RuriDragon Creator Reveals What Fans Should Learn From the Series

RuriDragon is currently on a hot streak as the manga has been active for the past year following its lengthy multi-year hiatus, and the creator has recently opened up about what kind of lessons fans should actually take away from the series. RuriDragon made its debut with Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ app back in 2022, and quickly became one of the most anticipated manga releases of that year. But unfortunately its creator was dealing with an illness and had to go on a lengthy break for nearly two years. But as the series is back and running strong, fans are getting to see what RuriDragon really has to offer,

In a recent interview with Shueisha’s MangaPlus to celebrate the website’s six year anniversary, and RuriDragon series creator Masaoki Shindo opened up about not only what inspired the story in the first place but explained that the real lesson fans should take from the series is that “being different is interesting.” Hoping to convey that to the audience, it’s something that Shindo has been dealing with in crafting the manga.

Lessons RuriDragon Is Trying to Teach

“I’ve struggled for years with the feeling of being ‘different’ from others,” Shindo began. “Thankfully, many people around me saw the things I struggled with as expressions of talent, individuality, or a sense of humor, seeing the positive aspects of those parts of me.
I got my first ideas for the series when I decided I wanted to create something of my own that visually conveyed the message that being different is interesting.” Shindo even opened up about their process when crafting the manga’s more naturalistic style as well. Which really ties back into those central lessons.

“I strive to write character dialogue as if it were being spoken naturally as opposed to being written, and I avoid making dialogue feel too scripted as I don’t want it to sound overly fictional,” Shindo explained. “I believe that the conversations which happen between characters at a particular time and in a particular moment have meaning, and try to remember that I’m just capturing a slice of these characters’ lives. Even if the depiction is lacking in words. And even if the conversations end up going in rather unexpected directions!” So it seems that even the creator is surprised by how these conversations can go between each of the characters.

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What Is RuriDragon?

If you wanted to check out Masaoki Shindo’s RuriDragon manga for yourself, you can now find the latest chapters for free with either Viz Media’s digital Shonen Jump library or Shueisha’s MangaPlus service. If you prefer to read it physically, the first volume of the manga is now available on shelves now. Just as teased by Shindo, the series is a more relaxed affair where the most magical element is Ruri herself.

Slowly figuring out that she’s transforming into a dragon, Ruri has to balance this with her ordinary school life. It’s a manga that’s really been a hit with fans ever since it made its debut, and Viz Media teases the series as such, “Well, a half dragon. Her mom admits Ruri inherited her draconic traits from her father, who, yes, is actually a dragon. As if dealing with curious classmates wasn’t already challenging enough, Ruri and her dragon genes literally turn up the heat in the middle of a lecture. Her ordinary life is about to be anything but!”

How are you liking RuriDragon so far? What kinds of lessons are you learning from the series? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!