 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | TAKESHI OBATA / TSUNEO TAKANO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 168 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/03/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/17/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
During a bloody war, a child is born at the cost of his mother’s life. From this baby comes forth a huge and powerful dragon born of shadow that lays waste to the landscape. A quick-thinking knight locks the baby in a cage of darkness, where he grows to be a young man, knowing only the kindness of his female tutor. That is, until the day the Shadow attacks and he is set free unto the world… In volume three, a hurried pursuit leads to destructive results. Hot on the heels of Ganette, a fellow Shadow on the same warpath to Opsquria's castle, Ral's ego leads him to make reckless mistakes. Alienated from his companions and racing ahead on his own, he heads straight into the enemy's sticky trap. Without the guidance of his tutor Mio, can he overcome his pride before it costs him everything - even his own life?! Again, Ral Grad just blows me away with the art – the visuals alone sell this book, as it is intriguing to behold. Ral Grad was created by the same artist who did Death Note, so what else do you really need to know? This manga series is flashy, really easy on the eyes, worthy of the hype, and of course is a little bit edgy just to round it all off. Fans of Death Note don’t really even need to question the purchase of this series, and it’s likely you’re already in possession of it if you knew it existed. Death note is incredibly imaginative with its imagery, but Ral Grad really takes the cake and keeps it coming (with lots of icing, and sprinkles, and little peanut butter and chocolate bon-bon things all over it, and… errr… sorry. Hungry). The cover art is always really attractive too, so this series shouldn’t have too much trouble selling if it is simple turned out to face the consumer while it sits waiting on the shelf. Not to say that the story isn’t also just as interesting, because it most certainly is. Ral Grad is pretty cool, and it’s not all that much of a surprise that the story is strange and engrossing. The series can be everywhere from humorous, to heart-warming, to downright violent and action-packed in terms of plot design. It’s well rounded and enjoyable – it appears to be worth purchasing and collecting so far, just like Death Note, as it has so much “re-read” potential. If you don’t know any background on Takeshi Obata, here is your chance to catch up. Takeshi Obata is of course the artist, and he was born in 1969 in Niigata, Japan. He is the artist of the wildly popular Shonen Jump title Hikaru no Go, which won the 2003 Tezuka Shinsei “New Hope” award and the Shogakukan Manga award. Obata is also the artist of Arabian Majin Bokentan Lamp Lamp, Ayatsuri Sakon, Cyborg Jichan G, and the smash hit manga Death Note.
IN SUMMARY:
Ral Grad is quirky and imaginative, like a nightmare you don’t mind having because it’s more “cool” than it is “scary.” The art is amazing beyond most other manga offerings, and the story doesn’t falter. This is almost a must read – please check it out for your own good. |
