Dragonaut - The Resonance

Not a new series per se, but surprisingly enough there isn't a thread about this anime so....

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PLOT
20 years prior to the beginning of the anime, a huge asteroid entered the solar system and destroyed the planet Pluto. The asteroid became stagnant in Pluto's orbit and has sat there ever since. The asteroid was dubbed "Thanatos" by Earth's inhabitants who believe it will definitely make a move directly towards Earth. Years later, the ISDA (International Solarsystem Developement Agency) find dragon eggs on the ocean floor and begin the D-Project, to use Dragons in their fight against Thanatos. These dragons are born on Earth and are capable of taking on humanoid form - dubbed Communicators - after successfully resonating with a human. However, Thanatos has her own dragons which she sends to Earth.

2 years prior to the beginning of the series, a commercial shuttle flight towards the moon was destroyed when 3 unknown objects collided with it when they entered Earth's atmosphere. The only survivor was a boy named Jin Kamishina.

As the series begins, while being chased by a strange monster, Jin is rescued by a young girl who introduces herself as Toa. She is the first person that Jin connects easily with since the accident. He is later introduced to the ISDA who reveal the real reason of the shuttle accident 2 years before.


CHARACTERS

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Toa & Kamishina Jin

Jin Kamishina
An 18 year old who, 2 years ago, was the only survivor of a shuttle accident that claimed the lives of his family. The ISDA claimed the accident was due to human error and blamed Jin's father, who was the commanding pilot. Withdrawn, sullen and feeling alone without his family, he is saved from a monster by a girl who easily connects with him.

Toa
A mysterious girl, Toa rescues Jin from a monster who she easily outmatches in strength and agility. She seems to wield superhuman powers as she can jump great distances and heal at an incredible rate. She is on the run from the ISDA for reasons that become apparent later.


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Gio

Gio
A Communicator/Dragon born at the ISDA facility. Does not follow his master, Kazuki's, orders and is therefore regarded as a failure. He decides he was born to protect Toa and strives in that endeavour. Initially finds Jin a nuisance, but warms up to him as they both wish to protect the same person. He is a sword-type dragon, able to manifest a sword for melee combat. His name is actually from the designation G-10, which Kazuki misread as "Gio".


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Laina Cromwell & Howling Star

Laina Cromwell
Leader of the ISDA's Lindwurm Unit, Laina is a capable leader and takes care of those under his command. He is partnered with his Dragon, Howling Star.

Howling Star
Dragon partner to Laina. Usually upbeat and almost always full of energy. He is a spear-type dragon, able to manifest a spear for melee battles.


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Akira Soya & Machina

Akira Soya
A dragonaut and member of the Lindwurm Unit. A bit childish and prankish, she is usually kept in check by her dragon partner, Machina. Cares deeply for Machina though initially a bit cautious of someone who she considers an elegant lady and who is the better of her in every way. After she meets Jin, she feels that the relationship between Dragon and Master could be much more.

Machina
Dragon partner to Akira, she acts like Akira's big sister. She cares for Akira very much. She is a water-type dragon and usually manifests water whips during combat. As a dragon, she can summon water bombs and ice projectiles from her wings.


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Sieglinde Baumgard & Amadeus

Sieglinde Baumgard
The youngest member of the Lindwurm Unit. A child prodigy who graduated University at the top of her class while only 11-12 years old. She acts cold but cares for her team-mates. She is originally from Germany and her very wealthy family funds the ISDA. She is partnered with Amadeus, whom she named after her dog who was her only friend when she was younger, before he passed away.

Amadeus
Sieglinde's Dragon partner. The image of an old faithful butler to his master, Sieglinde, he is nevertheless a capable fighter. Like an old man, always worries for her safety if they are ever seperated. Amadeus is a gravity-type dragon, able to fire gravity bursts.


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Widow & Tachibana Kazuki

Kazuki Tachibana
An old school mate of Jin's, the two were friends since early childhood and had planned to go to space together. However, the shuttle accident caused Jin to drop out of the academy. Later, Kazuki joins the ISDA as a member of the Lindwurm Unit under Laina Cromwell. When he finds Jin at the ISDA headquarters he is initially thrilled but becomes disappointed when Jin refuses to join. He is initially partnered with Gio, with whom he had successfully resonated with, but Gio ignores him and helps Jin to protect Toa instead. This causes Kazuki to resent Jin for taking what he thinks should rightfully be his.

Widow
A Communicator/dragon. She does not have a master, as she lost hers sometime before the series began. She meets Kazuki and offers herself as his dragon partner since she lost someone dear to her, and feels that Kazuki has lost someone important to him as well. As her name implies, she can shoot strands of unbreakable silk from her fingertips. Her dragon form resembles a giant spider.


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IMPRESSIONS

So far I like it. It's not terribly new since it began in October and has already 19 episodes out, but since there wasn't a thread for it (I checked) I decided there should be a discussion about it. The animation is co-produced by Gonzo and the character designs are definitely reminiscent of the Witchblade anime (big booby female warriors anybody?!). It's scheduled for 25 episodes which means it's almost coming to an end. Also, strangely enough, all five main voice actors from the Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu series are all voicing major characters from this anime too. That of course doesn't guarantee it's superb, but at least these guys don't disappoint....

Wow, I wonder if all that information wasn't a bit too much? The story starts off nicely but gets a little hazy by the 17-18 episode mark. As it is nearing the end, I wonder just how they're gonna settle everything.....?

Any other thoughts and opinions?





Jam it back in, in the dark.

I haven't see any of it yet(was waiting for spring break). But i have been downloading it since I first read the plot synapse back when it first started airing. the Show looked promising, compared to all the moe garbage that has been coming out recently. I'm looking forward to starting it as soon as I can now.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Oh, hey. I hope I didn't spoil anything for you up there, Aku....

I guess this thread might become spoilerific once a discussion gets going.....if a discussion gets going, that is....

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Sorry hikarub, but this time it seems we're on different pages for this anime. Actually, we're reading different books.. no, we're not even in the same library.
I mean I liked the first few episodes but I lost interest fast.

How ya doing, buddy?

No worries, jouhou. It's not for everyone. I can't expect everyone to like the same stuff I do. By the way, you still watching Gundam 00? I dropped that like after the 10th episode....the first time I dropped a Gundam halfway through.....>_<

About the topic series though.....

Regarding Laura....

Spoiler:

....upto episode 19 and I'm still stuck on what she is exactly...

As we know, she died in the same shuttle accident as Jin's family, yet she seems to appear as an apparition in her father's apartment. Sort of a ghost with hardly any emotions. Then she goes to the moon aboard the Avenir with the rest of the cast but suddenly in episode 18 she's actually a part of the Gillard/ISDA team hunting rogue (former Lindwurm/Vitra unit) members and dragons. As if that wasn't confusing enough, we see in episode 19 that she has a stigmata like Toa and Professor Nozaki.

So she's a dragon? Where did she come from? In the accident there were 3 objects that entered Earth's atmosphere. I assume they were Toa (Album), Nozaki (Atrum) and Raum - the dead dragon kept by the ISDA in that tube until destroyed by Nozaki.

So....wtf?

I was speaking idiomatically.