Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes - A Thorough Review of The Prince's Journey

Dragon Slayer: The Legend of the Prince - A deeply moving and courageous story

■ Public Media

OVA

■ Original Media

game

■ Release date

October 21, 1992

■Release and sales

Released by: Amuse Video, Distributed by: King Records

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 2

■Original Story

・Original work: Nihon Falcom

■ Director

Noriyoshi Nakamura

■ Production

・Production: DragonSlayer:PROJECT, FAI international CO:LTD.

■Works

©1992 Nihon Falcom/Amuse Video/Dynamic Planning

■ Story

The king of the Kingdom of Farlane is killed by a scheme by Akdam, a close aide to the king, and the country is taken over. When the king's son, Prince Serios, turns 16 and becomes the heir to the throne, he joins the resistance army to fight against Akdam in order to save his people.

■Explanation

Based on the first chapter of "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes," the sixth installment in the "Dragon Slayer" PC game series produced by Nihon Falcom, this OVA will be released in two volumes, each with one episode. Although the characters and story development are different from the game, it is a classic fantasy in which the righteous protagonist, Serios, challenges the evil Akudam.

■Cast

・Cerios/Kappei Yamaguchi・Sonia/Wakana Yamazaki・Akdam/Shigezo Sasaoka・Runan/Hideyuki Hori・Gale/Akio Otsuka・Law/Nobuo Tobita・Zagi/Kazuo Oka・Monster/Shinichiro Ota・Felicia/Mari Yokoo・Aron/Kohei Miyauchi

■ Main staff

・Producer/Miyashita Masayuki・Original Story/Nihon Falcom・Planning Cooperation/Kato Masayuki・Producers/Nakazawa Minoru, Haruta Katsunori・Original Character Design/Ishikawa Ken・Special Effects Supervisor/Mori Kazuaki・Screenplay/Matsuzaki Kenichi・Director/Nakamura Noriyoshi・Storyboards/Nakamura Noriyoshi, Nanba Hitoshi, Mori Kazuaki, Hiramatsu Yoshifumi・Animation Character Design/Hirai Hisashi・ENEMY Character Design/Nakamura Akira・Monster Character Design/Yanagisawa Tetsuya・Animation Director/Hirai Hisashi・Art Director/Waki Takeshi・Music Producer/Sakai Fujio・Music Director/Uchida Takuo, Ishikawa Mieko・Music and Composer/Falcom Sound Team JDK
・Arrangement/Terashima Tamiya ・Sound Director/Hayase Hiroyuki ・Editor/Kishi Mari ・Production Manager/Minagawa Mamoru ・Production/DoragonSlayer:PROJECT, FAI international CO:LTD.

■ Main Characters

・The prince of the Kingdom of Seriosfarlane, a warm-hearted and passionate man who rises up to take back his country from Akdam.
He unleashes countless monsters on the Kingdom of Akdamfarlane, occupies the royal castle, and oppresses the people with his dictatorial regime.

■Subtitle

・The Prince's Journey Chapter 1 ・The Prince's Journey Chapter 2

■ Related works

・PC game "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes"

■Detailed evaluation and recommendation

■ Depth and development of the story

"Dragon Slayer: The Prince's Journey" is the story of Prince Serios of the Kingdom of Farlane, who embarks on a journey to avenge his father, the king, who was killed by his aide Akdam's scheme, and to reclaim his country. This OVA is based on the first chapter of the game "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes," but is notable for its different characters and story development. Prince Serios is portrayed as a hot-blooded man with a strong sense of justice, and his growth and struggles deeply move viewers.

The story unfolds as Serios confronts Akdam with the resistance army, depicting his bonds with his comrades and his courage in overcoming difficulties. In particular, the way Serios grows as he cooperates with his comrades will give courage and hope to viewers. The contrast between Akdam's ruthlessness and Serios' sense of justice adds tension and depth to the story.

■Character design and voice actors

The character designs are beautifully created by Ken Ishikawa, the original character designer. The bravery of Serios and the ruthlessness of Akudam are visually expressed, drawing the hearts of viewers. The drawings by Hisashi Hirai, the animation character designer, are also of extremely high quality, with the characters' expressions and movements carefully drawn down to the smallest detail.

The voice actors are also impressive, with Yamaguchi Kappei's hot-blooded performance as Serios and Sasaoka Shigezo's cold-heartedness as Akudam standing out. Yamaguchi Kappei's voice for Serios in particular deeply touches the viewer, further enhancing the emotional impact of the story. Additionally, the voice actors for each character, such as Yamazaki Wakana as Sonia and Otsuka Akio as Gale, bring their characters to life with great force.

■Music and Sound

The music, composed by Falcom Sound Team JDK and arranged by Tamiya Terashima, is an important element in enhancing the atmosphere of the story. In particular, the background music that heightens the tension in battle scenes and the beautiful melodies in moving scenes are impressive. In addition, under the direction of sound director Hiroyuki Hayase, the sound effects are also very realistic, enhancing the viewer's sense of immersion.

■ Production and Director

Director Noriyoshi Nakamura is also in charge of storyboards, ensuring consistency in the visual aspects of the story. With the help of special effects supervisor Kazuaki Mori and scriptwriter Kenichi Matsuzaki, the story unfolds smoothly and keeps the viewer engaged. The high quality animation was achieved with the cooperation of production companies DragonSlayer:PROJECT and FAI international CO:LTD.

■ Recommendation points

"Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes" is a moving story about the growth and battles of the righteous protagonist, Serios. The character designs, voice acting, music and sound are all of very high quality, making it a work that deeply moves and inspires viewers. I would especially recommend it to those who like fantasy anime and heroic legends. I also hope that fans of the game "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes" will enjoy the different story development of the OVA version.

■ Related works and their appeal

"Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes - The Prince's Journey" is based on the first chapter of the PC game "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes", but the OVA version has different characters and story development. In the game version, the player can adventure as Serios, but the OVA version visually depicts Serios' growth and battles. By enjoying both, you will be able to understand the story more deeply. In addition, other "Dragon Slayer" series by Nihon Falcom are also recommended as works that you can enjoy fantasy and adventure.

■ Viewer reactions and ratings

"Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes - The Prince's Journey" has been highly praised by viewers. In particular, there has been much praise for the moving portrayal of Serios' growth and battles, as well as the character design and the performances of the voice actors. The high quality of the music and sound has also been praised, and is cited as a factor that enhances the viewer's immersive experience. Many viewers are fans of fantasy anime and heroic legends, and this work has lived up to their expectations.

■ Summary

"Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes" is a moving story about the growth and battles of Serios, and the character designs, voice acting, music and sound are all of very high quality. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy anime and legends of heroes. I also hope that fans of the game "Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes" will enjoy the different story development of the OVA version. Through this work, viewers will be able to feel courage and hope.