New To Sunday: Mizuki Kuriyama's "Dragemis"

The irony of a writeup for a Japanese manga being late because I was in Japan is not lost on me. In any case, Kuriyama-sensei is one of the many veterans returning to the magazine after having a successful serialization, which means I get a reason to write about someone whose work I read and enjoyed! Truly, this is the season for giving. 

The Author

Mizuki Kuriyama

I don't have much background on Kuriyama-sensei, unfortunately. They seemingly just started a Twitter for Dragemis (though I could swear I saw their account around before now, but they avoided talking manga on it.) That being said, while doing research for this review, I found that sensei is a huge Gosho Aoyama fan. In fact, their serializations, artwork, and storytelling are very influenced by his works. Which, in this reviewer's opinion, doesn't shine as much in their first long serial The Lies of Sheriff Evans, which we'll get to in a bit, it does feel much more prevalent in their oneshots, of which there are plenty of. Kuriyama-sensei went on a real tear after Evans ended several oneshot stories to a point that I thought they were aiming to release a book like Fukuchi did earlier this year. Alas, that hasn't happened yet, but we can hope!

Above oneshot: Shinuki Detective (Dying Will Detective) and Tsuru no Adagaeshi (The Crane's payback)

The publication dates for these oneshots on Webry 2021 and 2023 respectively, but Shinuki Detective's artwork looks rougher than what was in Evans. This dovetails into another thing I realized while writing this --Kuriyama sure likes assassins. Like, a lot. Many of their oneshots feature them in prominent roles. Interesting that neither Evans nor Dragemis really features them. Maybe it's just a side hobby? Either way Kuriyama's chops for drawing action and attractive character designs are on display. Some of this is seen in Evans despite it being more of a romcom. 

From Araki-san ga iu ni wa (What Araki-san says.)

But I think where Kuriyama-sensei shines is just that --in romcoms and slice of life works despite their preponderance towards action and the supernatural in their other oneshots and serializations. Araki-san ga iu ni wa feels like the kind of tale that would be the backstory of a Detective Conan romcom scenario, in which a plain boy and a delinquent find they have a lot in common, even if the former can't spit out that she may have feelings for the latter. There's an advertisement for the entirety of Evans at the bottom of the page above, so this oneshot definitely ran after the serialization. We've reviewed another one of their oneshots here and another one Heikousei Parabellem, that we talked about here (and I personally like quite a bit.) So you can read about those on our threads, and we can mosey on along out west to Kuriyama's first long term serial Hoankan Evans no Uso: Dead or Love. (Lies of the Sheriff Evans: Dead or Love.)

Evans ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday from April 2017 to April 2022 for 20 volumes, 241 chapters total. So it was successful enough to have reached a natural ending, but apparently not enough to get an anime (sadly). Apparently, its origins come from Kuriyama picking it out of a pile of ideas suggested by their editor. The editor half-jokingly pitched the idea to Kuriyama and that's almost too perfect for what this series is. Essentially, Elmore Evans is a perfect shot, making him the ultimate lawman, but he has basically zero luck with the ladies. The first chapter has him pursuing a woman in hopes he'll get a date, but she thinks he's being persistent to bust her as she's a con artist-- something Evans had literally no idea about until she confesses. Thus, he's none too pleased, but he chooses the law over his loins. Add in a lady gunslinger named Phoebe, who's an equally good shot, except when it comes to shooting her shot with asking Evans out (who she's madly in love with), and you have the crux for this semi-long-running series. 

Evans curses himself for being too good at his job.

During the series run, I did see some manga readers compare it charitably to Aka Akasaka's Kaguya-sama. Evans isn't nearly as cerebral, but there are shades of that between him and Phoebe, who are rivals, which is to say they'd never let the other person see them as vulnerable, up to and including confessing their feelings. Add to this that Evans got all of his love tips from his misguided(?) father Kurt and it's no wonder he's never gotten anywhere in his love life. 

I think what saved this series from becoming repetitive is that the characters are as exaggerated as they are lovable. It gave the series this sense of...not realism, but relatability? I think it's not a stretch to say that we've overthought or misunderstood a person's intentions, especially when seeing them as a potential mate, and Kuriyama works around this well with either Evans' potential girlfriends or his relationship with Phoebe. Don't get it too twisted, Evans is a good man, but he definitely has needs, and sometimes he nearly chooses himself over the law, but in the end, even if it sets him back, he does the right thing. Returning characters and Evans' own Dad going on an “endless journey” to avoid the wrath of his wife after he forgot their anniversary adds to the sense of comedic charm, even when the characters are being self-serving. It's sad this never got picked up for an official release, or, more importantly, never got an anime, but in this environment of reboots and animating past finished serializations, maybe there's still hope. 

Though now we leave the west for a more fantastical realm…the world of Dragemis.

The Serial

Dragemis

Starting in issue #44 of Weekly Shonen Sunday is Mizuki Kuriyama's 2nd long serial, Dragemis. Shogakukan's blurb describes it as a “Buddy hunting adventure comedy series.” 

The Premise

I haven't seen Kuriyama outright say it, but the vibe that this series is inspired by older video games, such as The Tower of Druaga and of course, Dragon Quest. Which is to say it feels quaint in today's manga landscape. Or maybe even indie? Jokes aside, the story is straightforward-Raneko, a shy girl, and Kainu, her attendant, take on the mysterious Madara tower on the top of which has a legendary treasure for the taking to those who can make it up there, That is. 

Tall tower is tall.

Not surprisingly, monsters are guarding the treasure.

Though these two kids have an edge on the tower's traps and tricks. Raneko isn't human despite her appearance. She's actually a dragon guardian who was once the protector of the legendary treasure. However due to humans attacking and injuring her, she's forced to conserve her power by taking a human form, and has a deep distrust of mankind now.

Worst yet she has to work her way back up the tower the normal way, along with the myriad of humans who are also gunning for the treasure. Luckily, she's got Kainu as an attendant/confidant. He's the one human being who didn't treat her as a tool or monster when seeing her dragon form. So he's the perfect one to trek the tower with. It's implied that despite his kind nature, he has something significant in his past, so maybe he isn't as trustworthy as Raneko thinks...

So, despite Shogakukan referring to this as a comedy action adventure (Note the order I wrote those words --it's exactly how they're written on the site) there hasn't been very much comedy. Rather, it feels like a very comfy SNES JRPG. Raneko learning to trust humans again through Kainu's kindness, encounters with monsters, treasure hunters, and traps in the tower....I almost feel like I'd rather play this than read it, honestly.  As much as I should be excited to see an author I like taking on a genre I usually enjoy, Dragemis is simply....fine. I couldn't tell you what it needs to do to cross that border between fine and great but that's where it is. It might be Kuriyama's artwork, which, while I generally like it hasn't changed much since their romcoms (though admittedly the way the heads on characters look in this series bugs me a little-they all seem so long.) or the lack of dynamic panels, but it feels like Kuriyama may be attempting to write a check their art and writing can't cash. 

The Japanese Connection

Readers in Japan are not surprisingly fans returning from Kuriyama's previous oneshots and Evans. They comment a lot that Raneko is frustrating to deal with (though a few state that they understand her circumstances), but they're overall much more optimistic about this series than I am. (Also one person pointed out the main duo's names, “Raneko” and “Kainu” sound like the Japanese words for stray cat (Noraneko) and pet dog (Kaiinu), respectively, which gets me wondering if that'll tie in to the series at all or if it's just a cute coincidence.) Though for the most part the fandom is enjoying the series-even if the TOC placements imply that editorial isn't quite as hyped by it. It's been at the bottom of the list for several weeks and that's not a great sign when volume one isn't out yet, and the comments, while mostly in support, are very few. 

The Verdict

In conclusion, Dragemis is a series with potential. While I tend to look optimistically at these, (maybe to a fault) I'm not sure if Kuriyama can pull off what they've set up. That being said, I do like the dichotomy of one character playing the JRPG protagonist trope straight (busting into treasure chests and defeating monsters, etc) and said character coming off like a complete psychopath. Maybe that is supposed to be a humorous commentary on why there's a separation between video game logic and real life? As well as the overall mystery of the tower being compelling. Admittedly, I enjoy Raneko and Kainu's relationship as well. If nothing else, their dynamic is the one thing about this series that is handled well. For a beast that was instructed to guard a treasure from humanity to bear witness to their darkest depths and then rely on their kindness is a compelling story. Even if, as Japanese readers pointed out, it makes Raneko a little difficult to like. So would I recommend the series? I can't say. It's in a weird place where it's so different from Kuriyama's previous works that I can't say fans of theirs would like it, nor does it seem unique enough so far that I'd say it's worth reading on its own right. However, if you are looking for a series that has a comfy SNES JRPG and are willing to play a literal long game on whether this will be around in the pages of Sunday long enough to pay off on the opening gambit, then you can do worse than taking on the tower with Raneko and Kainu.