D.Gray-man
| D.Gray-man | |
| Genre | Comedy, Adventure, Horror, Shounen |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Katsura Hoshino |
| Published by |  Jump Comics  VIZ Media |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | (n/a) |
| Studio | TMS Entertainment |
D.Gray-man (ディー・グレイマン) is a manga serial by Katsura Hoshino. It is a Gothic-fiction manga first serialized in 2004 in Weekly Shonen Jump by Jump Comics. It is an ongoing series and is currently up to volume 9, with 85 chapters. There is also a novel series called Reverse that tells of the characters' backgrounds. As of May 2nd, Viz Media has released the first volume in the US. An animated version of the manga has been announced, and will begin airing in October of 2006.
The story
The plot revolves around Allen Walker, an exorcist, in the midst of an imaginary 19th century Europe. Allen is a member of the Dark Religious Organization, which contains exorcists, connected with Vatican. The mission of the Dark Religious Organization is to stop The Earl of Millennium, an evil demon-like entity intending to cleanse the world by destroying all the humans in it in the manner of Noah's great flood.
The exorcists themselves are special people gifted with compatibility with Innocence, divine substance created in the ages past to combat the Earl's minions, the Akumas. It is said that there are exactly 109 units of Innocence scattered around the world. Once an Innocence finds its compatible person, it will evolve to become a weapon to fight the Akumas.
As the story goes, Allen Walker is introduced with more Exorcist characters, among them are Yu Kanda, Lenalee Lee and Lavi. Also in the spotlight are Komui Lee, the church's science department supervisor and older brother of Lenalee Lee, Bookman, a mysterious colleague within the church, and Cross Marian, a general in the Organization and Allen's master.
More villains also appear along the way. There are higher level akumas, with greater power, skill and wit. Newly appearing as of this article is the Noah's family, humans gifted with great power allied with the Earl.
Main characters
Members of the Dark Religious Organization (Protagonists)
Allen Walker[1] (アレン・ウオーカー)
Allen Walker is the main character. An (approximately) 15 year old British exorcist, his left hand has gained the power of an anti-Akuma weapon. Cursed by his foster father, Mana, who Allen unwillingly turned into an Akuma, Allen is known to have a parasitic Akuma-weapon due to its origin. This curse, literally sliced into his left eye, allows him to see the chained human spirits of the Akuma. His left eye has received an upgrade after being stabbed by Road and recovering. It now shows not only Allen the Akuma, but the people around him also. His upgraded left eye also has the ability to detect any akuma within a 300km range. Allen comments on how his curse is similar to how an Akuma "levels up". Currently, his anti-Akuma weapon has undergone two transformations: in arm-form, he can attack using "Cross Grave" (or "Cross Glaive"--either could be correct), and the upgraded form which doubles as both a sword and a gun (sort of like a bayonett). The upgraded form fires lightsaber looking projectiles which are able to destroy Level 2 akuma. Recently, Allen has managed to regain control of his anti-Akuma weapon which was dispersed into particles by a member of the Noah family,Tyki Mikk, and it's name was revealed as Crowned Clown (神ノ道化).
Arystar Krory[1] (アレイスター・クロウリー)
A man with virtually two split personalities: his soft, kind, overly-emotional side, and his "battle-mode" side. You can easily tell when he switches from personality by his expressions. He is very kind looking at one point with his different colored hair down, but when fighting he eyes become evil looking, veins protrude from his face, making him look like a monster, and his different colored hair sticks up completely. He lived in a castle and was shunned by the surrounding villagers, who believed he was a vampire, because he attacked certain villagers. This is because his teeth were made of Innocence and he was instinctively attacking Akuma, but the villagers did not know that (and, before meeting Allen and co., neither did he). Later, he fell in love with Elaide, not knowing that she was an Akuma. Allen and Lavi (who enjoys teasing Krory in a fight by calling him "Crow-chan") later come and recruit him to be an exorcist. He is still getting used to the "outside world." Arystar's blood is deadly to Akumas.
Instead of using the name of the famous Aleister Crowley, Katsura Hoshino used a name that sounds exactly like it.
Bookman[1] (ブックマン)
One who records the hidden history. His real name is unknown so he is known only as
Bookman. Lavi accompanied him when first is introduced into the manga. He refers Allen as "The Destroyer of Time" as he believes that Allen is the only one who can defeat the Earl of Millennium. Bookman also mentions that a "Bookman" does not put himself in the frontline, he just happens to be on the same side as the Dark Religious Organization. His anti-akuma weapon is called Heaven Compass (天針). One of his moves is "North Crime!" which impales the target with thousands of needles. He uses this move on Eshi, the first Level 3 Akuma the exorcists encounter on the way to Edo (Japan.)
Cross Marian[1] (クロス・マリアン)
Allen's teacher, a scientist, and also one of the five Exorcist Generals. Currently, he has gone on a journey and has stopped corresponding with HQ for four years. Allen fears him, which is hinted from the fact most of his flashbacks that connect to his teacher end with some kind of traumatizing (usually humorous for readers) experience. It is revealed by Bookman that Cross has the unique ability to convert Akuma, making them to work under his orders.
Yu Kanda[1] (神田ユウ)
He is a great one of the exorcists, an 18 year-old Japanese boy. His weapon against Akuma is a sword, "Mugen" (六幻). "Mugen" means "six illusions". One of his attacks is "Saiyaku Shourai - Kaichū 'Ichigen'" (災厄招来! 界蟲「一幻」). In a translated scan, this means "First Illusion: Hell's Insects". "Ichi" means 1 in Japanese. As the sword is called "Mugen" (六幻) and "六" means six, it is speculated that there will be 5 more attacks. He can recover much faster due to a mysterious tattoo above his heart, and it is related to a flower sealed in a hourglass that was said when wilted, will kill Kanda with it. So far, it has lost two petals, but is otherwise still robust.
He was partners with Allen in Allen's first mission. He has beautiful black hair, washed by "soap". However, he has a rough tongue, foul mouth and a cold manner. His purpose in life is to find "that someone"; until then, he will never allow himself to die. He calls Allen "beansprout" (モヤシ) (as the word means 'hothouse child'), because compared to him, Allen is much more slender. He is currently protecting one of the five Exorcist Generals, Froi Tiedoll.
Komui Lee[1] (コムイ・リー)
The Head Officer of the Dark Religious Organization, and Lenalee's older brother. Chinese. 29 years old. He can always be found being busy, but often goofs off and does not do work. He loves coffee, inventing things that'll make his work easier (including a robot named Komrin who unfortunately inherited his love of coffee), and is all-around, a weird person. Allen is mostly scared of his repairing abilities. He is not an exorcist, and only does desk work. However, he'll do anything to avoid work. He has a sister-complex. He always wakes up when somebody says, "Lenalee's going to get married." According to the author, this character is patterned after his editor Yoshida.
Lenalee Lee[1] (リナリ・リー)
Literally Rinari Ri (Linali Lee in Viz's translations). Komui's younger sister, and assistant Head Officer. Chinese. 16 years old. She is an exorcist whose anti-Akuma weapon is a pair of boots, "Dark Boots" (黒い靴) That, when worn and invoked increases one's speed and strength greatly in the legs. Her boots allow her to tread on air as if it was solid (able of going at sonic speed) and run on water. One of her attacks is "Enbu: Kirikaze" (something to do with wind and the sound bells make) (円舞「霧風」). She has a strong sense of friendship, which sometimes causes her emotional pain (or causes her to fight with Allen). Bak (in the Dark Priest's China Headquarters)is in love with her.
Miranda Lotto[1] (ミランダ・ロットー)
(Miranda Lot in VIZ media's translations.) A woman whose clock caused time to rewind in her town, which all started when she was able to connect to the Innocence within the clock. German. 25 years old. She often feels inferior and useless, which causes her to be kicked out from all 100 jobs she tried to work in. This contributes to her chronic depression. With the help of Allen and Lenalee, she became determined to be a useful exorcist. Her weapon is a disk called Time Record (刻盤), located on her right arm. Its power is to setup a time zone where anything on it will recover and heal automatically. However, the power is only temporary, once Miranda stops her power, all damage suffered earlier will return, as well as those suffered during the time that she used her Innocence. It does not bring the dead back to life. She has replaced Allen during their search for General Cross.
Lavi[1] (ラビ)
An exorcist who aims to become a Bookman. 18 years old. His anti-Akuma weapon is a size-shifting hammer, which he calls "Ōdzuchi Kodzuchi" (大槌小槌) or called "Nyoibo" . It can grow (満) or extend (伸). His hammer can also summon several "judgements" with letters possibly representing the classical elements. Currently, he has shown the elements fire (火), sky (天） and wood (木). When he uses his moves, more of the letters can be seen in the background. From what can be seen, it is presumed that he can also perform moves with water (水), earth (地), etc. However, between each letter is a question mark. Whether this is for decoration purpose or to represent that Lavi has more unknown moves has not been revealed yet. Likes to call Bookman "Panda" due to the black circle around his eyes, a converted Akuma "Chomesuke", and Arystar "Kro-chan". Currently on a mission to find General Cross.
The Earl and His Followers (Antagonists)
The Earl of Millennium[1] (千年伯爵)
The antagonist who lures people with dead relatives and friends to produce Akumas. He plans to lead the world to its death. Currently, he has combined forces with the Noah family who call him "Duke Millennium". Hoshino says he based the Millinuem Earl off a legendary alchemist/preacher whose tale even claims he still may be alive somewhere. Interestingly, every bit of dialogue the Earl has contains a heart in it. He was referred by an 18th century man known as the "Time Traveling Alchemist"
The Noah family (ノアの一族)
The direct descendants of Noah and his sons. A family of superhumans who cooperate with the Earl. They have the power to destroy Innocence. One of their most distinctive traits is a series of crucifixes on their forheads. The Noah family is also unique in that they have two different forms, a civilian "white" form and a "black" form used when they act on behalf of the Earl.
Road Kamelot[1] (ロード・キャメロット)
One of Noah's descendant. Although a human, she's on the Earl's side and is the first Noah to be introduced. She has the ability to regenerate herself and stole the Earl's umbrella at one point. She's a playful child much of the time, but under the cheerful exterior is pure and sadistic evil. Road's cruel way of treating Allen while he was captured shows how evil she actually is, because she nailed Allen's arm to the wall and stabbing him in the left eye (which later helped upgrade it). Road aparently lives a normal life aswell, which is shown when she asks Tyki Mikk to help her with her homework.
Tyki Mikk[1] (ティキ・ミック)
Shortly after Allen meets Arystar, and recruits him into becoming an ally, he mets Tyki. The man lives a double life, his 'white side' a carefree and goofy man who travels with humans that love Poker, and a sadistic 'dark side' that has a lust for blood and takes up his role as Noah's descendant and therefore, one of the antagonists. Tyki and his group had suckered Arystar into a game of strip poker, winning literally all his assets, but Allen interferes and plays them. He wins (by cheating learned from Cross), and Tyki gives him a pack of playing cards before his group departs. The author gives the first hint that something is wrong when the group is revealed to have in their possession a chunk of silver with the name Kevin Yeegar on it - the name of an exorcist general that had recently been killed. In their next encounter, Allen meets Tyki's Noah side, and after a talk Tyki leaves him to die from a heart wound inflicted by Tease (a flesh-eating type of golem) and destroying his Innocence, spreading out the same cards he had given Allen over the boy's body.
Tyki is arguably the strongest antagonist that the series has seen yet (other than the Earl). He is capable of going through solid objects touching only what he wants to (for example, he can rip someone's heart out without making a flesh wound), and using a caniballistic golem called Tease (Given by the Earl of Millennium). He's been responsible for the death of one of the 5 Exorcist generals and has killed over 6 other exorcists himself, including Suman Dark[1] (who Allen had tried to save).
David (デビット) and Jasdero (ジャスデロ)
Twins of Noah's descendant, who've come to Japan and come in contact with Sir Tyki Mikk, assigned to kill General Cross but failed three times to murder him, they're on their way to meet the Millienium Earl along with other Noah descendants. Both are a bit obsessed with their pistols and aim them at almost anything.
Skin Boric (スキン・ボリック)
Another descendant in Japan who's assigned to kill Froi Tiedoll (the General being escorted by Kanda and Marie) who has also come to Japan. He is accidentally run over by David and Jasdero's carriage. Skin was first shown in the manga during Chapter 18 where he showed disgust at The Earl's dinner, saying he preferred sweets over a hard-boiled egg. He got so angry over dinner that he destroyed the Akuma who prepared the meal with his bare hands and then began to grow large spikes from his arm and back where his skin had peeled off. Because of this, Tyki always calls him "Sweet Tooth" instead of his real name.
Other/minor characters
Froi Tiedoll[1] (フロワ・ティエドール)
One of the 5 Generals, along with Cross Marian, Kevin Yeegar, Winters Sokaro and Cloud Nine. He seems to be a very normal man behind his glasses, with artistic talents and a sensible side. Very loyal to his work, he refuses the order to go back to Dark Religious Organization main base. His team is now following him in his duties and is composed of Yu Kanda, Noise Marie[1] and Deesha Barry[1] (killed by Tyki Mikk). They are in Japan right now.
Winters Sokaro (ウィンターズ・ソカロ)
One of the Exorcist Generals, his whole team (Kazaana Reed, Chaka Labon and Suman Dark) was killed by Tyki at approximately the same time, with the exception of Suman, who was turned into a Togaōchi and killed later by tease. He is a harsh man who wears a metal mask on his head. He is rude and, when talking about his deceased team, refers to them as "a bunch of loser dogs". Nothing more is known about him.
Cloud Nine (クラウド・ナイン)
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Another of the Generals, her team (Tina Spark, Gwen Frere and Sol Garen) was also killed by Tyki. She seems to be a gentle woman, holding a great affection upon her deceased team. One half of her face is covered by hair, the other side have burning scars. Little is known about her and the little monkey that rides her shoulder.
Kevin Yeegar[1] (ケビン・イエーガー)
The oldest of the five Generals. He was also the first General targeted by the Noah and defeated and hunged into a cross barely alive by Tyki Mikk, who also stole his Innocence. Insane after the fight and rambling on about "The Heart" (the Heart of all Innocence) and how the Earl was searching for it, he died not much after due the injuries.
Hevlaska[1] (ヘブラスカ)
Hevlaska, also called Guardian of the Innocence, is an Exorcist who has a major role in Dark Religious Organization, being a part of the Organization since its very beginning. Hevlaska, gender unknown, has its body completely enveloped by its Innocence that seems to be indefinitely active. Its abilities consists in merging some tentacles of its body into other Exorcists' bodies and Innocences. This way, it can know their nature - even if an Innocence is the Heart -, abilities, synchronization percentage and hidden potential. Its personality is calm and gentle, almost maternal (which can suggest Hevlaska is actually a woman). It is known as Hebraska in VIZ media's translations. Allusions are made that the innocence it carries is actually the cube.
Anita (アニタ)
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Acting as a manager of a brothel in China, this beautiful woman is, in fact, a supporter of the Dark Religious Organization. She is as direct and strong woman, yet the sensible type, and have an immense crew that obeys her. In love with Cross Marian, just like her deceased mother, she decides to go with Allen and the others to search for him in Japan. Unfortunately, she was fatally wounded when the Akuma attacked her ship. Even knowing this, she acted normal until the last moment to keep Lenalee's calm. She eventually died when Miranda left the ship and the effects of Time Record ceased. She's not an Exorcist, but she can cast spells using some talisman.
Mahoja (マホジャ)
A woman with a very strong body (Lavi thought she was a man), she is a supporter of the Organization and the right arm/best friend of Anita. Her personality is as strong as her muscles (strong enough to fight a level 2 Akuma). Just like Anita, she was killed by an Akuma on the ship going to Japan, but just died when Miranda left the place. All the time she acted normally and continued to command the crew and support Anita until die on her side.
Jean (ジャン)
A young boy (John in Viz's translations) Allen met on his way to HQ. Jean and his best friend, Leo (レオ）both started the Akuma Patrol. After an encounter where he found out Leo was turned into an Akuma, Jean decided to go to his father's scientific workplace at the Vatican to gain more power in defeating the Earl.
Jeryy[1] (ジェリー)
The Head Cook of the Organization. From India. Age is unknown. Although male, he is very motherly. When first introduced they put a male symbol next to his name to make sure readers knew that he was actually a man.
Mana Walker (マナ・ウオーカー)
Mana Walker is Allen's foster father. Allen was originally tossed away by his blood mother and father because his left hand was deformed, but Mana took Allen in. After time, Allen had formed a very strong bond with Mana. Later, Mana died. For Allen, Mana was like his father, thus, he mourned for him. The Earl of Millennium came to Allen as Mana died and offered to bring him back to life. Of course, as Allen had loved him, he accepted. Mana was then turned into and akuma but was destroyed by Allen's deformed, left hand after Mana had cut Allen's left eye with his mechanical arm.
Reever Wenhamm[1] (リーバー・ウエンハム)
(Or Riba Winham) Squad Leader of the Science squad of the Dark Religion Organization. Australian. 26 years old. He works under Komui. He is a very comical character, being the main helper of Komui, and showing how distressed he is working under such a weird man. He is a charecter in Jump Superstars
Timcanpy[1] (テイムキャンピー)
General Cross's golem; he (or she) can record video and track enemies. He is Allen's traveling companion. He seems to change in size in different points of the story, and is speculated that his size corresponds to how close he is to his former master, Cross. Katsura Hoshino named him after the brand "Timcampi".
Terms
Akuma (アクマ)
Akuma are created through the mixture of machine, soul, and tragedy. When a loved one has died and the ones still living mourn for them, the Earl of Millennium appears at their side. This being asks for their cooperation to bring back the soul of their loved one and place it in a special mechanical body (魔導式ボディ) the Earl had created. It's only once this is done that the mourners realize their terrible mistake. The Akuma are really soldiers in a war for Innocence against the exorcists. They hide in the human world by taking over a human's body, and are under total control of the Earl of Millennium. Only Allen Walker can distinguish between who is Akuma and human, by seeing the human souls hidden within with his left eye.
There are several levels of Akuma. Level 1 consists of a ball shape.The bullets of Level 1 Akumas are deadly to the human flesh, leaving black star marks, cracking and dissolving the human's flesh. Only those with innocence can heal the virus from these bullets. After murdering a large amount of people, it can evolve to Level 2, where it has a unique ability and a sense of self. The level 2 akuma that faced Allen and Kanda resembled a demonic Jester, so it's possible that all level 2 akuma turn to a humanoid form. The souls of a level 2 akuma seem to become more deteriorated. According to Cross' modded Akuma, there are plenty of Akumas above Level 3 in Japan.
The Dark Religious Organization cremates the bodies of the dead in their ranks to protect against an Exorcist becoming an Akuma.
Dark Religious Organization (黒の教団)
The headquarters of the exorcists.
Exorcists (エクソシスト)
The users of Innocence, and members of the Dark Religious Organization, they fight the Earl and his minions, and the Akuma, to stop him from bringing death to the world. There are currently only 19 exorcists throughout the world (not including Arystar Krory), 6 of them murdered by Tyki.
Innocence (イノセンス)
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A strange material left by an ancient civilization which can form into weapons exorcists use to stop the Earl. The Earl's plan is to prevent the revival of the Innocence by searching for its strong "heart" - once he has destroyed it, the rest of the Innocence will be destroyed. There are approximately 109 units of Innocence scattered throughout the world. So there are 109 exorcists in the world, but only 19 of them have been found.
Official Romanization of the Characters' Names
Different from most mangas, D.Gray-man had the correct romanization of the characters' names revealed. It happened on the 6th volume and showed the correct names of: Yu Kanda, Lenalee Lee, Lavi, Allen Walker, Komui Lee, Reever Wenhamm, Bookman, Miranda Lotto, Arystar Krory, Noise Marie, Cross Marian, Froi Tiedoll, Hevlaska, Suman Dark, Deesha Barry, Kevin Yeegar, Jeryy, The earl of millennium, Lero, Road Kamelot, Tyki Mikk and Timcanpy.
References
External links
- Weekly Jump Official Website - Note: The D. Gray-man page there is still under construction.
- Jump Shop - Sells merchandise of mangas serialized in Weekly Jump, including D. Gray-man.
- D.Gray-man: Exorcists Order - Contains translations and useful information.
- Cross Grave - A fanlisting for D. Gray-man.