REVIEW: ‘DOTA: Dragon’s Blood’ was made for the fans

A solid anime that will excite Dota players
by gab pe
Mar 25, 2021

FOR MANY Dota 2 players, DOTA: Dragon’s Blood was the most unexpected announcement of the year. After all, Valve, the game’s developer, didn’t really do this sort of thing for its games. But now that it's here, Dota 2 fans are certainly excited for the anime they never knew they wanted.

DOTA: Dragon’s Blood follows Davion, the Dragon Knight (yes, the same Dragon Knight from the game) as he joins Mirana, Princess of the Moon, and her mute servant Marci to recover the stolen lotuses of the goddess of the Moon Selemene.

The show has the same feel as Castlevania. It’s dark and gory, it has 18+ dialogue and scenes, and damn does it have really good fighting animations.

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Read on for a spoiler-free review of DOTA: Dragon’s Blood.

Made for the fans

As a Dota 2 fan, I loved every second of the series. If you’ve been playing the game a lot, you’ll have a field day recognizing items and characters from the game coming to life in animation. You’ll get to see heroes use their abilities such as Luna’s Lucent Beam, Mirana’s Sacred Arrow, and of course, Davion the Dragon Knight’s Elder Dragon form, and many more.

There’s even one scene in the finale where I just squealed with excitement as this hero showcased his abilities like the true late game carry he was.

That said, lore hunters may be disappointed with the show. Most of the show’s lore is just based on what many of us already know. The series doesn’t introduce a lot of brand-new stuff — except perhaps a few world-building teases.

Story feels a bit weak

Honestly, while I could go on and on about why it was great, there were still some places where DOTA: Dragon’s Blood fell short.

First off, the dialogue. There were times when I felt like the character lines fell short of pushing the story forward or giving characters added depth.

As for the story — well. It was a thrilling, exciting watch, but looking back, trying to cram this much story in a three-and-a-half-hour long 8-episode season doesn’t really give us a lot to digest. I won’t get into spoiler-level detail, but some characters felt lacking, with their motivations totally unjustified into the finale.

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There is also a major plot point that was shown in the beginning, but left hanging toward the last few episodes.

Animation and acting is topnotch

The producers did a solid job with the voice casting. I was especially thrilled to find out that Tony Todd, the in-game voice of Dragon Knight, voiced Slyrak, the Ember Elderwrym. Also, Troy Baker, the voice of Joel from The Last of Us franchise, was perfect for the role of the Invoker, giving this wizard the sage-like charisma he deserves.

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    Props, too, to the Seoul-based Studio Mir. The fighting animation was crisp, and even the characters and their nuances were profound. Mirana’s servant Marci doesn’t say a single word in the series, but the way she was animated made her one of the most expressive characters in the whole series, and one of my personal favorites.

    I also need to credit the show’s director and producer Ashley Miller. Despite not playing the game, he sure as hell did an amazing job in laying out the story for old fans to enjoy while still being approachable for casual viewers.

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    Hopefully, the series gets a second season because Season 1 certainly left me wanting more. And if you’re fan, the anime is the perfect reason to finally bring your family, friends, or significant other into the world of Dota 2.

    DOTA: Dragon’s Blood is now showing on Netflix.

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