Ryuuguuden
Castle of the Dragon

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Ryuuguuden is a VERY weird read. Does weird = bad? No.. but just be warned.

The weirdness of Ryuuguuden, otherwise known as Castle of the Dragon, comes from it's trippy, hallucinogenic, bizarre, and even somewhat scary premise. So it's about two boys who follow a girl onto a penis shaped train which dives into the ocean and arrives at a sea brothel. Yeah, it's something else. With all this said, you shouldn't let this premise fool into thinking it's going to be some ecchi or purely erotic rubbish.

The direction the story goes at multiple times is often highly creative and interesting, such that you'll ... often be left greatly surprised at certain conclusions. The changes in tone throughout the series are also quite unique and offers a refreshing blend that keeps things from being stale.

Often cartoonish, yet at times gritty and somewhat realistic, the art in Ryuuguuden is very impressive, especially given that the author of this series has only worked on a few other one-shots previously. It's unique and has a lot of personality to it, similar to other well-known artists that have their own style.

There are two main protagonists in the series, Anni and Bo. I didn't love them, but I don't think we're supposed to. They're each flawed and juvenile in their own way. They annoyed me at times, but the story wasn't ruined. There is also an antagonist. He's just a little insane, but it works. If only the story gave his thoughts a bit more attention.

All in all, this is really something else. If you have an open mind, you'll probably find something to enjoy here.

I've been meaning to write a review for this manga for some years now. This is a story that got me back into reading manga after many years of taking a break.

I'm an art fag, so the first thing that catches my eye is usually the art. The art for this series is absolutely beautiful.
It's not particularly lush, instead it's very simple and direct. I don't remember there being much shading, even--or at least much gradation. Just black and white. This sort of style is really fun and refreshing paired with such interesting and alien visuals. The story mostly takes place in one setting, but ... the way you explore the setting is very much similar to the liminal space trend... as in, its a lot of hallways, corridors, vaguely 'religious' and minimal architecture. Except there's creatures and customs that feel very organic.

I have to say that although this manga is surreal and imaginative, and I do LOVE the setting, it's not the type of manga where you are immersed in a large lush world with a million cities and people and crazy objects. The world is very tight and small, focuses on the same 4 characters more or less. It's like BLAME! In the sense that you only get a feel for the expansiveness of the worldbuilding through suggestion. You're mostly given small bites at a time, but they do add up, and they stay interesting regardless. The story is a bit typically a coming-of-age type boy's story, and a lot of the usual tropes regarding gender and romance exist, but I think something about the ingenuity of the entire thing made it feel much more interesting/fresh than other manga with similar tropes.

I will also say that I give this series a 10 only because it is special to me beyond how much I enjoyed the art or story. I'm sure many people won't see this as a 10. But, it's definitely worth your time and is only 3 volumes.