Hey, you! Are you looking for a dark fantasy show that also happens to be an amazing shounen? And has a cast filled with complex and incredibly interesting characters? Then it is your lucky day today because D.Gray-man fits this description perfectly! 
This anime introduces us to an alternative 19th century and follows the journey of Allen Walker, a young exorcist, who joins an organization called Black Order to fight alongside other exorcists. The exorcists aren’t ordinary people, therefore they are the ones who can use Innocence, an ancient essence to battle the Millennium Earl and his creations called Akuma who are ready to do anything to destroy humanity. Although the plot might sound very generic, let me assure you that the title gets dark really quick since it raises such heavy topics as what it takes to be human, the pain and agony of inner conflict, and who/what people (and others) care about.
# STORY
As I said above, the plot does indeed sound basic but the way this anime explores the narrative is very engaging and makes you question many things, not only about the world within that show but also outside of it. DGM narrative challenges and encourages you to think about your own life, your priorities; it provokes you to think critically about who is important to you, who you care about, and what you care about in the show/real life. How does it do it? It’s pretty simple! Throughout the story, we get to follow Allen, and since it is “expected” or “natural” for us to attach to him because he’s the main character, together with him we go through this incredible emotional journey where we see him during the ups and downs which are usually major plot points. Not only that but we also get to see other main and side characters go through these hardships because of how the story continues to grow and becomes darker and darker with each episode. Talking about the episodes, DGM has 103 episodes, ⅕ of which are fillers but the fillers are pretty good because they explore the side characters, they give them that screen time they deserve, and it leads to us getting involved with the story even more. Moreover, it just adds to the overall narrative and supports the world building of this alternative 19th century where everyone is in danger and you don’t know who you can trust. Additionally, we don’t only see the good guys' stories and struggles during the show. We get to see the evil guys’ story too! We don’t get to know every single detail about them but thanks to the incredible narration and all of the twists, all of the battles, all of the story, the viewers, us, get attached to the bad guys too.
Overall, D.Gray-man starts with what seems to be a simple conflict between good and evil and then expands its story at an incredible but very comfortable speed. It demonstrates that sometimes good and evil, white and black, get mixed and what we get is this scary and eerie ‘grey’ uncertainty in our hearts. The pacing isn’t too fast or too slow, it is perfectly balanced, just as all things should be. The plot gets more and more complex and none of the episodes, including fillers, feel to be out of place. Each time we are introduced to new characters, there is a clear reason behind them and they all have significance for the overall title. For example, a number of them are shown to emotionally involve us, the viewers, more into the story, some of them are there for the story's development sake while others serve a clear purpose of exploring the main/side characters further.
#WORLD BUILDING
When it comes to world building, DGM does it elegantly, swiftly, and clearly by introducing basic laws and rules right off the bat. From the first couple of episodes, we already know that there are people called exorcists who are chosen by God and can wield Innocence in different shapes and forms. These people, exorcists, obey the Black Order, which is a secret organization. To help exorcists fight, the organization has multiple locations all over the world, scientific departments, and people called finders who assist the exorcists in various ways. We also get to know to some extent how the other side of the conflict works during the very first episode. For example, we find out that Akuma is made by the Millenium Earl, and the exorcists’ goal is to defeat him to eradicate evil from the world. By adding these simple but solid concepts, the world begins to grow around you and completely immerses us in its narrative. These notions also play as dominant factors when it comes to major plot points, specifically the Akuma and the Black Order.
Along with the rules, we can also see the religious influence within the show that adds to the anime’s charm. The important thing to mention is, although we notice mentions about God, Old Testament, Noah, and many other similar things, that the conflict itself is not necessarily about religion itself. By expanding on these universe rules and fundamentals, DGM manages to build an incredible world that supports the story making it richer, thicker, and overall more exciting for the viewer. However, it should be noted that with each episode we are going deeper and deeper into the core, the heart of the series, which means we become accompanied by many unanswered mysteries. Although we encounter a good bunch of them, they aren’t imposed by force. Rather, they feel normal and natural.
#CHARACTERS
I could write you a whole college thesis-sized paper regarding DGM characters but for the sake of being short, I’ll try my best to be very concise and speak generally about everyone.
Let me assure you, everybody in this show has a personality. Not only do they have personalities but they also don’t feel one-dimensional throughout the entire series. Despite this show being somewhat on the longer side of the spectrum, we barely or, rather, never get tired from the characters that appear on the screen. They can be a good person or a bad person, it does not matter, we still are interested in them or connected to them in one way or another. Their personalities are unique and special. I dare to say that DGM has one of the most natural and realistic cast of characters when it comes to their nature, identities, and individuality in comparison to other shounen series.
As the anime goes on, we are introduced to many important characters that either become main or side ones. As I mentioned above, thanks to the fillers (no sarcasm) we get to explore their true nature a bit more by seeing them engage with their world, people around them, and the overall story. While we are talking about character development, I’d like to mention that yes, my dear reader, it does exist in DGM! Okay, the next bit will sound super subjective but bear with me! Allen Walker, the main character, is explored throughout the whole show for obvious reasons. Lavi, for instance, hits major character development “spot” closer to the late middle-end of the series but we get the start for it way earlier than the end of the show. Lenalee’s crucial character building is divided into multiple parts and is set in different parts of the series. I believe that this sort of “strategy” ~~(I am not saying it exists, it’s just how I interpreted the show!)~~ is a very cool way of exploring multiple characters without overwhelming and distracting the viewers from important plot twists and/or plot points that are not necessarily character-driven.
#VISUALS AND AUDIO a.k.a the-part-i-suck-at
As with my other reviews, I would like to be honest and mention my artistic abilities which are
incredibly low and that is why I prefer to focus on other things other than visuals/audio ~~(and that's why I didn't mention character design)~~. However, I also would like to say that DGM was made back in 2006, so please expect some clunky animation and the gradient background with white/black lines to show action, speed, attack, and other things (but it does get slightly better by the end, I promise). This is probably the only thing that didn’t age that well when it comes to the show. Despite that, the openings do contain spoilers for the arcs, so please be careful when you are searching them up! Regardless, if you can overlook these flaws, you will have an amazing and amusing time watching all 103 episodes.
The audio on the other hand is truly incredible. Every single OST used was beautifully composed. There is this one specific tune that is played closer to the end of the series, and you will definitely fall in love with it, trust me. Every single opening and ending song is astonishing and, how the kids nowadays say, they all bop and go hard.
#TLDR;
D.Gray-man is a brilliant dark fantasy story that balances all of the essential aspects of an anime show extremely well.
Overall, D.Gray-man starts with what seems to be a simple conflict between good and evil and then expands its story at an incredible but very comfortable speed. It demonstrates that sometimes good and evil, white and black, get mixed and what we get is this scary and eerie ‘grey’ uncertainty in our hearts. By expanding on the universe's rules and fundamentals, DGM manages to build an incredible world that supports the story making it richer, thicker, and overall more exciting for the viewer. DGM has one of the most natural and realistic cast of characters when it comes to their nature, identities, and individuality in comparison to other shounen series. This show follows a cool “strategy” that happens to be a very cool way of exploring multiple characters without overwhelming and distracting the viewers from important plot twists and/or plot points that are not necessarily character-driven.
If you can overlook artistic flaws and “old” shounen art style, you will have an amazing and amusing time watching all 103 episodes. The openings do contain spoilers for the arcs, so please be careful when you are searching them up! The audio is truly incredible. Every single OST used was beautifully composed. Every single opening and ending song is astonishing and, how the kids nowadays say, they all bop and go hard.
#CONCLUSION
I understand how some people may rate this show anywhere between 6-10 due to its flaws and shortcomings but DGM does truly deserve a watch ~~and love~~, if not more (as of March 2021, I re-watched these series 4 times). If you are looking for a less stressed and more laid back show, there is a high chance of you getting overwhelmed and dropping this title because it does get very serious very quick. If you like shounen that twists your brain and makes you question things about the show
and yourself, then DGM is for you.
***
#Thank you for reading!
## This review is dedicated to @An1meDweeb.
### Thank you for inspiring me and being my review coach!
