Manga Review: D.Gray-Man GN 24

D.Gray-man volume 24
Author: Katsura Hoshino
Viz Media
183 pages

Spoiler warning: Review contains spoilers for the D.Gray-man series so far. Read on with caution!

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!

In a way, it's almost a blessing that D.Gray-man was on hiatus and came back from break with a fresh face. In its renewed vigor, it's really been steamrolling through the plot, as thrilling and haunting as ever. In its latest volume, Allen Walker struggles with his runaway status, now accompanied by the scowling Kanda and the enthusiastic Johnny, all while figuring out how to contain the slowly awakening Fourteenth. But the Fourteenth won't be content on staying inactive for long...

Manga Review: D.Gray-Man GN 23

D.Gray-man volume 23
Author: Katsura Hoshino
Viz Media
200 pages

Major spoiler warning: Review contains spoilers for the D.Gray-man series so far. Read on with caution!

Allen has been revealed to be the embodiment of one of a special class of demons known as the Noah, but some of his friends don’t want to believe he’d really go over to their side. Finding Allen and getting him to clear up the matter, however, proves to be a difficult and extremely dangerous proposition! (Source: Viz.com)

When people say how much they love the D.Gray-man manga, it's because of volumes like this one. Not those volumes where it's a lot of confusing interpersonal relationship drama and the plot drags across the floor like a wet sack of cement, definitely not because of those. The 23rd volume of Hoshino's series is the kind of volume DGM fans wait for eagerly: there's a great deal of plot stuff, lots of favorite characters rear their heads, and there are at least a handful of twists in the story to keep things interesting.

Where has this D.Gray-Man been hiding all this time? Oh, right, behind the most recent story line between Alma and Kanda. Which was great, don't get me wrong, but now we've returned to the main and arguably most pressing issue: the issue of Allen Walker. And with that, DGM can return to chugging along and being its quirky and sometimes confusing but always entertaining self.

Manga Review: D.Gray-man GN 21

D.Gray-man volume 21

Author: Katsura Hoshino

Viz Media

200 pages

Major spoiler warning: Review contains spoilers for the D.Gray-man series so far. Read on with caution!

Allen has been dropped into a flashback of his surly colleague Yu Kanda's past, where a parade of disturbing secrets reveal themselves--including one that could at long last explain what makes Yu tick!

I honestly do not know what to make of this most recent volume of D.Gray-man except that holy shit, Kanda, even your issues have issues. Hot sexy skinny super-powered issues with a whole lot of ho yay and foe yay between the both of em. Err. Ahem. Aside from that, Katsura Hoshino manages to cram a whole lot of something into one single volume, which in the hands of any manga-ka would quickly become a hot mess of confusion and artistic frenzies. In Hoshino's hands, it only becomes a slightly better than most volume of confusion and artistic frenzies.

Let’s be honest. If you are still struggling to follow the wibbley wobbly plotty wotty line of this story, volume 21 is going to infuriate you. Unless you are like me, who has decided to keep calm and forget about following a dang thing over just following the pretty art and angsty characters.

Read the rest of the review after the jump!

PR: VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE

New Full-Color Art Book Features The Memorable Work Of Series Creator Katsura Hoshino And Includes A Double-Sided Poster, Artist Interviews And More!

KATSURA HOSHINO
D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS NOCHE
© 2010 by Katsura Hoshino/SHUEISHA Inc.

San Francisco, CA, November 29, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will delight manga (graphic novel) art fans with the release of D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE on December 6^th. The new art book arrives just in time for the holidays and will carry an MSRP of $21.99 U.S. / $25.99 CAN.

Enter the lavish fictional 19^th century world of D.GRAY-MAN in this new collection featuring nearly 100 pages of full-color character art, magazine covers, and other original compositions by series creator Katsura Hoshino. 

Also featured are insightful Q&A’s between Hoshino and two manga creators that inspire her: Takeshi Obata, the artist behind HIKARU NO GO, BAKUMAN｡, and the smash hit DEATH NOTE (all published in North America by VIZ Media); and Osamu Akimoto, whose manga series, Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, has been serialized in the best-selling boy's manga magazine in the world, Weekly Shonen Jump, for 35 years and remains the magazine’s longest-running manga series. D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE also includes an exclusive, double-sided full-color poster.

Set in a fictional version of 19^th century England, D.GRAY-MAN (published by VIZ Media’s SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED imprint; rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) 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.