Ninjago first aired in January 2011 and has 15 seasons that follow the original story and characters. “Dragons Rising” is a fairly new series that first debuted in 2023 and is a continuation of the original Ninjago series, except with many new characters and the exclusion of some old characters.
“Dragons Rising” is already planned to have four seasons, with Seasons One to Three already released to the public and Season Four expected to be released sometime in 2026. On average, the public rated it an 8.3/10, saying they loved the new animations and the plot, but is it better than the original seasons?
In the original, the first season introduces us to the beloved main seven characters: Jay, Cole, Zane, Kai, Lloyd, Nya, and Sensei Wu. Throughout all 15 seasons: Rise of the Snakes, Legacy of the Green Ninja, Rebooted, Tournament of Elements, Possession, Skybound, The Hands of Time, Sons of Garmadon, Hunted, March of the Oni, Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu, Prime Empire, Master of the Mountain, Seabound, and Crystalized, we follow their journey and the struggles they face, along with watching them grow from children and teens into adults that many could relate and connect to with their own lives over the course of about 6 and a half years.
In “Dragons Rising,” since Sensei Wu is proclaimed deceased, Lloyd becomes the new master of the new ninjas. The main characters that we follow in “Dragons Rising” are Arin, Sora, Wyldfyre, Frak, and their dragon, Riyu, with a few of the old ninjas making appearances as mentors to the new group of ninjas. Although only Kai, Nya, Zane, and Cole appear often, Jay appears much less frequently than the rest.
Overall, I really enjoyed watching the first few seasons of the original show. However, by the end, it seemed like they were just making more episodes, trying to bleed it dry for money as much as possible before ending the series.
“Dragons Rising,” even though it is supposed to be its own show, in a way, is still a hidden extension of the original Ninjago story. While many say they are enjoying the change in storyline and characters brought with “Dragons Rising,” many would also agree that it was made as another way for the developers to gain even more money from the Ninjago universe.
The developers also came out with yet another spin-off of the original Ninjago series, called “Ninjago Legends: Monstrosity.” This is a mini-series with about 5–minute–long episodes that premiered in June of 2025 and spends a year following Kai’s journey through the land of monsters.