Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation, Starring with Yoshimasa Hosoya are Takuma Terashima, Maaya Sakamoto, Hochu Otsuka, and Yoshitsugo Matsuoka.
Designer: Eiichiro Oda
Sunghoo Park, director
Watching on Netflix
Japanese language (subtitles included)
One episode, roughly twenty-five minutes in length
What Does It Concern
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation: Netflix appears to be fully committed to the One Piece franchise. This year, they announced that the new Egghead Island arc of the One Piece anime will debut with brand-new episodes every week. The live-action series was recently renewed for a second season after becoming a huge hit. Netflix has decided to adapt a one-shot written by Eiichiro Oda prior to him starting to write One Piece, titled Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation, in order to continue this trend.
Examining the script:
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation: 103 Mercies are monsters. Without a doubt, Eiichiro Oda, who has been the world’s most popular mangaka for a few decades, wrote and illustrated the plot for Dragon Damnation. Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation delivers on its promise of providing an early look at Oda’s creative process. It helps to comprehend the author’s writing style and the extent to which he has developed since penning this tale, which was named simply “Monsters.”
103 Mercies are monsters. Dragon Damnation is an exceptional anime episode because it demonstrates how Eiichiro Oda, who decided to differentiate himself from other manga artists by being greatly influenced by Disney and other western cartoon studios, had the gift of a real storyteller from a very young age. Because of this, the episode’s plot and character behavior have a confident, classic Disney feel to them. These elements would later become a mainstay of Eiichiro Oda’s writing, so seeing them here is a welcome surprise, especially for One Piece fans.
Despite being condensed, the episode does a good job of opening and ending a tale. In just twenty-five minutes, it introduces the characters, the problems, and the solutions to the situation. It also provides us with a link to One Piece, which heightens the sense of urgency and relevance. While there isn’t much world-building in this work, Eiichiro Oda’s ability to develop his world is truly remarkable, and that skill will always be one of his best assets as a writer. Nevertheless, the connection to the main One Piece plot makes it all worthwhile.
Therefore, even if Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is a simple plot, it’s still enjoyable. Nothing could be further from the truth than the misconception held by many critics and audience members regarding the relationship between complexity and creativity and excellence. Because Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is a conventional Western story without a particularly distinctive setting, it isn’t particularly creative, yet it nevertheless succeeds in ways that other brief narratives fail to do. Why? because the execution is extremely remarkable and there is a purpose.
103 Mercies are monsters. The limited cast of Dragon Damnation makes sense when you consider that the entire one-shot, a wrap-up tale written by a manga writer for exposure or tie-in purposes, is adapted into 25 minutes. All of the actors providing the voices do an amazing job of bringing these early character sketches to life, even though there are only four primary characters in the cast—three if you exclude one character who is simply there to further the plot.
Music & Direction:
103 Mercies are monsters. Dragon Damnation is created by E&H Productions, an animated production company that Sunghoo Park, the director of the episode, founded two years ago. Park has experience with quality animation, having worked on shows like Jujutsu Kaisen and The God of High School. Given that this is the studio’s debut release, we should expect great things from them in the future. The animation gives that familiar and beloved MAPPA flavor while preserving the integrity of Eiichiro Oda’s drawings.
Final Thoughts:
103 Mercies are monsters. Given that Dragon Damnation proves that Netflix is, at least for the time being, compromised with the One Piece franchise, it seems like a wise investment. Additionally, it’s the ideal business card for E&H Productions, who are gearing up to launch Ninja Kamui, their first fully animated series, this year. With the conclusion of the Wano arc just recently, the episode feels like a beautiful bowtie and portends well for One Piece’s further growth and fan base expansion.
