Dragon's Dogma is one of the most recent properties to get an anime adaptation on Netflix. The show borrows ideas from the video games that it stems from, but its story is independent of the plotlines that run through the role-playing games. One thing that stays the same is the protagonist, the Arisen, whose sole purpose is to kill the Dragon that stole his heart.
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It is a fantastical idea that casual viewers may not make sense of without a background in fantasy and anime tropes. Luckily there are fans who come up with clever theories for others to consider when what is shown on screen just doesn't add up. Also, spoilers ahead.
10 MAKES NO SENSE: Balthazar's Blue Sword
The third episode of the series introduces viewers to Simon and Balthazar, two weapon-bearing journeymen who have taken up the mission of protecting two more survivors of the Dragon's wrath. Balthazar stands out from the group thanks to his long blonde hair and glowing blue sword.
It is never clearly explained how or why this sword glows, leaving viewers scratching their heads when it turns out to be the only weapon that can kill the magical lich.
9 FAN THEORY: Ability Development With Game Logic
Gamers may approach this series differently from casual viewers because of their understanding of the nature of power progression in video games. When Hannah pulls out a new weapon, or Ethan gets stronger between episodes, gamers will smile knowing that at some point behind the scenes, Ethan earned enough experience and coins to upgrade.
Fans with this mindset need no explanation as to how Hannah got her staff or learned all the spells that she casts throughout the show. It can be assumed that the creators only hoped to avoid bogging the show down with needless fillers that explained the progression system of the original intellectual property.
8 MAKES NO SENSE: Surviving Slaughter
Anime is consistently trying to one-up itself with the use of Deus Ex Machina as a dramatic tool. This trope often leaves viewers confused because of the late introduction of the savior to the plot of the story.
Fans of anime likely didn't bat an eye when Ethan survived the slaughter of the first episode because the protagonist is bound to have an ability that will save them in the end. This is just common anime plotting. The role that Hannah and the Dragon play in reviving Ethan is left vague though. Was it Ethan's courage, Hannah's Magic, or the Dragon's curse that kept Ethan alive? Perhaps it was all three.
7 FAN THEORY: Seneschal
For fans of the video games, the Seneschal is a well-known entity in the world of Dragon's Dogma. For casual viewers of this anime adaptation, imagine Seneschal as the God of this world.
It is told that an Arisen who faces the dragon that stole their heart and shows the will to survive is granted an audience with the Seneschal. Fans have speculated that the dragon's words were all a ploy to deter Ethan from reaching the Seneschal of this world and ascending to that position himself. This may also explain why the Dragon's discussion of agency is so confusing.
6 MAKE NO SENSE: Pawns
The entire idea of Hannah's character makes very little sense in this anime series. While there is surely a purpose for the pawn character in the video games, the character in the animated series appears out of thin air with no ties to any other characters and no explanation as to their abilities.
This idea is muddied even further when other characters in the show demonstrate their knowledge of the Pawn's role. The complicated magic the Pawn uses and their ties to the Arisen make it clear that this character is fantasy incarnate, but if viewers are looking for any more information on their vocation, they will have to dive deeper into the fandom.
5 FAN THEORY: Character Attributes With Game Logic
Fans of the games may also make sense of the sudden shift in Ethan's strategies as a fighter before the casual viewer. Role-playing games are well-known for the classes you can choose when building your custom character.
Though Ethan begins the show as a strider who utilizes a bow, he ends it with a warriors sword in hand. This shift likely came when Ethan woke up as an Arisen, and was tasked with selecting his new characters vocation behind the scenes. Leaning on video game logic works well to make sense of some of the unexplained parts of this series.
4 MAKES NO SENSE: The Dragon's Dogma
The final episode of this series takes the reader on a journey through the mind of a Dragon. The bit of exposition viewers get from the Dragon as Ethan rides along his back explains the beast's motivation. As it turns out, the Dragon is ruled by the same laws that any beast is ruled by: the laws of nature.
The dragon explains that he kills because it is something he must do. There is no selfishness or choice involved, it is simply in his nature to slaughter. While the commentary on agency is an interesting angle to take, this point is confused by the fact that the Dragon chose Ethan as his replacement. If the Dragon is able to choose who becomes the next Dragon, as if he is tired of the role he has played for nature, then couldn't he just as well choose to change that role?
3 FAN THEORY: No God
Without the Seneschal character that is present in the game, this anime seems to suggest that humanity is predestined to do horrible things. The focus on the seven deadly sins promotes the idea that these sins are built into humanities' DNA, and the nonsensical ways that certain characters act are just evidence of this fact.
The characters' only allegiances are for other human characters, which makes their goodness reliant on the goodness of others. Perhaps this series was an attempt to recreate the perception of the Dark Ages by removing any idea of a God from the source material.
2 MAKES NO SENSE: Theo
In the episode titled "Envy" Ethan runs into a second group of survivors. A young couple who managed to survive the Dragon's wrath without the courage that Ethan displayed. One of these survivors is shown to be a coward throughout the episode, running from what any fan of fantasy knows to be one of the weakest of mythical creatures: goblins.
Later on, after overcoming the fear of fighting those who attacked his wife, he builds up the gall to murder his wife for flirting. It's a lot to wrap around as a casual viewer of the show, and the dialogue does little to help this massive character development make any sense.
1 FAN THEORY: Cycle of Dragon's Dogma
For casual viewers of the show, the final reveal was a pretty great twist. The man who has sworn to kill the beast that murdered his wife and child is forced to become that same beast.
Some may get lost trying to understand where this storyline fits in with the plot of the video games that the anime is adapted from. Wise fan theorists have speculated that this story runs prior to the games, and is only one part of the continuous cycle of the dragon's dogma.