Dragon Raja (book series)

Revised editions of Dragon Raja

*龙族 - Dragon Raja* and *龙王 - Dragon King* are a series of novels written by Chinese author Jiang Nan. The book series was highly popular in China, spawning multiple manhua adaptations, a live action short film and an animated series.

There are currently two editions of the novels, with the first edition being cancelled in 2020 and replaced with revised editions that same year. The series consists of 6 books, with a seventh one in the works.

## Books in the series

**Dragon Raja:**

1. Dragon Raja I - The Blazing Dawn
2. Dragon Raia II - The Mourner's Eyes
3. Dragon Raja III - Black Moon Tide (Beginning)
4. Dragon Raja III - Black Moon Tide (Middle)
5. Dragon Raja III - Black Moon Tide (End)

**Dragon King:**

1. Dragon King - World Reset (Previously Dragon Raja IV)
2. Dragon King 2 (Previously Dragon Raja V)

## Publication History

### First editions

Dragon Raja was first published monthly through Manke's *Fiction Painting magazine (小说绘)*. The chapters were accompanied by artwork from the illustrator *All-out Boy* (全力少年).

   The first edition of Dragon Raja I was released in 2010, compiling the first arc of the series. Jiang Nan made additions and modifications to the original chapters, inviting his readers to buy the book so they could read the "definitive and improved" version of the story. This process was later repeated for *Dragon Raja II* in 2011.

In the case of *Dragon Raja III*, the serialized story was so long that it had to be released in three separate books, (Beginning, Middle and End). This time, there were substantial alterations to the story, with multiple characters added to the final book.

Dragon Raja IV was released in 2015, it was continued by Dragon Raja V - The Mourner Returns, a serialized web novel that was meant to be compiled into two books once it got finished, but it was later interrupted in 2019, with the author citing an "art block" and mild depression as the main reasons for the hiatus. It was finally cancelled in 2020, marking the end of the original novel continuity.

### Revised editions

The revised editions consist of expanded and updated versions of Dragon Raja I, II & III.

This version of the books updated the pop culture references and removed any specific birthdates to avoid dating the story, instead setting the first book around the start of the 2020s. It marked the beginning of the revised continuity, which includes the ongoing sequel series *Dragon King*.

The revised editions of *Dragon Raja I & II* were released in December of 2020, the *Dragon Raja III* books were released on December of 2021. Similar revisions were announced for *Dragon Raja IV* and *V*, which were expected to be released before the end of 2022.

#### Legal dispute and title change.

The revised edition of Dragon Raja IV was halted and then cancelled due to a copyright dispute with the original publishing house. Losing the legal rights to use the title "Dragon Raja" for the rest of the novels, Jiang Nan announced that Dragon Raja III would now be the last book in the "Dragon Raja" series and Dragon Raja IV would be released as the first novel in a sequel series titled "Dragon King",

 龙族Ⅱ: 悼亡者之瞳 (修订版)
 龙族Ⅲ: 黑月之潮 • 上 (修订版)
 龙族Ⅲ: 黑月之潮 • 中 (修订版)
 龙族Ⅲ: 黑月之潮 • 下 (修订版)

### Dragon King

The first novel titled Dragon King - World Reset started serialization in September 19 of 2022 and ended in march of 2023, presenting a revised version of the storyline of Dragon Raja IV.

A second novel will start its web serialization in 2023 under the title *Dragon King 2*. The possibility of a third book has been discussed by Jiang Nan during press livestreams.

 龙王2

## Reception

The story of Dragon Raja is said to be aimed mostly towards urban teenagers, who are familiar with subcultures such as the internet, video games and Japanese anime, probably making it a difficult read for people outside of its target audience. The novels have been praised by Chinese readers and media, mainly for its integration of pop culture references and character development.

#### Outside of China

The global release of the mobile game sparked an interest in the source material. Unlike the official manhua, the novels remain untranslated.

## References

1. ↑ http://longzu5.net/206.html
2. ↑ https://cul.qq.com/a/20140220/016141.htm