Another excellent post. Loved how you went through the mythos surrounding dragons and it's so interesting to see variations of the same theme over and over. Time really is a flat circle lol
Also, it's a little funny that Charizard isn't really classified as a "Dragon" type in the games and is instead "Fire" and "Flying" when it's arguably the most dragon looking Pokémon in Gen 1. Dunno whether it's because of a balance issue given how OP dragon types were, or whether it's due to it being called "Lizardon" in Japanese, a.k.a more closer to a fire lizard than a dragon.
Doesn't matter 'cause Charizard will always be a dragon for me.
Another phenomenal essay! I love the images you chose as well, they really add atmosphere to the piece! I also recall the pursuit of the illusive Charizard card when I was kid, so the nostalgia here was real!
Love it! One tiny suggestion: the past of "slay" is "slew". (Of course you probably knew this, but the ol' fingers sometimes go faster than the mind)
It's interesting to think of the dragon as a serpent/raptor/big cat combo. One of the things I really liked about the Rankin-Bass animated "Hobbit" movie was that Smaug had a cat nose. For some reason that really made him seem more real to me than the cut-rate-dinosaur dragons usually depicted for kids. It must also have resonated with the artists who created "How to Train Your Dragon"— that is one kitten dragon they created there!
Another excellent post. Loved how you went through the mythos surrounding dragons and it's so interesting to see variations of the same theme over and over. Time really is a flat circle lol
Also, it's a little funny that Charizard isn't really classified as a "Dragon" type in the games and is instead "Fire" and "Flying" when it's arguably the most dragon looking Pokémon in Gen 1. Dunno whether it's because of a balance issue given how OP dragon types were, or whether it's due to it being called "Lizardon" in Japanese, a.k.a more closer to a fire lizard than a dragon.
Doesn't matter 'cause Charizard will always be a dragon for me.
Perhaps at that point in development the Dragon type represented the Asian dragon rather than all dragons.
This is so interesting! I appreciate the history breakdown and the research you put into these.
Thanks so much!
If you really enjoy it, you can always recommend to your own subscribers!
Another phenomenal essay! I love the images you chose as well, they really add atmosphere to the piece! I also recall the pursuit of the illusive Charizard card when I was kid, so the nostalgia here was real!
Love it! One tiny suggestion: the past of "slay" is "slew". (Of course you probably knew this, but the ol' fingers sometimes go faster than the mind)
It's interesting to think of the dragon as a serpent/raptor/big cat combo. One of the things I really liked about the Rankin-Bass animated "Hobbit" movie was that Smaug had a cat nose. For some reason that really made him seem more real to me than the cut-rate-dinosaur dragons usually depicted for kids. It must also have resonated with the artists who created "How to Train Your Dragon"— that is one kitten dragon they created there!
Thank you.
Must have been thinking of phrases like "he slayed it" in contemporary slang.