Customer Reviews

D.Gray-Man, Vol. 3

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Katsura Hoshino, <strong>D. Gray-Man vol. 3: The Rewinding City</strong> (ViZ, 2004)

With volume 3, I think I finally start to see where Hoshino is going with this series, and the characters are starting to get interesting (and distinguishable). Still not one of my favorites, but things are better enough to keep me going, anyway. Allen and Lelalee are sent to a city where an innocence is suspected to be, and when they get there, they discover that the city keeps playing the same day over and over again, with only one citizen cognizant of what's going on. Coincidence? You know better than that, and so do the exorcists... ***

Allen Walker, an exorcist sworn to destroy evil spirits called akuma, is once again sent out to collect "innocence," a weapon against akuma. This time he and fellow exorcist Lenalee are dispatched to a rewinding city, where it's been October 9th for more than a month. Only one woman in the city, a klutz named Miranda Lotto, is aware that the day keeps repeating itself. But there are also akuma wandering the city, and a mysterious girl who claims to be part of an organization called The Clan of Noah.

So I wasn't too happy with the last volume of D. Gray-Man. The third volume was an improvement, though there's still a lot of silliness in the first chapter. Once the story actually settles down and gets started (boo giant robots going crazy!), you begin to feel comfortable with the characters and the artwork. There are less of the constant jumps between fighting and dialog, unlike volume 2. The characters also develop more, particularly Miranda, who moves from being a side character to someone we'll see further in the storyline (I hope!). Road Kamelot, a member of the Clan of Noah, was something of an eye-sore to me - she looks a lot like Sora from Kingdom Hearts, in his Nightmare before Christmas attire, but with a mini-skirt and black-and-white socks. The umbrella and some of the weapons/doors that Road uses look like they were taken straight out of Kingdom Hearts, so that bugged me.

Overall, I think the storyline progressed more and the artwork really improved - though I still don't think it's as good as the very first volume. Miranda was the character in this book that really kept my attention, and I hope to see here again. Onward to the next volume, I suppose!

There's no rest for the wicked... and by extension, there's no rest for the good guys who are trying to destroy them.

And with Allen Walker's first official mission in the bag, "D. Gray-man's" third volume glides along smoothly through a suspenseful, gothic adventure liberally peppered with comedy. And Hoshino Katsura also introduces some very interesting new Innocence, as well as a potentially vital new exorcist.

Allen returns to find the Black Order in chaos -- apparently Komui made a science robot. But after exposure to coffee, the robot goes berserk and tries to give Lenalee "a muscular physique." As Allen frantically tries to stop it, he gets a glimpse of Lenalee's Innocence -- the Dark Boots.

Then Allen and Lenalee are sent to a town that mysteriously keeps replaying the same day over and over. The only person immune to it is Miranda Lotto, a perpetually hysterical woman who is well-known for her rotten luck and lack of skills. She also may be the reason that time is going all wonky -- apparently she has a strange clock that winds for no one but her.

Unfortunately, Allen and Lenalee aren't the only ones who are determined to get the Innocence that is messing with Miranda's town. A strange young girl and a swarm of akuma have invaded -- they're determined to find the Innocence and kill the young exorcists who are opposing them. But the girl's identity turns out to be the biggest shock...

In its third volume, Hoshino Katsura is still unfolding the bad guys and main storyline of "D. Gray-man." But that doesn't mean that the story itself feels incomplete -- in fact, the story of Miranda and the "rewinding" town is more fleshed-out and smooth than the previous story, albeit somewhat less suspenseful at times (the akuma playing rock-paper-scissors?).

The first chapter is pure goofiness -- everyone runs around crazily from Komlin. Fortunately then Katsura settles down with the main storyline, which is a pretty straightforward locate-the-Innocence-and-kill-any-pursuing-akuma story. The more challenging part is the involvement of Miranda, and the bittersweet exploration of how a person who has always been considered useless must feel.

Along the way, Katsura peppers the story with lots of blood, Halloweeny gothic flair, freaky akuma attacks, and impaled body parts, as well as a new round of villains to keep things interesting. But she still manages some comedic moments, such as Allen waking to find a drill-wielding Komui over his bed.

Evidently Katsura is a big Eowyn fangirl, given the name of the newest character -- a bug-eyed, nerve-wracked young woman who feels that she's never accomplished anything. It's kind of a relief when she does figure out something she's good at. And at the same time we get more insights into Lenalee's unhappy past, and the reason her brother works for the Order.

The third volume of "D. Gray-man" ramps up the action and devilish conspiracies, and this solid story only promises to get even better. Definitely a good read.