Filed under D.Gray-man, Gurren Lagann, Random Musings by Omni | 26 comments
I finally got caught up on the D.Gray-man manga last night after sitting down and reading seven volumes worth of material, all the way to the most recent chapter. Given how generally disappointed I’ve felt with the anime up until this point, I was curious to see what else the manga had to offer since I had previously stopped reading at a point right after the first Krory arc. Overall, I was incredibly impressed with how action-packed and fast-paced the manga was, and it turned out to be a lot darker and bloodier than I thought it’d be. Everything else I have to say about it I’m going to put in spoilers:
Show Spoiler ▼
The story is actually moving so quickly that I wonder if it’s not racing towards a conclusion. It certainly doesn’t look good for the Black Order right now since Froi Tiedoll said in chapter 89 that the generals, Hevlaska, and Allen’s group were the only Exorcists left. And with the exception of Allen, the core Exorcist group has been fighting virtually non-stop for the past 70 or so chapters, so I question how much longer this can go on. Kanda and Krory are already out of the picture (though I’m not entirely convinced they’re dead), and it would seem that Lavi might be next, which would leave just Allen and Lenalee. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to bring everyone back, but unless they do, I don’t see how the manga can go for too much longer (though the intervention of the generals might help, if or when that ever happens). Of course, I trust that the mangaka Hoshino Katsura will do a good job with where the story goes from here since I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve read so far.
I really would love to see a good animated adaptation of the manga, but I have my doubts if the current anime is ever going to get there, and even if it does, the question remains if there will be too much edited out in terms of violence or religious imagery. Anyway, I’m going to give the anime four or five more episodes to see if there are any signs they’ll be returning to the manga story, and if it doesn’t look promising, then there’s a good chance I’ll be dropping the show by the end of this season.
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In Gurren Lagann news, there was a GAINAX Gurren Lagann panel held at the Fanime convention in San Jose, California this past weekend featuring Yamaga Hiroyuki, one of the people responsible for planning the show and current president of GAINAX. You can read a full report here, but the interesting stuff included:
-Drills were chosen because boys like drills in Japan.
-Because of the negative reaction to episode four, they won’t be trying stylistic changes like that again.
-Episode six was edited because it was airing early in the morning in Japan. The DVD will have the full version, which might feature what they originally had in mind: Kamina peeking at the girls in the hot springs.
-The reason humans live underground will be explained in episode 16.
-They are currently up to recording episode 21.
-Yoko may or may not be 14 years old, but time underground may be measured differently.
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Also, the official site has updated with their romanizations for the new bad guys: Adiane, Cytomander, Guame, and Lordgenome. Given that last name and focus on genetics, maybe we should be calling him the Helix King instead of the Spiral King. The Japanese word rasen can be translated both ways.
Furuba at 7:03 pm on May 28th, 2007
Yay, you read d.gray man manga! lol i read all from ch.1 up to latest in like 2 days… XD was so good i kept going =x hehehe…. ive been looking forwards to
Show Spoiler ▼
for so long T___T hope they actually get up to it soon~ and do a good job of it =]~~
Veggies at 7:05 pm on May 28th, 2007
Not much to add, the Fanime panel was amusing, especially about the Yoko question. You covered the major bases about what was said though.
wonton at 7:14 pm on May 28th, 2007
i like that d.grayman pic
Za_Paper at 7:20 pm on May 28th, 2007
I have to agree that it’s really unfortunate how the anime of D.Gray-Man has been handled. The anime staff is so desperate to avoid long term fillers that they’re spreading out the fillers through the main storyline, but as a result they’re bogging and watering down the main storyline and driving away the fans of manga (the inconsistent censorship is also frustrating).
However, the regrettable way this anime is being handled has increased my appreciation of how other manga to anime adaptations of series that I’m watching are being handled, such as Claymore and Kekkaishi (although it looks like Kekkaishi’s first true filler episodes will start airing this week).
Avisch at 7:39 pm on May 28th, 2007
Thank you for the cool Gurren Lagann news.
moyism at 7:55 pm on May 28th, 2007
“Drills were chosen because boys like drills in Japan.”
Ha, Konata from Lucky Star was right on the money.
paiser at 8:07 pm on May 28th, 2007
very uver… but one bad thing they did…. they killed kamina…. wtf were they thinking?
Boomstick at 8:32 pm on May 28th, 2007
I think it was pretty obvious from the first episode or two that kamina was going to reach a quick demise. Simon (the protagonist) was using him as a crutch, and it had to stop for Simon to grow. And despite the fact that Kamina is a cool character, the show is about Simon.
Gil at 9:15 pm on May 28th, 2007
^
Haha, yeah wtf!
We’ll find out soon if Nia (soooo cute) is good enough to be Kamina’s replacement.
BROOKLYN otaku at 9:18 pm on May 28th, 2007
ya see!? d.gray manga=good, anime=ass cream.
young boys in japan think drills are cool,hmmmmm, interesting very very interesting
Tien Guan at 9:33 pm on May 28th, 2007
well if u guys go on and read the manga to i think chapte 115 or so if i can remember, the result is in th spoiler
Show Spoiler ▼
Anonymooo at 10:33 pm on May 28th, 2007
That was a friend of mine who asked the Yoko question (that we were all wondering). Too bad I couldn’t go to the panel. XP
Anonymous at 12:15 am on May 29th, 2007
You forgot to mention Gainax OK’d WATCHING THE SUBS FOR THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE COUNTRIES.
TehWavy at 1:50 am on May 29th, 2007
Those are NOT 14 year old boobies. >_>
tokidoki at 2:00 am on May 29th, 2007
Speaking of Fanime Con held at San Jose 2007, have you gone to the previous years? I remember going to it when it first initially started at the Foothill Community College and then two or three years later expanded to be held at the Santa Clara convention center. It’s been awhile since I last gone, probably six years or so. If so, what is your opinion on the progression of the convention made by fans for the fans?
forpy at 2:07 am on May 29th, 2007
Uracil and Thymine is absent? lol
Anonymooo at 4:01 am on May 29th, 2007
I only started when it was at the Santa Clara Convention Center, with its recent transition to the much bigger, much-more-annoying-to-get-around McEnery Convention Center. It’s a fun con to go to, and while I appreciate that they work their hardest and get great guests like Mr. Yamaga, it does make me feel a little sad when other cons get guests whose popularity BLOWS MINDS, like how AX got Seki Tomokazu last year, and is getting a Gackt-and-Miyavi-led superband this year. Anybody else feeling a little out in the cold, but still loving Fanime? XD
Taser at 5:46 am on May 29th, 2007
The original version of something are always better than its adaptation (like d.gray-man or GTO for example, both are way better in the manga version than the anime version)
Well… not always, but often usually.
BROOKLYN otaku at 2:47 pm on May 29th, 2007
true dat “TASER”!! i’m gonna sound like a fruitcup but another example of that would be that manga “A’s”.. great manga ,horseshit anime!….hmmm, i was gonnaname afewother comparisonsbut i think it’s really a mixed bag, there really shouldnt be a reason for for a bad conversion from manga to anime,just be true to the original,dats all! if they got time restraints, just pick out a interesting chunkfrom the storyline. but i imagine it ain’t that simple
Reinforce at 3:40 pm on May 29th, 2007
Btw, the img you put on the D. Gray-man part is really nice. And yes, they should stick to the manga storyline already instead of putting more fillers.