Legendz and Dragon Drive

 

So sometimes I watch this "Anime" from "Japan" where they speak "Japanese" and totally sweet webmasters like myself have to use "Subtitles" or "Dubs" to tell what's "Going on." Doesn't mean I want to marry it. In fact, I only watch anime if I have any reason to believe there may be a dragon at some point in time. Duh. Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't count though, because their "Dragon concept" is so "overused" that the dragons are now "faceless" and "unremarkable."

Early on in Yu-Gi-Oh you had, oh, about three dragons. Red-Eyes Black, Blue-Eyes White (did I mention I'm annoyed by the naming scheme too?), and the Baby Dragon, which could turn into the Millennium Dragon with the aid of the Time Wizard's risky special move (which defied theoretical probability and always saved Joey's butt.) Now it's just one big mess, and they always do the same dull moves (usually a breath weapon - yawn) and have hardly any animation. Also, the players stack their decks and make up new rules when convenient.

To get to the point of this article, Legendz and Dragon Drive are two animes that join the legions of "Collect/train one or multiple monster(s)/dragon(s) and use it/them as a combatant(s)/utility(ies) to be the greatest game player/monster trainer/save the world." Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and a slew of others fit this criteria, I'm sure. But there is a problem! Aside from some different methodologies, and of course, art and characters; Legendz and Dragon Drive are virtually the same thing. The purpose of this article is to prove this point.

In Dragon Drive: Oozora Reiji is described as a lazy underachiever that can never really stay focused on anything, simply because nothing interests him. That changes when his friend, Yukino Maiko, introduces him to Dragon Drive, a virtual-reality game in which you use your own personal dragon to fight with others. "Being the best" changes pretty quickly into "saving the world."

In Legendz: Shu is a moronic kid whose father gives him a "talispod" (handheld device) which he built at work. Well, it's a "defective" talispod, but never mind that. For being "defective" and "useless" it sure seems like the toy company, "Dark Wizard Co." really really wants his talispod, and constantly sends Legendz (powerful or unusual creatures) after him to try and steal it.

Anyway, in simple list format; Legendz pictures are on the left, Dragon Drive on the right:
 

• Both main characters are, at least initially, complete dunces. (To be fair, Reiji wises up pretty fast)
   

• They both have a female companion with a mean streak.
   

• They both have a "wise companion," or otherwise someone that can see what others can't.
   

• Both main characters have control over a dragon (Chibisuke in DD; Shiron in Legendz, by the way).
   

• Both main characters are The Chosen One.
   

• Both dragons have smaller forms readily described as "kawaii" or "cute."
   

• While "kawaii," both dragons have a severely stunted ability to speak. This makes them more "kawaii."
   

• While "kawaii," they can comically cause superficial injury to the main character.
   

• Both dragons can transform into a larger size when required. (Small is just more easily portable)
   

• While in their larger forms, they are unstoppable.
   

• Both dragons are altruistic regarding their dullard masters.
   

In spite of Chibi's advantage of "the author of this website first seeing Dragon Drive over a year earlier," Shiron has so many good attributes unshared by Chibi:

• Shiron gets a totally sweet English-speaking, carrot-nosed narrator to translate for him when he's "kawaii."

• He can speak normally when he's in his larger form.

• He isn't always so violent toward the other Legendz. (The crocodile is a Negotiator and didn't really want to fight anyway.)

• He has that cool old-style pilot's helmet with the goggles he'll never, ever, use.

• His most powerful opponent is also a dragon. Reiji and Chibi are up against this irritating, dragon-murdering kid, Kohei Toki. Sure, Kohei's got a dragon too, but his name is "Light Machine" and he gets no spotlight whatsoever.

So it's obvious that Legendz is all just a giant copy off Dragon Drive. Never mind that the hero of Naruto is a complete dunce, that all of the pokemon have a stunted ability to speak, that Guilomon turns into Growlmon if needed, or that we have more Chosen Ones running around than we can keep up with.

They're both just giant copies of the other.