D. Gray-Man, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Katsura Hoshino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Set in a fictional end of the 19th century England, the story revolves around a teenage boy named Allen Walker who is cursed with a cross mark on his hand that turns his arm into an enormous weapon, which he uses to hunt down and kill akumas. An akuma, generated by a 1,000-year-old phantom, is implanted into a human's soul during a moment of devastation and despair. The phantom uses the demons to then carry out his goal: destroy all humankind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hoshiro's fantastic vision of a Victorian England stalked by the evil Millennium Earl is a true original, although the action takes place more than a hundred years before the turn of the millennium. A wonderfully strange destroyer of worlds, the Earl wears a top hat and tails, and bears a passing resemblance to both the Joker and the leader of the Blue Meanies. His strategy is to overrun the earth with legions of akuma, demons created through blasphemous rage. Against these nightmare soldiers are ranged the forces of good, human wielders of something called "innocence," a substance that was washed away long ago when Noah was in his ark. Chief among the good guys is our hero, Allen Walker, who has a concentration of innocence in his left hand. In his quest to keep the world safe, Walker recruits friends to his cause and seeks out the Black Order, a mysterious band recommended by his unseen master; this gang of do-gooders is also committed to fighting the Millennium Earl. Although the story line is imaginative, what makes Hoshino's work outstanding is the art, a fabulous collection of images both elegant and macabre, that should have much appeal for the crowd that reads Hellsing and similar goth adventure manga. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421506246
• ISBN-13: 978-1421506241
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > Horror
  • #40 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > British > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars incredible suspense!, June 25, 2011

By 

J. LaBomascus "Wisconsin Otaku" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: D. Gray-Man, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

D. Gray-Man is one of the most suspenseful manga series out there right now. Set in an alternative Earth at the end of the 19th century. a 15 year old boy named Allen Walker helps the Black Order fight akuma, demons under the control of the Millennium Earl.

The Earl isn't your usual megalomanical madman - he doesn't want to rule the world - he wants to DESTROY it!

The Black Order fights the Earl and his evil minions, the Noah Clan, with the use of a mysterious substance called Innocence which gives the exorcists (aka "accomadators") special powers.

There are two different types of exorcists:

1) Equipment type: the Innocence is inside a apparently ordinary objects - swords, boots, guns, hammers; et al, which can change their shape to become specialized weapons.

2) Parasite type: the Innocence is INSIDE the body of the exorcist.

Allen Walker is a parasite type, his deformed left arm, the caue of his abandonment at a very young age, morphs into different weapons; evolving as Allen gains experience and new fighting skills.

Volume Two follows Allen on his very first mission to an abandoned Italian town. Here we mmet a fellow exorcist: Yu Kanda, a bad-tempered young man. He is an equipment type exorcist, who wields the sword "Mugen" (yes, the Innocence have names). As well as "Finders", those who locate Innocence for exorcists to retrieve. Allen also faces a deadly akuma who has evolved to a Level 3 and is much harder to destroy than the Level 1 akumas he dispatched in volume one.

But, it's not all blood 'n guts; there is time for some slapstick comedy as we learn about Allen's prodigous appetite; the talents of his golem companion, Timcanpy; and the over-protective love head Order scientist Komui Lee feels for his little sister, Lenalee.

About the manga: it came in perfect condition and as described by the seller. I highly recommend said vendor and will purchase other manga from him in the future.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A review of D. Gray-man, vol. 2, June 24, 2008

By 

Bonnie Svitavsky (Puyallup, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: D. Gray-Man, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

This volume was an awful lot of action with not a lot of plot. I found the fight scenes difficult to follow, simply because it was hard to identify who was doing what. The use of sound in the fight scenes was funny, but also added to the confusion. I really enjoyed the first volume and the amount of backstory it gave for Allen, but I feel like this volume decided it wasn't going to give anything away except for annoying little lines that seem really cliche ("I can't die until I find that person"... dun dun dunnnnn!). Yes, I get Kanda has a past that makes him a hardass, and yes, he has some sort of limited time to live. These lines weren't subtle.

Volume 1 reminded us that, even though these akuma are monsters, they're also victimized souls. This volume just showed them as giggling, creepy monsters. I think the only touching part of this storyline was between Lala and Guzol, and even that was a little overdone.

I'm hoping that volume 3 will pick up with the character development of volume 1.