While the Dragon Quest series of video games is hugely popular in its own rights, the manga spin-off has been especially successful.
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai was a weekly shonen manga that ran from 1989 to 1996 and sold around 50 million copies. Its name is amongst the other classics of its era, like Yu Yu Hakusho, Slam Dunk, and Dragon Ball, to name a few.
Written by Riku Sanjo and illustrated by Koji Inada, this story is about Dai, who was raised by monsters on a small island.
It has a very typical shonen adventure plot: ex-hero trains a boy, an old villain returns and kills the mentor, the boy awakens his inner powers and goes on a quest to avenge his master and grow stronger. (getting any Naruto vibes?)
However, this trope has been the signature of all the lovable manga of those times, and Dragon Quest is still well-liked by the fans who are now in their late-30s. It has a very modest beginning, but as the series grew on, it became one of the best shonen manga.
Considering how successful the recent video game of Dragon Quest has been worldwide, it makes sense that the company will revisit this popular spin-off, especially since 2020 is their 30th anniversary!
In fact, the manga already got an anime adaptation way back in 1991 with 46-episodes! But they left the story unfinished and ended the show with an original ending.
The new anime adaptation will also be based on the manga and will be premiering this Fall 2020.
Season 3 Release Date
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai will release October 3rd, 2020. It is scheduled to be broadcasted on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October in Japan.
The manga has also inspired an action, role-playing video game coming in 2021.
Toei Animation will be producing this upcoming anime, and it’s interesting to note that they were the ones to produce the original 1991 series.
Toei Animation has produced several anime that have reached the masses globally and touched their otaku hearts indefinitely. They created wonderful shows like One Piece, Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and more!
Great anime always need great music to back them up. The band Macaroni Enpitsu will perform the opening song, Ikiru no Suru, for Dragon Quest: Adventure of Dai. We don’t know if the OST will include the 1991 soundtracks or not, but we sorely wish it does.
We will be in charge of the opening theme song for the TV series Adventure of Dai, which will start broadcasting from October 2020! The song title is Ikiru no Suru. It’s a great honor to be involved in the anime tie-up and the wonderful work that many have loved for a long time.
English Translation, Twitter Translate
The new adaptation is said to be a hybrid style of CGI and anime-style drawings to make it more intense and visually appealing.
Toei Animation shared key visuals, new character designs and revealed the cast for them.
The official sites have released two videos promoting the series.
The first is a short trailer detailing the October 3rd release.
The second video is a 30-second PV with a preview of the opening song. It also includes various scenes from the upcoming series showcasing the 2G+CGI animation.
About Dragon Quest
The story begins with the protagonist Dai, growing up listening to the stories of the great hero, Avan defeating the Demon King, Hadlar. After Hadler’s defeat, all the monsters that were kept under his will were freed.
Dai is the only human on the island of Dremline, where most of the freed monsters fled, and he grew up surrounded by monsters. Many years later, Avan hears about the brave Dai, and comes to teach him to become a hero.
Unfortunately, Hadler gets resurrected and comes to destroy Avan. To protect his student, Avan uses a self-sacrifice spell but is unable to defeat the demon.
When all seems bleak, a mark appears on Dai’s forehead, and his true powers come out, barely fending off Hadler. Dai and Popp set off on a journey to avenge Avan and bring peace to the world.
Dragon Quest: Sequel or Stand-Alone?
Adventure of Dai is the second adaptation based on the Dragon Quest franchise. The first was the Dragon Quest: Legend of the Hero Abel in 1989, and just two years later, its sequel Adventure of Dai was released.
So, is the new 2020 adaptation a sequel? The answer is No.
The October anime is completely based on the Adventure of Dai manga and focuses on Dai as the protagonist. It may have some elements from Legend of the Hero Abel, but it isn’t necessary to watch it understand this one.
This tactic was used by Digimon’s producers when they released Digimon Adventure 2020, as a reboot of the original 1999 anime. Even the latest 19th season of Pokemon is considered a soft reboot by fans as they show scenes from Ash’s very beginning and past.
We know that Toei Animation will bring the same amount of joy to the fans as it did thirty years ago, and create new fans among the younger generation.
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