Ral Grad
Story. In a world where demonic creatures named shadows enter our realm through their very namesakes, little is safe. However, when a young boy by the name of Ral becomes friends with the shadow inside him, he may be the last hope in saving the world. Ral lives on the island of Sphaein, in the kingdom of . There, he has been enlisted to protect the kingdom from evil shadows that wish to destroy it. With the aid of his shadow, a large blue dragon named Grad, and his teacher, Mio, Ral can take on any challenger. Publication. "Ral  Ω Grad" is written by Tsuneo Takano and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The series ran in Shueisha's "Weekly Shōnen Jump" from December 4, 2006, to July 9, 2007. Shueisha collected its 29 individual chapters into four "tankōbon" volumes, released from April 4 to November 2, 2007. In North America, the series was licensed for English release by Viz Media. The four volumes were released from February 5, 2008, to June 2, 2009. In Germany, Tokyopop began publication in October 2007 under the title "Blue Dragon RalΩGrad", a spelling mandated by the licensing contract with Shueisha. Reception. In a review  Dominic Nguyen wrote in Newtype USA "What readers will appreciate most about "Ral Ω Grad" is the supporting cast, which largely consists of attractive young girls."