Dragon Striker shoots and scores for the house of mouse. Sports, anime, and fantasy fans should be cheering in perfect harmony for Disney XD’s epic new animated series.
The anime-inspired saga follows farm boy Key as he discovers his ultrapowerful natural talent and strives to make a name for himself. Sports and magic go hand in his school, Kal Asterock, where every kid dreams of becoming a star Gorotama player. Each student possesses supernatural powers to make the game more interesting, in other words, brutal. Competition is taken religiously at the school. As Key struggles to fit in, he finds his people in goalkeeper Ssyelle and fellow underdogs to make a league of their own, dubbed Knights. The scrappy team soon learns that all that glitters isn’t gold as conspiracy looms in the shadows of Kal Asterock.
Outside of Marvel, Lucasflim, and Pixar, Dragon Striker is shaping up to become Disney’s next big hit. The new series checks off boxes for audiences thirsting for a fresh, original experience instead of another revival or unnecessary adaptation. Created by Charles Lefebyre and Sylvain Dos Santos, Dragon Striker is more than a new original animated series. It is an incredible story that salutes Japanese art and European culture, and a promise of an exciting world to be immersed in.
Dragon Striker‘s Raw Power
Dragon Striker bursts with potential to be Disney’s answer to Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Charles Lefebyre and Sylvain Dos Santos built the foundation for a grand animated adventure with the help of scribe Paul McKeown. Together, the team accomplished the difficult task of balancing substance with spectacle in the family entertainment landscape as we know it today.
Disney is famous or infamous for selling dreams. Depending on execution, the house of mouse can be inspiring or annoying when they preach about following your heart. In Dragon Striker’s case, it’s the former. For a series about anime gestures and “magic football”, lies a thoughtful narrative about chasing goals with nuance and subtle realism.
Instead of wishing for their dreams to come true, Key and the Knights fight to make them reality against all odds. Every student at Kal Asterock has the same goal – to be the best. As far as many are concerned, Gorotama is not just a sport; it’s combat. Opposing teams: Dragons, Shadows, Roses, and Bards don’t see Knights as a threat until they realise the underdog team’s potential.
Dragon Striker already has an engaging plot, but the writers go a step further by subverting expectations with a mystery subplot. The opposing teams are not the only ones who have their eyes on the Knights. Faculty members themselves keep their guards up, most especially against Key. His power and legacy are intertwined with Kal Asterock’s dark past, so they’re not thrilled to have him there. All of the suspense surrounding Key and Kal Asterock can hook any viewer into the storyline. Lefebyre, Dos Santos and McKeown are masterminds in keeping audiences on their toes.
The Knights of Gorotama
Akshay Kumar, Rebecca LaChance, Evana Lynch, Yeukayi Ushe, and Waylon Jacobs round out the Knights as Key, Ssyelle, Ameline, Milo and Odward, respectively. Their voices are sharp manifestations of their characters’ individual quirks. They blend orchestrally to contextualize their strengths as a team.
Key has a loud, ambitious, childlike persona similar to Dragonball’s Goku, or Pokémon’s Ash. However, Kumar injects an energy into the character that sets him apart from anime-related icons. Key is a fascinating, likable protagonist, largely because of Kumar’s internalization of his demons and motivations. Not only is he the main player, but a critical POV character that allows us to experience Gorotama’s spirit through his eyes. Many fans will wish it’s a real sport because of him.
Although Kumar’s Key is the titular protagonist, Dragon Striker’s ensemble voice acting is a group effort at no one’s expense. Then again, Rebecca LaChance’s Ssyelle might be the Knights’ MVP. Ssyelle has a lovely, loyal soul. Talking too much, too fast is her only noticeable flaw. LaChance’s voice infuses her warm aura seamlessly, allowing her to be the perfect sister in arms for Key.
Yeukayi Ushe is the gentle giant as Milo. He is a strong player who sadly does not know what he is capable of. Ushe’s voice lends a quiet strength to the character, planted to grow with him, making his development feel like an event. Voiced by Harry Potter’s Evana Lynch, is Ameline, who ironically speaks the least in the first few episodes. She contrasts Milo as a quiet spirit, except she knows exactly what she can do. She’s been waiting for her chance to show everyone. Due to how little she speaks, her character is carried by the animation. Yet, when she does, Evana’s voice deflates and inflates like a balloon, which captures her personality accurately. She may be small, but she can be big when she’s ready.
Then there’s Odward, the only unlikable person on the person on the team. Voiced by Waylon Jacobs, he is a pompous showboater who considers himself as the greatest gift the Knights have ever recieved. As detestable as he is, he is anything but boring thanks to Jacob’s portrayal of him. Odward is an odd guy with a code of honour. If there’s one thing he loves more than himself, it’s Gorotama. What he lacks in personality he makes up for in sportsmanship. He will do everything he can to ensure that the game he loves is played fairly for all teams.
A Sight To Behold
Dragon Striker showcases amazing animation. As mentioned earlier, Gorotama is more than a sport. It’s combat as far as Kal Asterock’s students and faculty are concerned. La Chouette Compagnie and Disney Television Animation present powerful visuals to convey the impact of Gorotama as well as the individual players’ supernatural talents. The imagination of a kid dreaming of playing in the World Cup with superheroes and anime icons is translated and amplified into Dragon Striker’s animation.
Whenever the players use their tamas(powers) on the field, sparks fly, figuratively and literally. Flaming dragon spirits, time-bending goal keeping, shadow clones, ice barriers, or anything impossible, are part and parcel of Gorotama. Mesmerizing effects are tailor made for each player to stand out, whether they’re a Knight, Dragon, Shadow, Rose or Bard.
Even though Dragon Striker revolves around Key and the Knights, it’s safe to say that some of you would be rooting for an opposing team.
Dragon Striker’s Flame Burns Bright
Finding fault with the series is a difficult task. Episode 3 has the weakest writing, only because it plays out like every family sports movie from the 90’s until the last five minutes. Despite that, Dragon Striker‘s quality remains consistent. Charles Lefebyre, Sylvain Dos Santos, and Paul McKeown created a production where passion aligns with innovation on a grand scale.
Disney caught ligntning in a bottle with Dragon Striker. People will be pleasantly surprised by the scope of its animation, story, and voice work along with the relatability of the characters.
All 11 episodes will premiere June 9 on Disney XD, and will stream the following day on Disney + and Hulu.
