The Dragon Dentist

The Dragon Dentist (Japanese: 龍の歯医者, Hepburn: Ryū no Haisha) is an 8-minute-long original net animation written and directed by Ōtarō Maijō that was released as the first part of Hideaki Anno's Animator Expo. The story follows a girl who is tasked with becoming a dentist for a dragon. A two-part anime television special adaptation was aired in February 2017.

The Dragon Dentist
The title card for the original short anime.
龍の歯医者
(Ryū no Haisha)
Created byŌtarō Maijō
Original net animation
Directed byŌtarō Maijō
Produced byTomoyuki Ogata
Written byŌtarō Maijō
Music byYoshitaka Koyama
StudioKhara
Licensed by
Released
  • October 2014 (TIFF)
  • 7 November 2014 (online)
  • 26 August 2016 (re-release)
Runtime9 minutes
Anime television series
Directed byKazuya Tsurumaki
Produced by
  • Tomoyuki Ogata
  • Kenichirō Naeshiro
Written by
Music by
  • Hiroshi Nakamura (i-dep)
  • Tomisiro
StudioKhara
Licensed by
Original networkNHK BS Premium
Original run 18 February 2017 – 25 February 2017
Episodes2

Synopsis

A girl comes there to become a dentist of dragon. She is with other new freshman applicants, but there is no announcement from a senior as a guidance. They are confused and taken along with the senior. The only way is just to walk through freshman's path, which is dark and strange. They do not know where they are. Not knowing what to do, she is approaching to the secret of dragon, but she does not realize yet. The adventure has already begun.

Cast
CharacterJapanese[1]English
Nonoko Kishii Fumika Shimizu Xanthe Huynh
Bell Nobuhiko Okamoto Xander Mobus
Shibana Megumi Hayashibara Laura Post
Godo Kōichi Yamadera Taylor Henry
Arisugawa Kaori Nazuka Celeste Henderson
Blanco Suzuki Matsuo Kirk Thornton

Production

Hideaki Anno announced the Animator Expo weekly anime shorts at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2014, with The Dragon Dentist as its first short.[2] The short was written and directed by Ōtarō Maijō and produced by Tomoyuki Ogata, with Anno and Nobuo Kawakami of Dwango serving as executive producers. Animation was produced by Khara and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki. Yasuyuki Kosaka served as character designer in collaboration with Yoshimichi Kameda, who served as animation character designer. Yuka Kawai served as art director under the supervision of Kentaro Akiyama. Hiroyasu Kobayashi provided CGI direction, and Toyotoku Yamada handled cinematography. Shin Inoie produced the anime's special effects. Yoshitaka Koyama composed the series music, while Toru Noguchi produced sound effects under the direction of Toshiharu Yamada. The short was edited by Hidemi Li, and Dan Kanemitsu translated it for the English subtitles.[3][4]

In March 2016, NHK revealed plans to adapt one of the Animator Expo shorts into a television special, but did not reveal which one.[5] In August 2016, the Animator Expo website revealed that the short to be adapted would be The Dragon Dentist, and that the adaptation would be a two-part feature-length anime special.[6] Anno himself will serve as executive producer for the special as well as serving as sound director. Tsurumaki will return as director, while Maijō collaborates on the script with Yōji Enokido. Shuichi Iseki designs the characters for the special. Animation is produced by Khara.[6][7]

Release

ONA

The 8-minute long Dragon Dentist short was first shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2014,[2][3] before being posted online with English subtitles on 7 November 2014.[3] The ONA, along with the first and second seasons of the Animator Expo shorts, were removed from the series' website on 23 November 2015.[8] Following the announcement of the TV special on 26 August 2016, the short was again made available to stream until 31 March 2017.[6]

TV special

The first episode of the two-part special premiered on NHK's BS Premium channel on 18 February 2017, and the second episode aired on 25 February 2017.[1] Each episode is 45 minutes long.[6] The special aired dubbed on NHK World with the first episode airing on 17 March 2017 and the second episode airing the next day.[9] The specials are currently available to stream on HIDIVE. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the special for home video distribution in North America.[10]

Reception

Reviewing the first two seasons of Animator Expo for Anime News Network, Kevin Cirugeda recommended the short "with reservations." He praised Tsurumaki's animation, but felt that the story overreached a little bit and attempted to fit too much content into its short runtime, writing that it showed "a glimpse of this fantasy world, but be warned that there's a larger story there that we'll never see."[11]

Salvador GRodiles of Japanator thought that the story was "a bit weak" but had interesting visuals, and had "potential" if Maijō were to expand on it.[12]

References
  1. "Dragon Dentist TV Special's Cast, February 18 Premiere Revealed". Anime News Network. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  2. "Khara, Dwango Launch Weekly Animator Expo Anime Shorts". Anime News Network. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  3. "Khara, Dwango's 1st Japan Animator Expo Short Posted With English Subtitles". Anime News Network. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. Green, Scott (7 November 2014). "Animator Expo Shares "Dragon Dentist" Short". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  5. "Japan Animator Expo Short Inspires TV Anime Special". Anime News Network. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  6. "Evangelion's Studio Turns 'Dragon Dentist' Short Into Its 1st TV Special". Anime News Network. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. Green, Scott (26 August 2016). "Khara To Expand "Dragon Dentist" Short For First TV Anime Production". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. "Animator Expo Project Removes 1st, 2nd Seasons on November 23". Anime News Network. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  9. "The Dragon Dentist 2-Part Anime Gets English Dub on NHK World". Anime News Network. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  10. "Sentai Filmworks Licenses The Dragon Dentist 2-Part Anime". Anime News Network. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  11. Cirugeda, Kevin (20 November 2015). "The Ultimate Guide to the Animator Expo Shorts". Anime News Network. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  12. GRodiles, Salvador (7 November 2014). "Dragon Cavities beware: Animator Expo's first short is out". Japanator. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
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