Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, our weekly check in on Viz’s various Shonen Jump series. Viz has recently changed their release format, but our format will mostly remain the same. We will still review the newest chapters of one title a week, now with even more options at our disposal. The big change for our readers is that, even without a Shonen Jump subscription, you can read these most recent chapters for free at Viz.com or using their app.
This week, Vince checks in with “RuriDragon.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
RuriDragon – Chapter 4: Starbucks is Scary
Written & Illustrated by Masaoki Shindo
Review by Vince J Ostrowski
“RuriDragon” – at least in its early stages – appears to be a manga series about the coming-of-age transition from childhood to the teenage lifestyle. It is surprisingly incidental that Ruri, the titular character, happens to be part dragon. Every bout of teenage angst and anxiety that Ruri experiences in the latest chapter could be applied to anyone her age, and the writer would merely have to change a word or two. Whether it’s missing class and having to catch up on complicated subjects or being intimidated just by being around more mature, confident people (looking “cool” on their laptops at a Starbucks, hence the subtitle of this week’s issue), Ruri’s worries are relatable. I remember that feeling of being intimidated by the “older kids” at school. It’s something that translates universally, whether you have demon horns or not.
Even Ruri’s angst about the appearance of her horns and how others may react to them is incidental. The magic trick of the story is that she could be talking about any physical trait, and because the manga-ka doesn’t bog you down with lore trying to explain all the fantasy elements, that point hits home without calling attention to itself. It’s actually the opposite. It is as if the writer wants you to forget Ruri is part dragon, so you can see yourself in her. Will that idea sustain a series for long? Probably not. The series is shockingly slight at this point. Eventually there’s going to have to be some meat on the bones of the premise. Eventually there will have to be some specific reason why this story had to be told with a half-dragon. For now, it’s just really pleasant to watch Ruri find acceptance, learn, and grow in spite of her anxiety about her identity.
Matching the slice-of-life simplicity of the story is the art, which gives neither more nor less than the series needs. Just as “RuriDragon” treats the idea of a half-dragon growing into adolescence like the story of any other teenager, the art remains decidedly minimalist, aiming for a typical classroom setting which could be seen in nearly any manga. All you would have to do is take a proverbial eraser to the two little protrusions on Ruri’s head and nothing about the story changes. In that way, “RuriDragon” is both accomplishing its earnest goal, but also leaves the reader wanting a little more. Again, this is all fine for now – perhaps even a breath of fresh air in a genre that can become complicated and bogged down in detail too quickly – but the slight storytelling won’t sustain the series forever.
As “RuriDragon” fills out its cast, there are some subtle hints that there’s more fantastical elements in the future of this series. Hopefully, Masaoki Shindo is able to strike the right balance between exploring the fantasy of it all and remaining tethered to the everyday concerns of the average teen.
Final Verdict: 7.0 – Legitimate questions about its depth aside, “RuriDragon” is a refreshingly low stakes shonen series that wins you over with easygoing charm and relatability
