D.Gray-man

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I first got into D. Grayman out of curiosity because a lot of my friends were reading it and gushing about it. I expected it to be just another basic shonen title with little to captivate me, but I quickly found out that I was wrong. The first volume hooked me like none other, and I found myself with an obsession warranting catching up to the Japanese release on scans. Anyone that knows me (which isn't many of you) knows that I hate reading scans for many reasons, but it was a necessity for D. Grayman because I couldn't wait for the volumes to come ... out, though I still buy them when they do.

-STORY-
While it's not the most unique storyline I've ever seen, so much just feels fresh and different, especially for a shonen title. With no tournaments to be seen, the darker edge that the series has, and its perfect mix of humor, drama, and action, D. Grayman is a breath of fresh air into the genre. I adore the setting, me being in love with the selected time period, and the vibe one gets from the series is really enjoyable, especially early on. The Rewinding City chapters had to be some of the best chapters in manga ever.

-ART-
The artwork stunned me from the beginning. It's some of the most detailed manga artwork I've seen. I love the character designs, clothing, buildings...everything. The Rewinding City really did look like a small German town, and the Black Order's HQ is a treat to look at. Some characters have designs that aren't only gorgeous, but also unique as well. An example of that is Miranda Lotto. She doesn't look like your typical anime girl in any way, especially her eyes and hair, but is still lovely.

-CHARACTER-
I have yet to find a character that I truly dislike in this series, save some of the villains. They are all interesting to learn about and see interacting with each other, including minor characters like Komui, Miranda, and Reever. I'll admit that Lenalee can get irksome at times, but the others more than make up for that.

-ENJOYMENT-
All I can really say here is that this has to be my favorite of any manga I've ever read.

-OVERALL-
I've given it an overall 10, and you should all go out and buy volume 1.

[EDIT: I wrote this review nearly 11 years ago, and I am just as infatuated with the manga now as I was back then. If this doesn't convey how much of a 10 I think it is, then nothing will.]

Another misundersanding here, but why is this manga not reviewed?! Second review for manga! Here it goes!

Story: There are stories where we can skim over a few chapters and still understand what's going on; there are stories where we can skim over a few volumes and still get what is happening. D.Gray-Man doesn't fall into either category. If you miss even two- three pannels at first, ... if that subject rises up a again, you will be lost. Everything is thickly intervoven; you won't find mentions of something just random, and you won't find side-plots ending up with a dead end (in turn with you wasting your time). For some it might be a letdown, but if you really want a manga with style and more than one plot that COUNTS, this is the ultimate top! A 10.

Art: Beautiful images with detailed expressions and actions, the only thing that puts me off is that there can be times when the toning can be overkill ( where even on zoom in on scans you can't see what is going on) Other than that, for a shonen manga, this is probably the highest quality art that you can get. Without a fault that I can name, I give it a 10.

Character:Probabaly the strongest point of the manga, as many old time readers will agree, the character development is superb! All of the characters have a story that, first of all, is not told in one huge chunk of flashbacks as we have so commonly seen ( My first pleasant surprise). Instead, the details are told little by little in situation that really require these explanations, in turn making the story more interesting. No one has the same character and we often see two sides of one character ( as they fight themselves in decisions or in some cases, physically). You will never grow bored of their adventures and soon you will see that they hold something that you can somehow realate to. A 10.

Enjoyment: I get so much joy from sitting down and reading a chapter of this manga. No visable fillers, no long conversations unless absolutely necessary, no random character stories, I find that the manga's whole beauty lies in that. After reading a chapter, it leaves you at a cliffhanger but at the same time, you are satisfied if only for the moment; you feel as if you are given a very good chapter with information ( unlike some manga where you read a chapter and dub it as totaly worthless as you feel you are back where you started). Really, I get a full 10 out of it!

Overall: If you are really in need of something supernatural, shonen-y and full of adventure ( even a little romance!) you must put this on your to-read list. A buy worthy both of money and time, I thing that this brings definitely a certain amount of happiness when reading. If you hve the chance, please give it a try :] I hope you won't be disappointed!


Thank you all for reading my review! I hope it was helpful to all of you!

There is something strangely compelling about D.Gray-man. Perhaps it is the cast of characters that grows, not one obviously faster than the others, but together, or perhaps it is the emotional rollercoaster the mangaka has managed to take the readers on.

But whatever the case, D.Gray-man has this mysterious air about it, this feel of something apocalyptic and yet real, as though the characters are losing while it is clear that they are winning. [But are they winning? Winning? Or losing?]

There is something about D.Gray-man that makes you think, that makes you wonder, and that makes you shocked and surprised at the littlest of things.

The main ... character is one that is perhaps not easily identified with, but easily understood. His emotions, his feelings, his goals and his dreams, all these are splayed out in front of the reader. Perhaps not clearly, perhaps not in-your-face, but these themes come subtly across, and whilst these themes might be, like most shonen mangas, slightly clichéd and all too hopeful, D.Gray-man manages to bring them across such that they are believable.

D.Gray-man lets you empathize with the characters, there are never too many of them, and there are never any that you can really hate. Most of the villains [with the exception of the main one who epitomizes pure evil] have this inherent innocence, pardon the pun, to them, and at the same time there is something not quite pure in each and every one of the heroes.

D.Gray-man takes the common perception of good and evil, and while it does not quite turn this perception on its head, it makes the reader start to question, start to think, and start to worry.

Oh yes, the main villain is delectably evil and will stay so, but at the same time, there is this almost childish air to him that can easily be identified with. And yes, most definitely, the main character is fighting to defeat this main villain, but in between them lies this grey area, this killing field where hatred for the other side abounds. And yet, within this hatred lies a certain level of understanding. The characters, they understand each other, they fight each other, and they grow in many many more ways than just power.

One could perhaps say that in D.Gray-man, the lines of good and evil, of friend and foe, are sometimes a little blurred.

There is always something rather, perhaps not disturbing, but profound within the themes and characters of D.Gray-man.

D.Gray-man makes you think, and that is much much more than I can say for most other manga.

there is something about this series that i find very captivating. before i started reading/watching this series i remember one of my online friends mention it every now and then and she seemed to really like it. even so there was still something that kept me from trying it and i fully regret that now because there is not much about this series that i can't appreciate.
ok let's get down to business now. let's start with a story. when i first heard the basic story of humans vs. demons what i thought was "this doesn't seem like a very original story and i ... might get bored quickly" but boy was i wrong! while it might not have the most original concept of good vs. evil there are many little quirks and different sides to it that give it a very original spin and i am far from ever getting bored. i think one of the strongest points of the story is the perfect balance of comedy, horror, drama, fighting, and a hint of romance to top it all off. one of the only things that might irk me a little is the fact that the main characters always seem to be in some of the most helpless situations, but then again that keeps away lame filler chapters and definitely keeps the story going. this story put me through an emotional rollercoaster! i laughed, i cried, i felt angry, and i fangirled.
the art is some of the best art i've seen in shonen manga. the character design catches the feel of the character's traits and it captures emotions so that i can practically feel it coming off of the page and i feel like i'm practically jumping right into the story which is obviously a major plus. the action is intense, the emotions are raw, and the art definitely adds to all that.
no doubt, the characters are the best you will find in any story, manga and otherwise. the characters are definitely far from one-dimensional, especially in the main character, Allen Walker. if you were to see Allen at the beginning when he seems like the most innocent and adorable person in world, and then skip towards the chapters in the hundreds you would be amazed at the development. not only in Allen, but all the characters. none of the characters are completely good or completely evil either and the ugly side is shown in each character which definitely adds to the series.
the enjoyment of this series is the highest enjoyment i have had for any series in a while. i seriously can't stop reading this, i have to always see what happens next.
overall this series is amazing and i can't believe this was created by just one person alone. anyone who is looking for a good series should definitely consider trying this

When i first found out about d gray man, i wasn't very enthusiastic about it, the synopsis sounded as generic and repetitive as almost every shonen ; a cursed boy joins an organisation to defeat some evil dudes. It wasn't until i stumbled upon katsura hoshino's marvelous art, and i liked the aesthetically pleasing gothic setting of the story. I checked few panels and illustrations and eventually decided to give it a shot.

D gray man is the farthest thing from a generic shonen story, it's truly a shame this manga isn't as famous as many other works . It probably got stuck in the middle ... of two categories, it didn't fit within the shonen tropes due to its dark themes and narrative structure, and it definitely didn't work as a seinen due to it's light atmosphere compared to stories like berserk, claymore or Tokyo ghoul.

D gray man is brilliant in its own way, it doesn’t have to fit within any box to truly shine, it is unique and unforgettable.
It manages to impress you from the very beginning with a perfect combination of hoshino's outstanding art skills and Gothic, dark and melodramatic atmosphere.
It has everything you need and more, clowns, vampires, artificial intelligence, churches, weirdly shaped akuma, dolls.. Its diversity is what makes it special and entertaining.

The story itself is confusing, it is simple actually, but in a baffling way, you can't really tell what is going to happen in the next chapter, it just happens, and somehow the plot is unbelievably coherent and well structured. The story doesn't give you a clear idea where things are going, unlike many shonen stories in which the plot is divided into certain arcs and the reader has a prior knowledge of what is exactly going on. D gray man is mostly a character driven story yet it doesn't deviate from the primary goal or drift away from the themes and symbols that build the story. In fact the story keeps getting much better and stronger with every chapter, every question that had been asked throughout the story is ultimately answered and well covered. The further you get into the story the more intriguing and cryptic it becomes and the real questions start to rise, however the story unfolds itself slowly in a clever way. Hoshino has truly mastered every aspect of a good manga, ; unparalleled artstyle, well grounded plot, conspicuous atmosphere, astonishing storytelling and balanced characters.

The characters are the best part of the story, it's hard to actually despise any character even the villains.
Every character is well-written and developed throughout the story, the cast is realistic, humane and diverse, from Japan to China to Italy to England to Germany, there are characters from everywhere, there's no such a thing as the stupid or cold-blooded or the genius one. They do have indeed distinct traits, Allen is Sympathetic, lavi is funny, kanda isn't so talkative, crowley is kinda dumb, komui is genius in his field, miranda is silly.. However these traits do not define their characters, as Sympathetic as he is, Allen is ruthless, as funny and playful as he is, lavi is serious, as silly as she is miranda is devoted..
They are all useful and consistant throughout the story, even side characters are memorable, every death is tragic and heartbreaking because this is the world of d Gray man. Everyone have their own stories to tell, they have their own backstories, goals and personalities.
The antagonists are no less than the protagonists, in this chapter , hoshino gives you the sweet and absolutely normal family, in the next one, she reminds you how pitiless they are . The most striking thing about the villains is despite their wicked actions, they are not utterly inhumane. They don't spend their entire time preparing for the next malicious attack. In fact, they are normal, same as the protagonists, they lough ( they are actually quite funny), they do Their homework, they play cards.. They aren't morally black. They are interesting and also vague, you can't really tell what's going on in their heads. They aren't just a killing machine blinded by a certain ideology .They may seem shallow and depthless at first glance, but they are definitely the opposite.
What i love the most about hoshino is she never fully reveals things, she gently cooks everything on a low non-burning fire. And peels the story layer by layer until you reach the core. I also love the little club she created at the end of every chapter, it's cute and heartwarming.

Anyways, if you haven't read d gray man go read it, it's worth it and it's absolutely more profound and amusing than it looks.

I can't remember if this is one of the cases where the Anime ended prematurely causing me to start reading the manga. But regardless D. Gray Man has lost me over the past few years. Many of the chapters seem to jump in time and location making the already confusing story line even more difficult to follow. Who is bad and who is good becomes frustratingly unclear as the story moves from a simple black and white to one huge conspiracy theory.

D. Gray-man was a series that I got into because my friends often talked about it. However, the first few chapters did not disappoint me, so I kept reading.

While the feeling of "this is your destiny, find these items" has been used time and again, D. Gray-man does bring some interesting spins. However, this does not ignore the difficulty of such a broad thesis, so to speak. I think that Hoshino realized rather belatedly that it's difficult to keep the reader interested in a manga that will go on for quite a while. There are 109 or so Innocence; the Order ... must find them all. I think that Hoshino realized this would take quite a long time, and that it was taking on a Tsubasa Chronicle-feel (and we all know how that went...). It scared me a little, how the plot seemed to be a little similar to Tsubasa's. It is my belief that, after realizing this, she added in, "Oh, wait! If the Earl finds the Heart, we're all dead!"

After that declaration, the story seems to peak at the arc with the Ark (hehe... is that considered punny?). After the Ark, everything had this new feel to it, yet Hoshino let me down by not taking advantage of this new start. Then there were complications and the storyline slowed down, eventually becoming as twisted as Tsubasa Chronicle, of which my gut had warned me. What really disappointed me, as a former (well, I guess it is more accurate to say dormant) Yullen fan, was chapter 176. I remember it clearly because that chapter just killed me oh, so much. It is possible, though, for Hoshino to recover from this literary slump. Only time will tell, I suppose.

A very prominent factor in drawing me into this manga was the cast of characters. Though yes, they seemed to be easily grouped into certain "types" of characters (Kanda, for a while, seemed to be a long-haired Sasuke to me, even though Kanda's my favorite character and I cannot bear 95% of the characters in Naruto, including Sasuke), Hoshino finds little ways to begin to wedge them away from that grouping... and after the Ark, slaps them back in the category, which disappointed me-- very much so. However, there is a chance for redemption.

Throughout the time I read the manga, I enjoyed it very much until it seemed like a down period for Kanda, and after 176, I had no will to read it anymore because I was so shocked by what Hoshino had done to him. I got over it, though, and was shocked again. The plot twists involving Kanda wrenched my heart (but maybe that's because I'm biased).

The artwork in the beginning was very good, but it became even more beautiful as the series progressed. Every panel was like a flower blooming; every battle scene was depicted with clarity-- until after the Ark, when Hoshino began having health problems. I will concede that carpal tunnel does impair an artist's ability, but one of my closest friends has carpal tunnel but continues to produce beautiful work whose quality surpasses that of everything she had every drawn before. But I digress.

Character designs are all very unique; costumes and hairstyles are outlandish yet somewhat realistic at the same time. The only person whose hair is unnatural is Allen, and... well... he's not natural. Also, white is a natural color... just not on a boy of fifteen (is that how old he is?). All of the designs are acceptable in a realistic, modern setting (costumes and clothing aside). It is filled with lots of eye candy (Kanda and Lavi ♥),

Overall, D. Gray-man is a very good manga-- to a point. I would like to think that Hoshino has lost interest and needs to be invigorated with the power that once compelled this author to write such a great beginning. Although I have lost interest, perhaps I will come back.

It started off quite slow, but around the second half of the series (around volume 12,13,14) it picks up a bit. By volume 21,22 + it gets insane. Enough to call it an unfinished masterpiece. I'm sure when I read it again, I'll pick up on a lot of things I missed

story 10 - plot twists are insane. and the slow buildup worked. when reading this itll pay off if your patient

art 9 - the art is beautiful and gets better later on

characters 9 - the dynamic between the antagonist and protagonist is mind blowing. just brilliant. as well as all the characters have a ... mystery about them and are intriguing

enjoyment 8 - it was very enjoyable read, although personally on the first read found it a chore to get through the first half. it was still enjoyable. but im sure on a second read through this can go higher, and ill appreciate it more

overall 9

Total Score - 45/50 = 9/10

Depending how the story finishes may be a 10/10, also I plan to read it again so that can change as well

Excellent manga right here worth giving a shot

STORY
Despite the fact that this story begins as a typical good vs. evil plot, the story thickens, twists, elaborates, and eventually becomes a huge web of gray. One of the previous reviews states that the main villain is inherently and undeniably 100% evil. If the reader simply invests into the series, there will doubts. D.Gray Man has proved itself to be unique and compelling. The story line may begin as standard, but evolves onto a whole new caliber.

ART
The art is very appealing to those that enjoy detail. The style consists of handsomely created main characters that are set in juxtaposition with the Gothic 'Akuma' ... and sometimes ugly Innocence. The visual appeal of D.Gray-Man is never boring, especially considering the fact that the author's style vastly and rapidly changes over time. Look at a picture from the beginning, middle, and end. It's difficult to believe they're even done by the same artist, save the detailed character designs.
Towards the most recent chapters, Hoshino displays an immense understanding of muscle and anatomy as well has implicating immense details into her horror-geared demons. Definitely one of the most interesting mangakas out there.

CHARACTER
The characters of DGM are anything but typical. Allen Walker, the protagonist, starts out to seem one way, but then turns out to be another person completely. As the series develops and reveals new questions and insights, so does the main character. Allen begins as someone who knows exactly what he wants and where he's going, and the current Allen is completely at a loss for who he is and isn't as open-minded as he would have liked to think (as are most people in the world). He becomes easier to identify with as he struggles with his identity.
Miranda Lotto is a great comic relief character, and it is delightful to know that Hoshino (the author) based this accident-prone screw-up almost solely on herself.
Kanda Yuu is the typical brooding jerk that the fangirls always fall for. At first, I hated this character. But when his mysterious past is revealed, I gained a new respect and intrigue for him.
Lavi is another one of the humor-oriented characters, but has a very serious dark side. The Bookman clan of which he belongs is a very interesting idea of the author and offers a new take on things.
There are several other lovable characters, one being Lenalee Lee. As far as female characters go, she is one of the best. She has a strong personality and holds her own even without the overwhelming male characters.

The villains are absolutely phenomenal. They're sometimes more likable than the heroes themselves. Tyki Mikk and Road Camelot are good examples. They have their own motives and ideals along with the Exorcists.

ENJOYMENT
There is a nice balance of comedy, tragedy, and mystery. Despite the fact that the situation of the protagonist is inherently hopeless, the readers find themselves loyal and tenacious just like the main characters. There aren't very many dull moments in this manga.

OVERALL
Definitely recommend. There is so much to this series. To really grasp the ideas listed here (and so many more that aren't mentioned), one just has invest in the work. Ultimately, DGM deserves a 10.

~ My Feeling For This Manga
When I First Reading The Manga D.Gray man From Vol 1, I Was Like Hmm... The Cover Looks Really Nice
- At First It Seems Like Kinda Boring In The Few Chapters But I Keep Reading Cause I Was Like Pfft. I Know This is Really Nifty Manga Ima Keep Reading
- In Secs The Action Made The Think It Was Like Bleach, After One Hour I Was Like Wow.... Im Already Finished With The 3 Books I Have In Rl
So I Keep Reading And Reading On Internet Cause I Only Had The 3 Vols In RL
Until Then I Was already On ... Chapter 50+ In Few Days
It Had Very Sads Momments , Funny Momments, An OMG Was Going To Happen Next Momments O _ O
So Here I Am At On Chapter 211 Waiting For Jan. To Come So I Can Read Chapter 212 To See Whats Going To Happen Next
~ To Me Im Glad I Didn't Give Up On This Manga,
- I Regret The People Who Did Cause Its A Lovely Story An Manga

~ Main Character
Ok Ok.... Lets Start Beginning ( Struggles To Remember)
The Story Starts About This 15/16 White Hair Child Named Allen Walker,
- Ok First I Know What Your Thinking Why Is Is Hair White?
Well He Used To Have Brown Hair When He Was a Child, Plus
He Was Homeless Too Until He Meet This Clown Named Mana He Spinned Alot With Him Until He Died, Until Earl Came To See Allen And Asked Him If He Wanted Him Back, Yada yada > < So Earl Brought Mana But Into a Akuma (Robot Like Skeleton That Uses Dead Human Bodys)
This IS When His Innocence Woken An Processed Him, Now Know On Hes Hafe Akuma/ Human He See if Humans Around Him With His Akuma Eye....
He Was Born With This Rare Innocence (The Clown King)

~ My Story Info
- The Story Is Mostly About Allen Walker Searching / Finding Innocences Or With Innocence Within Them
- The Story Gets More Exciting Were You Dont Want To Stop Reading, Or Some Parts Were You Kill Over Whats Going To Happen Next, Or Cry Over The Saddest Most Touching Parts In It


~ My Rating
Story : 10
- Reason: Above xD
Art : 10
- Reason: The Art Is Really Beautiful Throe out The Story
Characters: 10
- Reason: The Characters In This Story Here Dont Think Its Not Just About " Where On a Team So We Gotta Stick Together" They Say That But They Really Mean "We May Be On Team But Friendship Never Died Even If The World Will End"
Enjoyment: 9
Reason - Lots Of Amazing Drooling Over Fights,
Very Funny Sports, Some Were Go Laughing Out Loud, And Some Here You Go Laughing Outta The Chair.
Very Emotional Parts Were You;ll Cry Through Until There is Funny/Happy Part

Overall I Have it a 10 :D

This is my first review, so I apologize if it's not very clear or has any other problems. Now onto the review:

Story 7:
The manga started off great and the story was very pulling and imaginative. The wealth of characters and the different types of weapons/enemies in the manga made it very enjoyable. Although it followed a somewhat streamline shounen storyline as the main character achieves more and more power-ups as time goes on, the philosophical and religious perspective of the story added more depth than what most other similar mangas have. I loved the story a lot until the more recent ... chapters where things have gotten very confusing. The story itself is still interesting, but the way the manga is presented it's hard to understand what your looking at and through whose eyes your seeing it as flashbacks and reality become mixed together in an unflattering way. If it somehow comes out of this with some clarity I'd raise the score but as it stands, it is very crude and deserves a mere 7.

Art 8:
I'm not much of an art guy when it comes to manga as long as you can understand what is going on in all the frames. The manga does have a unique look and the characters each have their own sense about them from the drawing, but once again the recent chapters and their confusion has lowered this score as well.

Character 8:
The characters are numerous and up until recently were covered extensively in both their background and how they acquired their abilities. One of the main drawing points of this manga was that even though it had to focus on Allen, it never sacrificed the other characters to do so. Once again, in recent chapters, a large number of new characters are introduced and this score, which was a 10, has now gone down to an 8.

Enjoyment 9:
Even with the recent flaws, the manga as a whole is very enjoyable for a variety of reasons: unique storyline, great variety of characters with a lot of depth, the different weapons and enemies that keep the reader intrigued.

Overall 8:
All I've said above should sum it up pretty well I would hope, and this would be higher if the recent chapters had not taken such a horrible turn for the worst. One can only hope the manga will be restored to its former greatness.

D.Gray-man is totally one of my top 10 manga since it has all the things i wanted. It has humor, adventure, horror (a little) and romance(?!) lol

The characters are hard to forget. The story plot moves fast. Other than that, they are Hot! lol
especially Kanda, Rabi and Allen. All in all, its awesome!

Too bad its on hiatus though. Rumor has it that the mangaka was sued for plagiarism so i searched it up. I was frustrated because they made such a fuss over something that is SLIGHTLY familiar. If ever you could see the article then you will feel the same way too. I ... hope that the mangaka will win the case and continue making it if ever that is the reason.

Good idea. Distinctive drawing style. Not a good beginning. Toward the middle and the end it got better. I had dropped it 3 times before I actually came to the part where I could enjoy. The power of the earl is somewhat fluctuating in an inconsistent way.

-D.GRAY.MAN-
A shonen I didn't think I would like but fell in love.

My expectations: A basic shonen, filled with a messy plot, probably full of cliches and uninteresting characters. A bland manga with nothing special. Keep in mind, I had finished the anime before getting to it, so I thought the bads will be more than the goods as in the anime but oh boy!

What I get: Amazing cast of villain, a great main character, insane reveals and a really enjoyable story. The tragic story of Allen Walker and how the author does it is absolute perfection.

-STORY-
Unlike most other shonen, this one has a got ... an overall dark and creepy tone to it. The story, while certainly not the most unique is well written and honestly how its all portrayed is just breathtaking! The comedy blend, with the characters and the drama are feel so fresh. The characters have unique personalities and roles, you really get attached to them because how the story is set up.

-ART-.
The art is maybe not the best but still great. At the beginning sure its not that good but the art style does change over the chapters and becomes really good. And when it needs to the art can get godly! Pretty good to be honest.

-CHARACTERS-
Amazing, well developed, but admittedly some characters weren't as interesting or the best to be fair but the main characters are awesome, extremely interesting and you love them. Allen Walker, especially is the greatest shonen protagonist of all time, his backstory, the authors presentation, his personality are very likeable and amazing.

-ENJOYMENT
How do I express the joy I get while I read it, how can I? Its literally 10/10 in this regard, the characters, the hype, the art and after the wait for chapters, its just so enjoyable.

Peak Shonen, the best of its kind. Beautifully Tragic and well crafted. A true piece of unforgettable art!

Ever since i started to Read D.gray-man the story line has kept me spellbound. After every issue i keep wanting more. the characters of the story are enchanting and the world that they live in is top notch when it comes to inventiveness. Katsura Hoshino has made a story that has captured many peoples imaginations including mine. The characters of D.Gray-man are equally as enchanting as the storyline. At some parts the characters would have me laughing out loud then the battle scenes would draw me back into the seriousness of the storyline. overall i fully enjoyed this Manga alot and the Anime is just ... as good.

D.Gray-man has the most common elements of shounen manga. The main character has a rare and special ability, he had a hard childhood but is still a kind person. There is a clear line between good and bad, a large group of supporting character and a lot of action.

And even though this manga has all of this, it's different from the most popular shounen mangas, and much better than them.
First of all... It's hard to believe, but yes, this story has a plot. Not just separate sagas and fights, but also a clear pattern of cause and effect. Defeating one enemy after the other until ... you reach the goal is part of the plot, but it's not all of it.
Another good thing is the character development. You can't describe any of the characters (at least the good guys) with just one word, or even one sentence. The main character isn't the usual dumb protagonists, and not the usual attention-seeking protagonist, and not some type of protagonist. He makes the impression of a person, not a type-of-character (and he's cute!). And the other characters aren't stereotypes either, they all have their own personalities.
And here I finally get to the art. Since I'm an artist myself, the art in a manga is usually the most important thing to me. It's not about the actual quality, but about the ability of the artist to show what he means. And D.Gray-man is great! In the fight scenes, it's easy to follow. You can always tell the characters apart. There are a lot of details, but not enough to confuse you. The reason why I give the art 9 points and not ten is because I don't like the design of the monsters. But everything else is awesome, much more than I expected from a shounen manga!

There are many other reasons why I like D.Gray-man. The perfect balance between action and comedy and the character design are just a few of them.
So, erm.. Go read it! (?)

What It's About
--------------------

“D. Gray-Man” is a shounen manga that follows a cursed teenage boy named Allen Walker on his tragic journey as an exorcist who fights weapons known as “Akuma”, mechanical beings that contain suffering souls of the dead.

Allen and other exorcists fight together to destroy these Akuma with the power of “Innocence”, which are anti-Akuma weapons. They are engaged in an ancient war with the creator of Akuma, the Millennium Earl.

The story holds this simple premise but begins to weave in complex ideas about life, death, tragedy, and perseverance that are extended on with its cast.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

... The Characters
--------------------

This is easily the show’s strongest point. Many characters initially present themselves as rather generic with their design and powers being the only sources of interest for the general audience.

However, as the show progresses, each character from the main cast receives strong and convincing development that explains their personality, actions, and motives. They try to show that every person in the world has internal struggles and are carrying heavy burdens past their reassuring smiles.

Allen Walker is the protagonist. He is shown to be kind, polite, and always ready to defend his comrades. What makes him shine brilliantly is his tragic past of being cursed as a child from the man he loved most. He bears a cursed eye and an anti-Akuma on his arm as a result of being tricked by the Millennium Earl and giving into his desires to bring back the man he sees as a father. He is human but is also part-Akuma, inspiring him to save the souls of humans and Akuma, being part of both worlds.

Lenalee Lee is the lead female. She is a teenage girl who sees the best in others and cares deeply for her friends and brother. She also develops very well from a sweet girl to a young woman who suffers from seeing her loved ones in pain and bravely takes action in the direst situations.

Yuu Kanda is a member of the organization known as the Black Order alongside Allen and Lenalee. He is shown to be hard-headed and naturally instigates fights due to his stubborn attitude. Despite his cold demeanor, he reveals his sense of duty and care for his comrades on numerous occasions. His fierce swordsmanship and confidence has made him one of the strongest fighters in the order.

Lavi is a cheerful young man who aims to become a Bookman, an individual tasked to record history and spectate the actions of others. He fights with an anti-Akuma weapon that is a size-shifting hammer and can use a variety of seals to destroy his opponents. Although he seems to be the “nice and smiling guy” all the time, he has his own series of struggles and conflicts with his own identity.

The Millennium Earl is the primary antagonist and a mysterious figure who is the creator of Akuma and the leader of the Noah family. He is the greatest opponent of the Black Order and has cheerfully tricked people to their demise on numerous occasion. He is linked with many characters and their pasts including Allen’s.
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What I Like
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This series feels so different from other shounen and I think part of that is the dark tone and Hoshino Katsura not afraid to blend with the tragedy and horror genres. We descend a layer deeper with each arc and the story consistently improves with each arc. On top of this, the pacing is superb with just the right amount of chapters, dialogue, and fights each arc to increase the enjoyability.

The characters are some of the best I’ve seen in a while, especially from a shounen. Allen is one of the best protagonists I’ve seen because of how complex he is. He’s gentle and caring but he’s holding in unthinkable pain and hellish world that is seen through his eyes. He just wants to help everyone but knows it’s not a bright and easy path.

The Noah Family and The Earl are so damn likeable too! They’re devious but you can’t help but love and understand a lot of them. Miki and Road are my favorites thus far and I’m happy to see the “grey” areas of good and evil through these characters.

Lenalee is another standout character who is one of my favorite female characters now. Her kindness and conviction makes her caring but strong against all the mental hardships she has to face.

Lavi is someone who I didn’t expect to get such convincing development along with Crowley. I’m glad that Hoshino understands what makes good characters and how heavy interactions can play in a story filled with a multi-faceted cast.

Just like concepts of nen, chakra, spiritual pressure, etc, D. Gray-Man has Innocence as the power source for its respective story. I love that it has many forms and there is a lot to look forward to with how it really works. Can’t wait to see more evolutions of it.

The biblical themes and names are something I didn’t think I would like just because I’ve always seen it as forced method. However, D. Gray-Man impressed me with their creative changes and biblical inspiration. It adds more analytical value to the series which I love and the ideas play very well with the story and characters.

Lastly, I am so happy that the manga came out of its hiatus and glad to see Hallow continuing the anime and creating a surge of new fans.
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Things I have a Problem With
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Although this isn’t necessarily bad, I wish there was some kind of development with the characters earlier on. It could be that I’ve seen a lot of shounen anime and I wanted something to stand out immediately but regardless, I loveee the development we do get.

Although the series has some really awesome fights down the road, a lot of the fights in the beginning feel repetitive and almost lazy. Many times, there are just projectiles being thrown back and forth and it doesn’t give anything memorable. Despite this, we definitely get what we want around the Noah arc.

Kanda seems to be a bit out of place with the story and where’s it’s been. He doesn’t add to the feel of unity with the other characters until his arc starting from chapter 187 so he just feels disjointed. I love his badass style and fights but hopefully he gets better.

To me, the story gets deeper as it progresses and can also be confusing. I think part of this is that a lot of major concepts and plot points are not expanded on enough to give it significance. I wish there was more emphasis on some parts of the story but it does add on to the re-read/re-watch value that I enjoy.

Final Thoughts

I remember watching the anime many years ago and just leaving it, feeling that it didn’t really catch my attention. However, I started reading it a few weeks BEFORE Hallow was announced so I was going crazy when I heard the anime would come continue. I read the chapters like a madman each day, feeling fully engaged in the story and looking forward to where it would take me.

I highly recommend reading/watching this even if you are not a fan of shounen. There's something to explore in this story that makes it unique from many of the pre existing anime out there. The story slowly get deeper and more complex, the characters are phenomenal, the fights are great, the themes give a lot to think about, giving the series has a lot of potential.

I’m thrilled that the manga is back, the anime is back, and hope to see this continue for many years!

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TL; DR

What I like
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The dark tone. The pacing. The simple-to-complex progression of the story. The upward trend of the quality of storytelling. The well-timed comedy. Beautiful quotes. The compelling characters who are likeable all receive fantastic development. The concept of innocence and the use of biblical themes. Hoshino Katsura’s art style. The analytical value. The continuing story!

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What I have Problems With
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Backstories and hints of development are not given for most of the characters until the later arcs. The early fights are repetitive and not that enjoyable. Kanda's role doesn't seem to add much to the overarching story until much later. Some major plot points and concepts need more emphasis and restatement to connect the story in a less confusing manner.

(just for the record, this is a slight alteration of my anime review)

ART SECTION: 8/10
The gothic motif is something worthy of praise, while the rather rough outlines make everything look more grim and scary. Besides that, like almost any other shounen it is full of rather clear-cut good guys and bad guys, dressed in clothes following a motif. So aesthetics aside it plays out as any other of its kind. Still, those decorations around the Gothic world were quite catchy.

STORY SECTION: 4/10

The initial chapters are marvelous and really attract your attention. It is about an alternative Earth, full of gothic motifs, where an evil demon/ghost ... of sorts plans to destroy it by exploiting peoples’ grief over the death of their loved ones, luring them to raise the dead and thus creating monsters that kill innocents and sink the world into chaos. The heroes have to find Innocence, powers that protect the world, and battle the Evil Earl and his minions.

Such formula is more than familiar for a shounen series, but the interesting twist is that this happens in a Gothic world. Monsters are created and heroes gain power-ups in many shounen series; although here it feels somewhat less obvious as the monsters are made from love and innocence may hurt even bystanders. This is usually enough to keep the average viewer watching. The first dozen of episodes are just fine, introducing the main characters, their sad lives, the secret organization that was made to stop the Earl and the objective goals of each side.

The problem comes right after the basic plot and cast are presented. Typical to its genre, the characters behave in predictable shounen manner and the battles are full of power-ups, where they didn’t really need them to progress the story. I mean, giving the monsters level ups was ok the first time, as it was giving them individuality and personality (like Menos Grande in Bleach). But thereafter, it was just lame; leveling up for the sake of leveling up. Plus, the good guys typically gain extra power right when they want it, so it lost its suspense quite soon.

There is no conclusion and the manga is pretty much abandoned by its maker, a sign of how even she got bored of its cheesy development. So, you are basically left with an abandoned unoriginal story with a good main idea. But wait, even the nice idea is not that nice if you look around. There has been a weird Gothic manga motif fad going around, so many manga seem to have the same feeling lately.

CHARACTER SECTION: 5/10

I’m not going into many details because down to it, if you have read some Jump shounen, you know exactly what to expect. A pretty, kind-hearted boy as lead with a superpower that beats everything, a pretty girl as support, some other dudes as antagonists and sidekicks and the sort. The good guys are all young, yet have superpowers that level buildings and that is no surprise for this genre and thus not a minus. Seriously, the cast is quite typical for its genre; it pains even more to see that they hardly develop any further than the initial episodes they appear in. Or some flashbacks that simply explain their sad past and present role in the organization. And as always, power-ups don’t count as development.

Even the villains look cool but you hardly get to know anything about them, other than they just want to destroy the world. As for the monster minions, they are pretty much cannon fodder and you will lose interest in them a few seconds after they are defeated.

All things considered, the characters are ok for such a series and they’re colorized to a generally high degree. But that is that and no more. They are not special, unique or even complete. Thus, I give them the base for being simply nice to watch.

VALUE SECTION: 2/10
Although there was plenty of hype around it when the series was circulating regularly, all the fame went away quite fast when a certain-other-similar-manga began to circulate, so it didn’t even manage to get some historical value. It WOULD have some if it was complete or if there wasn’t this Manga Gothic Fad going on right now. If you compare it to other shounen, it is quite one-of-the-same. If you compare it to other Goth manga, it is by far the less interesting in terms of atmosphere or story. So, the chances of rereading it or having a reason to remember it are few to none.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 4/10
Besides the initial chapters and a few other ones here and there, this series felt generic and didn’t keep me very interested. So, I say go for the titles in my Suggestion List. They are very similar yet far more catchy.

VERDICT: 4.5/10
Another shounen series, which had the potential to excel, but also went under because of its bad planning. And in far less chapters than Naruto or Bleach.

SUGGESTION LIST
Soul Eater
Death Note
Bleach
Ao no Exorcist
Beelzebub

Okay to summarize D. Gray man out is.....THE BEST FREAKIN' MANGA EVER!!!!!

I love D.Gray man such an awesome Manga. The first manga that I bought almost every single book. And I don’t regret spending money on it. I enjoyed every single book. It is an enjoyable manga.

I rated everything as a 10 for outstanding.

I love all the characters. I love Allen, Kanda, Lavi and Lenalee etc
I always giggle every time I see them all. Only Katsura could make such good looking awesome character (usually you don’t see such good looking Manga characters in shonen jump) and they have ... such nice personalities.

The Art is beautiful, I love it. When I saw the later volumes, and that she changed her art style, I was like no way I love it before. But I got used to it, and I still love it. Katsura Hosino is a wonderful manga artist. Some time the fighting scene get confusing with all that lines everywhere.

The story line some time gets confusing, but I usually understand it.

Overall D. Gray man is an awesome series worth reading and buying. You wouldn’t regret it. It’s by far one of my favourite mangas.

Story : 7
-The story of D.Gray-Man is a complicated one, and only gets more so as the series progresses. As of the current place of the manga, there are still many unanswered questions, which I hope to see answered by the time it finishes. However despite the confusing nature of the story at points, it still is really good whether you can understand what's happening or not. My review on the story may change as more questions are answered, but as of right now its a good story with many twists and turns.

Art : 9
-The artstyle of D.Gray-Man changes as the story progresses, which would ... usually mean that the artstyle went from decent/bad to good as the illustrator got more experienced with how they want the story to look. But in this case, both artstyles, pre and post change, are stunningly beautiful to look at. Every character is drawn beautifully and every panel is gorgeous. Both artstyles can shift from serious to comedic at a moments notice, which goes well to characterize all of the D.Gray-Man cast.

Character : 10
-This is where the strength of this series shows. Every character is written extraordinarily, and are given their own motives, goals, and personalities. Every character is so unique not just in this series, but from any series. The author makes sure to show us that even the people we see as villains at the beginning have their own dynamic and interesting, fun characters that stray from the standard evil villains. None of them ever act out of character or do something that they wouldn't do in the scenario they're in. Fantastic characters through and through.

Enjoyment : 9
I really loved reading through this series. When I was recommended it, I was told that it felt like Fullmetal Alchemist in a way, and I can 100% now see where they were coming from. Both series have heavy plots, but never get too heavy with the comedic scenes to weigh them down. The comedic scenes in D.Gray-Man were always a blast and never brought away from a serious scene in a bad manner. I think that D.Gray-Man is a fantastic series that is far too underrated and doesn't get near as much credit as it deserves.