Romeo & Juliet...But With Dragons

American Dragon is an animated television show that ran on the Disney Channel from 2005 to 2007, centred around Jake Long, a teenage boy who can transform into a dragon at will and is his duty to protect all magical creatures in New York, while also maintain his regular social life as a teenager, think Spider-Man meets Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show has a lot of good things going for it, it's creative, well written, the animation is...debatable, but overall it's a good show. However, the big draw for me is the relationship between Jake and Rose, yeah, an action show aimed at boys and it was the romance that i was invested in. Jake and Rose were friends at high school, eventually turned lovers, but unbeknownst to them, they were mortal enemies, Rose being part of the underground cult The Huntsclan, a group who dedicate their lives to hunting and killing magical creatures, especially dragons.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Eventually, the two learn each other's secret identity and that's where the emotional conflict begins, both are loyal to their causes, but they also love each other, this all comes to a climax when Jake makes a wish to change history and stop Rose from being taken from her parents and forced to join the hunstclan, thus, the two never meet and never become enemies, Rose can live a happy life, while Jake retains the memories of a future that never could. What makes it so interesting and gets me so invested is how conflicted they are, they don't turn their back on each other, but there's no way they can be together without betraying their beliefs. A modern day Romeo & Juliet story, two lovers from two different worlds, wonder brought them together but tragedy stuck them apart, in the end they can't be together, the only way they can be happy is to prevent the one thing that brought them together from happening. Not only does it make for a good love story, but it also makes for a good hero story, Jake is a cocky cock, he likes to make quips, slack off his duties and use his powers for selfish gain, but he always knows where his values must lie and that he does have to be patient and make sacrifices for the sake of the greater good. Also they're played by Dante Basco & Mae Whitman, so if you were upset that Zuko and Katara never got together, this is a good severance package.

-Danny