Readers of Weekly Shonen Jump would’ve doubtless fallen in love with Ruri’s draconic life problems in RuriDragon. Unfortunately, it seems like we’ll have to wait a while longer before we get to get to see more of Ruri’s adventures. Oh well, at least they’re hopefully giving the manga a chance to finish the current storyline. Hopefully.
Ruri Taking an Unscheduled Vacation
Shonen Jump News just announced on Twitter that RuriDragon by Masaoki Shindo will enter an indefinite hiatus starting with Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #35. To clarify: this will be the issue that will premiere on Sunday, July 31, 2022. So we’ll get one more chapter that will hopefully resolve the current storyline before the manga goes on that indefinite hiatus.
The reason for this seems to be health issues on the part of Shindo-sensei. Neither Shindo-sensei nor the Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department specify what illness they have, only that they decided that it’d be better if the mangaka took a break from their work. You can find the full text of the news both above and below:
“Thank you for reading Ruri Dragon every week.
Due to the poor physical condition of Masaoki Shindo, Ruri Dragon will enter hiatus starting Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #35.
The series was already absent from Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33 and the editorial department looked for a way to create a sustainable schedule while facing the mangaka’s health condition, but after various discussions with Masaoki Shindo, it has been decided it would be better for them to take a break to recover so the serialization continues in perfect conditions in the future.
We will inform of the series’ comeback in upcoming Weekly Shonen Jump issues. We are very sorry to all readers who were looking forward to the series and kept sending comments and letters.
We will do our best to bring back Ruri’s daily life, so we would appreciate it if you could look over us in the future.
We look forward to your continued support of Ruri Dragon”
Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department
Bad News for RuriDragon Overall?
What’s troubling is that this isn’t the only time RuriDragon has gone on hiatus. Back on July 18, 2022; the official Shonen Jump Blog announced that the lack of a chapter that week was due to Masaoki Shindo taking a week-long break due to illness. Almost certainly the same illness they’re suffering from right now, really. The announcement not only contained an apology from the Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department, but also from Shindo-sensei themself. Complete with a cute little doodle of Ruri eating okayu (a type of Japanese rice porridge frequently served to the ill and infirm) to boot. You can find the full text of their apology below:
“A Message From Shindo Sensei
I heard that the editorial department felt like Chapter 5 read like a final chapter… But it’s not!! There’s more to come! I’ve been thinking all about what’s going to happen.
But I got a little sick, so I’ll be taking just one week off. And after I just started being serialized in the magazine. I’m so sorry!
This is the first time I’ve been serialized, and there’s so much to do that I ended up not prioritizing my health. I’ll use this time to get better.
I apologize to everyone involved with RuriDragon and to all the readers. I’m sorry, Ruri!
The series has only just begun, but thank you so much to all those who are enjoying it!”
Masaoki Shindo
On one hand, it’s nice that RuriDragon is going to continue past 5 chapters. That chapter did honestly feel like a last chapter to a very promising manga, so it’s good to hear that it’s not the case. On the other hand, Shino-sensei seems to be in poor health, and likely won’t be able to continue at their current weekly pace. It’s likely that after this break, Shindo-sensei might go for a biweekly schedule like Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo. It may be pure speculation, but it seems the most likely at this point. All we can really hope for now is for Shindo-sensei to get better, and for Ruri’s adventures as a dragon hybrid in school to continue for a long, long time.
Source: Twitter, Shonen Jump Blog
