 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KATSURA HOSHINO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 210 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 11/04/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 10/26/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
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 eleven, things are looking up for our heroes and heroines as Allen Walker rejoining the group to battle on. With Allen Walker once more in their ranks, the Exorcists soldier into the fabled Ark of Noah. In almost no time they encounter opposition in the form of two young Noah possessing startling powers. The Noah, however, seem less interested in the grand plans of the Millennium Earl, than in collecting payment on yet another mountain of debt accrued by Allen’s master, General Cross Marian. Can the Exorcists find the literal key out of this potentially lethal predicament? The art in this manga continues to impress – it’s always such a joy to look at. It has an almost gothic style, but mixed with fun anime/manga style elements that keep everything at an enjoyable balance. The use of extreme darks and lights within the pages of this book continues to give D.Gray-Man a really slick look, as does the overall layout and presentation as a whole. Stylistically, this series has always been unique and inventive – its really no wonder that so many people cosplay as characters from D.Gray-Man at conventions around the world. The characters and their costumes/clothes are always interesting to look at – the characters themselves are visually some of the best portions of the manga. Story wise, things are still pushing ahead at a good pace – in fact, this volume is quite break-neck for the most part, as it takes us through a flurry of fights and intense action sequences. That seems to be the way of things lately for D.Gray-Man, as the plot comes to some pretty serious points. But even with all the seriousness of the story, it still has moments that are funny, or at least tongue in cheek humour tobalance things out. 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. There are also a few funny little cartoon strips in the back of the book detailing some funny experiences from the artist/author’s childhood. 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.
IN SUMMARY:
D.Gray-Man is a stylistic wonder – it features amazing art on a particularly high level. Each page can only be considered a work of art, and the story is |
