 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KATSURA HOSHINO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 192 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/06/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/30/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
D.Gray-Man is instantly recognizable as a manga on a higher level. The art and the dynamic visual flow of the story through each frame stands out with each page read. Nothing about this manga is ever visually stagnant or static. The art almost feels alive, as though it were an anime and not a manga. Besides that, each drawing is presented in very high detail and the book has a very appealing way of using contrast. Most of the imagery is either very dark black with hard lines, or very white and clean – rarely is it wispy or lazy. As you can see, the art style really stands out in a positive light, so D.Gray-Man is off to a good start. On the story side of things, there are a great number of well developed characters that are immersed in an involving, but not overly complicated plot – making it accessible to people at both a young and mature reading level. Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-Man covers the story of the main character Allen Walker, who searches the earth for the substance known as “Innocence.” Though lost long ago during an apocalyptic event known as “the Great Flood,” this substance can be used to create weapons to fight demons called “akuma.” It is Allen’s mission to locate the Innocence and use it to destroy these foes. Thankfully he doesn’t have to do this alone, and is joined by a variety of unique allies and rivals. In volume nine, hordes of akuma are arriving in Edo to join the Earl, who has found a nefarious use for one of the greatest of all Biblical artifacts. Meanwhile, one akuma has invaded the Asian Branch of the Dark Order to take care of Allen once and for all. Allen doesn't appear to stand a chance, but the very nature of the akuma's attack starts something no one could have anticipated, and might wind up changing the fate of the world! The artist and author for D.Gray-Man is Katsura Hoshino. His hit manga series has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2004. Katsura’s debut manga, “Continued,” appeared for the first time in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2003. Katsura is from Shiga Prefecture and adores cats. He even wrote out a bit about what he has been thinking about lately at the beginning of volume nine for readers to get a glimpse of his personal life: “My beloved Coro is a cat with a birth defect and has a hard time walking. Even so, the cat does its best to move around the house and rolls around a lot of the floor. Seeing the cat walking around and not giving up cheers me up, especially when the editor yells at me. By the way, I think Coro looks a lot like Timcanpy.” It’s nice to have these little extras and perks – he sounds like a nice guy. There are also a few funny little cartoon strips in the back of the book detailing the humor that comes out of the daily grind and making this manga. Lots of artists seem to like to joke about the hard life they have and the pressures of being a manga artist – it’s usually pretty entertaining, and this is no exception!
IN SUMMARY:
D.Gray-Man is a very well drawn, well thought out manga. It’s good enough to grace the pages of Shonen Jump Advanced, and continues to prove itself worth while into the fourth volume of the series. If you’ve enjoyed manga like Bleach or Deathnote, you’re sure so find some of the same qualities in both the art and story of D.Gray-Man. |
