this is one of my favorite series becus it's actually more realistic than almost any other anime/manga, it's not the typical shounen stereotype when the "good guys prevail" it's quite the opposite there are at a disadvantage and the bad guys are PWNing...it actually makes me think that the heroes just might lose but overall its great, at first it might be boring but the farthere u get into it u get used to it and it becomes even more better so if you read this, give D. Gray-Man a try .p.s great plot as well ^-6

D.gray-man was a good manga to begin with. It might take you a while to really get into the mood but it pays off in the end. The characters are well developed and it isn't just fighting, there is a actually story to it. The story is also very interesting and a bit deep but not too angst, albeit it has his moments of pure angst, but thankfully, those are rare. It does have alot of fighting, it is a shounen after all but the story does seep through sometimes and the characters aren't mass-production clones, except a few. But its also a bit depressing as the protagonist doesn't have a huge arsenal of atomic bomb at his disposal and if someone might say that this will end like every shounen does (big battle - hero wins - happy ever after) I will seriously doubt it because the protagonist has a seriously disadvantage and its also very realistic at the same time because good things dont always happen to good guys.

But D.gray-man has been on hiatus for about three or four times already and it took the mangaka about three or four months to come back last time. The art style has also drastically changed since the beginning. The beginning was a bit round but was generally good as you could see what was going on and who was saying what. The recent art style is extremely messy and you cant comprehend what the hell is going on. The drawings are overlapping and the screentones give you a headache. You need to reread everything at least three times before realising what is going on.

Its serialization started in april 2004, same month and year as Reborn! but reborn has spanned 25 vols, while D.gray-man only 18, caused by the mangaka going on hiatus. You can blame the mangaka for going on hiatus because you'd rather have a good and late manga than a lousy quick one but it's easier to outgrow a series that hasn't published regularly.

So I'd say that starting D.gray-man is you're own risk.
The story is interesting and fresh, the characters are also nice (and bishie, almost everyone) but its now serialized in jump square, so you'd have to wait a month for a manga that's hard to follow and fries your brain.
Read at your own risk

... Last updated on August 17th, 2009, 9:11pm

the beginning sucks.
i know. I endured the anime and began reading the manga after eps. 60 or 70, maybe?
Allen, the main protagonist is horrible in his own way. always nice, never thinks anything bad.....totally unrealistic & boring. But THIS changes. really, it's no joke.
He becomes a character that couldn't be more unique. And the others change, too. So give it a try.
There's a reason why D.Gray-man has such a good ranking!
The art also gets better, but it's always been very good - but now it has its own individual style. And I absolutely adore this art style! Story & plot were never anything to complain about, and even if I've got small difficulties predicting or understanding something, I won't complain about it.

But I still give 9/10 nevertheless because the beginning sucks, even though the rest makes up plenty for it.

... Last updated on July 7th, 2010, 5:37am

I LOVE D.Gray-Man because it has potential to be up there with Bleach and Naruto and One Piece.

Sure enoguh, the fight scenes are hard to understand but if the mangaka gets noting but critisism, she might end the series and turn her attention to something else.

I love all the charachters and the BEST part is, the setting is all over the world.

It kind of annoys me how most manga's are only set in Japan, like Japan is the center of everything and in this, all the Charachters have English/Chinese/Japanese names!

Its a really great manga/anime which gets better as the story progresses,

people, people, people - THIS is the successor to Bleach/Naruto/One Piece.
i began reading this with mixed thoughts. they are exorcists trying to kill metal balloons and a fat guy. that was what i came into reading it thinking. bad idea. i soon found out that the plot is both original and exciting with much room for speculation. the characters are well thought out and have unique personalities.
what sets this apart from other religious conspiracy/exorcist/government conspiracy mangas is that its almost like the exorcists are fighting against the ones who give them the power (at least according to speculation up to the current point)

this is an amazing read. the artwork gets much better as the series goes on so expect awesomeness

... Last updated on April 11th, 2010, 1:49pm

from all those reviews that said this manga is good, i just cant understand. well, for a start, it;s only standard opening. great character design, but as time passed by, you can just see the plot. especially Allen, he is just getting irritating every single chapter being the goody-goody guy. he pictured as a real epic story hero and it really tiocked me off. FMA is way much better.
talking about character growing and stuff, i think this one have none.
no offense, just a comment. readable, but not a great manga.

D Gray-man is a very good manga. While the basic structure and character types don't break any moulds, Hoshino-sensei (who is a woman, by the way) obviously has a wonderful imagination. As such, the series is full of original concepts and ideas. Also, Allen is one of the most endearing shounen leads around. Throw in lots of bishies, great stylistic details and fantastic artwork and it's easy to see why the series has attracted numerous fans of both sexes.

The problem I have with it is that I feel D Gray-man falls short of its (very high) potential. The main reason for this is because the action scenes are so badly executed. Basically, you have no idea what's going on. Perspectives change with no warning, action from panel to panel is hard to follow, the drawings themselves are sometimes indecipherable. It just goes to show that artistic skill doesn't always a great mangaka make. In the world of shounen manga, these have got to be some of the poorest action scenes I've ever seen, not because they're badly drawn, but because the panels just don't flow, they don't make sense.

Admittedly, I haven't read far into the series so I can only hope that this aspect is improved on. Also, it's a bit of a shame that some people are put off by the slow start. It does get better.

At this point, I am buying/reading this manga because: I like Allen and am interested in seeing where his story goes; the side-characters are pretty interesting too (except Lenalee who is just a pain in the backside); and I can't get enough of the styling/artwork. However, there are some areas which need serious improvement. Hoshino-sensei really needs to work on her battle scenes, and there needs to be a stronger plot direction than what I have seen so far.

Overall, I would recommend this series to hardened shounen fans who don't mind swallowing some shounen stereotypes to get to a good story. The feel of D Gray-man is kinda like FMA so it's probably not fast-paced or simple enough for younger readers. If you're aren't really into shounen, then I can't see D Gray-man holding much interest (unless the lure of bishies and pairing potential proves too much for BL fans to bear).

EDIT: another thing that bothers me is Viz's treatment of the series. Maybe it's just early printings, but I found a few typos in some of the volumes. Also, the naming of characters is sometimes inconsistent, eg. Reever is called 'Riba' in one of the author's notes, and Lavi is called 'Rabi' in another author's note. ALSO, I don't get why Viz kept the Japanese-ified 'Arystar Krory'. Surely, given that in the manga the characters are supposed to being speaking English, this should be something like 'Alistair Crawley'? .... beats me

... Last updated on May 24th, 2009, 10:46am

D.gray-man is one the best manga i read so far.Its one of the shounen that I'm reading and doesn't seem so predictable. You can't just compare this with Bleach or Naruto.You just can't. It's so on a league of its own. It has a genius story plot that keeps you wanting more. Not like other shounen for instance bleach (i like bleach and all but you can't deny)that it keeps on going on in circles with the same people and same events. The characters and story evolve. You see struggle and heart break but you also see characters that keep on going when all the outcomes say "we are so going to die" and still find away to keep sane so how win with their pride intact. D.gray-man is a moving story that has an edge of darkness and whole alot of cool superpowers.

In a lot of ways, D. Gray Man just follows the same old shounen formula that we all know so well. In fact, the fights and the sidekick characters can be downright tedious sometimes. I've caught myself skimming the endless secondary character battles more than once.

What sets D. Gray Man apart for me is the protagonist and his story. The more it develops, the more achingly sad it becomes. There are plenty of manga where the good guys are pretty much doomed from the start, but most of those manga just leave me feeling sick and apprehensive about what's going to happen to the characters. The mood for this one is more bittersweet and poignant. It's worth reading for the main character's low-key but heartbreaking past and (probably) doomed future.

In tone, D. Gray is more like a tragic fairytale or a children's fantasy novel.

... Last updated on April 28th, 2009, 4:54pm

Okay got to admit most of the beginning chapters aren't the most exciting, though if you stay loyal to it, you will find more then a typical Shounen manga...To everyone who says its boring, umm, maybe you didn't give it a chance? It is a Shounen manga after all, it will have a lot of side things thrown in. I think the author could of made her beginning chapters a bit more better though-If you go read to the last ones, and then look back at those you'll be confused at the difference in everything.