D.Gray-man Rewatch Final Discussion

**F.Irst-Timer, subbed**

Well, this was a fun show! The original series and Hallow had their own fair share of issues holding them back from getting a 10/10 from me, but they’re still very solid 9/10s for me. I already mentioned my complaints with the OG series in its overall thread, so for Hallow it would be 1) the new voice cast (and new designs for *some* characters), 2) trying to cover way too much content in comparison to the OG series that stretched things out too much (funny how that worked out lol) and 3) while I understand not doing much with some of the important side characters while Kanda’s backstory was the focus, it still feels like a bunch of the side characters who had a lot to do in the OG series got really sidelined in this part and it makes me kinda sad. No idea if that’s something that was better in the manga, but either way, [](#toradorasalute)

In any case, I’m definitely going to catch up to the manga at some point. Definitely want to know the status of Cross in particular, but I’m invested in everything else enough to not just leave it hanging here. [](#concealedexcitement)

Thanks for putting this together, u/lC3!

1) I like the aesthetic, the music, the lovable cast of characters. I don't like some of the recasts in HALLOW (Klaud, Krory). I liked how HALLOW adapted Kanda's story but wish some of the cut content made it in, especially for new characters like Cheryl, Cache, Bridget, etc., or even where Johnny and [manga]>!Link!< go from here, since they're so important in later chapters.

2) Miranda, Krory, Cross, and of course Allen

3) Of course! I'll probably do a re-read starting from where the OG anime left off

4) The pacing is a bit too slow, especially in OG series with all the fillers, where they could have been more creative and given more character development. However, I liked how they expanded backstories for those they knew were going to be killed off, like Suman, Yeegar, Daisya etc. I also wouldn't have spent so much focus on the other Exorcists fighting Akuma and Thirds in the penultimate episode's anime-original scene, knowing what manga content they cut in order to have room for that.

I also would have eased up on all the death fakeouts and had more real character deaths.

Detailed already my thoughts on the OG Anime.

Where I mentioned I liked the expansion In places like Yeegar, Suman, and Barry that took characters that the manga either never featured or left them pretty blank and fleshed them out that strengthened the content of the series.

The Voice Actors and the music truly uplifting the characters, scenes and more.

Dislike was the pacing, especially for arc's like Lenalee's Crystal stuff, 40 episodes was way too long to wait for her to evolve. This also affected character development as well with Kanda not getting any major ones til Hallow, over 100 episodes.

Animation and filler were not good in places, with first half suffering from issues, but padding in places of second half affect things too.

For Hallow, it had the opposite positives/negatives, pacing better but also meant several things got cut or not explained as they did in the manga.

VA for Hallow lived in the shadow of the original cast, most new VA's wren't bad and were clearly doing their best, but a fair few like Road, Kanda etc felt off to me. While others like Allen, Miranda, Lena and Marie were better.

Kanda's arc with Alma was done well and it truly did a great job showing why he's the way he is, and more of the order's dirty dealings.

Miranda, Lenalee, Road and Allen.

Been keeping tabs on the manga, but waiting for it to conclude before i finish the rest of the series. since it has been going on for a while and with Hoshino's health, it likely will be another few years at best.

That's a loaded question overall, if you mean in terms of the anime adaptations.

Mix the strengths of the OG Anime with one form Hallow, but improve on animation, make sure the manga content gets all the breath it needs. Have fillers that do what the Yeegar, Barry and Suman ones did, flesh out characters more, fill in gaps in the main source so i.e. Klaud/Winter's time before they got to HQ, Klaud's unit and their fates, more on Lena, Lavi, Kanda, Krory etc. that tie into their backgrounds, flesh them out more.

Or something on Cross's younger years but of course, that's likely potentially revealing too much.

If there is another anime adaption or OVA down the line, then wait til Hoshino is done with the Manga, then that gives the adaptation the chance to not fall into the pits of either ones and be like the Fruit Basket second anime.

But i imagine Hoshino has been burnt twice to consider it.

Kill off more characters or at least sto the fakeouts, because it's undercutting the stakes and the cast has grown larger and larger with each arc, mainly the Order's group of supporting and minor characters.

Noah too and with the focus on some over others, it's become unbalanced overall.

Been great rewatching D Gray Man, been on my list for a while to do, and this was a great way of detailing my thoughts with others.

Would definitely do a rewatch again, though it would be for a much shorter series like 12/24 overall like Black Lagoon. Imagine trying to do a daily watch for Naruto anime, be a years long project.

As someone who has DGM us the favorite animanga of all time, I was really happy seeing all these comments and retrospectives all of yall had. I hope you do check out the manga if you get the chance. This is also really funny timing cus the latest DGM chapter was just released and hoshino has been hyping up this chapter and it delivers!

**D.Final-man**

Coming into this rewatch, I was a detached fan of the manga, I read it once, liked the vibe ~~wasn't big on the fandom~~, and stopped because of the release schedule.

This rewatch made me appreciate it more, but also made a lot of its flaws clearer. D.Gray-man is an ambitious series, Hoshino had lots of big plans for Allen, Kanda, the Noah,.. from the start, and did a good job setting the starting line for them all, and when she gets to the finish line (like Kanda's arc), she does a good job paying it off. Everything else though feels poorly executed either because she's holding the cards back or just didn't plan that part too well. This is especially clear with the side characters

Also for all my complaints about the first anime's filler, I've come to appreciate them more in retrospect. You need time to hang out with the characters before shit hits the fan. Could they have been better? Absolutely. They certainly left a lot to be desired, but the idea was solid imo.

>1) What did you like and dislike about DGM and Hallow?

The original's main issue was a poor production and pacing, as I mentioned, the filler aren't a bad idea, they help you explore the world and establish the characters, but they weren't used that well for the most part (stuff like the Tiredoll one are the exception).

Hallow has a better production and pacing (not the first few episodes, but the Kanda part was well done). But its designs and voice acting were a lot more up and down.

> 3) Will you continue reading the manga after this?

Can't wait for the next chapter. [](#concealedexcitement)

**First Timer (for Hallow), Sub**

Since I already talked about the original I'll talk about Hallow. Considering what I've heard Hallow was not as bad I expected it to be. Granted it's still heavily flawed, doing things the opposite of the original wherein they jampack a lot into just 13 episodes. Admittedly they do highlight the important stuff so it wasn't necessarily a complete negative. The animation was fine, the new cast had some decent new ones by the end like Kanda, Allen, Cross, Bookman etc. and a lot of miscasts like Krory and Klaud. But yeah around this point the story starts becoming tighter and we see more of what the author is trying to say, though unfortunately the story is still not over and it will take quite a while. But I guess my I really score for Hallow would probably give a 6/10 (perhaps a bit more).

###First Timer No More

[](#salute)

I appreciate Hallow moving the plot and actually answering some of the questions that were asked at the start of the series.

After the later part of the original series and the beginning of Hallow I started to lose interest but the later part of Hallow managed to reignite it. Maybe I'll check the manga some day but it's low on a very slow moving list.

I think I've said everything else in the first series discussion. Thanks for hosting u/lC3 and **Keep Walking**.