In the country of Adnogg, people known as dragon vets are responsible for treating the many different types of dragons that inhabit the land. After the death of her father, an army dragon vet, a girl named Luca decides to honor his memory by becoming a dragon vet herself. She enters Cogniel Academy of Dracology, where she and her fellow trainees soon experience all the trials, tribulations...and occasional messes that come with treating creatures many times their size. The road to mastery may be long, but when there's a dragon in need, the dragon vets answer the call!

Luca, the Dragon Vet has a story and art by Yūna Hirasawa. Translation by Stephen Kohler. Lettering by Madeleine Jose. Published by Kodansha USA (July 28, 2026). Rated T.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Right off the bat, this manga has a visually appealing cover. I was ready to crack it open and dive into this world from the get-go. My enthusiasm was rewarded with a manga that felt a tad Ghibli-inspired about a young woman heading towards the capital to train as a Dragon Vet. Immediately, she meets potential friends and rivals. A catastrophe happens, and we learn that Luciana—just call her Luca—is carrying on her father's legacy and memory, since he died in the war.

An accident gives our Dragon Vet candidates a chance to show their mettle. Luca is the first and only candidate to jump in to help…at the risk of losing her own future. As complications pile up, from rumors of her late father's treason to a roommate with a grudge, Luca stays firm in her desire to become a Dragon Vet. She, Chloe, and Jira find ways to work with their strengths and weaknesses and slowly become a team.

Chapters are interspersed with Informational essays about the academy, the roles of Dragon Vet, and the curriculum for folks who like to be immersed in the world. I am one of those folks, and I really enjoyed the supplemental world-building. And this world has a lot of depth. A recently ended war, a technology vs. dragons conflict, and an undercurrent of political lies will make this story far more than just a tale of a girl who takes care of dragons.

Bolts
Rating:

In a world where dragons are commonplace, it only stands to reason that there are people who would need to take care of them, which is where the dragon vets come into play. Luca wants to spend her life studying to be a dragon vet just like her father, but much like the size of the dragons themselves, the scale required to accomplish such a thing is not going to be easy, especially when there are looming tensions from a previously established war hanging over everybody. What I like about this series is that it strikes the perfect balance between realism and fantasy. When it comes to grounded elements like the war, propaganda, and the way that everyone has their own perspectives on what it means to be a vet, it feels very personal. The volume even goes out of its way to properly convey the way that dragons would need to be treated during high-tension situations. The explanation and breakdown of what needs to be done during a dragon surgery is apparently no different than how a human would receive surgery, just with more distinct parts that need to be treated, and I really like that.

The fantasy elements, though, are incredibly creative and inspired. This feels like a world where dragons actually play a major part in the nation's development, from transportation to infrastructure. There's even a good amount of comedy that ties into how dragon poop plays a significant role in citizens' day-to-day lives. While the story is told from a mostly human perspective, you can't separate the dragons from the reach they have here.

The drama and the motivation of the characters all feel real, whether it's Luca inheriting her father's mantra or her classmates who are all about trying to save as many dragons as possible, even if some need to die. I like how this story takes elements of what you could consider a war medical drama and translates them to this fantasy setting. That's probably one of the greatest triumphs of this book, and it's the main reason why I will continue to read more after this first volume and recommend it to a lot of fantasy fans out there.