Ninjago: Dragons Rising

So far Dragons Rising Seasons 1 & 2 dropped, and I gotta say that Seasons 1 & 2 of Dragons Rising are some of the best seasons of Ninjago ever produced. The story isn't rushed at all as it actually takes its time to fully flesh out the characters and the stories, speaking of the characters: There are a bunch of newly introduced characters in this pre-reboot, even 3 brand new members for the ninja team. All 3 of them are well-written and are actually likeable characters. There's also a baby/teenager dragon called Riyu in the team, which is like the baby yoda/baby groot of Ninjago right now.

Speaking of the old ninja, they're also still in this show as a huge part of it, and they aren't entirely sidelined. If they are sidelined, then that is simply a buildup for the future of Ninjago (Dragons Rising seasons 3, 4, 5 etc.) The villains are also cool except for a few which I think are just meh.

And the animation. Oh. My. Goodness.

That animation is absolutely phenomenal. It's genuinely so visually beautiful, so beautiful to the point where you'll forget that this is a LITERAL LEGO SHOW ABOUT RAINBOW NINJA MINIFIGURES. That's how good the animation is.

Overall, this is one of the best things that has ever happened to Ninjago after a horrible finale season (Season 15/Crystalized) and I am so happy that a great childhood show like Ninjago is still on its toes running for more and greater content to bring.

Ninjago: Dragons Rising earns a perfect 10/10 from me. As a longtime fan, I was blown away by this season's blend of thrilling action, deep character development, and poignant themes of friendship and bravery. Season 1 delights with its exciting storyline and heartfelt moments, while Season 2 delves into darker territory, resonating with older viewers without losing the series' charm. The writing is masterful, crafting a narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat while delivering meaningful messages. Dragons Rising is a must-watch, showcasing Ninjago at its absolute best. I was worried about all the new changes in this series, however I am so pleasantly surprised. Its such a fun and enjoyable show with great messages and characters. The writing is amazing and very enjoyable.

The story was absolutely amazing, I have never seen anything quite so unique in ninjago before especially with dragons, they changed the story in so many ways but kept the core values that makes ninjago, ninjago. It does a good job at keeping the viewer engaged wether they are an adult like myself or a child, unlike before where they story and fight sequences were completely predictable even for me when I was a child. The show has also introduced a completely new concept to the show that was completely unknown previously but still fits the main story line, I won't go into spoilers but it's a great time investment for both kids and adults.

A review from a 10 year fan of Ninjago.

I know that Ninjago has sort of faded into obscurity since 2018 or so and it all stems from the fact that people can't get over a simple redesign. They chose to just not watch the season or watch the season with the intent to hate on it even thought it has given us some of the best Ninjago content in so long.

Ninjago hadn't taken a severe hit to quality until 2020 and that was when the show struggled to come up with new ideas, and didn't know how to write meaningful character arcs for the Ninja.

Bring in Dragons rising which genuinely has the potential to become the best addition to the Ninjago franchise. They introduce a plethora of New main characters while also still writing the original ninja so so well. The worldbuilding and character writing is probably the best we've ever seen in Ninjago, and the shows visuals look stunning. I am urging original fans of Ninjago to give this a shot because this has been outstanding so far, and has strengthend my love for the series which has been slowly dying out since 2020 or so.

If your worried that the show seems childish, just wait until you get to late season 2-early season 3 where the show finally tackles more mature themes and is as dark as it has ever been.

Ninjago: Dragons Rising is a great show with lots of character, charm, depth and epic action scenes. If you have never watched Ninjago before this would be a great place to start since S1 is very good and S2 so far has improved on that and continues to be awesome.

Arin and Sora who bounce off each other very well, also represent different views of the people who watch the show. Arin is a super ninja fan who looks up to the legendary ninja and knows every little thing about them (the people who have watched ninjago since the start). Sora is the tech genius who has never seen them before or know who they are (represents people whos only exposure to ninjago is DR). It is very clever of the writers to do that, since they reintroduce the ninja later on in S1 which causes Sora to like them due to how cool they are. It also helps that they are very likeable protagonists.

The merging of the 16 realms was also such a good idea since it allows for more stories that couldn't have been possible before. S2 continues to prove that since it dives into the consequences of the realms merging with Lord Ras trying to unleash evil through a blood moon ritual.

This show is so good and more people should be watching it! The animation is also stellar, it looks like moving concept art at times. The fight scenes in S2 are SO EPIC. If you are a fan of cartoons, or animation in general, don't let the fact that its LEGO put you off watching it, because S2 gets very dark at times and they also touch on the topic of mental health in it too. Such a good show.