Warning! Spoilers ahead for RuriDragon chapter 1!
Even though RuriDragon promises to be a thrillingly sarcastic-filled ride, the first chapter proves Shueisha's Shonen Jump didn't know what it was doing when the similar series That Dragon (Exchange) Student Stands Out More Than Me was confined to Shonen Jump+, also by Shueisha.
On the surface, Shonen Jump+ (or MANGA Plus) isn't a step down from Weekly Shonen Jump per se since the former platform publishes series that contain too much violence and/or nudity for inclusion in the more readily available and popular weekly anthology. MANGA Plus titles also don't adhere to Shonen Jump's overly strict schedules and demands. However, there are many titles on the lesser-known platform that are written specifically for teen boys with little to no excessive violence, nudity, or other explicit content, meaning they could have made it in Shonen Jump. Additionally, especially successful or popular MANGA Plus titles - such as Kaiju No. 8, Dandadan, and Spy x Family - oftentimes find their way onto the Shonen Jump app, creating the impression that there's more behind why some series make the cut while others are assigned to MANGA Plus.
Further inflaming suspicions are the many similarities between the debut chapters of Shonen Jump's RuriDragon and MANGA Plus' That Dragon (Exchange) Student Stands Out More Than Me. Both detail a humanoid species of dragon attending a regular school for humans where sarcastic-fueled comedy drives the overall plotline into the realm of the absurd. Both "dragons" are also dealing with something they're unfamiliar with. The dragon in MANGA Plus' series is an exchange student and therefore has never attended the school where the story takes place before now, while the dragon in RuriDragon is a longtime enrollee at her school but suddenly wakes up with horns, meaning, she's new at being a dragon. One of the main differences, however, is that RuriDragon's protagonist Ruri is the dragon in question when the hero - or the "me" from the title That Dragon (Exchange) Student Stands Out More Than Me - is a human.
Therein lies the reason why That Dragon (Exchange) Student... definitely deserved to be in Shonen Jump before it ended. The relationship between the human Manabu Higurashi and his one-sided rivalry with the dragon - Meria Spindleston - in MANGA Plus' title is heartwarming. Within the debut chapter, comedy abounds by Manabu's many failed attempts to upstage Meria before adding romance. Nothing like this exists in the first chapter of RuriDragon. While everyone's indifference to extraordinary events in RuriDragon is hilarious, the debut relies too much on comedy to the point where relationships aren't allowed to develop. The problem is partially due to the fact that Ruri already has friends, so rather than exploring them, the manga focuses more on how her friend casually accept her sudden transformation. The only other appealing element is that Ruri was never told about her heritage and now must learn what it means to be a dragon from her human mother whose dragon husband is out of the picture. There's definitely a sense of mystery that adds to the series' draw, but without a strong relationship, there's a strong sense that something's missing.
Meanwhile, not only does MANGA Plus' That Dragon (Exchange) Student... provide one, but Meria herself is shrouded in mystery like Ruri. By the first chapter, Meria already exhibits extraordinary powers but is clearly suffering from her own limitations to the point where readers can't help but continue on. Of course, on its own, RuriDragon is incredibly entertaining and enjoyable. There's now just no reason why Shonen Jump couldn't have also published That Dragon (Exchange) Student Stands Out More Than Me. RuriDragon could very well become a much better series, but as of now, that's not the case.
RuriDragon is available now on Viz Media's Shonen Jump App!