Akaihane

I can’t really put my finger firmly on the reason I have grown to love D.Gray-Man so much. It is pretty much standard shounen fair, with a few clichés and such, but I can’t help but run to throw it on every time I have a new episode downloaded.

I think the first aspect that made me pick up the series was the promo image on the official TV Tokyo website. I’ve always adored classic European Gothic design and have a thing for Victorian fashion, so the allure of that image and the glossy shading made me instantly put the series on the list of those I wanted to check out, even though I had no prior knowledge of the manga.

The first episode entertained me no end. Not only did we have the Gothic styling, it was enhanced by a mirage of patterns, stripes and stars, which brought old-fashioned carnivals straight to mind, and the disturbing, if quirky, atmosphere that provokes. There is a refreshing uniqueness in the visual style, and this easily pulls the series above other shounen series of its ilk.

But the style is not only gorgeous, it also fits perfectly with the dark storyline, one that speaks of human frailty when we lose someone precious to us, and what we would do to have them back. However, the warning here is that this wish can lead to our doom and bring evil into the world.

Undoubtedly the first part of the series has been my favourite so far, the poignant City of Mater arch in particular as we really are given a good glimpse into Allen’s sensitivity and desire to be an Exorcist who can save life; when he cries for Lala, I felt myself tear up. But despite this, and the fact there has been a reliance on more typical shounen elements throughout, such as long-duration battles and levelling up, it still is a great and enthralling series. Even the filler episodes so far have kept a good standard and provided many fun comedic interludes, specifically the instances with Komui’s manic creations.

Another reason for my new-found adoration is the main character, Allen Walker; I do tend to have a thing for seemingly innocent-looking, altruistic boys who have the ability to beat almost anyone into seven shades of purple without so much as breaking a sweat (another personal favourite of this type is Sumeragi Subaru, particularly in his Tokyo Babylon/Tsubasa form). The teenager is not only caring, even to some of those he is pitted against, but he has a fierce strength and stubborn attitude. As the episodes have gone on, we keep seeing glimpses into other aspects of his persona that explain his motives, such as the time he has spent with General Cross, the impact the death his foster father, Mana, had upon him and his fall from grace in trying to raise him back to life. There appears to be a great scope to the character which the anime is only now truly getting to flesh out.

I am quite honestly in love with his voice, and it has almost made swoon on occasion. Sanae Kobayashi is a prolific voice actor, but I only personally know her for one other role, Akira in Mai-HiME/Otome, which I still admire her for; with Allen she is not only able to readily tap into the emotional depths of the character, but can pull off the inane comedy as well as the firmness and outbursts of anger the role calls for. I really couldn’t picture him with a different voice now, and doubt anyone could do a better job than Kobayashi.

On the note of voice acting, there hasn’t been anything yet that I’ve felt didn’t work or was uneven, and all of the talent are a boost to the animé. For instance, the Earl, with his soft, aged voice, almost sounds like a caring grandfather, which certainly puts him at odds with his position as the main villain, and therefore gives more credibility as to how he is able to fool his victims into raising the dead.

Compared to the other animé I picked up during the Autumn season last year (Code Geass, Death Note, The Wallflower and a few others) the first OP and EDs for D.Gray-Man were definitely my favourites themes. I’ve never really listened to more than a handful of T.M. Revolution’s tracks, and nothing from his new band, abingdon boys school, but ‘Innocent Sorrow’ really did help breed excitement for the show when I first tuned in, and even now, I still listen to the intro in full each time, though the superb direction of the opening animation helps towards that as well. (A new OP, as well as a third ED, is due to start some time in April, this time with JPop artist Nami Tamaki at the helm.)

I actually preferred the first ED, Snow Kiss by NIRGILIS, though, and was actually really disappointed when they changed it for Pride of Tomorrow by JUNE as I still haven’t been able to get into this song, and have been skipping to the preview since it was first used. Whereas the OP uses normal animation to introduce the characters, the EDs use panning shots over high-quality, still illustrations, and each of these are pieces of art in themselves.

There are many questions as to the past of the characters, primarily Allen, as well as that of the organisations, that I’m still playing about with in my head, and the glimpses we’ve already been allowed are easily keeping me interested in this show. I’m looking forward to starting the manga when I have the time to start a new series; not only as I love the story and style, but would like to see the violence in its full glory, as, with the animé being a in prime-time slot, I’ve heard it has been censored quite a bit. Plus, I think I need a new shounen manga title, especially with Viz’s release of Death Note ending in the near future.

(Screenshots from episodes 22 and 23)