Druaga no To: the Aegis of Uruk

Information of Anime

Every fives years during the summer, the tower of Druaga which is filled with monsters loses its magical powers due to the god Anu.  This is known as the summer of Anu.  King Gilgamesh who is the king of Uruk raided the tower & defeated the monster Druaga 80 years back.  Now the tower reappears & the Uruk army is fighting back to protect their kingdom using the fortress city Metz Kier which is built on the first floor of the tower.

Jil, who was fired by his brother Neeba for causing failure to his climber group, is looking for members to go with him to the top of the tower to retrieve the most power artifact Blue Crystal Rod.  Aside from him, the Uruk kingdom wants it as well.

Storyline (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Below is a summary of the storyline I've seen so far.  If you haven't seen the series yet & don't want to be spoiled, skip this section.  If you want to know the story & want to see how I viewed it, read on.

Jil manages to recruit Kaya, Coopa, Melt, & Ahmey to go to the top of the tower.  Before they leave for the tower, he was given a sword by King Gilgamesh.  They are considered to be a weak group of Climbers, but they manage to survive on every floor.  Neeba's group consisting of Fatina, Kally, & Utu, are advancing better in the tower.  But Neeba does have some concerns about Jil & his group being able to survive.  However, Jil is able to overcome a lot of obstacles.

The goal for many climbers is to get the Blue Crystal Rod which grants one wish.  Most people go for money as it's dividable within a group.  But Jil isn't going for the rod.  He's going after Druaga for justice.  However, he's actually not clear about what he really wants as it seems that he just want to use this to become a hero. Because of his lack of focus, he's been labelled as future trouble to his group as his uncertainly will endanger them.

Jil & his crew arrive to the Shrine of Sky which is said to be a the home of Druaga.  Neeba's group minus Kally who died also arrive as well as some members of the Uruk army.  The shrine closes it door after a certain number of people entered & the Summer of Anu is now over as there is no escape & monsters now roam the place.  The people locked inside fight Druaga roaming the grounds & Ahmey is lost in battle & Neeba goes missing in action.  Seeing this, Jil changes & is determined to be a shield that protects everyone.

With Jil's plan, he becomes the gait to lure Druaga into traps.  Before this, Kaaya confesses her love to Jil.  After Jil puts the final blow on Druaga, the monster disappear & the Blue Crystal Rod appears.  However, Neeba stops Jil by shooting an arrow at his back & states that isn't the Blue Crystal Rod.  Instead, it's a key that unlocks the mythical tower.  The Shrine of Sky is the halfway point & the Druaga defeated wasn't Druaga but a guardian.  After Neeba betrays his group, Kaaya reveals her betrayal to Jil's group as she & Neeba ascend the mythical tower.  Jil & the others are swept away from a whirlpool. 

The show ends with Jil with Fatina in his arm coming out of the water & sees Meskia ahead when he looks for the others.  After the credits Jil, while whispering Neeba's name & screaming out Kaaya's name, he looks at the mythical tower & mentions to go one more time.  The title logo for the next season entitled Druaga no To: the Sword of Uruk appears with the release date of, I believe, spring 2009.

My Personal Review

Druaga no To: the Aegis of Uruk is based on the old school 8-bit game of the same name.  Like the game, it's a parody.  Reading about this, I decided to pick it up.  It gave me a bit of surprise on how the show is structured.

Animation

The character designs look like simple.  Round eyes & faces.  All the character pretty much look like that regardless of the gender.   As for the clothing & weapon designs, they are also simple but matches the show's old fantasy theme well.  Technically, there's nothing really appealling about the characters except the 8-bit designs.

The backgrounds don't have a lot of details as they are dull.  Not much details you can put in them thought.  What more can you detail on an old aged rock?

The colours are in the dull bold side.  It fits the show well & there are no clashes noticeable on screen.

In terms of the animation movement, it's got a mixture of realistic & silly movements.  The flow is quite smooth & fits the show well.  There are some areas that have breaks in them or strange movements as if it was missing some frames somewhere in-between.

Sound

The sound effects are heavily on the comic side than real.  The sounds are projected nicely & the clarity is good.

The seiyuus here aren't too bad.  It's actually pretty good as the cast lineup is pretty solid.

The music is mainly on the pop, ballad, & rock side.  Sounds nice, but not something I would get the soundtrack of personally.  Fits the show well though.

Story

Basically Jil & his group climbing up the tower to go the most powerful artifact.  As the story progress, we see the group get better & better as a team.  Plus, the development of Jil becoming a better climber is present.  However, since it's a parody, the storyline is simple & basic.  Although the show is exciting to watch, you won't really get a epic storyline out of it.  That's what I thought it was.

As the show progress, you actually get to see some of the character's backgrounds & they are quite deep & interesting.  As the story builds up to the ending, I was pretty happy on how the show manages to get to the point with Jil determined what to do now.  More excited is the fact that a sequel is in the works.

Overall Conclusion

Druaga no To: the Aegis of Uruk is funny & witty at the same time.  It manages to balance the parody comedy element with a descent storyline.  However, it's not all exciting.  If you are a fan of the series, you may want to consider picking this up.

Druaga no To: the Aegis of Uruk ranks in an eight out of ten.  The show does have a lot of humour in it & balance of the theme elements is good.  Although it has a storyline & character development of Jil, it's not something that will leave you breathless.  But once you get to the halfway point, things really get interesting with the backgrounds of other characters & surprises.

Last updated on September 1, 2008