Ruri rocks is cool for two main reasons and I’m not talking about Nagi’s chest. 1: Learning the basics of mineralogy and how studying rocks can teach us about the world and ourselves. 2:Ruri’s development and coming into her own as a scientist. It’s such a nice watch because you can tell the author genuinely loves this subject matter and wants to share the field with others who most likely have never heard of it. Ruri is a reflection of the general audience in many ways. She goes from just finding rocks cool to learning proper scientific methodology and analysis. Her growth from amateur to actually wanting to become a scientist is something the author clearly wants people reading this series to do and if it works on only one person, I think that’s a beautiful thing. So many people don’t have access to certain hobbies or interests so they’d never have a way to know if it’s for them if not for experiencing it through media so hats off to this author for showing people the day to day life of a mineralogy from actually hunting for rocks to analysing them for data. The show also does a great job of showing how relevant this is for present day. Rocks are one of the best windows into the past of the planet and humanity in general and can help us predict patterns in the future. While it’s admittedly still not my favorite subject, I have so much respect for anyone working in this field thanks to this show. The educational bits are so well done and don’t feel like they’re overwhelming you. I appreciated the pop ups that would come on screen teaching you about a substance, explaining its chemistry, practical use, where it could be found and other fun trivia. Having Nagi basically act as the instructor for the audience/Ruri made following along very easy and engaging. It’s like that one favorite teacher you had in school that made every day a joy to go to class.
Ruri’s development also was great. In a one cour show, you love to see your MC actually change and evolve by the end. Ruri is frankly very immature and silly at the start of the show and doesn’t approach hunting for rocks the way she should. Thanks to Nagi’s guidance and the respect she develops for Nagi, coming to see her as a big sister, she starts to take on a the traits you’d want from a scientist. She becomes much more measured and thoughtful in her actions and even ends up being a mentor to the girls from her school who end the group! It’s a nice full circle moment where Nagi passes her love of mineralogy onto ruri and she passes it only Seto/Aoi and then onto us. The characters and their interactions really made every episode so special. It’s like watching a family take shape as this show goes on! I also enjoyed seeing Imari come into her own as a leader as well, she played second fiddle to Nagi for most of the series and was sort of in her amen corner up until the last few episodes where she starts using her unique perspective to each the girls new things.
You can’t talk about this show without talking about the amazing production quality. Every episode is a work of art oozing passion and love from BIND. I mean a show about girls finding rocks has no business having some of the best animated scenes of the year and yet here we are. The scene of Ruri finding gems underwater will always be rent free in my mind. Every single episode is gorgeous and almost every scene could be paused and screenshotted. This is a beautiful piece of animation and it takes what’s already a really sweet story to the next level.
I’m hoping Bind see the success they’ve had with this and Onimai now and continue to seek out these lesser known stories and bring them to life with the quality only they can. I love shows like this that remind you of the magic and wonder anime can bring.
Ruri Rocks gets 9 gems out of 10