I can’t really complain about the woeful storytelling on display in Dragon Academy’s first episode. The series – set in a medieval-kingdom-slash-high-school where students train dragons – is the kind of slight anime entertainment that I don’t expect much from. So I can forgive the preponderance of “As you know, your father, the king” dialogue (apologies to Terry Pratchett) as it sets up its world-building, because I’m hardly looking for a complex, multifaceted narrative.

What I am looking for is, y’know, something. Anything. But precisely what Dragonar Academy has to offer, I’m not sure. Amongst all the awful storytelling of its opening episodes, at least it maintains a sense of momentum, introducing new characters and new challenges every couple of minutes. But when that momentum peters out – four or so episodes in – there’s nothing left.

The animation is lousy, particularly the dragons. The narrative is nonsensical or uneventful; why do we spend half the season helping an entirely new character resolve training problems with her dragon? The comedy is dead-on-arrival, while the attempts at fanservice are fleeting and underwhelming, with an uncomfortable emphasis on sexualising young girls. I didn’t need Dragonar Academy to be great, but at least it could’ve been okay…