Ninjago: Dragons Rising

Fandom
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:
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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.

Part 2

Teaser Release

The first teaser trailer for Dragons Rising: Season 2: Part 2 released on July 25, 2024. The teaser was met with universal excitement from fans on tumblr and other social media sites, as it confirmed information that had been previously leaked through the Lego sets and leaked images, such as the Master Lloyd outfit and Kai interacting with the Forbidden Five. It also provided new information that got fans hyped, such as showing Geo being present to watch the tournament.

Full Season Leaked

On July 26, 2024, the entirety of Season 2: Part 2 was released on the streaming site Peacock, several months ahead of schedule. The episodes were quickly removed, having likely been released in error, but not before fans were able to record and distribute the leaked episodes. The usual hype surrounding an episode drop was tempered by the fact that not all of the fandom chose to watch the leaked episodes, creating a divide between those who had seen them and those who hadn't. Fans on tumblr quickly took to spoiler-tagging and using "read more" cuts to protect others from spoilers. Among those who did watch the leaked episodes, fan reactions were mostly positive, although there was some criticism of the new episodes. However, fans quickly pointed out that the early release may mean the episodes were unfinished, and thus those critiques may be addressed in the official release.

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
• Jay Walker
• The Forbidden Five
  • Nokt
  • Rox

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

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.

Archives and Communities

• Ninjago: Dragons Rising on Ao3

Resources

• The Ninjago Media Project