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.
