Atmospheric but confusing. It's a long time since I read the Earthsea books, and this animation doesn't bother with explaining plot points. Why are the dragons there, and how is the girl a dragon? Who is Sparrowhawk and why is he involved?

It's nearly very good. The architecture is lovely, great pillared halls, castles and ancient crumbling towns. In one scene Sparrowhawk comes over a rise onto a great deserted beach strewn with the huge hulls of abandoned warships. What is lacking is the strong storytelling heart, that would have us care for the folk that inhabit this impressive world.

It's a bit like the cinema edit of the Lord of the Rings films: one looks for an extended edition with the deleted scenes that will make sense of the film. Sadly in this case they're not there.