 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH DD 5.1 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 300 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV 14 | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 01/05/2010 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 02/09/2010 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
SYNOPSIS:
As the World loses grasp on its Innocence, a shadow of a man emerges as a pivotal figure in the war between exorcists and soul-devouring demons. General Cross, the brute who turned a gifted boy into a hero, may well be the deciding factor in the quest to end the Millennium Earl’s reign of terror. Charged with his most urgent mission yet, Allen Walker must match wits with Lulu Bell of the bloodthirsty Noah Clan while scouring the globe for his former master. His success ensures a future for this rapidly darkening world, but failure wills pawn a rogue wave of Death and Destruction, beginning with Walker himself. Contains 12 episodes on 2 DVDs in a thinpack box set.
REVIEW:
The second half of the season begins in the wake of the devastation they have all just barely survived in Italy. The search for General Cross is on and the Akuma aren’t far behind! Lenalee and Allen meet up with Krory and Lavi to find the general before the Millennium Earl does. During a rainstorm they take refuge in an inn and meet a new threat. Lulu Bell is one of the Noah Clan and she’s as crafty as the black cat that keeps appearing. Her servant Mimi does her bidding, deeply loyal and ready to do whatever is necessary to please her mistress. Lulu Bell uses her cunning to set trap after trap for the exorcists. An ambush separates the group and soon there is a Lenalee imposter. The small group splits up to find the real Lenalee. Allen and Krory are soon taken in by a boy who is framed for stealing a statue. However another elaborate trap by Lulu Bell will put them in peril yet again. Lavi finds Lenalee but she’s been poisoned by a scorpion type Akuma and needs a cure for the poison or her life will be lost! The story arc diverges from the search for Cross to one of survival and reunion as Lavi races to save Lenalee by finding Bookman while Krory and Allen meet danger after danger in their attempt to reach their companions. During this time Lavi meets a disguised Mimi and the episode goes into her heartbreaking background. At the same time, Krory and Allen attempt to cross the Himalayans during a snow storm and meet a difficult time as Lulu Bell’s trap feeds and augments their doubts, particularly affecting Krory. Illusions could cause the two friends to attack each other unless Allen sees through the veil of evil in time. When the four reunite, they are attacked by a giant Akuma demon in a village dealing with water shortage. There they meet Mei Ling, a sweet and kind girl with the ability to see the future. Her crystal ball hides the clue to the Akuma assault and will outline the future of the heroes. As Mei Ling learns more about being an accommodator and an exorcist, she is also beset by the burden that visions of the future, bleak ones that see all of her new exorcist friends dead or dying! When Lulu Bell strikes through an attack by Mimi to steal the Innocence the group holds, Lenalee battles Mimi and Mei Ling fears her vision is about to become a reality. What follows is heartbreaking. Mimi shows her true form as an Akuma and in the dragon form it takes all of the exorcists’ combined efforts to take her down, yet even terribly wounded, she struggles to follow Lulu Bell who has left her behind. The group persists, crossing over Asia to find a Black Order member in the Asian branch to induct Mei Ling and also in hopes of finding Cross. Lulu Bell attacks with a legion of new Akuma given to her by the Earl. The battle is ferocious. A wounded Mimi joins in, eager to be useful onto her dying breath to her mistress. There is an interesting moment during Mimi’s sacrifice where one can see Lulu Bell’s face. She always acted opportunistic, even cold to Mimi, but in that moment she shows a split second of emotion, confirming that she was not so indifferent after all. It’s a moving scene. Mimi isn’t the only loss, one of the travelling heroes also suffers a loss and change of course in their lives as well. The remaining group arrives in China and meets Anita instead of Cross. His lover helps them and they learn Cross has gone to Japan, a place Allen has no desire to return to but also has no choice. With reports that Cross’ ship had been sunk and no survivors were found have the team disheartened, but not without hope. The second season ends at the beginning of a whole new journey and a new threat. Allen travels by ship with his fellow exorcists and Anita along with her servant Mahoja to Japan to find out if Cross survived the shipwreck. What they don’t know, aside from Cross’ fate, is that the Millennium Earl has sent out a swarm of his fiercest Akuma to attack them at sea. According to the commentary on episode 50 and on the grapevine there is no news yet that FUNimation will be producing the rest of the series. There is still more of the series to see, so fans of the show, if you want to see more of D. Gray Man pretty, pristine and with excellent dubbing as well as preserved original Japanese language and clear subtitles in English, buy up these box sets so that the rest will hopefully get picked up!
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include songs without text, trailers, and English cast commentary on episode 50 by Brina Palencia (ADR Director), John Liebrecht (Lavi/Millennium Earl), and Monica Rial (the evil pumpkin/Lulu Bell).
IN SUMMARY:
The second season sees the exorcists dealing with a new threat from a new member of the Noah Clan and a new adventure as they travel east to find General Cross. D. Gray Man is grand supernatural adventure! |
