OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Dragon Century

Manga creator Ryukihei made a short series titled Dragon Breeder that was shown in an anthology label in 1987 which was in the right place at the right time to get its own 2-episode OVA a year later by AIC. Ultraman writer Sho Aikawa adapted the screenplay which is oddly enough split into two separate story arcs, one for each episode. The series had a brief release in America on VHS by U.S. Renditions but with several misspelled subtitles, also only a DVD release in Japan, so this OVA swept under the radar of most English-speaking otaku, even though it might be considered the predecessor to sleeper hit Reign Of Fire.

The first episode is set in a slightly futuristic 1990 where dragons start appearing throughout Japan while being hunted down by a special task force of dragon-busters. The egg of one slain dragon is rescued by the severely anti-social teenage girl Riko who raises the orphaned dragon and names him Carmine. Riko hopes Carmine will shortly be big enough to live out her fantasy of tearing down civilization, and she gets her wish even though it turns out the dragons are here to prevent the world from being destroyed by demons escaping from a hellmouth. The demons swiftly kill off most of the city's population when Riko realizes she wants to renounce her destructive desire and helps Carmine take down the main demon, but at the cost of her life leaving Carmine behind to deal with any upcoming demonic threats. The second episode then shoots ahead some three centuries later after at least one demon attack reduced the remaining portion of humanity into an alliance with the surviving dragons. When they are waiting for the next demon attack, humans can gain control of a dragon by cutting off one of its horns and engaging them in dragon-sized cockfights. Carmine is now an elderly loner living in an isolated tower and allies himself with the bikini-clad wasteland warrior named Rulichia along with her pet dragon fitted with a jetpack. The young dragon fighter wants Carmine to help her find the man who killed her father in a match, which is convenient as the dark stranger is revealed to be an infiltrator for the demons along with his ally disguised as a dragon. Carmine defeats the demonic terminator concluding the series leading into an assault of dragons against the hellish forces that are about to strike one of the few remaining cities.

The OVA ends on a major cliffhanger despite how fast paced the plot is. The anime would have benefitted if each chapter were divided into their own two-part episodes giving enough time to expand the story. Given the chance to make an unrated anime benefitted Dragon Century by allowing it to employ an ample amount of violent imagery, mostly during the scenes where the demons are rampaging through people's bodies imploding them in a bloody mess. The way the OVA shows what is essentially the first and final chapters of a story while leaving out the bridging middle chapters does make for an intriguing viewing, although it makes you wish they had more material to cover if you found any enjoyment from it.