This is the main thread for reading the manga ルリドラゴン ・ Ruri Dragon together with the Absolute Beginner Book Club. If you have a bit of experience with Japanese (say, finished with Genki 1, around JLPT N5), but are new to reading manga, this might be a good way to start!
We’ll be reading together according to a weekly schedule, ask and answer questions in weekly threads, and we’ll have a vocabulary sheet we’re building together to make this easier for everyone. We aim to keep the schedule slow enough so that beginners can follow along.
And don’t worry at all if this is your first manga and you don’t know if you’re up to it yet. There’ll be plenty of people to help you. Don’t hold back your questions - other people who read the threads are usually thankful that you asked them first!
ルリドラゴン ・ Ruri Dragon
More info about the manga
Nomination post (with preview pictures to see if you like the looks and the difficulty, and more information)
Natively (a website that compares the difficulty of mangas and other books)
Ebook readers may show their own internal page number, which may not match up with the paper version of the book. This is often due to counting pages starting with the front cover as page 1.
Vocabulary Sheet
TBD
Will you be reading with us?
Yeah!
Yeah, but I’ll start late
I’m not sure yet
I’m skipping this one
I’ve read this before, but will join in the discussion
I’ve joined the Absolute Beginner Book Club before
I’ve joined the Beginner Book Club before
I’ve joined the Intermediate Book Club before
I’ve joined the Advanced Book Club before
0voters
(Select the highest that applies.)
What’s your reading experience?
This is my first manga
I’ve read other manga, but only easier ones than this
I’ve read other manga or books around this level
I’ve read other manga or books that are harder than this one
0voters
(Select the highest that applies.)
Don’t be afraid to check “This is my first book club” / “This is my first manga” - this club was made for participants like you!
And if you see lots of “I’ve read other manga or books that are harder than this one”: That just means that there will be lots of people to help you when you have questions.
Also, since it’s otherwise buried in the thread, here’s the amazing official voice-over video for the first chapter:
I am on the fence if I should join, I’ve read the first chapter as apart of Amazon’s free sample, I do like it and it is easy, but the status of the series makes me worry if I end up really liking it only to not be able to continue.
I’m sad to hear of the hiatus status, but regardless I’ve been waiting since before Christmas to finally join the ABBC haha. Hopefully this manga just sparks an intrigue for reading Japanese for me! Even if I can’t continue on with it, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from it
I wouldn’t really let the hiatus bother you too much - the series is only 6 chapters in so it’s not a humongous time investment, and it’s going to be simple enough to re-read if you happen to have forgotten what happened by the time it continues.
It’s also a cute and entertaining enough story on its own even if it does so far end up unresolved, so I’d say it’s still worth it - and it’s not like you’re left deeply invested in a long-running character arc. What’s there at the moment is mostly just a setup for the series and the most vexing mystery is “what hijinks will ensue next?”
In the past, there’s been a clear correlation between books being chosen for WaniKani book clubs, and getting a new reprint or another print run in Japan, so if we all read it, perhaps the manga-ka will find the strength to continue writing.
Really? That sounds amazing, please let’s read Nana from Ai Yazawa next then, I can’t get over that it is not finished after 21 books, waiting since 2009
I can recommend watching the video “だって Datte: what it REALLY means (hint: it’s not a word)” before reading because I remember being really confused whenever ルリ would reply with “だって” as she likes to do and not finding a relevant explanation in jisho.org or Tae Kim’s guide concerning だって.
Awesome! I’m glad I stumbled upon this. I love this manga and because the mangaka got sick I ordered the volume last year even though I’m not confident to read it in japanese yet. I look forward to joining this.
Glad to see all the participation! I just got started with wanikani again after only briefly doing the first three levels in mid-2022, so this is my first time posting in the forums and participating in the ABBC. I’m excited to be joining in with this upcoming manga! It’s nice to see some other fellow first time book clubbers and Japanese manga readers in the polls.
Nice that you are joining! I’m also a returning user, coming back this year after a longer break away from learning Japanese. I’ve only just joined another beginner’s level book club, but had never participated in these in the past, so it’s all really exciting for me as well
The location on your profile says New York - if that means New York City, you could always try your local Kinokuniya. Even if they don’t have the book actually in stock, you can usually ask them to order it in without having to pay shipping for it (if you collect it in person).
No problem! I use the site frequently since it’s probably the cheapest way I’ve found to buy manga if I just want a single book. I also like that it has used books as options.
