Dragon Quest: Dai episode 4 review: Hadlar returns, Avan revealed

Episode 4 of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, titled "The Dark Lord Hadlar Returns," finishes Dai's dragon training and then drops the Dark Lord himself onto the island. I enjoyed this episode, and the production on this show remains incredible. Hadlar's arrival also brings the big reveal I'd been teasing for a few episodes: Avan is the original hero.

The series is the 2020 anime adaptation of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. The previous episode ended on a cliffhanger. Dai was in a tough spot because Avan, who has been training him, transformed into a dragon as part of that training.

Hadlar is an arch fiend created for the Dai story, not the games

As the episode title suggests, the core story is that the Dark Lord Hadlar has returned. This character is exclusive to the Dai story and doesn't come from any of the Dragon Quest games. In some ways he's inspired by other villains, like the ones from the older Dragon Quest games, but he's unique to this story.

A few of the translations refer to him as an arch fiend. In Dragon Quest, to my recollection, an arch fiend is a dark lord who is both physically and magically powerful. He controls other monsters, can use magic at will, and is physically strong too. It's a term I first saw used in Dragon Quest 3 for what I guess you can call final bosses, and that's pretty much what Hadlar is. We'll find out more about that as the series progresses.

Dai's dragon training with Avan shows off the show's direction

As expected, Dai has no idea what to do at first. A dragon's scales can't be pierced by mere steel, and even though he might try some of the techniques he's already learned, he has to use his brain, because dragons are the fiercest monsters in the series. He figures out that he has to use the wave slash to overcome this, and that's exactly what he does.

Avan breathes fire, and Dai uses the slash to block, or deflect, the flames. It's more of a defensive move, but it's effective against dragons that breathe fire, and most of them happen to do that. The directing for this training sequence between Dai and Avan in his dragon form is incredible. It's well directed and the animation is beautiful.

Pay close attention to this scene and how good it looks. I say it every week: the production on this show is incredible. I wish Dragon Ball Super looked like this every week. That show got a few good episodes here and there when they brought in the A team, but it wasn't like this. This is next level.

Dai's magic is growing along with his fighting

Dai isn't only improving as a physical fighter. His magic is going up as well. When Avan returns to human form, his nose is burnt from the fire, and Dai uses the Crack spell to create a little ice cube to cool him down. So the idea that Dai can't use magic is changing. He's evolving and growing, as you'd expect from this type of show or from a JRPG.

I've said it a bunch of times: if you're into JRPGs and you're into shonen manga and anime, this is the show for you, because you get both together in one. You get your epic quest, your epic villains, your power ups and all that kind of thing.

Hadlar's arrival reveals Avan as the original hero

The fun doesn't last. A big earthquake hits, and it turns out the Dark Lord is here and ready to destroy the force field that was created around the island. This scene is great. The effects and the giant power up are very reminiscent of Dragon Ball, with everything shaking in a huge, cataclysmic event.

The resurrected Dark Lord appears in front of them in person. It isn't a regular monster; it's him, on the island. This is where the reveal happens: Avan is indeed the original hero. He was the main hero who took down the Dark Lord and defeated him and his minions long ago. Now he's training Dai to be the next hero, and these two have history.

Popp, for his own good, doesn't want Dai to get involved. He wants it to be a one on one fight between Avan and the Dark Lord, the way it's supposed to be. You can tell he's afraid too, though, as he hides from the chaos with Dai.

Avan catches Hadlar's Boom spell with one hand

In one of the coolest scenes we've seen yet, and one that put a big smile on my face, Hadlar casts the Boom spell and fires a blast at Avan. Avan grabs it with his hand, squeezes it and tosses it aside. Avan was set up as a comedic character, the trainer with every trope except that he wasn't a pervert like many trainers in these shows. Yet he blocked that like nothing. Then again, he is the legendary hero.

Avan fires a Sizzle spell, which does nothing except burn Hadlar's cloak. Hadlar rips the cloak off, revealing a shredded physique, and laughs. I have to give it up to the voice acting here. It's a tremendous voice for this character. I expected a deeper voice, since you're used to warlock type villains having deep voices, but I think it works. He has a bit of a psycho clown thing going on, even though he isn't really that kind of character.

Lord Vearn and the Dragon Quest 1 "half the world" easter egg

Then comes another big twist, and the music in this scene is awesome. We learn that Hadlar was resurrected by an even higher evil power, Lord Vearn, who for lack of a better term is known as the underground king. He's essentially Satan, or an evil god. He resurrected the Dark Lord after Hadlar had been out for 10 years, as Hadlar tells it, after being beaten by the hero. Now Hadlar has a new, stronger body.

Hadlar is now only the supreme commander of the armies. The real super villain of the whole thing is Lord Vearn, and the army is coming with the demon king. The show calls him by a title that amounts to the same thing: dark king, demon king, it's all the same.

There's a tremendous easter egg here that goes all the way back to Dragon Quest 1. Hadlar reminds Avan of their battle 15 years ago and makes him the same offer he made then: join me and I'll give you half the world. That's what the Dragonlord tells you at the end of the first Dragon Quest game. If you say yes, it's game over. You're supposed to say no, and then you fight him in the final battle.

This is a very deep cut for those of us who grew up with Dragon Quest, or Dragon Warrior, on Nintendo. When Hadlar said he would make an offer, I was already smiling, because I had an idea they would go with this, and they did. I don't speak fluent Japanese, but the phrasing sounded almost identical to the original game, so it's a deliberate throwback without question. These easter eggs are for the hardcore fans, and they're very much appreciated.

Kaboom against the Avan Strash, and why Avan goes down

Both go to their heavy hitters. The Dark Lord uses Kaboom, the most powerful explosion spell in Dragon Quest, and Avan uses the Avan Strash. They collide in something like a beam struggle, though not quite the same, and both go down in pain. Hadlar is badly torn up, but with his more powerful body he can regenerate, so this won't be easy.

The reason Avan goes down is that he used up much of his magic when he fought Dai in dragon form during training. He isn't at full capacity. It's not that the Dark Lord is that much more powerful than him or that he's weak; he's used up his MP, which is straight out of the games.

Dai tries to attack Hadlar from behind, and Hadlar blocks it with one finger, then throws him around like a rag doll. The animation was great, even if this episode used a more cartoony style with rounder faces. It worked, and I have no complaints in that department.

Avan takes the blast, and the anime is moving fast

When Hadlar discovers Dai made him bleed, he tries to finish Dai off with a blast. Avan gets in front and takes it, much like Piccolo did for Gohan, except on his back rather than his chest. He ate the blast to protect Dai and Popp from possibly dying. That's the cliffhanger, with the battle continuing in the following episode.

The adaptation is moving quickly. We're only on episode 4 and already seeing this fight, and the series has several mini arcs as it progresses. I've seen some people say the show could last about two years, and I could see it being even less if they keep rushing the way they are. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's going a lot faster than I expected. Overall, I enjoyed this episode, and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.