PART 13 of 52 ONESHOTS in 52 WEEKS
眞藤雅興の『ルリドラゴン』 “Ruri Dragon” by SHINDO Masaoki
Ruri Dragon is a manga series written and illustrated by Masaoki Shindo. It follows the adventures of school girl Ruri, who wakes up one day to discover horns have sprouted from her head. It debuted last year in the famous Weekly Shounen Jump magazine, but owes its origins to a oneshot of the same name (also by Masaoki Shindo), which was featured in Jump GIGA magazine at the end of 2020. Much of the oneshot, which is around 45 pages in length, forms the basis of the manga’s first chapter, but the entire second half features original material not yet seen in the series.
For Ruri, it seems the most natural thing to do after suddenly growing horns is to simply go to school. At school, she finds herself the center of attention, with everybody wanting to know about her horns. Their origin, as it happens, is due to the fact that Ruri is half dragon. After almost burning her school down due to a sneeze-turned-flamethrower, Ruri and her mother travel to a remote mountain shrine so Ruri can meet her estranged mythical father.
Masaoki Shindo has authored several oneshots since 2016, all of which featured in Jump magazines, but Ruri Dragon is his first to be serialised. What sets this oneshot apart from author Shindo’s other work is arguably the contemporary appeal of Ruri’s character. She’s a supernatural spin on the charming high school girl archetype, popularised in recent years by series such as A Centaur’s Life and Monster Musume.
Certainly, Ruri is a fun and agreeable presence on the page, and one half of a great comedy duo with her matter-of-fact mother. Much of the humour is light-hearted and silly (Ruri’s first words to her dragon father is to ask how exactly she was conceived, to which her father tells her to ask her mother), but it all adds to the charm. The art is notable with great line work, although the backgrounds do often lack depth. That said, Masaoki Shindo already seems to have honed a distinctive style that is, for the most part, impressive.
Ruri Dragon is wholly playful and feel-good in its presentation, but it can’t quite conceal its intent as a bit of a pilot. Come the end, it feels more like an introduction than a self-contained story, with much of the narrative transferring verbatim into the later manga serial. The forward-thinking Shindo also lays the foundations early for future potential plot points, with mention of not only dragons, but all manner of creatures, hinting that maybe Ruri will encounter other half-mythical people somewhere along the line. Depending on what you’re after in a oneshot, this partial narrative may be a slight turn-off, with author Shindo ending on a bit of a half-hearted moral (“if surprises come, be glad and accept them”) in an effort to offer some sort of conclusion, but this is little more than a nitpick and the oneshot is an enjoyable introduction nonetheless.
Masaoki Shindo has since fallen ill and Ruri Dragon has been put on hiatus, but the manga seems to have taken off with a bang. Jump have provided the original oneshot and the subsequent chapters of the series with a read-along voice over by professional VA Chiaki Omigawa (probably best known for voicing Maka Albarn in the Soul Eater anime) on their YouTube channel. Sadly there are no English subtitles, but the editing and voice work is very good.
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Morning, Roo 