n the distant future in a magical land, dragons of all varieties rampage through villages terrorizing the locals. Gbwizdo, the business man, and Lian Chu, the warrior, and their faithful tiny dragon companion, Hector, venture from town to town by way of their flying machine to dispatch any fire-breathing, snot-blowing, village-wrecking dragon they've been contracted to get rid of.
In "It's a Dragon's Life," Hector feels unappreciated. As he tirelessly works, Gbwizdo barely remembers he's around until he needs something done. The little dragon makes a decision and leaves home. When Lian Chu realizes Hector is gone, he becomes depressed. Gbwizdo figures Hector can be replaced and brings Lian Chu a dog. However, they soon discover that when it comes to a dragon fight, the dog is not much help.
Meanwhile, Hector discovers a large dragon that looks just like him, except it's 10 times bigger. The large dragon begins showing him what it's really like to be a dragon. While eating chunks of wood and other unpleasant things doesn't really appeal to Hector, he does like trying to scare the confused villagers.
When the dog leads the dragon hunters to Hector, Lian Chu and Gbwizdo tell him he's taken up with the wrong side. With Lian Chu ready to fight him, Hector has to decide if he wants to be a dragon or go back to being the dragon hunter's helper.
And in "Billy Taughnut," Gbwizdo and Lian Chu run into a friend from their orphanage with a problem. Billy's village is being terrorized by a spiderlike dragon, and he hires his two friends to get rid of it. However, when the group arrives, the villagers want them to leave, despite their fear of the dragon. It soon becomes clear that the dragon has figured out a way to mimic someone very close to Billy, and if the dragon hunters aren't careful they may end up as dragon food.
Mostly for the young at heart
Dragon Hunters combines the familiar characters of the clown and the warrior for adventures, along the lines of the syndicated series Hercules. This French import tries very hard to be funny, but only young children will find it humorous. That said, Dragon Hunters is a colorfully drawn series that grows on you if you take the time to watch more than one episode.
In "It's a Dragon's Life," the series begins with Lian Chu and Gbwizdo together. The goofy Gbwizdo is always on the lookout for someone to pay the bills, while the enormous Lian Chu worries more about his friends and fighting dragons. We also get an introduction to Hector, who doesn't really look like a dragon, and discover the relationship among the three. Apparently any big monster with destructive tendencies is called a dragon, but it gives the artists and writers license when it comes to creating beasts for the dragon hunters to fight.
As for the stories, the creative staff has tried to put a bit of heart in each episode, which is nice, considering Gbwizdo's mercenary goal ... to get paid. In "It's a Dragon's Life," it's about friendship, and in the second episode, "Billy Taughnut," it's about valuing the family we create. The episode gives us more background into the relationship between Lian Chu and Gbwizdo as we discover why the characters are friends. This is the best episode of the first three, utilizing a creative monster and giving us a little more insight into both the characters and the dragons they fight.
Dragon Hunters is very stylized. The character design is distinctive, and the world has its own unique look. The dragons they battle are often a bit familiar, like the spider dragon and a Chinese dragon, but it works, providing fun and interesting visuals that we can relate to.
