Dragonar Academy Vol. 1

First of all, I'll boil down the starting plot for this volume for you.The main character, Ash Blake, attends this school called "Dragonar Academy"(go fig), where the students are implanted with the embryos of dragons. Over time, as the students mature in the school, their dragons will be born; this occurs with the dragon literally phasing out of the students' bodies. The main character, despite being able to handle other students' dragons (which is completely unheard of in the academy), is in his last year of school and his dragon still hasn't been born.Well, naturally, in this first volume, that changes. Following an unusual series of events, his dragon is finally born--but unlike most dragons, this one has the shape of a human girl, as seen on the front cover. Suddenly, Ash and his dragon-girl, Eco, are being hunted... who knows what sorts of adventures this strange turn of events will take him on?With that out of the way, on to the actual review.The main character, Ash, seems like an overall ordinary guy... which is a very nice plus. His one real talent is his ability to handle other students' dragons(regarded in-universe as bizarre and remarkable), but aside from that, he seems pretty average, making him a really relatable main character. Unfortunately, this has the consequence of him seeming fairly bland by analysis; the only particularly notable traits about him are that he seems protective, has a sense of "fair play", and he's somewhat awkward about girls. Oh, and of course his unique dragon-handling skill (TM). Basically, your average Shonen guy.Then we have Eco. Eco is... ahem. Well, she's basically a little miss fanservice. As she's born from Ash's body, she's naked--which is totally understandable, as she IS being "born". But the pose in which she's "born" is... well, quite literally like a scene from a hentai flick, looking like she and Ash are doing the dirty. It only gets worse from there; Ash's first action is to touch the soft baby-dragon horns on her hand... though because of the way the manga panel is laid out, it's clearly supposed to look like he's copping a feel of boob. Just as well, pretty much any opportunity she has -after- this initial scene, she's either naked or suffering some serious clothing damage that leaves little to the imagination, and she doesn't care because she's a dragon, and dragon's don't have to wear clothes--or so is her logic, at least. Aside from obviously being a major fanservice character, she has a really bratty, childish, self-entitled attitude that may grind on some peoples' nerves. A lot. As such, she can come across as either endearing in her own way, or utterly obnoxious, depending on the reader's perception. THANKFULLY, though, unlike in a lot of manga where such bratty attitudes are generally just ignored or taken for granted by the other characters, Eco actually gets called out by the other characters for acting like a brat, which is quite refreshing.This manga is not censored; there are visible nipples in many instances, and though there has yet to be any male or female genitals shown, panty-shots appear pretty regularly, and when they do, camel-toe runs prevalent. So yes... there is a -lot- of fanservice in this manga.HOWEVER... with that being said, despite the loads of fanservice it's very clear that this manga is quite story-oriented. "Sex Sells", and the fanservice seems to be used mainly as an "added bonus" and an eye-catch to make people take notice and interest rather than being the actual focus of the manga in its entirety. So far, the story developments have been surprisingly interesting, and even if there -wasn't- so much blatant fanservice in the manga, I would still most likely enjoy this manga.In addition to a rather intriguing story and a lot of fairly enjoyable fanservice, the art style itself is fantastic. Dragons theirselves are well-drawn and really cool-looking, while the characters have decently varying proportions, body types(though there is a rather large number of big-breasted women), and facial features. The main characters, at the very least, are iconic and easily recognizable, setting themselves apart from the rest of the cast. There is also a general lack of the dreaded "white space" prevalent in some less-detailed manga; there tends to be a fair bit of detail filling up every panel, keeping the manga fun to look at and easy to stick with.With all of these factors in mind, I give the book a 4 out of 5 stars.Why not a 5-star? Because the main character seems like your cliche, typical shonen cut-and-paste(in terms of personality, at least), and Eco's bratty attitude personally irritates me, which can possibly detract from the reading experience. If these things do not bother you, then by all means--Dragonar Academy has all the makings of a 5-star manga. Happy reading!

Ash Blake is a student at the most prestegous dragon riding school of Ansullivan. Breeders have their dragons implanted in them by the mother by a star mark and when they are born the pair grow up together. However Ash's dragon has not yet been born, but he shows the talent of a great breeder - even being able to care for and ride other breeders dragons. But during the great dragon race, his dragon finally comes out - but the problem is she is in the form of a cute girl and it seems Eco has a dragon sized attitude. Now he has to deal with his problem child, all the while keeping his eyes out for assassins, curvacous princesses and council presidents who want to get closer to him, and a overzealous scientist who wants nothing more than to study Eco - to the point of dissecting her.I enjoyed this. the characters are lively, the art is beautiful, and you can see the personalities of the main characters show. Eco is easily my favorite character, her childlike innocence (despite her attitude) is funny to watch - much to Ash's embarassment. SMALL UPDATE - it should be noted that this is rated OT 16+, for some nudity and a somewhat embarrasing (but painful) scene after her birth.I will be watching for the next volume.

Really a 4.5. Needless to say if you don't like some borderline ecchiness this manga isn't going to be for you. Some may consider there to be some partial nudity so you don't want to buy this for your 10 year old. The age rating is older teen, but nothing any 14 year old couldn't handle or hasn't already seen.It's story is decent enough but is naturally getting very watered down due to the fact the source is actual a japanese light novel. Adaptation-wise it isn't bad and Seven Seas did a great job in the translation. I didn't notice any outright typos that sometimes make it through their editors. It's standard american manga quality with decent enough paper and color pages don't bleed like you sometimes can see with these prints.The story here isn't going to win a Pulitzer prize or anything, but it is cute at times and generally more laid back. If you are looking for something serious this probably isn't what you want to buy (but looking at the cover you could probably tell). If you like this you would probably also like The Familar of Zero as it looks like some inspiration for this series was drawn from there.

i really liked this story it was a impulse buy but i am glad i did great story and the print is really good also

Loved the anime so decided to pick this up fun read

Maybe a little bit too much Ecchi, but if you can put up with it then there's a good manga here. Recommended for fans of Zero no Tsukaima as the story is similar.

Bought for my fiance to add to her manga collection, she loved it

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