3

I was watching Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (2013) and a character in there is said to be a Dragonoid, the offspring of a human and a dragon. Then I remembered Dragon Quest (2020) also features a character which has a Dragonoid form, a race created by gods with the features of humans, dragons and darklings (not sure if they are in the original 1991 version).

Then I looked for more info in internet and I found that Dragonoids are also a race in an anime called Bakugan (2008).

Doing further research, I found human-dragon hybrids have also other names, such as "draconic humanoids," and they are also featured in comics, novels and videogames. A Tale of a Human Dragon Hybrid trilogy books (unsure date) of course features one.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (2006) features hybrid dragons which are a cross between dragons and humans.

Wrong Time for Dragons (1997) also features an offspring of a human and a dragon

In Firebreather comic (2003) , a woman and a dragon have a half human-dragon baby.

Note I'm not referring to the trope of dragons being able to turn into human form when that's a trait of their dragon race; that would be a pure dragon not a hybrid.

Where does this idea come from? Which was the first fantasy story to feature human-dragon hybrids?

Improve this question
8
  • 1
    Not sure it's what you're looking for, but there's long been a trope that dragons can assume human form.
    – Daniel Roseman
    Sep 24, 2021 at 18:16
  • 3
    Various RPG:s had this for ages and the earlies source you can find is 1997? Come on...
    – Amarth
    Sep 24, 2021 at 18:47
  • 1
    Does this answer your question? What was the origin of the idea that dragons can take human form?
    – Amarth
    Sep 24, 2021 at 18:59
  • 1
    @amarth not really. That is the trope Daniel refered to, dragons who has the trait of being able to turn into humans,but they are still dragons. They arent dragon-human hybrids
    – Pablo
    Sep 24, 2021 at 19:50
  • 2
    DragonLance from 1984 features draconians. While not exactly half human, they are hatched from dragon eggs which were magically altered to produce humanoid creatures.
    – CJ Dennis
    Sep 25, 2021 at 3:48

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
9

Dragons mating with human women to produce offspring with dragonish (or at least superhuman) traits is a fairly common theme in some strands of folklore. I think the oldest examples may come from Chinese culture—in particular, with the character of Shennong (神農).

Shennong is usually depicted as the originator of traditional Chinese medicine and the inventor of agriculture. (The name "神農" is actually a title meaning, approximately, "god farmer.") He is sometimes held to be one of the three legendary primordial emperors of China, and in some stories, he is also given a draconic ancestry (although that is not really one of his core attributes and is probably a later elaboration added to the stories about him).

According to the blog link above:

One day, the woman who became his mother (perhaps named Andeng or Nüdeng) played in Huayang (an ancient region of China), a divine dragon copulated with her at the place of Changyang, and she became pregnant. She later gave birth to Shennong, who may have had a dragon’s head but a human’s face, or the head of an ox. In some versions of the story, it is mentioned that after he was born Shennong could talk after three days, walk after five days, had a full set of teeth after seven days and that he learned everything about reaping and sowing in three years.

Improve this answer
2

Probably not the first case, but Dragon Half was released in January 1988.

Mink was born to a man who used to be a skilled swordsman and a female imperial red dragon. At age fifteen, she falls in love with a singer named Dick Saucer; but because he is also a dragonslayer, she has no choice but to get a potion that can change her into a pure human. She can only get the potion, however, if she can slay the most powerful Demon Lord in the land, Azetodeth, and go to his palace known as the Demon King's island. Not only does she have to reconstruct the Gourd of the Saints, an item that can seal Azetodeth, she also has to be aware of Princess Vina, her rival for Saucer's affections. Mink is aided by her friends Lufa, Pia, and a fairy mouse named Mappy on her quest.

Improve this answer
2

In this episode the dragon becomes human and presumably could have a human child - so not technically an answer to the exact question- but very related.

"The Return of Granamyr is the 60th episode of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, written by Larry DiTillio and directed by Ernie Schmidt. Granamyr summons He-Man to Darksmoke to help Torm, the youngest of dragons, pass a test so that he may marry a human girl. " "Script was approved May 26, 1983." Source: https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/The_Return_of_Granamyr

May be of interest as an additional example of dragon human hybrids.

Draego man action figure

Improve this answer
1

If, rather than a folktale, we're looking for the first modern fantasy to feature a human-dragon hybrid, you're probably looking at Michael Moorcock's stories centering around the character Elric of Melniboné.

The first Elric story, "The Dreaming City", appeared in 1961, but was later worked into a 1972 fixup novel.

Elric is the last emperor of the island of Melniboné. The empire once ruled the world but is now reduced to the capital Imrryr on the island itself. There is a lot of rectonning in later works, but in the first story we learn that the royal line of Melniboné contained dragon ancestry, which gave them an affinity with the dragons used by their military. (cf. the Targaryens from ASoIaF).

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.