Drama
Interview With the Vampire
In AMC’s ‘Interview With the Vampire,’ a journalist interviews Louis de Pointe du Lac about his century-long existence as a vampire, marked by love and tragedy.
How does one describe the fantastical sport of gorotama? To put it in our world’s terms, it’s essentially soccer—except you might have to dodge a fireball while dribbling down the field.
Yes, there are seemingly few rules about what kind of tama—the apparently genetic-based magical spells players cast—someone can use on the pitch. Where one defender may raise an ice wall to block a shot, another could emit hallucinogenic spores that alter their opponent’s mind. And despite it being a five-on-five game, even that rule seems flexible, given player Odward Stonegarden’s ability to send out illusory clones of himself.
The best of these gorotama teams can be found at Kal Asterock, the floating school in the sky, where four Banner Teams—the Dragons, the Shadows, the Roses and the Bards—compete against one another for glory each year. Kal Asterock is where farm boy Key has wanted to go ever since he got into the sport. And since he recently unlocked his own tama ability, it’s exactly where he’s headed.
Of course, as a first-year student, Key has a lot to learn. He doesn’t yet know what activates his powerful tama—which takes the form of a powerful flaming dragon the likes of which the realm has never seen. And the chances he actually makes one of the teams is slim. He’s got newfound friends in Ssyelle, the time-stopping goalkeeper, and Milo, the guy who got stuck figuring out how to make the ability to conjure rainbow jelly a worthwhile tama.
So long as they stick together, these three friends just might make a name for themselves.
But buried inside the floating grounds of Kal Asterock are long-hidden secrets—secrets that concern Key, his tama and the lives of everyone living there.
Dragon Striker is sort of like someone looked at Harry Potter and thought, What if, instead of all this hullabaloo about horcruxes and dark lords, this story focused entirely on Quidditch? In a way, the show is similar to the Mario Strikers games, too, and likely the closest any fan will get to an adaptation.
Still, Dragon Striker builds upon its soccer-like premise with a story filled with enough worldbuilding, character motivations and mysterious secrets to keep it running for some time. (It makes sense that the show takes some inspiration from the 1,000+ episode anime One Piece.) The show’s many details all connect into a web of well-crafted storytelling, something we didn’t expect to see in what boils down to a kids’ underdog sports story.
As expected on a magic-saturated soccer pitch, Disney’s TV-Y7-FV show comes with some spiritual considerations: Most characters have the ability to activate a latent magical energy within themselves called tama, which gives them unique powers. We’re given something of a scientific explanation for the phenomenon: that it’s somewhat genetic in nature and “inspired by your personality,” making tama fall more in line with Star Wars’ midichlorian-based Force or My Hero Academia’s superpowered “quirks” than witchcraft or wizardry. Nevertheless, other supernatural elements do lurk underneath the surface of the school.
Parents will also want to know that one male character’s story arc involves his struggles with an ex-boyfriend. Light violence also occurs on and off the pitch, and some powers send people flying or slamming into walls in ways that, in any non-cartoon circumstance, would leave someone seriously injured or worse. Likewise, we’re told of some deaths that occurred offscreen.
All of these will be elements for families to consider before pulling out the vuvuzelas and rooting for their favorite team.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
While watching a gorotama match, a dangerous situation causes Key to spring into action and discover his own powerful tama ability.
A man catches fire, running offscreen while screaming in terror. Ssyelle, as a goalkeeper, frequently gets smacked in the face while trying to save the ball. One character, who wears glasses that seem to look like spider eyes, is named Anansi—a direct reference to the mythological spider Anansi from African folklore.
Players use their powers, and they sometimes hurt others. Key’s ability leaves a giant crater in the pitch.
Seeking an alternative way to join a gorotama team, Ssyelle discovers an ancient and defunct fifth Banner team, and she asks Key and Milo to help her restart the team. But when the Roses hear about it, they attempt to stop them.
Players use their tama abilities: One character takes on a divine stance as he hovers and emits a golden glow while using his power—a golden light coming from his forehead like a third eye. Another player, Ameline, has the ability to briefly take other players’ powers away by inhaling their ability and holding her breath. When she exhales, the power, appearing like a spirit ball, naturally finds its way back to the player it belongs to. Someone’s ability causes Key to hallucinate.
Key, Milo and Ssyelle dig dung off an unmaintained field, and there’s plenty of references to the stuff.
As Key’s team faces off against the Bards, tensions flare and powers clash, leading to a huge discovery.
Someone finds an ancient tomb, and we can see the remains of a skeleton laid to rest there. Characters get smacked around and slammed into walls. Someone attempts to seriously injure another player. Another player suffers serious burns across his face. It’s unclear if he’s been knocked unconscious or killed—though, judging from the TV-Y7 rating, he’s most likely just unconscious.
Two boys were once in a romantic relationship with each other, and some scenes depict that past romance with the two of them kissing just offscreen.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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