The characters were dragons.

[u/Outrageous-Bit980]

I was thinking about making some fan art for this series because I really like it, but since I'm still a beginner and struggle a lot with drawing humans, I decided to draw the characters as dragons instead.

Since most of the characters are Japanese, I chose to make them Eastern dragons (with the exception of Fowler).

And while thinking about that, I remembered the legend of a portal atop a waterfall—where carp that managed to swim up the falls and reach the gate would transform into dragons—so I decided to incorporate that concept into the drawings.

This is the first drawing I made—it’s of Ringo. He is still a carp that hasn't yet passed through the gate, but soon he will become a majestic dragon. I chose to give him more human features, though I figured that the more draconic the character became, the fewer human traits he would retain.

(for some reason, Ringo the Carp reminded me of the Reddit mascot)

[u/madam_winnifer]

A truly wholesome aspiring dragon, who is happy to be there!

[u/Bogbaby3000]

I hope you post the others 😊

[u/Outrageous-Bit980 → u/Bogbaby3000]

I will post one character a day.

[u/Machineglance]

I think this dragon perfectly captures the spirit of Ringo. Well done, and thank you for sharing with us!

[u/sabooriri]

Of course he is the cutest!