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What It's About
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“D. Gray-Man” is a shounen manga that follows a cursed teenage boy named Allen Walker on his tragic journey as an exorcist who fights weapons known as “Akuma”, mechanical beings that contain suffering souls of the dead.

Allen and other exorcists fight together to destroy these Akuma with the power of “Innocence”, which are anti-Akuma weapons. They are engaged in an ancient war with the creator of Akuma, the Millennium Earl.

The story holds this simple premise but begins to weave in complex ideas about life, death, tragedy, and perseverance that are extended on with its cast.
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... The Characters
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This is easily the show’s strongest point. Many characters initially present themselves as rather generic with their design and powers being the only sources of interest for the general audience.

However, as the show progresses, each character from the main cast receives strong and convincing development that explains their personality, actions, and motives. They try to show that every person in the world has internal struggles and are carrying heavy burdens past their reassuring smiles.

Allen Walker is the protagonist. He is shown to be kind, polite, and always ready to defend his comrades. What makes him shine brilliantly is his tragic past of being cursed as a child from the man he loved most. He bears a cursed eye and an anti-Akuma on his arm as a result of being tricked by the Millennium Earl and giving into his desires to bring back the man he sees as a father. He is human but is also part-Akuma, inspiring him to save the souls of humans and Akuma, being part of both worlds.

Lenalee Lee is the lead female. She is a teenage girl who sees the best in others and cares deeply for her friends and brother. She also develops very well from a sweet girl to a young woman who suffers from seeing her loved ones in pain and bravely takes action in the direst situations.

Yuu Kanda is a member of the organization known as the Black Order alongside Allen and Lenalee. He is shown to be hard-headed and naturally instigates fights due to his stubborn attitude. Despite his cold demeanor, he reveals his sense of duty and care for his comrades on numerous occasions. His fierce swordsmanship and confidence has made him one of the strongest fighters in the order.

Lavi is a cheerful young man who aims to become a Bookman, an individual tasked to record history and spectate the actions of others. He fights with an anti-Akuma weapon that is a size-shifting hammer and can use a variety of seals to destroy his opponents. Although he seems to be the “nice and smiling guy” all the time, he has his own series of struggles and conflicts with his own identity.

The Millennium Earl is the primary antagonist and a mysterious figure who is the creator of Akuma and the leader of the Noah family. He is the greatest opponent of the Black Order and has cheerfully tricked people to their demise on numerous occasion. He is linked with many characters and their pasts including Allen’s.
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What I Like
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This series feels so different from other shounen and I think part of that is the dark tone and Hoshino Katsura not afraid to blend with the tragedy and horror genres. We descend a layer deeper with each arc and the story consistently improves with each arc. On top of this, the pacing is superb with just the right amount of chapters, dialogue, and fights each arc to increase the enjoyability.

The characters are some of the best I’ve seen in a while, especially from a shounen. Allen is one of the best protagonists I’ve seen because of how complex he is. He’s gentle and caring but he’s holding in unthinkable pain and hellish world that is seen through his eyes. He just wants to help everyone but knows it’s not a bright and easy path.

The Noah Family and The Earl are so damn likeable too! They’re devious but you can’t help but love and understand a lot of them. Miki and Road are my favorites thus far and I’m happy to see the “grey” areas of good and evil through these characters.

Lenalee is another standout character who is one of my favorite female characters now. Her kindness and conviction makes her caring but strong against all the mental hardships she has to face.

Lavi is someone who I didn’t expect to get such convincing development along with Crowley. I’m glad that Hoshino understands what makes good characters and how heavy interactions can play in a story filled with a multi-faceted cast.

Just like concepts of nen, chakra, spiritual pressure, etc, D. Gray-Man has Innocence as the power source for its respective story. I love that it has many forms and there is a lot to look forward to with how it really works. Can’t wait to see more evolutions of it.

The biblical themes and names are something I didn’t think I would like just because I’ve always seen it as forced method. However, D. Gray-Man impressed me with their creative changes and biblical inspiration. It adds more analytical value to the series which I love and the ideas play very well with the story and characters.

Lastly, I am so happy that the manga came out of its hiatus and glad to see Hallow continuing the anime and creating a surge of new fans.
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Things I have a Problem With
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Although this isn’t necessarily bad, I wish there was some kind of development with the characters earlier on. It could be that I’ve seen a lot of shounen anime and I wanted something to stand out immediately but regardless, I loveee the development we do get.

Although the series has some really awesome fights down the road, a lot of the fights in the beginning feel repetitive and almost lazy. Many times, there are just projectiles being thrown back and forth and it doesn’t give anything memorable. Despite this, we definitely get what we want around the Noah arc.

Kanda seems to be a bit out of place with the story and where’s it’s been. He doesn’t add to the feel of unity with the other characters until his arc starting from chapter 187 so he just feels disjointed. I love his badass style and fights but hopefully he gets better.

To me, the story gets deeper as it progresses and can also be confusing. I think part of this is that a lot of major concepts and plot points are not expanded on enough to give it significance. I wish there was more emphasis on some parts of the story but it does add on to the re-read/re-watch value that I enjoy.

Final Thoughts

I remember watching the anime many years ago and just leaving it, feeling that it didn’t really catch my attention. However, I started reading it a few weeks BEFORE Hallow was announced so I was going crazy when I heard the anime would come continue. I read the chapters like a madman each day, feeling fully engaged in the story and looking forward to where it would take me.

I highly recommend reading/watching this even if you are not a fan of shounen. There's something to explore in this story that makes it unique from many of the pre existing anime out there. The story slowly get deeper and more complex, the characters are phenomenal, the fights are great, the themes give a lot to think about, giving the series has a lot of potential.

I’m thrilled that the manga is back, the anime is back, and hope to see this continue for many years!

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TL; DR

What I like
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The dark tone. The pacing. The simple-to-complex progression of the story. The upward trend of the quality of storytelling. The well-timed comedy. Beautiful quotes. The compelling characters who are likeable all receive fantastic development. The concept of innocence and the use of biblical themes. Hoshino Katsura’s art style. The analytical value. The continuing story!

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What I have Problems With
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Backstories and hints of development are not given for most of the characters until the later arcs. The early fights are repetitive and not that enjoyable. Kanda's role doesn't seem to add much to the overarching story until much later. Some major plot points and concepts need more emphasis and restatement to connect the story in a less confusing manner.

Some anime are able to create an atmosphere of pure fun and excitement where we feel like we're in laughing, crying, and dancing along with the characters themselves. Kekkai Sensen is exactly this.

STORY: 7
The story...how do I explain this? Kekkai Sensen is an example of a disjointed story where it focuses more on the characters and interactions themselves, slowly building the story itself. Anyone who has seen Gintama or Durarara!! will be understand more about where I'm going.

"A breach between Earth and the netherworlds has opened up over the city of New York, trapping New Yorkers and creatures from other dimensions in an ... impenetrable bubble. They've lived together for years, in a world of crazy crime sci-fi sensibilities. Now someone is threatening to sever the bubble, and a group of stylish superhumans is working to keep it from happening." (MyAnimeList)

It seems all simple at first but the characters are where the story really shines.

CHARACTER: 10
Every single character in this show is lovable. Every single one.

Leonardo Watch is our protagonist, a young photographer from Holland who comes to New York City to earn money for his little sister. Although he has a humble and fun personality, we find out more about his character as the story progresses. His sister had lost her eyesight due to a trade Leonardo made, giving him the "All-Seeing Eyes of God" which give him ocular powers and the ability to see through things normal humans would not necessarily see. He feels guilty about this throughout the anime and tries to do his best to prove himself by joining an organization called Libra.

Klaus Von Reinherz is the leader of Libra. He has a lot of charisma and always brings the best out of everyone. Klaus serves to be Leo's mentor and guide.

Zap Renfro is a part of Libra and is an eccentric, womanizing, badass. He is always hyper, hungry, and wants women. Zap's got a lot of personality and the chemistry with him and the other characters is a pleasure to watch.

White/Mary Macbeth is a young girl who Leo meets in New York City. At first, she seems to serve as a girl who Leo has a crush on but she becomes very important as it goes on. Especially when her brother, Black/Will Macbeth is introduced.

ART: 9
It's beautiful. New York City is animated very well and the lighting in each scene is perfect. The character designs are very classy and I especially love the way Leo's, White's, and Black's eyes are animated. They are bright and it really grabs your attention.

SOUND: 10
I can't remember the last time I gave a 10 for music but Kekkai Sensen NAILS it. The music ranges from very jazzy music to a great "What a Wonderful World" rendition. The music matches the characters and the setting so well, increasing the enjoyment of fun scenes but also the tragic scenes. The opening, "Hello, World!" is so great, highlighting the big atmosphere of the anime and the Leonardo's character. The ending, IS AMAZING! "Sugar Song to the Bitter Step" captures the fun and carefree nature of the show perfectly. The dancing, the partying, and the mellow moments are masterfully directed on top of colorful animation.

The voice-actors for both the sub and the dub were excellent. Daisuke Sakaguchi and Aaron Dismuke did a wonderful job with Leo's voice. I rarely watch anime in dub as well but I had no issues of going back and forth with Kekkai Sensen. People who are familiar with Gintama character will be happy to hear that almost half the cast is voiced by Gintama voice actors! Kazuya Nakai voices Zap and really gets all his energy perfectly on screen. He also voices Zoro from One Piece so fans will be able to see his more self-centered and eccentric self. Overall, the music and the voice-acting were great!

Enjoyment: 10
The characters and the music made this show for me. "Sugar Song to the Bitter Step" has become one of my favorite songs of all time and the characters leave a strong impression on you. I was fortunate to watch this anime after Episode 12 had released so for the viewers who had to wait for 3 months for it might not have liked it as much or maybe liked it more. This anime is all about having a fun time but the darker moments present some great philosophical questions as well.

If there's anything more I would want, I would like to have some more fight scenes but we saw some great ones regardless. Additionally...I WANT A SEASON 2!!!!!!!!!

Check this anime out guys! You will not be disappointed!

STORY: 3

The story is about Red Dragon, the guardian diety of Nil Kamui had gone mad and destroyed Nil Kamui, leaving it to be extremely weak as other nations slowly gain more and more power. Nil Kamui lost its independence and is struggling against the big countries D'natia and Koran to maintain a balance of power.

After a certain event, a group of characters from Nil Kamui, D'natia, and Koran band together to find Red Dragon but each individual has a different desire in their quest. The main character, Ibuki, is given the power of the Red Dragon where he can kill anyone if ... he offers the life of someone close to him. As the story progresses, more things become unveiled about each nation and the true mission of the characters.

At first, the story seems interesting with an emphasis on politics and a quickly received idea that anyone can die at anytime. However as it continues, it becomes a mess. There is no build up to events that should be climactic and the initial plot completely changes from side events. Things just happen without explanation and there are numerous things to question about the world, the nations, and the characters themselves.

CHARACTERS: 5

Ibuki has an interesting start being a young boy, an heir to the throne while possessing the power of Red Dragon. He goes through a lot in the first episode as he has to sacrifice the ones closest to him to reach a certain goal. Although he had a lot of potential, it was utterly wasted. He continues to whine through the entire anime and never gets developed except in the last few minutes of the last episode.

Eiha is Ibuki's guardian who is infused with a demon and is constantly looked down upon from everyone. She serves to be Ibuki's guardian after she made a promise with one of Ibuki's closest friends but she doesn't really have personality or appealing qualities. Although she had an interesting premise like Ibuki, she does not get any build-up nor events that make her shine. She stays linear but the writers try to make her have a bigger role as the story progresses even though it is poorly executed.

Swallow is Black Dragon Knight from D'natia who is a part of Ibuki's group but shows to have a secret as the story goes on. He has been cursed as a child with everything breaking as soon as he touches it. He was abandoned by his parents and lived in isolation until he befriends a girl named Meryl. He is definitely the most intriguing character with his curse and his views on people and life. Again, there is not enough development for him, everything gets rushed.

Lou is an assassin from Koran who is a part of Ibuki's group but instead of finding Red Dragon, she wants to kill it. She has a special blade which was passed down and constantly speaks to her with Lou referring it to it as her "lord". She is a vicious fighter and has a seductive personality while fooling everyone. She is one of the most mysterious characters in the show but nothing really gets answered regarding her role.

There are wide array of other characters in Chaos Dragon but none receive any development that they should be getting. This is problem when characters die because the audience didn't feel enough attachment to the characters to make the deaths have an impact. There's a big issue with the introduction of characters in the middle of series that just make things more confusing and uninteresting.

ART: 7
The lighting and the scenery are absolutely gorgeous. The character designs are also very well done and unique. The opening and ending are both great. The only reason I did not give this a higher score is because of the CGI. The CGI is absolutely horrible. Red Dragon and other things in the series look so strange with the CGI and it really takes away from everything else. Overall, the art is good.

SOUND: 8
I would personally say Chaos Dragon has the best opening in all of the summer anime and probably the best ending as well. Both are REALLY good. I also enjoyed some OSTs through the series and even the classical music in the later half. The last scene in the series has another great song sung by Natsumi Kon, singer of ISOtone - the first opening. The voice acting is also good, nothing to really elaborate on.

Enjoyment: 6
The episodes were inconsistent for me. Some were good, some were boring, and some were annoying. I felt frustrated at times with the story and the characters, each revealing things that completely go off track and leave viewers confused. I wish there were more action scenes because the fighting animation presents them really well.

Overall: 6
Is it worth checking out? Yes.
It does require patience at times because of the quick-pacing and questionable plot points but the music is great, the animation is good, but the story does get convoluted. I really wanted to like this series more but unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

*SPOILER FREE =)

Alright!!! For the sake of being concise, I'll refer "Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?" to the popular alias -
DanMachi". Let's get in to it!

STORY 6/10
The story of "DanMachi" is set in a fantasy world in the town of Orario. Orario has several dungeons where brave adventurers go to gain glory and riches. There are several families which are led by gods/goddesses who have come down from the heavens to be with humans and interact with them. This is where our main characters, Bell and Hestia come in. The story is really about Bell's dream to ... be stronger and a hero.

Honestly, the story is pretty simple. Nothing fancy but it's good.

ART 8/10
The fantasy setting is animated beautifully and the animation is strongest in the fights . This is shown when the creatures are destroyed and the production studio has paid close attention to the textures and details so points there. The colors are bright and it adds onto the fun adventure feel to anime which is always great.

Sound 8/10
The opening is pretty good and has a fun vibe to it along with the ending. The OSTs are very well done in DanMachi. We hear casual fun OSTs with the comedic moments and laughs but the music in the fights are impressive. It has a dark and suspenseful tone to it with the viewer getting more tense alongside Bell and Hestia, especially in the last few episodes. The voice acting is amazing! Yoshitsugu Matsuoka voices Bell with a lot of skill and displays all sorts of emotions with him - happiness, shyness, excitement, frustration, fear and of course the humor. I love Bell's voice in the scenes with Aiz because Matsuoka does this hilarious yelp of embarrassment which will have you laughing like crazy. Another star voice actor is Inori Minase who voices Hestia. The tsundere and teasing romantic characteristics are captured perfectly with Minase's voice. Hestia has these moments of jealousy when she sees Bell with other girls and her voice absolutely shines in these moments where Minase expresses the emotions perfectly.

CHARACTERS 9/10
Bell Cranel is a 14-year old boy who has big dreams of being an adventurer. He's very shonen-esque but has very likable qualities to him. He was raised by his grandfather and has always seen excitement in life. In the beginning, we see he tries to join different families so that he can enter dungeons and finally be an adventurer. Unfortunately, every family he approaches quickly rejects him and sets him off with discouraging words. He struggles and he shows emotion of how hard it is to achieve these dreams. This is one of the wonderful things of Bell. He is very relatable. We see he is constantly underestimated and laughed at, making his dream to be a hero less achievable when no one believes in him. ENTER HESTIA

Hestia is a goddess who has the appearance of a pretty young girl. She has no followers in her family and is seen as a failure in the heavens. After she sees Bell, she notices the consistent rejection from each family and follows him. She grabs his attention and asks if he wants to join her family. This bond is very well done because of the similarities between the two characters but also their chemistry and incredible faith in each other. Hestia may seem like the typical fanservice type of girl at first but her energy and humor make her one of the shows strongest points. Despite being a goddess, she works very hard and stands against the discrimination to see Bell achieve his dream. She shows romantic affection and teases him throughout the series and it is very heartwarming to see the two in every scene.

Liluca is a little girl who Bell defends in an alleyway after seeing her bullied by other adventurers. Both her parents were adventurers but were killed, leaving her alone to fend for herself in a world full of danger. She gets herself into trouble and relies on thievery in order to pay off debts and survive. Despite her efforts, she is constantly looked down upon and suffers physical and mental abuse from adventures, making her hate the idea of adventurers completely. Bell tries to help her and makes her a supporter with him in his dungeon adventures. However, Bell becomes a victim of her thievery and Liluca thinks only of her own survival. Liluca's character really highlights Bell's kindness and his ability to see the best in others as demonstrated with him still accepting Liluca as a friend. She is confused with his sympathy after being kicked around for so long. Liluca becomes close with Bell and joins the group in their quests as well as being a romantic competitor with Hestia, adding to the humor. Liluca is an okay character. In the beginning, it's irritating to see how many times she's tricked Bell and it's irritating to see her in the battles. I can only think of her screaming "Beru-Sama" but her backstory is good.

Aiz Wallenstein is a young girl who is hailed as the "sword princess" for her impressive swordsmanship and her performance in dungeons. She saves Bell in the first scene of the anime and serves as Bell's love interest throughout the show. Aiz presents herself as a quiet, understanding, and caring individual. She felt responsible for putting Bell in danger and trains him to be a stronger adventurer. She's a strong girl and represents Bell's resolve and dream. He wants to catch up to her and prove that he can be a strong adventurer.

ENJOYMENT 9/10
DanMachi is really fun to watch. The world is a joy to see and the anime captures the fantasy feel very well. The characters are super entertaining and have some of the best chemistry I've seen in anime. The fights are exciting and the music+animation only adds to the greatness. One of the most enjoyable anime I have seen.

OVERALL 8/10
This anime is a fun enjoyable experience. It'll make you laugh and you'll really connect with the characters throughout the show. I strongly disagree with the comparisons people have drawn concerning SAO as I feel the completely opposite emotions with both. This has a really nice balance of action, comedy, romance, and saddness which is great, especially for a 13 episode series. I'll just say I loved this and I highly recommend it to anyone!!

Spoiler Free

Story 7/10
The story of Guilty Crown revolves around Shu Ouma, a high school boy who inadvertently obtains an ability called "The Power of the Kings" that enables him to draw out items called "Voids" from other people. He is then thrown into the conflict between a quasi-governmental organization known as the GHQ and a resistance group called Funeral Parlor which aims to restore Japan's independence from the GHQ. In the process, Shu has to deal with the burden his ability puts on his shoulders and the horrific mystery of his past. (Wikipedia)

The story is definitely interesting, combining political situations and daily issues ... to create a struggling Japan. This is one of the stories when the protagonist gets caught in the conflict and has no idea what to do in the face of things. But this is done well as we see he is nervous, shy, and scared. 3 very real emotions majority of people would face and the story expands on his time as a member of Funeral Parlor. There are numerous revelations throughout the story as well see those close to Shu react from the hardships of their daily lives. The story transforms in the middle when we understand more of Shu's past and the history of the cancer itself. Although the story brings out serious ideas, it does become confusing by the middle of the series. This is because of the new characters who enter the story and some plot holes that develop. However, it has a strong beginning, progressive middle, and okay ending.

Art 10/10
Guilty Crown is definitely one of the most beautiful anime ever to be produced. The lighting and close focus on objects have made this absolutely gorgeous. Not to mention the perfect openings.

Sound 10/10
Hiroyuki Sawano. This man is a legend in the anime industry for his epic scores as seen in Attack on Titan, Aldnoah.Zero, Seraph of the End, and many more. The OST hold a lot of emotion, specifically KrOne and Bios. The vocals are very powerful and the use of German was very well done. The openings were also amazing with SuperCell doing both "My Dearest" and "Everlasting".

Character 7/10
Ouma Shu has mixed opinions amongst anime fans. He is presented as a anti-social 17-year old who just leads a normal life. That is until he finds Yuzuriha Inori and gets thrown into all the conflict between the GHQ and Funeral Parlor. Even after receiving the void ability, he is scared for what will happen to him and how it can affect his friends. Once again, he displays cowardly, but realistic emotions. He does develop greatly by the second half to be rather forceful to say the least. After a major plotpoint, he becomes colder and more ruthless, presenting an arrogant demeanor. He changes many times throughout the show and it is a good display of character development.

Yuzuriha Inori is a pretty and quiet girl who serves as Shu's love interest. She is the singer of the popular band, Egoist and becomes Shu's classmate afterwards. She is responsible for giving Shu the Void Genome and is the person who Shu draws out his most powerful weapon. Although she seems innocent at first, she is also a valuable member of Funeral Parlor where she is a part of dangerous missions. For the most part, Inori is rather straightforward. She does change after a certain point but the change was rather forced and she reverts back to how she was quickly. Her main purpose is to be Shu's love interest and the person who cares for him during his darker times.

Gai is the leader of Funeral Parlor and becomes somewhat of a mentor to Shu. He approaches things with logic and acts, in many ways, opposite to Shu. He focuses only on the mission and gets things done quickly. He becomes a major point of the plot after a mission and has a controversial role in the second half of the show where we find out his past connection with Shu. The best way to characterize Gai is stating him as an anti-hero.

Enjoyment 9/10
Beautiful visuals. Beautiful music. Great action and an emotional plot. I enjoyed this series very much and it is definitely one of my all time favorites.

Overall 9/10
I strongly recommend this anime to anyone. It has top tier animation and music along with a unique plot and good characters. Although the story does become a bit convoluted by the second half, it has explanations in the end to fill in the holes. The ending is beautiful and very memorable.

I went to watch SAO without knowing any of the talk about it or the stuff about it being on of the most overrated series. After watching it I had a lot to say. First of all, the setting is great. The idea of being in a game is pretty interesting and appeals to many gamers.
The story really follows all the gamers escaping after understanding that death is very real in the game and there are numerous opponents which could cause that.
Now the characters. The characters were absolutely HORRIBLE. Kirito is a guy who gets all the bitches, is overpowered, and has 0 ... development at all. Really boring and unlikable.
Asuna was great in the beginning. But she seemed to get weaker from her relationship with Kirito. The love in SAO was really annoying. It's super unrealistic and badly written. Asuna seemed to be the independent and strong character but fell to be a weak damsel in distress.
Yui was so unnecessary. They put her in there to make the romance even more stupid. There's nothing to like about her and she reminds me a lot of the "hey! Listen! Hey listen!" stuff from Legend of Zelda. They tried so hard to appeal to emotion but it was really poor.
The animation and sound were impressive though. Anything from LiSA has always been great and the bright colors to SAO adds on to the beautiful setting.

Overall, it really is overrated and is just cheap romance. Strong setting, poor story, beautiful animation and sound, horrendous characters.