Print Review: D Gray Man volumes 1-3

Review D Gray Man volumes 1-3 Written by Warpshadow Rating good

One thing about Shonen adventure stories that makes me not so interested in them is not so some much their individual quality or lack of it so much as the belief that you only need a couple of them that seem to last forever.

In a fictional world at the end of the 19th century there is a secret war being waged. On one side is the Millenium Earl and his army of Akuma who threaten do destroy the world. On the other is the black order of Exorcists who wield weapons powered by innocence. Allen Walker is a young man with a cursed past and a arm which wield the innocence that the Akuma most fear. The story begins after he is released from apprenticeship and began making his way to the exorcist headquarters in London.

D Gray Man is at first glance a fairly generic shonen adventure show that promises a great deal of fighting with the occasional plot which generally consists of whatever leads up to said fights. In truth this manga isn’t too far from that genre mold. While it is true that the there is something of a plot going on as of the end of volume three it is pretty much a mission based story with events that for the most part resolve themselves in their respective story arcs. To mention a good point the artwork encapsulates a deliberately campy Victorian horror making it’s artwork interesting and non-generic. Overall I found this manga simply average, there was nothing that I can really fault it for; on the other hand there is little that distinguishes it beyond it’s peers.