Photo Source: animewatch.ucoz.com
“D. Gray Man; Manga Beats Anime”
D.Gray man is most likely one of my top 5 favorite mangas/animes that I have ever discovered. It is funny, dramatic, sad and even scary at times. The art and writing styles are appealing to the eyes as well as the heart. I say to the heart because my favorite anime character- Allen Walker- is the love of my life (if only he was real). The manga is still running which is awesome because the story within is just amazing.
Allen Walker is 15 years old and has a left arm that can transform into a claw; which is a weapon to defeat Akuma (Japanese for ‘demon’). Akuma are these evil machines that evolve themselves as time goes on. They were created by the evil villain Millennium Earl to help him completely destroy all of humanity. Allen’s superior- General Cross Marian- orders and pushes Allen to become an Exorcist, and help destroy the Akuma and protect humanity, as exorcists are the only people who can destroy Akuma. Allen joins an organization called the Black Order, which is attempting to defeat and destroy the Millennium Earl. Allen is an important member of, and a huge help to the order as he is able to see Akuma (along with their souls) with his left eye. Along with his team, Allen is sent to recover pieces of Innocence- or the substance substance that allows the Exorcists to have, and use their powers against the Akuma. Meanwhile, The Earl calls together the Noah Family, which is the counterpart to the Black Order. Both sides are competing to find The Heart, and whoever finds it first is almost guaranteed to wipe out the other side for good.
Photo Source: D. Gray Man Manga Series
As you can probably gather from the summary, this anime is action packed. The Akuma are absolutely terrifying, and the members of the Noah Family are brutal and at times extremely insane. Allen and his friends are always there for each other, and it’s just nice to read a pure action packed manga. I talk about the manga mainly because I thought it beat the anime into the dust. The anime left out tons of details that explained a lot about Allen and his friends. Plus, the anime tries to fit in the comic relief only the manga can truly supply. There is nothing really too upsetting about this anime and manga. There is limited cursing, no perverted shots, and the romance is slim to none. The only thing that I would mention that could be upsetting is that there are gruesome- and at times even disturbingly- bloody scenes. Nothing like what Attack on Titan had to offer (see article here), but some of the things that happen are pretty twisted. I’d also like to mention that at time the story will break your heart into a million pieces. I still do not understand why they have to make the only strong female character in the series dress in a mini skirt- but hey I’m not the artist. A lot of the times there are these bits of the plot that make me roll my eyes because of how overly dramatic they are. Each episode/book ends in a huge cliffhanger and forces you to wait for months to wait and see what happens next. The disappointing part is that usually the outcome is either extremely predictable, or extremely overdone. For Example, say Allen Walker falls off a cliff. The next book will have him standing at the bottom saying “ha-ha just kidding it was a 1 foot drop.” I suppose it is done to keep the reader going, but let’s be honest, it is pretty cruel.
If you are planning on watching the anime, I must say that the Dub is really quite good. (Yes, I’m suggesting the Dub, crazy huh?) In any case the manga is 3,000 times better than the anime and I guarantee that you will be intrigued if you give it a chance. I hope that you enjoy whichever media you decide to look at. Get ready for an adventure that you’ll have no choice, but to be sucked into! Happy watching and reading minna!
~Lilatheen~
Watch Trailer Here (Go to 0:23), Watch Anime Here, Read MANGA Here