Katsura Hoshino

D.Gray-Man.

Set in a fictional 19th century England, it is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as Akuma.

Kirsten Simkiss

Wrapping up the vampire arc, they continue on their journey to find Cross. Meanwhile, exorcists and field agents are dying in a record number after a Noah is given a list of people to eliminate. It's a good story line book, but it's not as much fun as others could be.

This volume feels a little more rushed than the last two, like there's too much stuffed into one volume. However, you get to meet Miranda, a future exorcist, and you get to see more of Lenalee (Rinalee in the translation for the comics) and meet Lavi (Rabi) and the Bookman in this volume. It's a good story, though, as I said, it does feel a bit rushed. However, it does introduce you to the Noah family, a main adversary for the main characters.

D.Gray-man.

Kanda seems like such a grump, but man do I love that character's design. In this volume, the relationship between Allen and Kanda starts to grow a bit, though it gets off to a rocky start. (Realistically, I'm not sure Kanda gets off to a good start with anyone.) You also get to see the first specialized Akuma in the series.

Allen starts to question the Black Ministry about the "Clan of Noah" and the reason he became an Exorcist. With his left eye injured and incapable of detecting akuma, he has come to understand the constant fear of not knowing whether the person he is talking to is truly human! Despite his confusion, Allen is sent on a mission to seek out his master, Cross, one of the Marshals of the Black Ministry, and find out why the akuma have suddenly started targeting leaders of the Ministry.

D. Gray-Man

In this volume, you get to know Lavi more, as well as opening the vampire story arc. It's a decent volume. They seem to take their time more with introducing exorcists that are new to the concept of being an exorcist. The ones they seem to find seem a little more emotionally unstable, but they make for a good story arc.

The battle on the sea continues, with the swarm of evolved akuma pressing hard on the Exorcists. Lenalee tries to tackle one akuma on her own, but realizes she can prevail only by unleashing the full force of her Innocence. Back on the ship Lavi prepares to call on a special attribute of his own Innocence. Will any of this be enough? Can the Exorcists hold on, or will they need help that may or may not come?

A sad ending, but a good story arc. It's sad to see so many side characters fall to the Akuma, but it was definitely in the back of my mind that all the humans had to have been affected by the Akuma with that level of exposure. Linalee's innocence evolving to protect her as it did has yet to be explained, though the Bookman seems to think it might be significant since it's never been done before. Is Linalee the heart? Is Allen? Who could be the heart?

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 team collectively moves toward Edo, where they meet with Allen's attacker Tiki Mikk in their hunt for General Cross. Meanwhile, Allen Walker is finally able to remaster his innocence as it takes a new form, the Crowned Clown. It's a good volume, though I wish they'd slow down a little. It feels like a lot of story is crammed in between long fights.

• D. Gray-man Volumes 1-7 have sold through over 85k units in the U.S. to date (BookScan). • Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan (ongoing). • Each volume released reached Japan’s top ten in manga sales. • Novels based on the manga released in Japan. • Released quarterly. Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the Earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma. Hopelessly outnumbered by the Millennium Earl's forces, Lenalee, Lavi, and the rest of the survivors aboard Anita's ship face almost certain annihilation. Then, as if determined to make sure of it, the Noah enter the fray! But the harried agents of the Black Order refuse to throw in the towel, knowing this may be the last stand of the Exorcists. If any hope remains, it could reside with Allen Walker...but no one knows if they'll ever see him again!

In this volume, it's mostly spent watching Kanda fight Skin Bolic, which is kind of an underwhelming fight to be honest. However, I really love Kanda's art style so I was happy reading it anyway. The team is essentially trying to escape from the arc, but to do that they have to fight their way past the Noah family.

Allen has disappeared. Lavi and Lenalee rush to find him, only to wind up confronting a horde of akuma pursuing Allen's golem Timcanpy. After dealing with this they are ordered to continue their mission without Allen, his place to be taken by a new Exorcist--Miranda Lotto. Allen, meanwhile, wakes up inside the Asian Branch of the Black Ministry to the sobering reality that he has lost his Innocence!

Allen Walker's situation becomes clear in this volume as he is taken in by the Asian branch of the church. It turns out his anti-Akuma weapon isn't quite as destroyed as first thought - it's been dispersed into a mist. Meanwhile, the other exorcists are battling it out with the strongest Akuma they've ever seen.

Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the Earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma. 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? Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the Earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.

In this volume, the team faces Jasdero and Debito who use materialization magic to bring their combined thoughts to life. Through a series of stalling tactics, Crowley stays behind to deal with Jasdebi and, ultimately, seems to have failed. Allen seems pretty sure that everyone can get out okay, but I suppose we'll have to see. A good story arc, but as usual they're spending way more time on fighting than on important story details.

R to L (Japanese Style) Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after the Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma. The Voice of Darkness 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?

Just as this start to really look bleak, General Cross appears to save the day - at least for the clean people which Allen and Lavi don't qualify as. And, of course, the Millenium Earl shows up just to be a jerk. We'll see how this all goes in the next one. It seems a pity that Chaoji might be dead right as he starts to be revealed as being capable of being an exorcist.

R to L (Japanese Style) Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after the Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma. Fight to the DebtKrory, trapped with seemingly no hope of escape, receives a visitation from the last person he thought he would ever see again. As for his comrades, they continue their struggle through the Ark until they meet up with Tyki Mikk, who wishes a palaver with Allen Walker before there is any further fighting. Allen reluctantly agrees, unaware that Lavi is feverishly mulling over mounting evidence that Innocence is far more, and far stranger, than anyone had previously imagined!

Allen reveals himself to be the true heir to the power that can defeat the evil. Everyone in the series is shocked, every reader is not. A good volume, but again they spend a lot of time in the fight. I really wish they spent more time developing characters emotionally instead of just leveling up their innocence powers.

R to L (Japanese Style). Song of the ArkCross Marian is about to finish off Tyki Mikk when the Millennium Earl barges in, spreading chaos and destruction in every direction! The Earl's plan to build a new Ark using data downloads from the old one seems unstoppable, until Allen encounters a strange apparition that tells him to play the piano. Allen would be more than happy to oblige, but there's one slight problem--he never learned how!

Song of the Ark

D. Gray-Man, Vol. 14

Finally! A good, solid volume that's mostly plot and not so much constant battling! I look forward to this inquisitor from the Pope getting what's coming to him. He's very obviously bad news. We're also learning a lot about how the innocence is changing on it's own in the various exorcists. Definitely a good volume for driving the plot forward. We also finally get to see a lot of the minor characters interacting with one another to explore and learn about the ark.

Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. R to L (Japanese Style). "Black Star, Red Star" 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! Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after the Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.

Aaaaand so begins another full volume of nothing but fighting and will they-won't they scenarios when it comes to the innocence. Man, this series would be so much more fun if they just slowed down longer between fights.

Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. R to L (Japanese Style). Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Lenalee is determined to confront a Level Four Akuma that's out to kill Komui, but her only chance is to reclaim her Innocence and synchronize with it. The Level Four is not inclined to wait around and pursues its mission even against the best efforts of Lavi and Kanda. It's left to Allen to hold the line, but it soon becomes obvious he has no hope of doing it all by himself!

This one is definitely an improvement for me over the last book. Things are finally starting to recover and things are trying to get back to normal - though normal is never quite normal enough, considering Komui's weird experiments. This is definitely a cute volume.

R to L (Japanese Style). Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Parting Ways An experimental virus is turning members of the Black Order into zombies! Even Count Krory is infected, driving him to attack Allen and Lavi. It's up to Komui, creator of the virus, to deal with this disaster, but though he knows how to stop it he literally doesn't know where to start. Can he figure it out while also contending with a vengeful spirit eager to see the virus complete its rampage?

Parting Ways

D. Gray-Man, Vol. 17

Ahhhh, I love battle-less volumes. The do so much more with the characters in terms of personal growth that I just love. Sad times await though. What could have happened to Cross? The world may never know.

Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Reads R to L (Japanese Style). Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Parting Way: It's been three months since Allen Walker's mentor, Cross Marian, pulled his latest disappearing act. Allen and fellow exorcist Kanda now learn of an odd new threat known only as G. G plans to steal a valuable crown from the Louvre, so Allen and Kanda join the local constabulary in trying to prevent the theft. This leads to a surprise discovery that could have no small significance for the future of the Black Order!

D.Gray-man

As things settle out to normal, the exorcists get back into the swing of things with a new case: the mysterious thief G. In so doing, they realize that the thief is in fact an orphan named Timothy who has a mysterious jewel stuck in his forehead. However, the akuma also know about him and send in more reinforcements, meaning more fighting.

Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for T+ audiences. Born of Love and Hate: Following a brutal battle with a Level 4 akuma, Allen seems to be undergoing an odd and disturbing change. Meanwhile, a new breed of Exorcist is introduced at Black Order headquarters and, at Asia Branch, Kanda learns some disturbing things about his own status in the Black Order's Exorcist operations. Needless to say, Allen and his friends are ill prepared to deal with the simultaneous appearance of the servants of the Millennium Earl all over the world!

D. Gray-man

Things seem to be ramping up in terms of what the Noah clan is willing to do to win the war. But what are they planning? I'm sure we'll find out in the next volume!

Cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Reads R to L (Japanese Style) T+ audience. Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.

God, I just love the interpersonal stuff. I love how they handle the stuff that the clergy of the church are trying to win the war, even when it defies everything moral. It's such an interesting take on the church and what they'd be willing to do in a modern holy war with actual demons.

Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma. Allen, now joined by two companions, is still on the run and trying to deal with his demonic alter ego, the Fourteenth. This means avoiding erstwhile allies as well as overt enemies. He also has to prevent one of his companions, fellow Exorcist Kanda, from trying to destroy the Fourteenth while keeping the Fourteenth from destroying his other companion, Johnny, whose zealous devotion to Allen is gratifying but not much help in a fight!

More of the same, although the earl has finally shown up. Maybe the Apocrypha will be dealt with due to him being there. Somehow, I'm doubting it.

You finally get to meet Tiki Mikk in this volume, one of my favorite villains in the series. I love his art style. It also introduces you to how an exorcist can fall through being a traitor to his or her own kind. Allen is also left crippled by Tiki Mikk at the end of the volume, leading one to believe that he's lost his innocence - which we all know isn't likely considering he's the main character.

I remember watching this years ago and just loving it. Even now, probably more than a decade since that time, I'm still finding reading it enjoyable. The characters are interesting and diverse in terms of personality and the world building is definitely handled well in this first volume. The art's pretty, but as I recall it only improves over time as the mangaka gets more used to drawing the characters.

Nat Welch

I found this book way better than the anime, but that's just me.

Signe

A cursed teenage boy saves mankind one soul at a time. Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma. Tyki Mikk and others appear before Nea as he confronts Link! At the sight of Tyki trying to leave with the Millennium Earl, Nea speaks deeply meaningful words… Meanwhile, Johnny’s cries call Allen back to consciousness, only for Kanda and Tiedoll to take him prisoner!

D.Gray-Man.

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