 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KATSURA HOSHINO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 200 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 05/05/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/02/2009 | | | ▪ | 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 thirteen, the voice of darkness beckons. Believing he's finally taken care of Tyki Mikk, Allen is brought up short by Road and presented with a stark choice - if he wishes to rescue Lenalee and Chaoji, he must destroy his friend Lavi! Allen refuses to do it, little realizing that the choice is not what it seems. Lavi knows what's up, and may be the only person who can turn the tables on Road. Has Road, however, destroyed his will to resist? All those exciting revelations are contained here, within the pages of the latest volume of D.Gray-Man! This series continues to impress on the story side of things, as well as with the dynamic and well-crafted artwork. 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. The story is epic and chockfull of dramatic and intertwined character relationships and motivations – it’s easy to see why so many people love D.Gray-Man as much as they do. I am very comfortable raving about it, because I think it is awesome too! The art in this manga keeps getting better with every volume. The artist amazingly ups himself each time with better and better artwork and action – I don’t know how some of these people manage it over time as they do - it’s always such a joy to look at. It has an almost gothic style, but mixed with fun anime/manga style elements. It could easily be said that any page of this manga could be ripped out, blown up on a computer, printed out with the finest black ink, be framed, and hung up on your wall as a fine piece of very expressive art. The costume designs of each character are so unique and cool – it’s no wonder that D.Gray-Man cosplay at anime and manga conventions are becoming more and more popular. The little details and just the fashion of the outfits are pretty interesting. They all give a sense of time being taken to make them as great as they all are. The use of extreme darks and lights within the pages of this book continue to provide a wicked, unique style - as does the overall layout and presentation as a whole. And even with all the seriousness of the story, it still has moments that are funny, or at least tongue in cheek humor to get you by. There are also a handful of fun little extras that really add to the product, including “discussion rooms” – pages where a character gets to talk straight to you about something that’s going on, or what they are thinking. It’s a complete package with a lot to offer and deserves a place on our shelves without much question. If you haven’t given D.Gray-Man a try after all this time, definitely pick up a volume and see what you are missing! 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.
IN SUMMARY:
D.Gray-Man is one of those series coming out right now that pushes the envelope on the art front that few other manga could even try to compare their own art to. This is a beautifully cr |
