After years of living in resigned denial, Nagi has an emotional reunion with her mother at a hospital, but hostile intruders interrupt their family time. Episode 5 of “Dragons of Wonderhatch” (Wandahatchi: Soratobu Ryu no Shima) ended on an ominous note, with Space (Morita Go) arriving with his gang to kill Nagi’s mother Hana. Space has a diabolical theory: Hana is the creator of his world, Upananta, which is in danger of perishing, and he believes that killing the creator will save Upananta.
Titled “Flying Island,” episode 6 of the fantasy series starts on a tense note and focuses on Saila helping save Hana from Space’ ambush. Tyme (Okudaira Daiken) is consumed by guilt for his act of betrayal; it is he who leads the bad guys to Hana. Saila, however, tells Tyme they don’t have time for shame and that they all need to convince Akuta (Mackenyu), Upananta’s only hero, to defeat Space. As soon as everybody arrives on Akuta’s island, it begins to rumble and rises into the sky! However, that doesn’t stop enemies from getting to the now floating island.
If there’s one thing that’s been consistent in all episodes of “Dragons of Wonderhatch” (Wandahatchi: Soratobu Ryu no Shima) so far, it’s the beautiful cinematography and captivating palette. This edition too has some great shots, although, there are close to no dragons as Tyme’s cute little dragon Guphin gets only a few seconds of screen-time. The animated world of Upananta also doesn’t make an appearance in episode six, since all the primary characters are already in the human realm now.
Morita Go looks pretty unhinged and intimidating as the antagonist Space, who has definitely gone off the rails due to his long time on Earth. The father versus daughter sub-plot makes for an intriguing conflict, as Saila is his daughter, and she is ready to do whatever it takes to stop him. Actor Sumire still doesn’t match up to the spunky personality of Saila’s anime counterpart, but she manages to be an amusing character nonetheless. Okudaira Daiken as Tyme was the only consistently cheery character in this series so far, infusing the show with an optimistic energy through his earnest portrayal of a young wannabe hero who wants to save his world. However, with Tyme’s actions leading to problems, his character is in a dark place, and Okudaira pulls off the fear, despair, and confusion with just as much ease as his brighter scenes.
Except for a slightly slow pace, this edition was packed with plenty of interesting plot developments, even though some of it was on predictable lines. “Flying Island” ends with a surprisingly tragic twist, setting the tone for more drama in the next chapter.
You can stream “Dragons of Wonderhatch” on Disney Plus and Hulu.
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