If you were eager to see how Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation connects to the world of One Piece, then you should probably alter your expectations. It’s not that Monsters is bad, but it’s nowhere near as important to the world of One Piece as you may think it is.
If you’re a fan of One Piece like myself, then you’re probably aware how that series isn’t Oda’s first published work. That distinction would go to Monsters, which premiered in Shonen Jump back in 1994. Since then, Oda has retroactively inserted some plot points of that manga into One Piece, but Monsters has more or less been forgotten about in the wider One Piece community. Now, thanks to Netflix and Sunghoo Park’s new studio, E&H Production, that one-shot manga finally has a chance to shine. Or rather, a chance to make a brief impression on the viewer before being completely forgotten about.
Running at a measly 25 minutes, Monsters is less of an anime series and more of a short film. It makes sense, given that the original material probably wouldn’t have been able to sustain a feature film or even a six-episode series, but I bring this up because it’s important to check your expectations going into Monsters. Yes, it’s technically a prequel to One Piece, but really in name only. Outside of a cameo at the very end of the film to remind viewers of those connections, trying to think how anachronistic clothing, dragons, and chivalric knights fit in the wider One Piece world will probably cause headaches. The most optimal way to enjoy Monsters is to just let it do its own thing and tell the story it wants to tell.
Monsters centers on a samurai named Ryuma (Robbie Daymond), who is traveling the world and eventually stumbles into a town where he meets a young woman named Flare (Brianna Knickerbocker). Flare was the sole survivor of a dragon attack and was rescued by a man named Cyrano (Ray Chase), who is the second greatest swordsman in the world, second only to an enigmatic figure known as “King.” While attempting to leave town, Ryuma instigates a shady creep named DR (Kyle McCarley), who uses a horn to call a fearsome dragon to destroy the town. Everyone flees for their lives and blames Ryuma for this, so it’s up to Ryuma to clear his name and save the town from annihilation.
As far as premises go, Monsters is quick to establish itself and get its plot going. I mean, the film doesn’t have a whole lot of time to really tell its story, so a lot of its characterization is fairly straightforward. Ryuma is cocky and kind of a goofball, but he knows when to be serious. Flare is a polite young woman, but she’s tough and assertive. Cyrano is your typical gentleman swordsman, and DR is your antagonistic evildoer. It’s all pretty standard stuff until the film decides to reveal its hand midway through. When it does, it paints a lot of the events the film has set up in a much darker light, which does add some layers to certain characters, but it doesn’t really explore them in any meaningful detail. The Original Net Animation (ONA) doesn’t have the time to do it. It has to keep moving forward.
Related: How Netflix’s Monsters 103 Serves as a One Piece Prequel
In a way, I like the brisk pace, but there’s such a thing as being too brisk. Characters are introduced, then the conflict is established, and by that point, Ryuma is already facing the dragon. In a way, this is to be expected, given that this is based on a one-shot manga, but it’s not impossible to expand and flesh out what was already there. Plenty of series and adaptations expand upon their source material, and Monsters feels like it desperately needs some fleshing out. Action beats are over as quickly as they begin, which is a shame given that Sunghoo Park is known for having some beautifully animated and elaborate action set pieces in his previous works, Jujutsu Kaisen and God of High School. Even the final fight is over too quickly, as you just sit there and wonder if that’s really all there is to this project.
To me, Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation comes across as more of a proof of concept for a young studio than anything else. E&H Production hasn’t really done too much since they were established in 2021. They assisted with Undead Murder Farce, one of the best shows released last year, and they have a few upcoming projects, but this feels like a mission statement showing what they’re capable of. Can they have solidly animated action scenes? Yes, they can. Can they frame a shot and give a scene the emotional weight it deserves? Certainly. Are they able to create a well-crafted short story? Undeniably. The seeds are clearly there – they just need a project that has some more meat on its bones.
Again, I didn’t dislike my time with Monsters, but you have to go into it with different expectations. It’s barely connected to One Piece, and it’s not some grand animation showcase. It’s a short film from a fledgling studio that is trying to establish itself in the wider anime community, and it makes a good first impression. In that regard, Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is a resounding success. I liked what I saw, and I’m interested in what E&H Productions does in the future. I just know that whenever their next project comes out, I’m almost certainly going to forget that they ever created this ONA and that it even came out.
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is streaming now on Netflix.
