 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KATSURA HOSHINO | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 192 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | OT | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 11/03/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 12/22/2009 | | | ▪ | 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 eleven, a Noah called Lulu Bell leads an army of Akuma against the exorcists in order to retrieve the Egg, a device that will enable the Millenium Earl to activate his new Ark. With most of the surviving exorcists incapacitated, it's up to Allen and Bookman to try to stop the Akuma from making off with the Egg. But when the Akuma try to make off with Allen as well, all Hell really breaks loose! This volume was especially intense – it was very entertaining! D.Gray-Man usually features some pretty epic fights and some great action, but volume eleven is just doused in it! Again, the details and the complexity of the art help to bring about all this action and feeling of movement within the book – the artist is quite a talented individual to put it lightly. The kind of imagination it must take to create this series is beyond me – this is not run-of-the-mill manga. D. Gray-Man has always been of an especially high quality, and one to push the envelope, and that’s just what this series continues to be and to do.
The art in this manga keeps getting better – it’s always such a joy to look at, and volume eleven has to be the craziest yet. It has an almost gothic style to it and the clothing of many characters (though everything is very unique and original), 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 continue to impress, as does the overall layout and presentation as a whole. After reading any volume of this well-known series, it is easy to see why it holds such a high place in many reader’s minds. 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 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 that is a top-seller, and will be until the very last volume. The reason it sells so well is because it looks so good, and has so much work put into the story. Some things are just the best of the bunch, and D. Gray-Man is one of those things! |
