English Dub Review: The Deer King

Overview:

In the years following a vicious war, the Empire of Zol now controls the land and citizens of rival Aquafa—except for Aquafa’s Fire Horse Territory, where wild dogs once carried the deadly Black Wolf Fever continue to roam free. When a pack of dogs race through a Zol-controlled mine, Van, an enslaved former soldier, and a young girl named Yuna are both bitten, but manage to escape as the sole survivors of the attack. Finally free, Van and Yuna seek out a simple, peaceful existence in the countryside. But as the deadly disease runs rampant again, they find themselves at the crossroads of a struggle much more significant than any nation.

Our Take:

If you would have told me that The Deer King was a spiritual successor to Princess Mononoke I would have believed you wholeheartedly. The imagery was very similar and a lot of the story beats were almost identical. Man is a part of a group of deer riders that are considered elite. Gets attacked by a disease that kills most people but instead gives them special powers. The biggest difference was he didn’t fall in love with a woman of the forest but instead essentially adopted one.

It may sound like I view this as a negative but seeing as how Princess Mononoke is one of my favorite movies I loved that aspect. To be clear I don’t think it was a direct rip-off and after a bit of research, I did learn that this film is based on a novel. I am going to see if the novel is coming here and might pick it up.

I really liked the voice talent in this, Ray Chase is always a delight to listen to but he did really well in the lead role as Van. His character and Griffin Pautu’s character, Hossal had some interesting chemistry. Hossal was a doctor just trying to do the right thing and it was a character that was right in Griffin’s wheelhouse.

The animation for the most part was nothing to write home about. It was good and succeeded where it needed to but there were some parts where it looked absolutely beautiful. A lot of the forest scenes, and anything involving animals was great. I loved anything with the deer, they were really cool and because of Princess Mononoke, I’m a sucker for a hero riding one.

As for the plot, it was hard to follow and I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. Maybe, just like Princess Mononoke, it will take multiple viewings to fully grasp it but right now I just have the one to go off of. I don’t mean to keep making that comparison but I promise you if you watch it you’ll understand. Ultimately I had a good time watching The Deer King and it was a heartwarming tale. I would recommend it but maybe temper some expectations.