About the Mangaka
Hoshino Katsura is a female manga-ka. Her works include her debut manga Continue, her current work D.Gray-man, its pilot Zone, and an unpublished Book-man. For a long time there was debate over her sex, and it wasn’t until her first public appearance in Germany that it was put to rest.
About the Manga
I put off reading this series ever since it was licensed, because of who licensed it. What a mistake I’ve made.
I’ve loved this series from when I first found it as a scanlation. This is a perfect example of where a series doesn’t necessarily have to have the best art to be an excellent series.
Hoshino’s art is very rough in the first few volumes, almost to the point of being seriously bad. Yet at the same time the characters are already pretty well developed. However in these two volumes it’s nothing special.
The art of volume one is the most inconsistent of the series, as it progresses Allen Walker goes through several different face lifts, which I’m guessing weren’t intentional. As a hunch,. and going from the story flow, Hoshino was trying to show differing emotions, unfortunately she doesn’t do it right and the end result is a total face change.
Thankfully she manages to get to grasps with this by volume two, and while it still happens occasionally it’s not to bad.
The art quality in volume two goes up in leaps and bounds. In truth its hard to see them as being done by the same person. Hoshino still has issues true, but she refined her skill and produces a better quality art form.
Where she excels though is in the story. D.Gray-man, when I first read it, was unique and fresh. Even today after reading hundreds of manga I still find it unique and exiting. Hoshino obviously had considered the story long before she put pen to paper and knew how it was going to start and flow.
The result of this is that we have a well developed set of character personalities right from the outset.
The characters we get introduced to in the first two volumes are some of my favorite, including the Millennium Earl. Even the support cast has been well developed and thought out, as such they really do support the other characters.
Volume one really focuses on setting up Allen’s history and personality, which is great since he’s one of the central characters. I loved learning of his back story, seeing how he became how he was, and how he decides to set out on the path he chooses.
Volume two focuses more on the Exorcist Order, and shows what they’re about. Though even here we’re given insights into the personalities of the characters. The most notable being Kanda and, of course, Allen.
Volume two also contains one of my favorite arcs, with Kanda and Allen partnered up. Considering their personalities it’s funny to see them mix. It’s basically oil, water and a stick of dynamite >.< Yet it’s also a sad volume, and the ending always gives me a lump in my throat.
As I said I put off reading this for so long because it was licensed by Viz, who are renowned for butchering their shonen titles. However this time I have to admit that I was reasonably impressed with it.
The translation wasn’t to bad, and while true there were some minor rewrites, these were mostly down to different interpretations of the Japanese original. For once we get no rewrites, which gets it a thumbs up from me!!
However they do fail for removing the color pages, which would have looked awesome in print format. Also they used that damned disgusting paper that feels like it’s covered in slime. I always feel like I have to wash my hands after reading them, which sucks.
That said they do still treat their readers like they’re three year olds, with loads of: “ <<READ THIS WAY ” on the top of the pages. Considering this is a Shonen Jump Advance title, I don’t see the need for them. Most people who read these titles are manga fans already, and considering they have a big page at the back telling people to read right to left, it kinda feels like I’m being insulted >.<
All of that aside, D.Gray-man easily goes on my Essential Read list. It’s a series that everyone should read and I have no qualms about recommending it.
Where to Buy
- Brits: Book Depository or Play.com
- Yanks: Amazon.com
- Canadians: Amazon.ca
January 17, 2009 @ 20:43.
Yes, I hate the ‘Read this way!’ too and I don’t think it helped me anyway when I first read manga.
Just out of curiosity, what examples of butchered translations are there in the SJ line? I’m curious because I am not adept at finding language problems and such. I really would like to know. I always thought Viz was a HQ publisher, but maybe not. However, I’m not likely to ignore a series over a slightly rough translation.
I have read discussion on the character ‘Lenalee’s name being spelled three different ways in volume 3 of Viz’s release of D. Gray-Man.