D.Gray-man / Gurren Lagann / Random Musings
  • 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 ▼

    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.

    • 26 Comments

    1. 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 =]~~

      Furuba
      Reply

    4. 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).

      Za_Paper
      Reply

    8. 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.

      Boomstick
      Reply

    11. 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 ▼

      Tien Guan
      Reply

    15. 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?

      tokidoki
      Reply

    17. 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

      Anonymooo
      Reply

    18. 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.

      Taser
      Reply

    19. 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

      BROOKLYN otaku
      Reply

    22. I’ve been reading some of the latest chapters of D Gray-man and i have to say I’ve been enjoying it quite a bit. Far more than bleach, which is currently the only other shonen manga in my read list.
      Things seem to be turning up right now but I have to say, what happened to lenalee???
      They cut her hair short!!! scum… I want my long hair and pigtails back!!!

      benihime
      Reply

    23. Here’s the thing, though: Usually, the manga versions are ALWAYS better than the anime version that come afterwards. I usually see the creation of anime as an “end-all,” “put-your-best-out” effort despite the trouble companies are having and that “deepening hole” everyone’s creating (low wages and outsourcing).

      And those other anime companies ($unrise in particular) are fools for thinking they can play everybody else off by releasing a manga version of their anime series (ala Mai ZHime and Garbage Seed Destiny). Animated garbage is still garbage.

      As for Gurren Lagann; Gainax just needs to be socked in their collective face. They’re hypocrates for being anti-otaku and then having the nerve to lure them in. Episode 4 notwithstanding (the girls were still cute despite the ugly guys), saying that “2chan(nel) reeked of dirty butts’ whilst having dirty butts of their own is merely another nail in their coffin.

      Slightly Bald Wizard
      Reply

    24. Reinforce: The D.Gray-man image is from chapter 52 of the manga. I really liked it 🙂

      Slightly Bald Wizard: There are a few exceptions where the manga and anime took different paths (Full Metal Alchemist comes to mind) and it ended up working pretty well. My main problem is that the D.Gray-man anime is dilly-dallying around too much. If they’re going to take a different path than the manga, they should do so and keep with it instead of offering all these one-shot and two-parters.

      Omni
      Reply

    25. It’s obviously Spiral King. He’s got all those spiral rock decorations on the ceiling in his room, and his throne’s pedestal is spiral shaped too.

      I’m more curious about his connection to the Lagann, and any connection he might have with Simon, who was chosen by the Lagann.

      Lupus
      Reply

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