I was a bit disappointed with this show. Parts of it were interesting and the animation was good, but it didn't seem to go anywhere. It could've been so much better if it were longer or if some of its holes were plugged. Don't get me wrong, it's not a hopeless film. I just got the sense that its production didn't get enough of either money or time.
The premise is actually interesting and had a lot of promise. A young girl is disgusted with the hollow and meaningless world around her, finding comfort only in the possibility that the sudden appearance of dragons might bring about the end of human civilization. Rescuing a baby dragon, she nurtures it with hopes of cleansing human corruption from Earth. Ironically, the dragons are here to save humanity from an even uglier bunch, the demons. The second episode carries on with the story in the post-apocalyptic future where dragons and humans live amongst the ruins of old cities destroyed by the demons' unsuccessful invasion.
Most of the dragons look pretty cool, if a little on the portly side. The baby dragon in episode two is very cute. He can't fly on his own so he wears a little jet pack on his back.
On the other hand, the demons are lame. The only one that looks good is disguised as something else! Their designs are unimaginative and lack any real originality. Consequently, the fight scenes that really matter are boring. The dragon martial arts arena duels in the second episode are good, but there's nothing very new here.
The story had good intentions but they were unable to realize their potential. The biggest thing the first episode needed was a history. We are asked to simply accept that dragons are suddenly here and that the demons are suddenly coming. One is to protect us from the other, there are no other explanations. A little background or "we've been here before" stuff would've gone a long way.
On top of that, Carmine is the only dragon to actually say anything in the first episode. He only does so halfway through the episode, after he instantly transforms from a baby to an adult. In the second episode all the adult dragons can talk, so it's not as if Carmine is supposed to be unique in that way. So why didn't any of his first relatives try to communicate with the humans? A simple, "Wait, don't shoot!" would've at least been worth a try...
The second episode is set in the ruins of the future. People and dragons heft rifles and swords while running around the concrete skeletons of skyscrapers they can no longer build or maintain. So why does Vermillion's tower look like a crashed spaceship?
But as I said, the tape has its good points. The character animation is good and the major personalities are engaging. That's no surprise since the character designs are by Kitazume Hiroyuki (ZETA GUNDAM, CHAR's COUNTERATTACK, MOLDIVER). If you're not bothered much by those other points then you can simply watch this for the cool dragons.
Still, both episodes feel short and move too quickly to develop properly, making the whole thing come off as sentimental and a bit simplistic. Maybe a director's cut would be better...

DRAGON CENTURY
ORDER NUMBER: USR-032
PRICE: SUBTITLED $14.98
60 MINUTES
Copyright 1985, 1996 Kubo Shoten / A.I.C.
Copyright 1996 U.S. Renditions / Books Nippan