A/N: No time for a real ‘Thanks for the 1000 views’ post today, but I’ll say it here… THANKS EVERYONE!!! :D This makes me so happy; I thought no one would ever read this blog. I hope everyone has enjoyed it!

While D.Gray-man isn’t as popular as Naruto or Bleach, it’s loved by most hardcore shonen and action fans, including the ladies. The anime incarnation, though, isn’t nearly as good as the manga that inspired it. It follows the same plot points, but in a different order, and the execution is suprisingly sloppy.

The first episode is essentially the same as the first chapter of the manga: A police officer’s brother is actually an Akuma that’s been terrorizing an abandoned church. Allen exorcises it and some typical explanation of abilities occurs. In episode 2, however, Allen arrives at the Black Order headquarters, skipping the two-chapter Jean/John arc. While I didn’t really care for that arc, I felt that heading straight into the Black Order headquarters was a little hasty.

Then episodes 3 and 4 are the Guzol and Lala arc… and things get sloppy. The animation suffers in these episodes, and I was occasionally left thinking “Okay……….. what did (insert character here) just do?!?” because of poor shot choices. Important details get changed and/or left out, such as Kanda’s abilities and Guzol’s face. Also, random improbabilities pop up from time to time, partly because of said missing details. The improbabilities range from the ‘I sustained massive damage but I can still move!!11′ shonen cliche to the animation of Lala’s singing. I may sound nitpicky, but if you watch, you’ll definitely see what I’m talking about.

To add to the irksome errors in those episodes, the overall character designs suffer massively. Allen appears much older (and less cute) than in the manga, Kanda and Komui aren’t as attractive, Guzol gets totally changed, and Lala isn’t nearly as cute. Lenalee is fine thus far, and Lavi, from what we see of him in the opening, is still attractive; but later screenshots indicate that his design suffers eventually.

If you’re the type of person that can overlook major artistic issues, though, you’ll find D.Gray-man to be a good series, especially in the next episodes (ep. 5 through 10 or so.) Character interactions are convincing, as well as the dialogue and overall concept. As I’ve said repeatedly, though, the manga is much better.

CJ’s rating: 6 out 0f 10 California rolls.

Possibly objectionable content: Blood, violence, mild cursing, drama, Komui a mildly creepy onii-chan moment, and some major religious content, including some twisting of early Biblical events. If religious stuff really offends you, then don’t let your kids under 16 watch it, but I personally think it’s appropriate for 14 and up.