Dragon Drive

Dragon Drive (ドラゴンドライブ), a Japanese manga by Kenichi Sakura, was published by Shueisha and serialized in the manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Jump. Publication ended on January 5, 2006, with a total of 14 volumes. Viz Media, leading publisher in Weekly Shōnen Jump (Shueisha) and Shōnen Sunday (Shogukukan), acquired the rights to distribute the Dragon Drive manga in North America.

An anime adaptation directed by Toshifumi Kawase began airing on TV Tokyo on July 4, 2002, running a total of 38 episodes, the last episode aired March 27, 2003. In 2004, the anime series was released by Bandai Entertainment in North America. There are no VHS releases, only DVDs. The DVDs are uncut and bilingual. All the opening and ending credits seen in the openings and endings are left out unchanged and untranslated. At the end of each DVD, there is a credit scroll showing all the crew that made the anime. The anime is targeted at older children. Some violent scenes such as characters being slapped are left in.

Dragon Drive follows lazy junior high school student Reiji Ozora who routinely gives up on everything he starts and is terrible at his school work. Tired of seeing him give up at everything and continue to perform so poorly at school, his childhood friend Maiko Yukino shows Reiji the virtual reality game called Dragon-Drive. It is a fighting game in which players and their dragon partners face off within a virtual reality city. Reiji's general lazy personality and lackluster school performances lead him to gain a seemingly equally lazy small dragon whom he calls Chibi. Only later do both of their true strengths show as Chibi, despite being small and sleeping in his first appearance, turns out to be the rarest dragon in the game, a discovery which leads Reiji and his friends to another world called Rikyu.

Anime/Manga, Part 1
One day as Reiji, Maiko, and Daisuke are training in the special training room, a strange dragon appears in the sky. Somehow this creature sucks them into the other Earth known as Rikyu. They are met by Meguru, a girl who was also transported to Rikyu, who takes them to a village. There, the elder of the village explains that RI-ON, the group behind Dragon Drive, is trying to obtain the Jinryusenki stone which can be used too control all the dragons in Rikyu.

In their attempt they use the game of Dragon Drive to train kids to be their soldiers. If they are successful they will end up destroying both Rikyu and Earth. This is where Chibi, who is actually the legendary dragon Senkoukura, the savior of Rikyu, and Reiji become important to both worlds. In order to protect the Jinryusenki stone and save both worlds, Reiji and Chibi must enter the Dragonic Heaven tournament and win, a tournament RI-ON has already sent someone to enter and win.

Remembering that Agent L is an employee of RI-ON, and that she was the woman who helped him through his first few Dragon Drive games, Reiji is torn between which side to fight for and against. He does not believe that either Agent L or the employees of RI-ON are bad people, but he also believes the elder and Megaru are speaking the truth.

In the end, he doesn't truly chose either side, but instead resolves to fight in order to learn the truth about RI-ON, Rikyu and Dragon Drive.

Manga, Part 2
Time has passed since Reiji and his friends returned to Earth during which Maiko's little brother, Takumi, has received severe warnings to never play Dragon Drive. One day when hiding from a storm he obtains his first set of Dragon Drive Cards from a strange old man he meets. After receiving his cards Takumi finds his new calling by showing strong determination and the mysterious ability to talk to dragons quickly becoming a regular at a small gaming store of Dragon Drive.

Soon a group going by the name of RI-IN enters the scene, and all the people with the exception of the ones in the Dragon Drive gaming stores vanish, leaving dragons in their place. Left behind in this rapidly changing world, Takumi and his new friends must rally the remaining Dragon Drive players together, in hopes of restoring Earth and bringing the people back.

Members of the original Season 1 cast have cameos - including Reiji, Maiko, Daisuke, Hikaru, Meguru, Chibi - offering aid to Takumi in his quest.

With the end of Part 2, the manga series concludes with a special ending.

Manga, Part 2: The Special Ending
In order to save the world, Rikyu and Earth join to become one, and the dragons disappear completely to become spirits. Twenty-seven years later, the game of Dragon Drive is relaunched.

Anime vs. Manga
The anime series has many characters that do not appear within the manga series. Additionally, the anime series, unlike the manga series, has not followed up with Part 2. As well as this, in the manga Reiji scores 31 on a test, where as in the anime he only scores a mere 27 points. Also noteworthy, Reiji, have after acquiring Shinsaber, only uses the sword a few times in the manga. However, he uses it several times in the anime.

Characters
All character names are same between the Japanese and English versions except for some of the monster names. For instance, Chibi is known as Chibisuke in the Japanese versions.

Human

 * Reiji Ozora (大空レイジ) [Anime/Manga]: The main protagonist character. Due to his short attention span, he is renowned as a lazy quitter that never keeps any of his promises and is nicknamed 'The Tardy Champion'. Blackmailed by Maiko, he was dragged to Dragon Drive against his will, but became obsessed with the game after his first taste of victory. He has the ability to tame almost any dragon. His dragon is Chibi (Chibisuke in Japanese). When Chibi is fighting it can seems that Reiji and Chibi's actions are the same. Chibi gains a special sword in one of the episodes after he defeats a legendary dragon, Shinsaber.  Many conflicts happens in his journey and he gains many allies.He is the champion of dragon drive.


 * Maiko Yukino (雪野麻衣子) [Anime/Manga]: Reiji's childhood friend. She is always hugging and dragging Reiji to do things with her. She is tough and dislikes being patronized, often striving to prove herself as an equal to her comrades. She has a crush on Reiji that she is probably unaware of, and often gets jealous when any other girl appears to be showing signs of affection toward Reiji.


 * Daisuke Hagiwara (萩原大介) [Anime/Manga]: A fellow schoolmate of Reiji and Maiko, he initially holds a grudge against Reiji for stealing Maiko's affection, but the two eventually become close friends. He thinks of Reiji as a rival, but Reiji does not think much of him, especially after Reiji's victory over Daisuke in their first battle against one another.


 * Kyoji Tachibana [Anime]: Known as Reiji's best friend he is an awesome, and slightly gay  Dragon Drive player who wants to challenge Reiji himself. He is impressed with Chibi's abilities. He is also the champion of a block.


 * Sayaka Towa [Anime]: The best female Dragon Drive player in the world. Her dragon is even weaker in attack power than Chibi, but her dragon's attack makes her enemies fall victim to their own power. She seems to have a crush on Reiji, which makes Maiko unhappy. She is the champion of c block.


 * Hikaru Himuro (氷室 ヒカル) [Anime/Manga]: The super champion of dragon drive player and Reiji biggest rival. He was recruited by RI-ON as a soldier, but doesn't seem to care for anybody or anything. His true intentions are unknown, and Reiji is the only person he sees any interest in. He later defects from RI-ON to pursue Reiji with the intention of challenging him to a showdown. He is shown somewhat afraid of ghosts and supernaturals, because he fainted when he saw the skeleton dragon on the abandoned mansion with Reiji.


 * Ichiro Sumishiba (純柴 一郎) [Anime/Manga]: One of Reiji's rivals who works for RI-ON. Struggling to fulfill his family's high expectations, he strives to defeat Hikaru and take his place as the number one Dragon Drive player in the world. He later betrays RI-ON and joins up with Reiji's comrades to save the two worlds. He has the habit of saying to defeat his opponents in 10 minutes. He is the champion of B Block.


 * Agent L [Anime/Manga]: The announcer of Dragon Drive games. Ever since Reiji's first lucky victory against Daisuke, she has been keeping a constant eye on him. Encouraging his progress, she introduces him to a special training simulation to boost his skills. Agent L has a little sister named Meguru who she wishes to see even after Meguru became a traitor to RI-ON.


 * Agent S [Anime/Manga]: A mysterious member of RI-ON. Not much is known about him, except that he is close friends with Agent L, a chain smoker, and a superb computer programmer.


 * Rokkaku (ロッカク) [Anime/Manga]: on Rikyu. He first challenges Reiji to a showdown for stealing his spot in the tournament, but quickly agrees to join his team and help him. He is a strong foe who went crazy during the last tournament, and seeks revenge on a Kohei who took out one of his eyes. Usually a rough, uncouth drunkard, he has a strong sense of righteousness, and is greatly loyal to his comrades. He has 2 brothers: Hakkaku and Gokaku.


 * Mahiru [Anime]: Yako's little brother. He blames Rokaku for his brother's death and seeks revenge, so he teams up with Kohei to get closer to him. However, unaware to him, Kohei is the one responsible for Yako's death.


 * Miss Sue [Anime/Manga]: She is the younger of the two twins that Reiji faces. She, like her brother, was possessed by Darxs because she felt she was alone in the world. The only one that she and her brother could trust was their guardian Sally.


 * Master Lyn [Anime/Manga]: He is the older of the two twins. He was also possessed by Darxs because he too felt he was alone in the world. Like sue, the only one Lin could trust was their guardian Sally.


 * Sally [Anime/Manga]: The guardian of the twins. She knows that Sue and Lin were never paid attention to by their parents, even though they were bought everything they wanted. Although she follows their orders, she seeks Reiji's help to save Sue and Lin not at first but later on.


 * Kohei Toki (戸岐航平) [Anime/Manga]: Working for RI-ON, he is the son of RI-ON's President Toki. He has been trained to fight in Dragon Drive ever since he was little, proving to be a very powerful elite and the strongest of his team. Toki seems to try to gains his father's love by doing whatever his father tells him to, though he is not fully aware of what will happen when his father has the Jinryu stone. While his main dragon is Raitonaitsunaito, he also has Darxs and attempts to control Shinryu in the anime, instead becoming possessed by the dragon itself. In volume seven of the manga, he calls Reiji annoying and attempts to kill him. Later, however, it is he who nears death, is picked up by his father, and is told that he was "truly the hero."


 * Mukai [Anime]: Mukai is one of the sole living members of his clan, that came under the attack of an evil dragon named "Gwonku". He is looking for his mother and trying to avenge the destruction of his clan by searching for Gwonku. He has a crush on Sayaka Towa, who uses him to get closer to the Dragonite. His team consists of himself, Sayaka, and Kyoji. He is killed when he takes a blow for Rokuku from Kohei and dies by the waterfall.


 * Gokaku [Anime/Manga]: Rokaku's little brother and the true successor to Senkoukura. Trying to prove himself worthy as the true successor, he steals Chibi and goes on a quest of bravery. However, he fails to even release Chibi's true form of Senkoukura. When Reiji comes to his rescue, Gokaku finally recognizes him as the true master, no longer hindering him and later helping him. Although he acts like a spoiled brat, he only wants to help everyone, but is constantly ignored because he doesn't truly own a dragon.


 * Meguru (メグル) [Anime/Manga]: Agent L's younger sister and a traitor to RI-ON. She once tried to help in the plot to take over Rikyu, but she defected when she was saved by the people of Rikyu and came to realize the truth about Dragon Drive. She has made a home for herself in Rikyu, and is the chosen heir for Rikyu's leader.


 * Hideaki [Anime]: A young boy transported to Rikyu by RI-ON. He's even stronger than Kohei and tricks Reiji and the others into trusting them (although Chibi took an instant dislike to him). He then betrays them and reveals he is with RI-ON. He is in love with Megeru and always wants to prove his strength. However, something isn't quite right with him.


 * Shiro Kurosawa [Anime]: A young man who only appeared in Episode 19 and has a habit of ending most sentences with the suffix "-su". He was accidentally transported to Rikyuu through no fault of his own and met Eager-Striker, a dragon who became his first friend. When the group met him, he claimed he hated dragons and had locked his own partner away in a cave due to a misunderstanding between them (he thought Eager-Striker had attacked him, but Eager-Striker was trying to destroy a type of miniature dragon that drinks human blood). He and his dragon eventually become friends again, with the wish that Kurosawa would become worthy of his dragon.


 * Silver [Manga]: A girl who first appeared in volume five when Reiji ended up in a dungeon while searching for a place to spend the night. She made a promise to a dragon king, Kobakukono, that she would protect his child, Kokko, but later found out that the "child" was actually a reincarnated, younger form of the king.


 * Hysteric Rose [Manga]: The leader of the organization Ninety-Nine Gorgeous. She hunts for rare dragons and slaughters the rest for huge amounts of money, but also wants to protect her turf from RI-ON. Rose hunted for Kobakukono, asking him to transform in a stronger, younger body so he could fight with her.


 * San Waltz [Anime/Manga]: The previous champion of the dragonic heaven tournament.

Dragons

 * Chibisuke (チビスケ) a.k.a. Senkoukura (The Chosen One) [Anime/Manga]: Light-elemental. Reiji's dragon and the long awaited savior of Rikyu. As Chibi, he appears to be the weakest dragon, but in his true form as Senkoukura, he is the most powerful of all dragons, and worshipped as a deity by some. He is also able to change his element such as dark or fire. He looks like a traditional European dragon, only upright, in his true form. His "chibi" form is a small dragon with tiny wings and fur. His strength and abilities can alter depending on Reiji's emotional state. His signature attack is a devastating blast of energy, "Lightning Wave", that destroys everything in its path. In the manga, it is revealed that Chibi was named after a white dog Reiji used to have.


 * Cholaoo/Goraoh [Anime/Manga]: Earth-elemental. Maiko's dragon partner. Goraoh is very loyal and protective of its partner. He is a dragon with the appearance of a shisa (a lion dog guardian). Even though it has wings, it cannot fly.


 * Medina Heaven [Anime/Manga]: Light-elemental. A little unicorn-type dragon that accompanies Maiko and her friends on their quest. Maiko calls it Rinrin (Rinrin-chan in Japan). Said to bring good luck to those who see it.


 * Kanpa [Anime/Manga]: Ice-elemental dragon. Very loyal, Kampa resembles a cross between a wolf and a dragon. In the manga, Kampa can create blizzards freezing everything in the area. He belongs to Daisuke Hagiwara, and is Reiji's first opponent in Dragon Drive.


 * Air Blast [Anime]: Wind-elemental. Kyoji's dragon. Very powerful against liquid dragons. He has the basic oriental wingless dragon form, although several small wings surround his head.


 * Floral Fern [Anime]: Earth-elemental. Sayaka's dragon. A rather avian dragon, with the lowest attack of any dragon. However, Floral Fern fights by altering the opponents abilities.


 * Kokao [Anime/Manga]: Light-elemental. Hikaru's first dragon, but its use was abandoned after its defeat to Senkoukura. Capable of creating illusions and mirages.


 * Kanopus [Anime/Manga]: Dark-elemental. Hikaru's second dragon in place of Koakoh. Is said to be capable of shapechange.


 * Junranshi [Anime/Manga]: Dark-elemental. One of Ichiro's many dragons. Has infrared eyesight and can hear sounds humans can't, making it an excellent tracker.


 * Hayate Slash [Anime/Manga: Wind-elemental. One of Ichiro's many dragons, and is often favored for its high speed and power.


 * Thunderbolt [Anime/Manga]: Lightning-elemental. Rokaku's second dragon. Originally belonged to Yako. Has the same basic body form as Senkoukura. Like Rokaku, Thunderbolt is missing an eye. Will charge straight at enemies and taunt them. Its special attack can cripple even the Senkoukura.


 * Kashiniki [Anime/Manga]: Fire-elemental. Sue's dragon.


 * En-ouji [Anime/Manga]: Ice-elemental. Lin's dragon. Uses deadly white flames to incinerate everything.


 * Darx [Anime/Manga]: Dark-elemental. Kohei Toki's ghost-type dragon and companion. Capable of possessing people by feeding on the darkness in their souls. The darker the soul, the stronger the possession.


 * Raitonaitsunaito [Anime/Manga]: Wind-elemental. Kohei Toki's phoenix-type dragon. Extremely durable and quick, can shoot feathers at high speed and create barriers at will. In the manga, Raitonaitsunaito was a light dragon who evolved into a dark one.


 * Shadow Fang [Anime]: Dark-elemental. Mukai's dragon. Has regenerative abilities.


 * Guan-Coo/Gwancoo [Anime/Manga]: A large rotund evil dragon who rules over the city of Yaudim. In the anime version, he rules the city on his own and has captured Mukai's mother, holding her prisoner, until Daisuke finds her dead. In the manga, he rules Yaudim, but is actually very childish and has a close human advisor who actually handles all internal affairs, making him seem less evil. He also has a crush on Maiko, who resents his advances until she learns of the relationship he once had with the female singer who originally owned Rin-Rin.


 * Guancu (Deadly Form) [Manga]: Dark-elemental. Guancu's true form that emerges from the belly of the original. A stark contrast to his rotund form as this body is highly muscled and berserk. He transforms into this after the palace was attacked by Kohei. He risked his life to protect Maiko and Sumishiba by using his true form to shield the flower garden from Kohei's Dynamo Spark dragon's powerful beam, although neither of them saw his true form since he had hid the two in a shelter under the tombstone in the garden prior to the attack.


 * Eager-Striker [Anime]: Kurosawa's dragon. His right arm is much bigger than his left and uses it as his primary means of attacking (he can fire off his claws and retract them on rope-like structures). He does not appear to have a breath weapon like other dragons.


 * Crystal Gene [Anime]: Hideaki's dragon. He is purple with green crystal structures jutting out of his head and shoulders. His crystals are the main source of his attacks, being able to fire beams of energy and project strong forcefields. He is a balanced offense/defense dragon.


 * Kobakukono/Kono [Manga]: Silver's dragon. He is proud and regal, and fights only for himself. When taken by Rose, he promised Silver that he would return to her if he should die. He also told her to raise his "child", Kokko. Later, it is revealed that he had no child after all, but was simply in the form of one. Kono is a bird-like dragon, although not as much as Raitonaitsunaito: his head is that of an eagle's, his body is covered in feathers, and his paws are similar to that of talons. He is also one of the few dragons that can talk.
 * Shinryu [Manga]: a dragon who's very awakening means the end of the world, Shinryu is the very void itself and was awoken at the true power of senkokoura. It was said that he twice nearly destroyed rikyu but was sealed away by the shishin ryu, senkokoura and shin-saber. He was reawakened by Kohei but when senkokoura's true powers where revealed he unwillingly released the seals on shinryu. He was defeated by Raiji when Hikaru arrived with shin-saber which fused to senkokoura's arm and they once again sealed shinryu away.

Humans

 * Takumi Yukino: Maiko's little brother, and the new protagonist. A habitual daydreamer, he prefers activities like bonsai, napping and others that are preferred by much older folk. After receiving his first set of Dragon Drive cards, he decides to give the game a try. For fear of his sister's wrath, he passes off as "Matsu Goro", but gets found out by Agent L. He vows to restore Raikoo's memory


 * Kenji Koto: One of the Dragon Drive's original competitors, he wanted revenge on "Matsu Goro" for smashing his face in (an accident on Takumi's part). However, because of his underestimating the newbie, he was defeated and lost his placing in the competition. Later, after finding out about "Matsu Goro's" true identity, he forgives Takumi for the earlier incident, and soon becomes one of his best friends.


 * Hiyoshi: A rich, charismatic Dragon Drive player who passes off as a gentle, sweet-natured boy, but is actually a bully who steals high-leveled cards in order to defeat his opponents. After getting caught red-handed by Takumi, he attempted to frame Takumi and steal his cards. However, after a showdown between the two, Hiyoshi's true nature was revealed, and he fled the building before Takumi could beat him.


 * Koizumi-tenchou: The barrel-chested storekeeper of one of the Dragon Drive outlets. After Agent L redirected Takumi to his store, he eventually took Takumi under his wing and became his mentor, teaching him how to become a powerful Dragon Drive player.


 * Maria Tsukimi: A girl with a habit of violently plucking grass when she's frustrated. After getting cruelly dumped by Taro, she swore to defeat him in Dragon Drive and make him submit to her punishment once and for all. Although powerful, she underestimated the combined strategies of Takumi and Taro, and was defeated quickly.


 * Taro Otohime: A lazy Dragon Drive player with a short attention span. Because he is often bored and takes interest in few things, he passes the time by sleeping (even in the middle of a national Dragon Drive competition). However, he is one of the top players, and is next to unbeatable. He commands a Raikoo named Anima.


 * Bunroku Azuma: A short, but impressive young man, and leader of a large gang. He loathes being belittled, and often strives to prove himself as a true man. One of the top players, he is Taro's rival, and originally planned to defeat him in the national competition. However, because Takumi forfeited his placing and left the competition, Azuma was offended and decided to hunt Takumi down and fight him.


 * Neko Chihoda: She was first found in the park by Agent A after RI-IN made its move. She freaks out when she sees the damage that was done. She hates being left alone and prefers to stick with Takumi. She's also good with computers.


 * Makoto Rikudo: A backstreet Dragon Drive player. He inheirited both the identity and the Raikoo card of a backstreet champion named Komei so other people would leave him alone. In the end, he agrees to join Takumi's group and helps them recruit more Raikou Masters for their cause.


 * Arisa: A mysterious girl who makes use of special Dragon Drive boosts and anti-Dragon weaponry in order to become a powerful hunter. Originally detained by RI-IN, she was released on the condition that she find Takumi's party and eliminate them. Despite her fighting ability, she has a lousy sense of direction.


 * Tetsuya: Arisa's older brother and one of the original members of RI-ON's Rikyu Invasion Team, who was later taken off. He joined the RI-IN project for riches and glory, but ended up trapped in Raikoo's mind as a creature called 'Bug'.


 * Commander Araki: The leader of RI-IN. He believes that humanity needs to evolve and become like the dragons in order to bring about the "ideal" world. He and a number of followers have already successfully evolved into a human/dragon hybrids.


 * Agent L: Still the famous announcer of the Dragon Drive game, and still unwilling to admit her age. After Takumi accidentally won a placing in the upcoming Dragon Drive National Tournament, she sent him to Koizumi-tenchou's store to train.


 * Agent A: An old man who used to work under RI-IN as a scientist, but defected when he learned of Araki's dangerous plans. He was the one who gave Takumi his first set of Dragon Drive cards, and taught the boy to understand his new dragon and the world of Rikyu.


 * Agent I: One of the agents working for RI-IN. He is considered one of the leaders appointed by Araki, and commanderes other agents to apprehend any defectors and take back the cards Agent A distributed.


 * Agent S: One of the agents working for RI-IN. Under Agent I's supervision, he continues to do what he does best by keeping track of the important data.


 * Agent J: One of the agents working for RI-IN. A hopelessly lazy slacker, he attempted to bomb a Dragon Drive center in order to make his job easier. However, Takumi and Reiji managed to foil his plan, though he did not appear to care about it.


 * Agent V: One of the defecting agents. Agent J managed to apprehend him, but he escaped in a chaotic situation involving a berserk dragon. In the aftermath of that same chaotic situation, he found and aided Takumi's group for a short while before going into hiding once more.


 * Maiko Yukino: While searching for her "missing" brother, she was called by Meguru to return to Rikyu and help defend the two worlds once more. She also helped Meguru to convince Takumi to gather all the Raikou-ou masters at Mt. Fuji to be transported to Rikyu. Although more composed and mature, she is still a tough, hardy character who cares about her brother and is unafraid to say her piece.


 * Daisuke Hagiwara: While helping Maiko look for Takumi, he too was called by Meguru to return to Rikyu and help defend the two worlds once more. He still has a heavy crush on Maiko, and showed much jealousy toward Ichiro's friendly encouragement to her.


 * Ichiro Sumishiba: He was called by Meguru to return to Rikyu and help defend the two worlds. No longer as arrogant as in his younger days, he is a thoughtful character who cares about his friends. He also appears to have a friendly relationship with Maiko, and gives her encouragement.


 * Meguru: Now the leader of Rikyu. She called Reiji, Maiko, Daisuke and Ichiro via Agent L's email to meet up with her. Because Reiji was late, Meguru only brought Maiko, Daisuke and Ichiro with her back to Rikyu. With the three of them and Hikaru's help, she managed to open a portal to allow the Raikou-ou masters on Earth to come to Rikyu as well.


 * Reiji Ozora: Still as lazy as ever, he has hardly changed since his younger days. Because he overslept and missed the meeting with Meguru, he did not go back to Rikyu straight away. Instead, Agent S managed to bring him back to Earth to help fight against RI-IN's power.


 * Rokkaku: Although no longer as drunk, he is still loud and uncouth. More powerful than before, he took it upon himself to train the Dragon Drive players from Earth and prepare them to fight against RI-IN.


 * Hikaru Himuro: Having stayed behind in Rikyu since the last world crisis, he has been training himself for his showdown with Reiji. At Meguru's request, he returned to Earth to do two things: to open the portal that would lead the Raikou-ou masters into Rikyu, and to return Chibi to Reiji. Hikaru's Mentor, Jaden, told him to keep his eyes closed so that he could read movements with his "soul".

Dragons

 * Chiwawan: Fire-elemental. A small dog-like dragon. First appeared in Kenji's and Takumi's first battle, but was destroyed easily by Hishagurebekko.


 * Hishagurebekko: Wind-elemental. Kenji used his Dragon during his first match with Takumi.


 * Tenrai: Lightning-elemental. A large black wingless dragon that was first used in Kenji's and Takumi's first battle.


 * Maitowein: Shell-elemental. A powerful, sword-wielding dragon which Hiyoshi uses.


 * Purantomijinko: Lightning-elemental. Small dragons that attack in groups; they were used to weaken Maitowein's sword.


 * Haikadoki: Earth-elemental.


 * Little Kraken: Water-elemental. Appeared briefly in the Hiyoshi vs. Takumi fight, but was knocked out (K.O.).


 * Sunoragen: Water-elemental.


 * Penmarun: Water-elemental. A penguin type dragon.


 * Suikoo: Water-elemental.


 * Palight: Light-elemental. A dragon that attacks with bright light which hypnotizes the opponent.


 * Gust Attacker: Wind-elemental. Can create wind which knocks out multiple opponents.


 * Hinder: Earth-elemental. A stealthy dragon controlled by Bunroku.


 * Dokudenpa: Lightning-elemental. A dragon that was chasing Neko, until Raikoo defeated him.


 * Aruen: Light-elemental. Koizumi-tenchou's wolf-type dragon.


 * Gon: Dark-elemental. A dragon belonging to a young unnamed raider.


 * L Air Strike: Earth-elemental. A bomb-dragon created by RI-IN that operates in packs. Used by Agent J to strike at a Dragon Drive center.


 * Orca Eel/Denki-Okautsubon: Lightning-elemental. Although weak, this eel-type dragon is highly intelligent. The one in Takumi's card set even directed its very own television broadcast in order for Takumi to alert all of Japan's Raikou-ou masters.


 * RFD-103A Gladius: Non-elemental. Created by RI-IN to aid Arisa, it is capable of flight as well as storing all of her anti-dragon weaponry.


 * Canopus: Dark-elemental. Having newly reincarnated in Rikyu, Canopus has become more powerful, capable of taking out one of RI-IN's anti-dragon missiles with a single blast.


 * Clabat: Dark-elemental. One of RI-IN's human/dragon hybrid agents that was sent to destroy the portal and prevent the Raikou-ou masters from leaving Earth.


 * Chibisuke a.k.a. Senkoukura: After full recuperation in Rikyu, Chibisuke was returned to Reiji by Hikaru under Megeru's request. However, Chibisuke was initially unable to become Senkoukura, and was stuck in its much, much weaker form.


 * Thunder Bolt: Since its last upgrade, Thunder Bolt remains the supreme of might in terms of lightning power, easily disciplining the Raikou-ous while resuming their training.


 * Gouraou: Upon Maiko's return to Rikyu, the two were reunited. Gouraou appears to have evolved since he was last seen in Season 1.


 * Kanpa: Upon Daisuke's return to Rikyu, the two were reunited. Kanpa is probably stronger, but Daisuke's excitement over impressing Maiko caused a few slip-ups in the midst of battle.


 * Hayate Slash: Upon Ichiro's return to Rikyu, the two were reunited. Hayate Slash is stronger as well, and holds out well in battle.

Raikou-ou
Raikou-ou (Raikou-ō): There are 99 listed Raikou-ous all over Japan, each slightly different. Some are of other elements, but most of them are lightning-elemental.


 * Raikou-ou/Raikou-ou Idea: Lightning-elemental. The main Raikou-ou that Agent A placed in Takumi's care. Raikou-ou has lost his memory of the past, which has been locked away together with his power as Raikou-ou Edea.


 * Raikou-ou Anima: Water Elemental. A Raikou-ou used by Taro. Capable of manipulating water in all its forms, her power is determined by how many of Taro's dragons were defeated before she was materialized.


 * Raikou-ou Schumacher: Wind Elemental. A Raikou-ou previously used by Koumei, a Reverse DD champion, now passed to Makoto and then Kenji. His speed, if not faster, is as fast as Edea's.

Black Raikou: void elemental. After Araki obsorbed Idea's powers he transformed into a Black Raikou, it traveled to RIkyu to capture, and obsorb the remaining Raikous, then it retured to earth to capture Idea, afterwords it transformed into Genryu.
 * Raikou-ou Flashness: Light Elemental. A Raikou-ou used by Takashi Himetone, another Reverse DD champion. Has a glowing body and remarkable speed. Able to shoot light wave to damage the enemies.
 * Raizoo: A tiny one horned dragon that stays with Neko most of the time. Raizoo is somewhat of a baby Raikou-ou as when Raikou-ou Idea lost all of his energy, he reverted back into a tiny dragon that looked like Raizo.

Manga Part 2: The Special Ending
This ending follows up on twenty-seven years after Rikyu and Earth joined to become one. Despite the entirely new cast of characters, the series of Dragon Drive has been declared as "complete", and there has been no claims toward another season as of yet.


 * Takuro: The firstborn son of Takumi and Arisa. He takes after his father completely in terms of appearance as well as personality.


 * Alice: The younger sister of Takuro, and daughter of Takumi and Arisa. She takes after her mother in terms of appearance and personality, and shares a close relationship with her older brother Takuro.


 * Reichi: The firstborn son of Reiji and Maiko. He takes after his father completely in terms of appearance as well as personality. In addition, he has an older brother complex that causes him to react greatly to his little sister's boyfriend.


 * Mariko: The younger sister of Reichi, and daughter of Reiji and Maiko. She takes after her mother in terms of appearance, but is a little less of a tomboy than Maiko had been.


 * Hagiwara-sempai: The son of Daisuke. He takes after Daisuke in appearance, but acts more casually than his father. Good friends with Rai-ichi and Kouhei, he is also Mariko's "boyfriend", and often keeps her company.


 * toki: Reichi's best friend. More carefree and innocent than the Kouhei of Anime/Manga Season 1, he looks no different appearance-wise.


 * Sumishiba-sempai: The son of Ichiro. He takes after his father both appearance and personality-wise, and is rather cocky.


 * Akari: The son of Hikaru. He takes after his father both appearance and personality-wise. Reiji and Hikaru's rivalry has also passed down to their sons, and the two continue to compete with each other.


 * Ikkaku: A look-alike of Rockaku (not stated as Rockaku's son). He is fond of Kouhei and often takes care of the younger boy.


 * Agent L: Hired back to once again announce Dragon Drive games. It is confirmed to be the original Agent L, but, surprisingly, she has not aged at all (with Agent S and Koizumi calling her a monster). She is also the same personality-wise. She, Agent S and Koizumi-tenchou continue to share a close relationship.


 * Agent S: Hired back to once again oversee the data and technicalities behind Dragon Drive. He's still as much a chain smoker as before. He, Agent L and Koizumi-tenchou continue to share a close relationship.


 * Koizumi-tenchou: Hired as one of the staff for the main Dragon Drive game center. He, Agent L and Agent S continue to share a close relationship.


 * President Takumi Yukino: The new leader behind Dragon Drive's relaunch. He hired back the original as well as new staff in hope of once again reviving the game and bringing the dragons back - perhaps this time without any more threats to the world's welfare.


 * Dr. Reiji Ozora: Now heading his own private veterinary clinic.

Art submissions
At the end of almost every manga volume, two to four pages of thumbnail-scans containing submitted artwork for Dragon Drive are displayed for the reader's viewing pleasure (in the American release, the pages are divided, with one at the end of each "chapter"). There is also mention of the winning piece along with "character commentary".

Mini-manga
In the manga series, Ken-ichi Sakura adds a little section of mini-manga at the end, between the actual storyline and the art section.

Usually, it's just a fictional, light-hearted spoof off his life as a mangaka. His cast comprises mainly of vegetables, although there is some confusion as to what Ken-ichi Sakura portrayed himself as tangerine. There is also a two-legged dragon, a humanoid rabbit, and a law enforcer/angel of unidentified species among his strange cast of characters.

Toward the end of the manga series, another mini-Manga is added, following the comical story of a character - always dressed like a cowboy with a pet penguin as his sidekick - in his great quest to become a legendary Dragon Drive player. Along with the manga series, this Manga came to an end in book 14.

These mini-manga are usually very funny, usually making fun of Ken-ichi Sakura.

Video games
Several video games have been released based on the Dragon Drive franchise. They include Dragon Drive: Tactics Break for PlayStation, Dragon Drive: World D Break for Game Boy Advance, and Dragon Drive: D-Masters Shot on GameCube.