D.Gray-man: Read the manga, too… or wait for next season

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on November 24, 2011 at 6:59 AM

I read somewhere that this anime is going to continue in 2012. Not sure about that! Just that I’m looking forward to another season almost as much as any other DGM fan on here.

The story itself started a little slow. As with every longer anime, there are a few fillers; I’ll add a list at the end of this review so if you want you can skip. They don’t really disturb as they can be very entertaining, but if you know the manga, the anime seems to lose a little bit in flow. The end of the anime also was pretty abrupt and didn’t look like an end at all. For those wondering: yes, the manga goes on, and except the fillers the anime doesn’t divert from it, which I like, but the problem lies in the end. However, if the anime continues, the story would most definitely deserve a 5/5.

The plot itself is original and well thought-out, which I appreciate since most shounen animes seem to miss that these days. The setting is back in the late 1800s, with a few fictional diversions from the actual history but that’s expected since it says in the beginning “At a fictional end of the 19th century…” Unless many shounen animes set either in Japan or a completely fictional universe, the setting here is Europe or to be more exact France, and the characters you encounter are from any country and background.

The basic story might at first seem like another of the generic “hunt the demon” anime. However, as the story unveils, you see this is only the very surface of a deeper storyline. Yes, it has the common “good versus bad” concept, but even this falls to pieces later on and gets truly unique. It is entertaining, with some twists and good story evolvement without plot holes, and even if some things are predictable, there’s also always some surprise. The storyline is really well thought-out and not too much disturbed by the filler episodes. The anime does pale in comparison to the manga, but in itself, it is something to behold. There are flashbacks, but since those mostly reveal the characters’ past not shown in the actual storyline and don’t repeat something you’ve seen five minutes before, they’re easy to deal with. The pace of the story is slow but steady, without missing its surprises.

There’s a lot of friendship, a touch of romance if you squint, of course the supernatural aspect with action, suspense, and drama, and always some humour to keep you entertained, although the anime can get really serious and dark as well.

The characters are pretty well developed. For one point, they are likeable; in a way you can even like the antagonists, and every character is individual with unique powers, a well thought-out personality, and an individual background. Everyone has something that’ll keep you entertained in a way. The character dynamics and interaction are interesting, and character development is well done. All of the main characters faced a hard past, so it might be a little shady and dark, but nothing that should scare anyone away. Even the side characters have unique personalities, although their background is established mostly in filler episodes. Some characters might seem tragic or complicated due to their past, but overall they’re well done. The screen time is about equally divided between the main characters. A definite upside also is that the female characters can fight as well. There’s loads of action animes in modern settings out there where the female character just sits in the corner whining. This is not one of those, which I personally appreciate a lot. However, overall, the heroine might get idealized from time to time, and women are generally underrepresented in this anime. What do you expect from a series playing in the 1800s…

The dialogue deserves 4.5/5. It is usually very funny and provides enough explanation without getting boring. Also, each character has a unique way of talking. The downside is that it can get repetitive at some points, especially during the Ark arc; it might be expected in an anime of 103 episodes.

The animation itself is not overly special but entertaining. The fights can get repetitive since each exorcist is limited to a number of attacks due to their weapon, but the animation is up to date, the action is enjoyable, and the artwork is definitely what makes this anime intense and moving while funny on the other hand. The alternation between colourful and rather dark scenes makes this anime an experience to behold. In terms of colours, this anime tends to be rather shady and dark/grey (yup… D.*Gray*man XD) but it can be quite colourful and joyous as well.

The music is fitting. It might not always be my style, but it fits the atmosphere and characters. I personally love the opening and ending songs, especially the second opening and fourth ending; they seem to fit perfectly… for me.

In terms of voice acting: Watch the Japanese versions with subs. The English dub isn’t nearly as good. I watched a few scenes of the dub on Youtube, and the voices don’t quite fit the characters. Allen and Kanda both have too deep voices for their respective age; Lavi misses a bit of his playfulness; and the Millennium Earl absolutely misses the clown-like funniness he has in the Japanese version. But that’s the dub; not saying anything about the anime in general.

The show overall is intense and captivating, and although tragic and action-filled, it never misses its humour. Although the dialogue can be repetitive, some jokes just made me go *rofl* (well… literally. I fell from the chair.) The omake, both in the anime and manga, are definitely funny as well. “D.Gray-man” makes a decent job of balancing humour and friendship genre with action and drama/tragedy, and although the story becomes a lot darker as it progresses, it doesn’t turn to whining but stays on the edge of “just describing”.

Also, the anime doesn’t seem to be targeted only at the male audience. There’s a good dose of humour, the violence isn’t too hard, and despite this being shounen genre, there’s subtle elements that appeal to the female audience. Some scenes or some pieces of Hoshino-sama’s artwork are pretty cute; there’s a touch of romance; and there’s a few bishounen (Kanda!!^^) although also a glimpse of ecchi for the male audience with the women’s costumes.

I would definitely suggest to watch if you’ve got a little time on your hands. “D.Gray-man” is well worth this time.

Choose for yourself if you want to watch the fillers, too. As I said above, they can be entertaining and add to the characters, but you need some time. Also, if you’ve finished the series, I suggest you read the manga unless there’s a second season out by then. Chapter 157 of the manga picks up where the anime left. If you’re looking for the manga, you find an English online scanlation at Manga-Access.com, Mangafox.com, and (I think) Mangareader.net.



--------
As promised: List of Original and Filler Episodes
Fillers get a remark if they’re especially funny or contribute a lot to a character. If you think that’s spoiling, be warned of filler spoilers.

001-005: Manga plot.
006-007: Not a filler, it was in the manga at the very beginning. However, it doesn’t contribute to the story; it seems to be meant as an introduction in the manga but since the introduction was changed in the anime, these two episodes become superfluous.
008-013: Manga plot.
014-018: Filler. 14-17 – you can forget those; Episode 18 is hilarious though if you find Komui’s sister complex funny.
019-026: Manga plot.
027-035: Fillers. Episode 27 focuses on Allen’s view of his master, 28 on Krory, 29/30 on Allen’s relation with Lenalee, 31 on Miranda, 33/34 on Kanda, 35 on Suman. 32 – you can forget that one.
036-039: Manga plot.
040-050: Filler arc… uh… forget this one.
051 and following: Manga plot.

So… I guess that’s it. Thank you for reading this once more excessively long review, you people make my day. ^_^