Netflix’s Dota: Dragon’s Blood Review: Interesting, But From the Outside

Dota: Dragon’s Blood is a fantasy anime series directed by So Young Park and Eui Jeong Kim, created by Ashley Miller and starring Yuri Lowenthal, Lara Pulver, Troy Baker and Freya Tingley, alongside other cast members.

For someone who is blissfully unaware of what Dota is all about, Dragon’s Blood comes off as a series that is entertainment all around but does little to make me understand what that world is made up of. Dota: Dragon’s Blood features a host of storylines, a lot of blood and some lore but the amalgamation of it all, although very entertaining to watch, does not stick with me, as someone who has no prior information.

Dragon’s Blood follows Dragon Knight Davion as he tries to understand and get rid of the dragon inhabiting his body, with the help of Mirana and Marci and their huge cat. There are other storylines and magical creatures as well – actually, Dragon’s Blood is filled to the brim with storylines which makes watching this very fun and interesting. However, if you’re looking to dive deep into it all, you’d probably be a little disappointed.

The series goes over a lot of materials in the span of 8 very short episodes. As a result, there are a lot of things that are left unsaid and unexplained throughout its ~4-hour runtime. The pacing is fast, as a result, and it doesn’t give you a chance to be bored at any point. If anything, it’s entertaining as all hell, and the prior knowledge of Dota isn’t a prerequisite, so that’s a plus point. The sheer number of people and plots always keeps you on your toes and doesn’t give you a chance to linger too long on the negatives.

However, as is seen in series like these, Dragon’s Blood misses out on explaining a lot of what is going on on-screen and fleshing out its characters more. This isn’t to say that the characters are in an absolutely dismal state – they aren’t. But still, the fantasy genre is interesting and a place where the impossible happens. It doesn’t hurt to learn a bit more about your protagonists. The people in the series, too, don’t really interact interestingly. As in, their lives don’t mesh with each other in a way that can make you sit up and take notice. It’s fine, but it’s not memorable.

However, for lovers of gore and blood, Dragon’s Blood will be a fine watch. There are heads being ripped open and blood spewing in different directions as the norm. And that is a result of some great action sequences. The fights are well-made and choreographed, the actions are fluid and the reactions and results real and believable (well, as believable as possible). The animation, too, is splendid. Studio Mir, who is behind the series, has done a fantastic job bringing the world of Dota to life. All of these factors make Dragon’s Blood a spectacular watch.

Summing up: Dota: Dragon’s Blood

Dota: Dragon’s Blood is a series that very well lives up to its fantasy name. It’s fast, interesting and there’s a lot going for it. However, you won’t get a look into Dota’s world in-depth and that kind of leaves you out of the experience. I mean, I am not essentially interested to go and look into what all of this is about and if you think about it, that’s kind of sad. At 8 episodes, Dragon’s Blood is an entertaining watch and people who are getting exposed to it for the first time won’t feel excluded either.

Dota: Dragon’s Blood is streaming on Netflix.

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