dragon Boy takes place within the ancient countryside of Japan. Everything here is very primal: ancient magic & curses exist, nature is still at the forefront so to speak, animals can speak with people, and demons (Oni) lurk in the mountains. The houses of the farmers look worn down, and light & hope seem to be in short supply. Despite all the pessimism, there’s a sense of wonder & awe, thanks in most part to all of the fantastical elements in the world that this movie takes place in.  Both light & dark come together to create a unique setting that’ll have adults impressed, and kids smiling.

Characters
If there’s any one fault I have with this movie, it’s the characters. It’s actually two things, and they are as follows:

1) Small Cast: Despite being a simple but epic story, there’s not that many characters. You only have a small core of primary characters, and a group of secondary characters that isn’t much larger than the primary ones.
2) Not Complex: Again with the story, none of the characters aren’t all that complex in terms of thought. Most of the characters (primary & secondary) really just help out Taro, who seems to be the only character (In my opinion) that moves things along. There are moments where the other characters to get sometime in the spotlight, but it’s really only to help Taro out in someway.

Despite these problems, none of the characters aren’t likable. Quite the opposite in fact: just about all of the characters have some kind of charm. From the Red Oni’s personality combo of terror & cowardice, to the ethereal innocence of Aya, just about everyone has something to them that draws the viewer into the movie.

Animation
To put it simply, this movie has some of the most stunning animation I’ve ever seen! Despite coming out in the late 70s (1979, to be specific), Taro the Dragon Boy is gorgeous. There’s the backgrounds, which look simplistic yet realistic, almost as if they were from a painting. You’ve got the characters, who range from average (in a good way) to lovely. Finally, this movie knows when to be slower paced, and fast during the action scenes, as well as keeping an aura of mystery & magic around it. Overall, this is one of the movie’s best qualities!

Voice Acting
Despite being a rather old title, Taro the Dragon Boy’s voice acting has managed to hold up remarkably well. The voice actor that I recognized almost immediately was Billie Lou Watt, whom some of you many recognize as the voice actor of Kimba from Kimba the White Lion. She voices Taro, and successfully brings out that character’s strong, stubborn, and later tender personality. One of the other characters (The Black Oni) also had a voice actor that I recognized from Kimba the White Lion, but I don’t know his name at the moment, yet he did a good job as well. The various other voice actors also seemed to sound great also, and overall their voices still manage to sound great now.

Episodes & Episode Length
Taro the Dragon Boy is a well-sized movie, but not like some of my more recent reviews. This OVA is an hour & 15 minutes long, making it just right for younger viewers who don’t like long movies. Given how kid friendly this OVA is, this is good for either watching in the afternoon, or right when they need to sleep (As a substitute for a nighttime story).

Availability & Pricing
Although it was released back in 2002 on tape, there aren’t enough copies of them for me to suggest to you to pick one up. Instead, I suggest that you pick up the 2006 DVD edition from Amazon. As I was writing this, there are 15 new copies available for purchase, along with 4 used copies. The new copies start at almost 11 dollars, while the used copies start at a little over 9 dollars. Since there’s barely any used DVDs, go straight for the new ones.

Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.

For the most part, Taro the Dragon Boy is a whole movie that’s perfect for kids, but there’s two scenes that are kinda.....weird for a kids movie. In the opening credits, you see Taro dancing & playing with the animals of the forest. At one point Taro does a cartwheel, and his pants (?) fall down, showing his penis! This would be okay for maybe a second, but it’s up on the screen for perhaps 5 seconds! Creepy?

The second scene is right towards the end. After Taro confronts the dragon (SPOILERS: it is revealed that the dragon is Taro’s mother), the dragon’s body falls apart, revealing Taro’s mother in her human form. This is all well and good, but his mom is completely naked, and you even get a shot of her in the front, breasts & nipples & all. It’s not very detailed, but you get the general idea.

General Impression & Rating
Taro the Dragon Boy is one of those films that’s just perfect for kids. Made in a time when kids movies weren’t dumb down just for the sake of sales, it has a story that’s deep but not complex, a magical setting, and it has a cast that’s pretty damn likable. If you want to introduce your kids to the world of anime, or you want to bring your inner child out to play, then buy & watch this movie!

Taro the Dragon Boy gets a 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!