Ruri no Houseki

While shopping, high school student Ruri Tanigawa is captivated by a crystal necklace. Due to its high price, she can only dream of owning one—until her mother tells her about a mountainous area where Ruri's grandfather used to discover numerous minerals. As she makes her way to the location in the hope of finding materials to make her own accessories, Ruri meets Nagi Arato, a graduate student, who gladly shows her the way.

Soon, Ruri is left smitten when they arrive at an enormous quartz formation. More motivated than ever, she convinces Nagi to teach her more about mineralogy. With each new discovery and Nagi's lessons deepening her love, Ruri learns that there is more to minerals than just their price.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Arato, Nagi Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Tanigawa, Ruri Main

Nemoto, Miyari Japanese

Imari, Youko Main

Miyamoto, Yume Japanese

Seto, Shouko Main

Hayashi, Saki Japanese

Kasamaru, Aoi Supporting

Yamada, Misuzu Japanese

Ruri's Mother Supporting

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Nursery Teacher Supporting

Natsume, Hina Japanese

Seto's Mother Supporting

Takeda, Hana Japanese

Iwagumo, Maika Supporting

Terasawa, Momoka Japanese

Seto's Father Supporting

Kawada, Shinji Japanese

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Nishimae, Ayaka Producer

Nagamine, Rieko Producer

Miura, Fumito Producer

Reviews

Sep 28, 2025

Marinate1016

Recommended

Isn’t it amazing how fun learning about even the most seemingly mundane things can be thanks to cute anime girls? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure mineralogy is a riveting subject, but for the average person there’s few things that sound less fun than learning about rocks. Yet, ruri rocks takes a seemingly uninteresting subject matter and turns it into one of the most enjoyable and fun experiences of the season. I came into this knowing next to nothing about mineralogy and left feeling like I have a PhD in the field. Studio Bind might have been created to adapt Mushoku Tensei, but if they’re ... out to diversify their portfolio, CGDCT is clearly their calling. First with Onimai and now Ruri Rocks, they’ve shown they’re able to take ordinary slice of life stories with cute girls and make them into visual spectacles that stay with you for many years. That’s not to say those manga were not good from the start, but no reasonable viewer could look at the manga and then this anime and not think of it as anything but an overhaul of epic proportions. While it definitely has Bind’s patented fanservice bits, they don’t overshadow or detract from what’s a very heartwarming and endearing story. An amazing cast, educational and some of the best animated sequences of the year made this one of my favorite shows of the season.

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

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Oct 7, 2025

C4bs

Mixed Feelings

Throughout the release season, there's always that one anime that offers a chance to "relax" amidst the big releases. Not every anime stands out for having a grand, action-packed plot; quite the opposite; perhaps the gentleness of its plot, coupled with simple, charismatic characters, is what many are looking for amidst the madness of their personal lives.

Debuting as one of the season's dark horses but already with a certain pre-release buzz, Ruri Rocks may fit the bill. With an unpretentious premise and a focus on the little-discussed field of mineralogy, the series attempts to combine lighthearted entertainment with educational learning. While its execution won't appeal ... to all audiences seeking this type of anime, it's undeniable that Ruri Rocks can be a fun pastime.

In Ruri Rocks, we follow Ruri Tanigawa, a high school student who becomes enchanted by a crystal necklace she can't afford. Inspired by her grandfather's stories, she sets off for the mountains in search of minerals and ends up meeting Nagi Arato, a graduate student passionate about geology. Together, they explore the fascinating world of gemstones, and Ruri discovers that the true value of minerals goes far beyond their price—it lies in the beauty and learning they provide.

First of all, Ruri Rocks doesn't stand out for its grand animation sequences or the brilliance of its production—although in the first episode there were some scenes that truly surprised me with the fluidity of their animation. Its purpose, as the synopsis must have suggested, is to be an anime to "distract the mind" amidst the season's many "more serious" releases, presenting a simple and calm plot as the episodes progress. Composed of several episodic mini-plots, Ruri Rocks presents itself as a practically educational anime on the subject of mineralogy, including several explanations about the formation of the rocks being studied in the scenes.

That said, don't expect a grand story, complex twists, or even deeply in-depth character dramas. Everything is told as simply as possible, with the mineralogy content presented in a very didactic manner and with an attempt to make the audience view this field of study positively. To emphasize the importance of this subject, the plot also presents the various benefits it can bring to society, such as proper waste disposal and the environmental implications of not doing so. Therefore, the structure of the episodes boils down to showing the characters searching for a new rock, then presenting various information about it, and finally, a moral lesson related to the episode's plot.

However, even knowing the show's premise beforehand, Ruri Rocks unfortunately didn't work very well for me. Despite having a simple plot that doesn't require much attention, the "formula" of the episodes ended up becoming quite repetitive and monotonous as the episodes went on, so much so that even before I reached the halfway point of the season, I no longer felt much desire to watch the rest of the episodes. Combined with the fact that the main characters' behavior is limited to caricatured personality traits and that there's no interesting internal drama in any of them, there's no element in the anime that truly captured my attention and curiosity.

Furthermore, the anime's production tried to deceive the audience's expectations with a tactic that's often used, but also a huge mistake. In this case, most of the animation effort was focused on the first episode, aiming to draw attention to this little-talked-about series, only to present a much simpler and more "generic" production in the remaining episodes. Just noticing this made me dislike the series a bit.

In short, Ruri Rocks manages to be entertaining at times, but the monotonous plot, the decline in production quality compared to the first episode, and the shallow characters made its initial brilliance fade as the episodes went on. I might be being too harsh on this anime; after all, as I said before, its premise is to be a simple and educational slice-of-life series, even aimed at children. It might have been more rewarding for those who watched it weekly, but for me, it didn't work. Ultimately, Ruri Rocks might be a good choice for those who just want to watch something simple to pass the time, but honestly, it wouldn't even make my list of recommendations on the subject.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 10, 2025

NTruths

Not Recommended

Funny

The good: This is an anime about geology and collecting rocks, woot! We haven't had one of those before and it's a fun topic to learn about. The bits of actual science all seem accurate and worth learning.

The okay: The art and animation, and sound design are all fine for your average seasonal anime. I do wish they hadn't gone with the "ecchi" style of character design - it's fine in actual ecchi anime, but here it just felt pointlessly distracting.

The bad: The writing, the characters and plot were all two dimensional. Unfortunately, this show lacks any real depth or conflict. ... The characters all get along in every situation, the problems they encounter are quickly resolved without any real thought or effort, and the over-arcing story is extremely basic. Essentially, this is a story in which the characters never face any real chance of "failure" and thus their "success" feels worthless and maybe even unearned.

Overall, this is a 4/10 show - boring and lazy writing created a show not worth watching, out of a reasonably good and interesting topic.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Ruri no Houseki Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Sep 28, 2025	106 replies	by Gippy »» Yesterday, 3:35 AM
	Poll: Ruri no Houseki Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Sep 21, 2025	55 replies	by larceny_lover »» Feb 1, 3:24 PM
	Poll: Ruri no Houseki Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Jul 6, 2025	155 replies	by Redlinkkid »» Jan 17, 12:03 AM
	Poll: Ruri no Houseki Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Aug 17, 2025	84 replies	by oNephalem »» Jan 6, 7:46 PM
	Poll: Ruri no Houseki Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Jul 20, 2025	80 replies	by SHALITAMARX15 »» Dec 2, 2025 11:02 AM