Ral & Grad, Volume 2

BLUE DRAGON ラルΩグラド [Blue Dragon Ral Grad] #2

by Tsuneo Takano, Takeshi Obata (Artist)

He's out to save the world, one rack at a time!

In the midst of a war, a child is born during a bloody battle at the cost of his mother's life. From this baby comes forth a huge and powerful dragon born of Shadow. Within minutes the dragon lays waste to the landscape, but 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 young female tutor. Until the day the Shadows attack and he is set free...

Ral's journey has taken him and his friends to an enormous walled city. Inside, the inhabitants are jittery, as the womenfolk have been mysteriously disappearing. While the residents prepare weapons to prevent the Shadows from invading, Ral is stunned to see his tutor, Miss Mio, walking towards an unknown destination in a daze. When he tries to intervene, the city's soldiers attack! Have the Shadows already found a way into the city?!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Shonen, Comics, Comics Manga, Action

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[LaIrish · Rating 1 out of 5]

es demasiado infantil, no me ha gustado nada

[The Book Dragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ral and his friends have just saved one castle and are on to the next as their journey to defeat Queen Opsquria continues, adding new additions to their merry band along the way. Also, there's another shadow dude as strong as or stronger than Ral and Grad.

The fight scenes are interesting given the gimmicks Ral comes up with, but why is there so much nudity?! Although, Ral's obsession with boobs has gotten him into a very dangerous pickle this time, so I'd say he got what was coming to him. His character flaw that (might) bring about his downfall.

On a different note, the ending of this volume is almost a breath of fresh air (even if the readers can see it coming) given that this is the first time we've seen Ral actually in danger without any immediately known way to escape or friends nearby to come to the rescue. Every other fight, he's either been so OP that he wins easily or has had to improvise a gimmick to pull off a win (often in tandem with his allies). This time we might be in for a situation where Ral is powerless and has to be rescued, possibly giving him more character depth as he is reduced to his base human form and abilities. But that's just speculation.

This series has 4 volumes.

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gratuitous T&A knocks this down a bit but the building story as well as the great art pulls it back.
The end of this volume was refreshing as it reiterates an earlier conversation Ral had about trust.

[Ilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disegni spettacolari ma trama orrendissima (personaggi dai caratteri abbozzati, sistema magico confuso, obiettivi poco chiari, cattivi debolissimi, protagonisti super capaci di tutto senza motivo, maschilismo, ecc.)

[Gabriella Giannini · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chi piace il genere e a chi piace la mano di Obata, non può non piacere questo manga ❤️

[David Doel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I didn't read volume 1, my review is flawed. This looks like a nice mix of adventure and some comedy.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obata is considered a master (he did Deathnote for those trying to place this artist’s name) and can probably ask to do just about anything. I’m not saying he’s wasting his time with this. Rather I’m saying this has the potential to be a really good fantasy series if Tsuneo would knock off the gratuitous nudity and boob obsession. Yes I know this is meant for older boys but this is getting to be a bit much. I could excuse it in book one since Ral had been raised since birth in total darkness knowing only his teacher’s voice. He was curious but we’ve moved past that into full blown obsession. Ral’s quite clear about that, he loves women, loves saving them and expects to be paid in boob squeezing. Cue eye roll. If that were toned down, this would be so much more enjoyable.

Because otherwise it’s an interesting story. Think middle ages/renn tech level and everyone is afraid of shadows which takes over and eat humans (though others can bond to them). They’re ruled by a queen (more chances for nudity). Ral is different. He and his bon with Grad, the blue dragon is different and it led to a life locked away with only Mio to give him lessons thru a wall (Ral is now terrified of the dark and dependent on her).

He and his team are going to stop the queen. Ral gets Kafka, who has a rose-thorn-vine sort of shadow to come with him since Kafka is a master at the defensive arts. Ral is completely naïve and horny but he is a very good tactician. Battle comes naturally. Which is good because the town they stop in has women disappearing under some sort mind control. Kafka, Aia and Ral have to stop them especially once Mio falls under the thrall (naked naturally).

Once this problem is solved, they pick up a new member, a young boy who lost his sister to the shadows and they head across the sea, a risky proposition at best. They’re moving in the wake of another team of ‘heroes’ who kill shadows, the White Tiger, but Ral doesn’t understand how this so-called hero could have left the previous town in the state it was in. A brief jump to the Tiger’s pov tells us he’s not what people think they are. Narrowly dodging getting to be monster shark bait, Ral and company make landfall and Ral’s horniness finally have dire consequences (leaving the reader hoping this will be the end of the boob squeeze that’s sucking the life out of an otherwise good story

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
The weird sexual stuff happened again, particularly in the beginning. And I would have loved a woman fighter at some point that doesn't need to be rescued. But the plot was actually interesting and made me want to keep reading. Also, the main character getting his boob obsession used against him made me happy.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

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