| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
This is my review of the episodes which I have seen which is up through 58.
Im not going to dull people with a summary of the story its on anidb and other such websites and they do a better job than I would. However if you want a short summarized version of what Im going to say, here it is: Want a series that start out as typical shounen series that transform into a powerful epic that twists and turns in unexpected ways? Then I would recommend D.Grey-man.
The story starts off pretty good, but
takes some time before it kicks into overdrive so be prepared. I found myself liking the series, but for the first 40 episodes or so it felt pretty mediocre after that point the story starts to flesh out and go in some pretty unexpected directions. I felt probably one of the stronger points of the story was how episodes which appeared like fillers at first turned out to introduce important characters which return again and play very important roles in terms of the story. At heart though D.Grey-man is still a shounen so dont watch it if you absolutely hate these types of series, but it has a different taste than other series such as Naruto or One Piece.
The Animation is top notch and it improves as the series progresses. Characters facial expressions are superb especially when considering the huge cast of both good and bad guys. I love the unique look that the bad guys bring to this anime: evil, yet at the same time they are appealing in their own way. The same is also true of the good guys cool but, at times, ridiculous. Any filler episode had at least average animated action scenes. However whenever the series gets to the story pertinent battles the action scenes are stepped up a notch.
The sound is by far the most troublesome area. All the intro or ending songs are excellent and fit the series very well. However during the actual episode the music is far less memorable. Not that it is absent or that it is per say bad, but there was never a moment where I really noticed it particularly like I have in other series. The sound effects themselves are alright, but there are several characters with really annoying sound effects attached to them when they use their abilities and that is by far my biggest complaint worth noting.
The characters are by far D.Grey-mans strongest point. They have an absolutely lovable cast. From the main characters to the side characters there hasnt been a single one I found annoying or wishing they would go away. Quite the opposite I found many times hoping these characters would make a return and too my surprise many did. The series takes its time to flesh out as much as possible all the characters, of course with the emphasis being on the side characters, but I felt satisfied with all of the side characters back stories as well. It really doesnt get much better than the characters, in terms of growth and depth, than in this series.
The Enjoyment of this series is really watching the characters grow. This in my opinion is where D.Grey-man strongly resembles most other shounen series, but not in a bad way seeing as I love these types of series. The story is there in the back of your mind, but in the usually the focus is on the characters. I have found that as the series has progressed I began enjoying it more and more much like an acquired taste.
Overall D.Grey-man does start out like a standard shounen. However after the first 40 episodes I found it getting increasingly more fun to sit and watch. And while its hard to say what the future will bring the series is entering what I would consider the second story arch and it has gotten really good, much in the same way that Bleach or Naruto did. So basically if you like shounen then you will dig this series, but if you typically dont go for those type of series I would still recommend giving D.Grey-man a try because it does vary from your typical series enough to make it a unique experience.
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