Drifting Dragons vol. 8

Last time I wrote that I wasn’t expecting to use the word “surprising” when I wrote about my thoughts regarding vol. 8 of this series.  Now, after having read vol. 8 in its entirety, I have to say that’s still the case.  Much of the volume consists around the Quin Zaza’s chase regarding the legendary Tian Shan dragon that’s living in the maze north of the town where they’ve come to repair the ship.  Mind you, this is also the region where the dragon slayers have also set up shop and are looking to take out the beasts without any regard to how messy things may get.  So it’s essentially down to who has the most committed draker on either side:  Mika on the Quin Zaza, or Kurga on the Plan Grava

As to which of those two is the most skilled draker, mangaka Taku Kuwabara is inclined to keep the reader wondering in that regard.  You would think that he’s committed to Mika and the Quin Zaza, but we get more than a few scenes which show that he’s not averse to showing that the Plan Grava’s crew has the ruthlessness to indicate that they’re the better drakers of the two parties.  Though that may be the case, Kuwabara has a couple tricks up his sleeve to convince you otherwise.  The most of which being that the Tian Shan may not be the most dangerous dragon roaming the skies in this northern maze.

This leaves the content offered by vol. 8 feeling more like setup than payoff as it promises a showdown between the two parties.  That doesn’t happen, and while it seems like the series was angling towards that, the volume ends with a different threat entirely.  It’s enough to keep me invested in the current storyline even if the twist doesn’t feel like it’s coming at us organically.