AKA: 黄龍の耳 (Kouryuu no Mimi), Ear of the Yellow Dragon
Genre: Action drama
Length: OAV, 2 episodes, 27 minutes each
Distributor: Currently unlicensed in North America (likely to stay that way)
Content Rating: R (sex, violence, the usual suspects)
Also Recommended: Other sites compare it to Crying Freeman. No, really.
Notes: Based on the manga by Noriyoshi Inoue, which has also had a Super Famicom game spinoff ... and was also featured in numerous pachinko parlors.
Ear of the Golden Dragon
There's an ancient clan of...
descendants of a golden dragon...
who inherited its powers...
who happen to be human...
(getting annoyed yet?)
And they seem to have some sort of influence on world politics...
They are fighting...
some other ancient clan...
of descendants of some lusty god...
that's about it. Add some angsty deaths and...
you have...
this anime in a...
Excuse me while I hurl.
The above synopsis shows the type of dialogue you can expect to find in this anime. Why is it they pause to say something, and then decide to utter something, pause again, and utter more words?)
(Editor-in-Chief: That's called the "William Shatner" school of dialogue, Eric.)
The characters are impulsive, stereotypical and overall nonsensical. Let's start with the Dragon-Ear-guy - he's got the "lets scream my lover's name out loudly" attribute of Tamahome from Fushigi Yuugi, the "hey, when I take my earring off, not only do my ears glow, I shoot fireballs! And divert bullets!" nonsense from Dragon Ball Z, AND the looks of any number of bishounen characters. If only the cels that contain his image had a better quality. The animation is quite horrid in this anime - I would rather have the paper doll episode from KareKano!!
Then there's the damsel in distress, with her "hey I am from the rival clan" (don't worry, I haven't spoiled anything, for this is stated at the very beginning of the anime!) plot device. And the subsequent stubborn "No!! We can't be together!!! We're enemies!! But I love you!! No, but save me from my own clan!!" Come on people!!! This has not only been done plenty of times before, but it's unrealistic! Especially the way these guys do it!
The rest of the characters, such as the main bad guy, who loves to show off his muscular build and loves to self-destruct (heh heh..) are equally stereotypical. The music wasn't anything to write home about, rather repetitive and droopy. And the frame rate gives me the impression that I am on one of those nickelodeon movie machines from the early 1900s.
Gratuitous sex is included, but it's so boring you may not get to that point in the tape! If you find this on a digital source list, heed this advice: pass it up. It's really unremarkable fare.
Last note: no self-respecting gambler would leave a slot machine he just got three sevens on to some unknown lady, and getting 777 on most slot machines nowadays nets you 100-800 coins tops! Not the millions of coins that seem to sprout from the slots in this anime!
Boooooooring. Quick!! Stick Tale of Genji into the VCR!!! Please!!! — Eric Gaede
Recommended Audience: Well, there's one sex scene, although it really doesn't look like sex, just some two-dimensional people rubbing legs together; and a guy that blows up; and skimpy outfits on seventy percent of the characters. So, no! It's *not* appropriate for normal people. Think U-Jin, only less raunchy.
Version(s) Viewed: digital source
Review Status: Full (2/2)
Ear of the Golden Dragon © 1995 OLM