Big News from Kyoto Animation!

Get ready, anime fans! One of the industry’s most beloved studios, Kyoto Animation, has just dropped a major announcement. They’re bringing the super popular manga Ruri Dragon (also known as RuriDragon) to life as a television anime series. This is the kind of news that has everyone buzzing with excitement.

The Manga’s Wild Ride to the Screen

This story begins with creator Masaoki Shindou. He first tested the waters with a one-shot in Jump GIGA back in December 2020. Readers loved it so much that it scored a regular serialization spot in the legendary Weekly Shounen Jump starting June 2022.

But the journey hit a pause button in August 2022 when the manga went on an indefinite hiatus due to Shindou-sensei’s health. Fans waited patiently, and their patience was rewarded when the series made a triumphant return in April 2024, switching to a bimonthly release schedule. The momentum hasn’t stopped since, with the fourth volume hitting shelves in Japan on November 4. To date, the series has racked up an impressive 1.1 million copies of its volumes in circulation.

Going Global and Racking Up Awards

The charm of Ruri Dragon isn’t confined to Japan. Almost as soon as the serialization began, VIZ Media and Manga Plus started simulpublishing it in English. Manga Plus also made it available for fans in Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, and French. VIZ released the second volume in English this past August, with the third volume already on the horizon for 2026.

The series has also been turning heads in award circles. It grabbed the ninth spot in the Male Readers’ division of the 2024 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! rankings and snagged second place in the Web Manga category at the 10th Tsugi ni Kuru Manga awards. Not bad for a story about a girl with dragon horns!

So, What’s Ruri Dragon All About?

Meet Ruri Aoki. She’s your typical high school student until one morning she wakes up with a pair of horns sprouting from her head. More confused than alarmed, she shows them to her mom, who drops a bombshell with the calmness of a summer breeze: Ruri is half-dragon.

Deciding to just roll with it, Ruri heads to school hoping for a normal day. That hope is quickly dashed. Her best friend, classmates, and even her homeroom teacher immediately notice her new accessories. Suddenly, she’s the center of attention, with everyone wanting to look, touch, and take selfies with her horns. Ruri quickly learns that life as a half-dragon is going to be anything but ordinary.