Manga Review: Ral Grad

Ral Grad
Story by Tsuneo Takano
Art by Takeshi Obata (he did Death Note as well)
Distributor: Shonen Jump by Viz

I picked this up after reading a review in one of my anime magazines. I have always loved stuff with dragons and this seemed to be the adult version of the game/anime called Blue Dragon which my son enjoys. I got the first volume and ready enjoyed the story. I must say however that there is lots of fan service and some adult humor, so be ready.

Basically the story is about a human world being taken over by shadow creatures from another dimension. In order to move around, they need to link themselves with another living creature. There are actually 3 main known types of these shadows that exist. The Queen Opsquria wants to take over the Human world. There are other shadows like Blue Dragon who want to go back to their world of darkness caled Le Noir.


What we have is a normal good guys on a quest to get rid of the evil. Ral meets several other like minded individuals in this quest and they start saving people and killing shadows.

The first 3 volumes are exceptional and keep you wanting more and more. The action and art is great with plenty of fun along the way. I was amazed by how Ral was looked down on, but had the analytical mind of a seasoned tactician. I was however disappointed with the speed of how quickly the story ended. I think the final book rushed way to fast through to end of the story. I would of enjoyed a bit more story. Other than that, it was a great read!