Dragon's Heaven is a little known 35 minute OVA from 1988. This was produced by the once adored Artmic who brought us more well known classics like Bubblegum Crisis and Riding Bean. Dragon's Heaven starts off by startling the viewer with a rather unexpected live action sequence using models. At 5 minutes long, it's a unique introduction and invitation into this delightfully quaint anime. It's only real relevance to the content of the show is that it provides a nice visual comparison to the animation that follows it. The creators did a great job rendering the models and landscapes that we later see in the anime.The story is about a blonde girl called Ikooru who is a traveller who crosses the sandy desersts on her trusty bird. However this all changes when one day she meets Shaian, a self aware combat robo that has finally awoken. Shaian went into hibernation over a thousand years ago when his pilot, needed to maintain his system, died during a massive war between the humans and sentient robots. Since then Shaian has patiently waiting for a new pilot. With peace once again being threatened, Ikooru agrees to help Shaian face an old enemy.Despite being made in 1988, the cute character design for Ikooru is something you'd usually see from a show made in 1985. However design wise, she is the only part of the show that was contemporary and conventional during it's time of production. The dusty landscapes and clunky mechanical designs are a true sight to behold. Drawn with a thick, sketchy and grainy styl.e, it's unlike anything ever made before and since. This style complements the setting very well and the show does looks as it could have been dug up from ancient times.The end credits offer a nice suprise with the fabolous vocal track 'Dancing with a Heartache', which plays while showing you snippets of the production work that helped make the short live action sequence possible for the opening. It's impressive to see all the hours and parts it took to make something so big, standing in at just over 5ft. There is also a full behind the scenes documentry at 12 minutes long but unfortunately this part wasn't subtitled.Dragon's Heaven is a visual spectacle, it's unconventional yet beautifully crafted animation is a decent reason alone to watch. The fact that it's story is so endearing, while not pushing any boundaries, makes this a really interesting watch. It's works like these that easily reinforce the wonders and excitment the one shot OVA brings to the screen since it's always offering something new and different.Download Here - Dragon's HeavenOverall Grade/Rating: B+Commercial Availability: VHS (Japan), Laserdisc (Japan), DVD (Japan)
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