Ninjago: Dragons Rising
Fandom | |
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Name: | Ninjago: Dragons Rising |
Abbreviation(s): | DR, Ninjago DR, Dragons Rising |
Creator: | The Lego Group |
Date(s): | 2023-Current |
Medium: | TV Animation |
Country of Origin: | Canada, Denmark |
External Links: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Ninjago: Dragons Rising is the sequel series to Ninjago, also known as Lego Ninjago or Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. The series follows two new main protagonists, Arin and Sora, as they join the team and learn to become ninja.
Canon
The story of Dragons Rising takes place at least five years after the conclusion of the original Ninjago series, following a catastrophic event called the Merge. During the Merge, all sixteen realms collided with Ninjago, and formed a new, massive world known as the Merged Realms. The Merge also displaced a significant number of people due to the unstable rifts that formed during it; some ended up scattered across the Merged Realms, while others became stuck in spacetime pockets that didn't fully merge with the rest of the land.
Our two main characters for this series, Arin and Sora, were both affected greatly by the Merge. Arin lost his parents, but was saved by the ninja, and found Lloyd's mask right after the merge; he kept it with him as a memento of his hero and idol. Sora, on the other hand, used the Merge as an opportunity to escape from her homeland of Imperium, a strict dictatorship that powered its city by draining energy from dragons. Despite their lives being uprooted by the Merge, by the time that we meet them five years later, Arin and Sora are doing well for themselves. They're best friends and partners in mech racing, hoping to win a fortune in the next race and finally be able to live out their dreams.
History
Series Announcement/Initial Reception
Following the poor execution of the original Ninjago series' final season, Crystalized, fans did not have high hopes for Dragons Rising. However, those hopes began to cautiously rise as initial trailers and other promotional materials were dropped, and it became clear that Dragons Rising was going to deliver something that Ninjago fans had been wanting for years: dramatic changes to the status quo, in the form of the Merge and the two new main characters, Arin and Sora. By the time Season 1: Part 1 dropped, most fans were cautiously optimistic, but ready to have their hopes crushed if the show wasn't as well-executed as the trailers made it seem.
Season 1 release
Part 1
Fortunately for all of the fans who felt jaded after Crystalized, Dragons Rising delivered not only a good season, but arguably one of the best in Ninjago history. Fans' collective reaction to Season 1: Part 1 was completely unbridled enthusiasm, an impressive feat for the show given just how far Dragons Rising diverged from the original Ninjago series. It felt like a breath of fresh air for a fandom that had been watching their source material slowly stagnate, and this release truly did breathe new life into the fandom.
Part 2
If Part 1 reignited the fandom, then Part 2 added even more fuel to the fire. This was when fans were able to finally relax and think, yeah, this show is sticking around for a while. There was always that fear that S1:Pt1 was an outlier, a strong start that would lead to a steady decline just as in the original show, but Part 2 clearly established that the writers had a direction in mind for the show. It introduced several new plot threads that didn't come close to wrapping up by the end of the season, setting the stage for future plotlines in the coming seasons. Given how long Ninjago has been running, it seems safe to say that Dragons Rising will have a good deal of staying power, and it's been reassuring to see that the writers are taking the long-term future of the show into account.
Season 2 release
Part 1
Season 2: Part 1 gave fans another element that they had been asking Ninjago to consider for years: acknowledging the ninjas' trauma and how it affects them. Half of the plot of the season is Lloyd having visions that function as an anxiety/PTSD allegory, and the show finally acknowledges the necessity of looking out for your mental health, without the inclusion feeling forced.
Main Characters
Main Cast
Arin
Arin is a super-fan of the Ninja who taught himself Spinjitzu by studying their moves, something that should theoretically be impossible. Despite being a character obviously meant for fans to project onto, he has depth to his character and personality that makes him compelling. He loves the Ninja and everything about them, and is still holding out hope that they could come back, even though no one has seen them since the Merge. He's compassionate and kindhearted, and not afraid to stand up and fight when he needs to. His dream is to take their prize money and use it to build his own monastery, where he would take in all of the other orphans who lost their parents in the Merge.
Sora
Sora is a tech genius and a skilled mech racer. She has a more cynical personality compared to Arin, but still has a hopeful outlook on life; she's just more likely to think about the practical side of things. Her dream if she won the prize money is to have her own workshop and lab to work on her tech in. Her past in Imperium is a crucial part of her character, and comes up often throughout the series; she left Imperium because she refused to be a part of a system that exploited dragons, and one that also exploited Sora and her work. Ever since she left, the ghost of her past has been slowly catching up to her, and the first season of Dragons Rising deals heavily with Sora confronting her past and destroying the technology that she inadvertently gave Imperium years ago.
Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon
Lloyd is the legendary Green Ninja, leader of the Ninja as well as Arin and Sora's teacher.
Riyu
Riyu is a young dragon with the ability to share his power with Elemental Masters, giving them a boost to their abilities. He uses this power to help Sora during season 1, when she doesn't know how to use her tech powers on her own yet. While he mainly serves as a plot device in Season 1, he is considered a part of the main cast, and begins to develop more of a personality in Season 2. Riyu is just as determined as Arin and Sora to become a ninja, and learns Spinjitzu alongside them.
Other Ninja/Allies
- Cole
- Kai
- Mr. Frohicky
- Nya
- Wyldfyre
- Zane Julien
Antagonists
- Empress Beatrix
- Lord Ras
- Rapton
- Dr. LaRow
- Jordana
- Cinder
- Ras's Master
Shipping
Canon ships:
- Jaya (Jay/Nya)
- Pixane (Pixal/Zane)
Non-Canon ships:
- Lost/Geode (Cole/Geo)
- Lava (Cole/Kai)
- Bruise (Cole/Jay)
- Arin/Percival
- Sora/Euphrasia
- Sorin (Arin/Sora)
Fanon/Common Tropes
- Families of Choice: Found family is a consistent theme in Ninjago, and Dragons Rising is no exception. The ninja consider each other family, as do Arin and Sora. The fandom tends to run with this theme in fanworks.
Fanworks
Example Fanworks
Fanart
Fanfiction
- Lloyd's guide to surviving the merge (and finding new family through it) by BlueberryPeach on Ao3
- Summary: A what if Lloyd met Sora and Arin much earlier and Kai didn’t show up till a lot later than that? Lloyd raises both of them and a couple more kids on the way.
- Real Life by Drabbles_Of_Writing on Ao3
- Partial Summary: In which Sora's insanely curious about Zane, and the Ninja get the wrong idea about the source of that curiosity.
Podfics
- All works of WhaleKingdom on Ao3, who has recorded 366 podfics total, including 328 for Ninjago and 10 for Dragons Rising.
Animation/Animatics
Archives and Communities
- Ninjago: Dragons Rising on Ao3