REVIEW: ‘Ragna Crimson’ Episodes 1 – 2

In a world beset by dragons, a prodigy dragon hunter named Leonica (Inori Minase, Dead Mount Death Play) and her assistant Ragna (Chiaki Kobayashi, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) strive to help drive back the omnipresent threat the dragons pose. But when Ragna receives a vision that depicts Leonica’s death, he sets out on a path that will change the course of his world in Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 from Silver Link.

Despite the violent nature of their lives, Leonica and Ragna seem to have it pretty good as our story opens. Leonica’s massive strength is impressive, especially given that she is only 12. She’s able to crush any threat with ease, earning her the nickname, The Prodigy. While Ragna accompanies her on her hunts, he acts more like a cheer squad than anything else. With no combat prowess, Ranga is saved by Leonica in their opening with with a dragon in a manner that implies this is a common occurence.

When the duo returns to town, we find other dragon hunters who look down on Ragna, most notably Sykes Charluke (Yuki Ono, Beastars), the second-rated dragon hunter in the city. Claiming Ragna to be nothing more than baggage that is weighing Leonica down, he insights the wraith of The Prodigy, as she challenges any person in the local guild to join her in her quest to slay every last dragon on the planet. When only Ragna takes up the challenge, the audience gets its first look at the level of devotion Ragna has for the girl he identifies as his hero. It won’t be the last.

At several points during Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 we get glimpses of Ragna’s painful past. Having lost his parents at a young age to dragons, Ragna blamed himself and his weakness, eventually coming to believe he causes hurt to all who are near him. Leonica saved him from his despair and earned his undying gratitude through her kindness to him.

This leads us to the one major stumble Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 has in its opening narrative. As the pair leave the tavern, it is insinuated that when they get home the duo are going to take a bath together. Given that Leonica and Ragna are 12 and 16 respectively, this would make this prospect uncomfortable even if they were siblings. While there is no explicit romantic element displayed between the two during the episodes, how much Ragna cares about Leonica is expressed throughout the narrative, adding a potential further layer of concern. Thankfully, by the time episode two ends, the prospect of this unfortunate situation coming up again feels unlikely.

As Ragna dreams, he is visited by a haunting nightmare that shows him scenes of Leonica’s brutal death and his inability to stop it. Waking in a cold sweat, Ragna can’t shake the feeling that the disturbing images are far more than a nightmare and resolve to get stronger so he can protect Leonica. However, his time to improve is far shorter than he thinks.

Before long, a nearby city is reported destroyed and the hoard of dragons responsible are heading for them next. The onslaught upon the city is brutal, with even Leonica meeting her match when she is confronted by Grymwelte (Takehito Koyasu, Blade Runner: Black Lotus), a mighty dragon, yet the lowest of what are known as Superior Dragons. Fearing that Leonica will be slain by this powerful foe, Ragna throws himself into the fray, only to be sent careening into a nearby river. While sinking into the water, he is visited by the mysterious figure from his dreams, who identifies himself as Ragna’s future self.

This moment is the crux that Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 larger plot turns on and sets the stage for the rest of the series. His future self reveals the terrible events to come for Ragna after Leonica’s death. He will fight and butcher dragons until he achieves powers beyond any human before him. But by the time he can wield this great strength, there is nothing left to protect. Raging at this fate, Ragna demands his future self give him this power so he can save Leonica and prevent this future from happening. As luck would have it, that is precisely what future Ragna had planned to do.

When Ragna awakens Silver Link delivers his new powers in some truly stunning visual ways. While the camera work and art design themselves are not as stylized as some of the most eye-catching anime running right now, the production nevertheless completely delivers on how it emphasizes Ragna’s new overwhelming might. Enemies are reduced to dust before him, and even the mighty Grymwelte is a mere afterthought for the newly powered hero. Rarely has a character transformation delivered such an awe-inspiring and terrible effect. It’s a sight to behold.

But it seems that Ragna’s new powers come with some cost, and shortly after the battle is won, Ragna collapses into a deep sleep, exhausted by what he has just put his body through. As he recovers from his battle, the city once more finds itself beset as giant vines pour from the nearby forest, ending the series’ double-sized opening on a tense note.

The second entry in Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 picks up where the first left off with the city under siege. With Ragna still sleeping Leonica leads the defense against the new threat. The defense struggles with the monstrous attackers, until Ragna awakens and, realizing Leonica is once more in danger, takes off to subdue the threat.

When the two meet, we see severe cracks form between the former tight-knit friends as Leonica struggles to accept her new role in Ragna’s life. Ragna wants to bottle Leonica up and keep her safe from any harm, whether she wants him to or not. Leonica is a warrior. She wants to fight, despite Ragna’s new godlike powers making it largely unnecessary.

As the heroes fight the waves of monsters, Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 introduces us to the mastermind of the attack. This huge, gluttonous dragon is a grotesque monster who devours his own servants with a gleefulness that belies his sinister essence. His visual design is fantastic. Every time you think he can’t get more monstrous the animation peels back another layer to his ever-changing maw, showing you that he actually can become more disgusting.

Once Ragna and Leonica arrive, this creature falls before Ragna’s new might with nearly as much ease as Grymwelte did. But as it turns out, the monster is not the important individual in the room. Ragna immediately identifies one of the creature’s maids as Crimson (Ayumu Murase, Drifting Home), the god of dragons and the being that sent his future self back in time to gift him his new powers.

Initially denying Ragna’s claims, Crimson eventually relents and agrees to work with Ragna to exterminate all dragons from the world, including herself. Her motives are left unknown at this point in the story, but why she wants herself and all her kin snuffed from the world with such ferocity as she displays leaves for an intriguing narrative hook.

But before Ragna can depart, there is one other thing he must do. He sends Leonica off with Sykes and the rest of the city’s inhabitants to safety. This leaves Leonica feeling discarded by her friend as the group trudges off to safety.

The biggest element that this episode imparts to the narrative after the introduction of Crimson is the rapid change in Ragna’s demeanor. It seems clear that all of the powers that his future self bestowed on him also came with the knowledge of what had happened in the now-discarded timeline. His other self’s hatred and resentment towards the dragons already feel like his true driving motive, not any desire to protect those he cares about. While Ragna himself doesn’t seem aware of this change, hopefully future episodes will explore his shifting personality and goals, and deliver some strong story beats when Ragna realizes what he has become.

Ragna Crimson Episodes 1-2 begins an intriguing tale that looks to be equal parts brutal violence and exploration of loss. How far Ragna will ultimately go to meet his ends, as well as what he will sacrifice along the way, are compelling questions that are begging to be answered.

Ragna Crimson Cour 1 is streaming now on HiDive.