Dragon Circus: Mixture of Genres with Space to Improve

On That Fateful Day, It All Changed

The scene opens with a happy couple walking down the street enjoying their holiday vacation. Having been recently engaged they fantasize about the life that awaits them after marriage, when suddenly the sun is covered and seems to be a huge cloud reveals itself to be a beast. The myths and legends were all true. The great beast brought forth destruction and rage in its wake. People ran in a panic. The young man opened his eyes after it all went black, only to see the lifeless corpse of his beloved fiancee. As he looked up at the sky, all he knew was rage. Rage at a fiery beast that changed all life as he knew it. That was the day, he decided that he would rid the world of these terrors. "Death to all Dragons".

The "Red" Dragon

Dragon Circus is an interesting work, to say the least. With a duo known for their incredible job on the recent Ultraman manga, writer Shimizu Eiichi and artist Shimoguchi Tomohiro can convey panels with tremendous scale, while keeping the pace with their action scenes. Honestly, any panel of theirs that has to showcase a battle, or an establishing shot perfectly conveys that sense of childlike awe that we had when we saw giant robots fight giant monsters. 

Come on, a walking temple mech? That's awesome!

So, What's the Story About?

The story is not its strong suit sadly. It feels like one of those stories you would come up with as a kid to play make-believe with your friends? You know what I mean? Check it: "Man makes robot soldiers in his image to fight dragons, and clearly one shots them. There are elves with no pointed ears, dwarves who are not good at blacksmithing, witches who clearly look like lab technicians, vampires...oh and Slenderman is there too. So basically, monsters and cryptids from all parts of folklore and urban legends face off against dragons". Normally a goofy premise can work for an action manga if the story has some nuance and depth to their characters. I mean, look at other notable works of the past year like Dandadan and Chainsaw Man; they both have goofy premises but where they shine is the characters' growth and storytelling. Dragon Circus however takes itself too seriously. The characters have next to no depth, the main duo of Shikigami and Princess ( dragonslayer robot and support robot respectively) have a nice rapport with each other but feel like they were written for a different manga. The supporting characters or lack thereof have no redeeming qualities except to either give vague information or just react to whatever the main duo is doing. Thankfully, it all wraps up in a short amount of time. Having only seven chapters, the volume ends with the main duo recruiting a young woman who can control a mech that houses Shuten Douji, an evil spirit from Japanese mythology, a vampire, a white man, and "the guy in the chair" who relays all info regarding the missions. Ending of course with them naming their special combat unit "Dragon Circus".

In Closing

As a fan of manga for almost 20 years now, I get incredibly excited when a new work that has potential comes my way. The joy of reading a new tale and how this can positively affect me always has me in a chokehold as I gear up with some tunes, a cold drink, and get set to dive into a new world. So imagine my disappointment when a new manga barely makes me feel an inch of joy or at best conflicted. As I mentioned before: the artwork and panel layouts are exquisite when framing a tense confrontation. But, when it comes to the writing, it feels at best underdeveloped and trying to jam too many elements together. Hopefully, if the series gets a new lease on life and can rebuild the story more cohesively, I could pick it up again. But for now, I think it's best to let this dragon sleep in a cave. Thank you again for taking some time out of your busy schedule to read this article, and I hope you have a damn good day.

Post written by: Johannes A. Figueroa Miletti (7/31/2024)

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