Dragon Goes House-Hunting First Impressions – A Real Estate Anime with a Real Knack for Humor

Spring 2021 has no lack of worthy anime to choose from, but if you’re a comedy fan (particularly one with a love for nostalgic video games), then you have to make room on your watchlist for Dragon, Ie wo Kau. (Dragon Goes House-Hunting). It’s about a young dragon named Letty whose family kicks him out of the den for being so cowardly and useless, leaving him to fend for himself in a JRPG-style world where most people would sooner kill him for epic loot drops than help him find a place to stay.

Luckily, he stumbles upon the master real estate agent/architect/demon lord Dearia, who kindly takes Letty under his wing and does everything in his considerable power to set the dragon up with a perfect home to call his own. Their journey takes them through a series of hilarious house tours and misadventures that let us see classic video game/tabletop RPG tropes through the eyes of the monsters who are just trying to live a quiet life without pesky heroes bothering them. Let’s take a closer look at Dragon Goes House-Hunting!

Spot-On Geeky Comedy

Gaming jokes are nothing new to anime—not with so many isekai on the airwaves—but this show has a few fun new takes on the concept. It reframes adventuring parties as cringey wannabe heroes who bully monsters for the glory and item drops alone, leaving the poor creatures to seek out homes with built-in traps that can keep them safe. But if the dwelling is stuffed to the brim with hazards and enemies, like Letty’s first custom-built house ended up being, it might end up in publications as one of the top 10 dungeons heroes have to loot! There’s no way he’ll get a restful sleep like that.

The house tours themselves reframe well-known dungeon elements as selling points for a potential home buyer: plentiful pitfalls funnel intruders down to a bottom floor area where they can be disposed of, healing springs come with security devices that flush any unauthorized users to a watery grave, the ghostly legions that haunt spooky mansions can be deployed as a personal security force, etc. Proceeds from selling fallen heroes’ equipment can even be used for mortgage payments! As the series continues, we’re looking forward to seeing how other gaming tropes get filtered through the lens of monstrous real estate.

Actually Pretty Heartwarming

Letty may be the most trash-tier dragon the world has ever seen (he hasn’t even unlocked the ability to fly yet), but Dearia still treats him like a respected friend. He insta-kills wandering adventures who come after Letty with his as-yet-unexplained god-like magical powers, secretly builds up Letty’s reputation as a fearsome dragon so he can live in peace, and promises his client that he’ll find him a suitable home–even if it takes 100 years or more. We’re interested to learn how Dearia’s history with his previous dragon friend influenced him, and whether that friend has any relation to Letty. In the meantime, though, we love watching the father-son dynamic between the two leads blossom as they continue on their house-hunting journey.


Final Thoughts

It’s too early for us to declare Dragon Goes House-Hunting as an unmitigated success, but we’ve seen enough clever comedy and cozy comfort to wholeheartedly recommend this anime. Don’t let its low MyAnimeList score deter you—if you think a show about JRPG monster realty would be up your alley, you’re probably right.

What did you think of our analysis? Have you been watching Dragon Goes House-Hunting this season? Let us know in the comments, and thanks so much for reading!

Dragon-Ie-o-Kau.-Wallpaper Dragon Goes House-Hunting First Impressions – A Real Estate Anime with a Real Knack for Humor

Editor/Writer

Author: Mary Lee Sauder

After the hard-hitting East Coast lifestyle hit me a bit too hard, I started pursuing my passion as a writer in my cozy home state of Ohio. Aside from that, I spend my time cooking, cosplaying, collecting anime merch, and being an improv comedy actor. I also love sneaking alliterations and stupid puns into my writing, so be on the lookout for them! 😉

Previous Articles

Top 5 Anime by Mary Lee Sauder