Question Who are You and why do you keep reading DGM?

[Chloesong]

Hi Everyone!

So I’ve been coming to mangahelpers for YEARS, just to check this DGM forum. Whether you’ve just recently started following DGM or you’ve been around since before the first hiatus, hi!

I realized that despite being around here for so long and how much I care about DGM, I don’t really know you all that well, even though we’ve been chatting for years in some cases.

So I thought it’d be interesting to make a thread kinda introducing ourselves and explaining why you care about DGM/stick around despite this torture of a couple pages quarterly, sometimes unreliably.

I’ll start.

When: I started watching DGM when the anime aired in 2006. I was in my early teens and DGM was one of the first several anime I watched. The manga is still my favorite series, period.

Why: To this day, I relate to Allen more than any other fictional character. I respect and admire him, not in a omg-husbando kind of way, but basically he goes through so much literal trauma, yet still tries to smile and find his way (although recently he’s been sort of drowing in his troubles). I’m invested in what happens to him. When he wakes up from practically dying, his desperation to still be useful is palpable.

To me, DGM was special from the Aria arc especially, but also through the introductory theme of grief and guilt regarding akuma. Allen loved Mana so much that he couldn’t bear for him to die, that he called him back as an akuma and he has to live with this mistake for the rest of his life. DGM emphasizes the idea of kizuna/bonds, not merely in a romantic way but also just human connections ex. Allen/Mana, Lenalee/Komui, and Kanda/Alma, where these bonds kind of give meaning to your existence, but at the same time drag/tie you down. (Komui can’t leave the Order b/c of Lenalee etc.)

Unlike other stories, in which the main protagonist is merely utterly misfortunate (Kaneki, Urobutcher protagonists), I think I still stick around and check for updates because DGM is also like an unsolved mystery. We still have no idea who Allen is. Who is the heart?

There’s other aspects of DGM that I love and enjoy a lot, but strictly regarding why I still read it, it would be what I mentioned about.

I also relate to Hoshino’s journey of illness too. I want to see through her journey of finishing this story.

Finally, at least for me, I feel like Hoshino is saying something about hardship and triumph/acceptance. I could completely drop all the anime, manga, books, and movies that I’m waiting for updates, but just DGM alone I just have to know how it ends, even if it takes me the rest of my life.

How about you all? What makes you keep coming back and checking for updates? I’m really curious to what were other people’s motivations for sticking around this long.

 

[Skylent]

Heya!

I can't make a super long post right now but I'll try

I started D.Gray-man with the first anime in early 2014 and I immediately got by the peculiar atmosphere. By the time of the Noah's Ark ark it had became one of my favourite anime/manga series (well at the time I was not to snobbish enough yet to rank my likings).
Then I caught up with the online chapters and got desperate for several days before accepting that it was on hiatus. xD
More than a year later I saw a volume in a library and bought it, which made me come back and rediscover the whole series. I think I started to love it even more after reading all the volumes.


I think what makes me love DGM the most is the characters. They are so... you know, "authentic" that you can feel it's like they are real. They are animated by a vibrant core rather than by the scenario or the pencil of the writer, or at least it's as it feels to me.
I haven't found that, or at least not to that extent in any other manga.

 

[capricorn]

When: Been a fan since around 2006. Started with the anime then got introduced to the manga and loved it. Also one of my favorite fantasy shounen manga series to date.

Why: When I first got into manga it was because of naruto as i'm sure many before me have. When I first picked up dgm I was mostly into hardcore battle manga, However, gradually as that variation of the shounen dynamic started to lose its appeal to me I became less interested in straight up action/battle shounen and began finding a liking in series that had the same cool battle manga elements, like fancy powers with highly personalized abilities and cool fights (fights being something I don't think dgm is particularly that strong at but I digress), but with a focus more so on telling a compelling and epic story with interesting and faithfully developed characters that would drive it through fascinating arcs and developments that would see characters not only growing in regards to power levels but in terms of staple qualities of their person-hood that would in turn serve to make said story all the more interesting. In dgm I found all this and more as I found my self being gradually taken in by what turned out to be a conceptually fascinating shonen that had many of the generic feature that would often seem to dictate that it had no right to be as good as it is. I could ramble for hours about how brilliantly it abstracts so many theological concepts to make its own unique universe and fictional logic like: its brilliant reinterpretation and depiction of hell, its strong parallels between the innocence and the holy spirit (God's sentient power given to man to fight the forces of evil) or how she reinterprets a backslidden servants of God who turned from the faith and fell into irreparable sin to the fallen ones. just to name a few but also how she marries the idea of the akuma (the eyes and ears of the Earl) and the Millenium Earl as being this strange and warped negative polarity to the familiar association of the church (being the body of Christ) and Jesus not to mention the further parallel between the 12 disciples and the noah family. And though I doubt she meant this intentionally, but she internalizes the christian struggle for souls very well through Allen Waalker who is a young man who whilst not concerned about God at all is able to see and empathise with the happenings of an immaterial realm in materialistic and cruel world with people, including his own pears, who are only focused and consumed with the immediate tragedies and political convolutions (like Lvellie and the black order) that beset them, whilst battling against a devil who is great at convincing the world that he doesn't exist yet is able to plunge that world into increasing dispare by playing on the tender volatilities and personal flaws of mortal man, whether its corrupt men who want to make deals with the devil (greed) or simply a sweet lady that lost her husband in the war (which the same noah's scripted by the way) and is unable to deal with the loss (love). A literal battle for souls. Then of-course having the deeper contrast of this demonically cursed young man who at one point fell to the temptations of that same devil being a more consistent and authentic representation of righteousness and morality as opposed to the dark tyrannous compromises of a desperate and corrupted institution which is supposed to be the shining example of that same righteousness in this world but can only do so whilst keeping up appearances (kind of like the catholic church or at lest the ugliest version of it you can think of). All this whilst at the same time making an even cooler deconstructions of having her concept of the Akuma being best conceived through the lense of high industry and manufacturing (the akuma being the machine shell whilst the tortured soul being the raw harvested ore that is being processed) and then to have the awesome contrast of the innocence which if we look at it critically especially with the evidence of the fallen ones also similarly uses souls as a means of generating power (albeit not in the same malicious and horrifying way) but contrasts the akuma in its more organic, uniform and formalized nature as opposed to the akuma's mechanic and chaotic circus like nature. On top of all that it manages to give a far more entertaining plotline than i've grown accustomed to in shounen whilst consistently taking generic themes and concepts and consistently synchronizing them meaningfully and inventively in a very entertaining and complex story. And let's not forget the art, which in and of its self has been a rewarding experience having witnessed Hoshino's struggle over the years for better or for worse has really endeared this manga to alot of the people who enjoy it. The several changess in art might be dissorienting to some but for me became one of those unique assets that made it stand out for me as a unique and enjoyable journey.I could go on but fingers are tired.......lol
Ultimately even in spite of all its set backs and hiatuses, making it difficult to enjoy the story as much as I think it should (ofcoarse being because we wait way too long for too little pages and story progress. which is a shame because I think the story itself is still very good and suffers mostly from annoying external factors); why I stuck with this manga needs no explanation. I simply deemed it worthy and most of the other shounen manga I read like it were really just the equivalent to side chicks, with the exception of a few.

 

[Dlanor_A.Knox]

When: I began watching the DGM anime back in 2007. I was so curious what happened after the anime finished that I picked up the manga and continued from there.

Why: The boy next door was a big anime fan during my highschool years, I often went to his house to game (he had all the consoles I could only wish for) and at some point we started to watch Naruto together. After a while we kinda drifted apart and I stopped watching Naruto or any anime at all. A year later I saw something anime related on youtube and decided to give it another shot. I just searched trough the search engine using the genre's that appealed to me the most and got D.Gray-Man.
I liked it at the start, but at some point (the filler episodes) I thought it was kinda boring and dropped it. I got into other animes eventually and got a new friend that also watched anime. We started to give each other lists of anime we have watched. Some weeks later she came to me and told me she really liked DGM. She persuaded me to give it a try again and I did.
I soon got hooked and absolutely loved it, we also talked alot about it together making it even more enjoyable. I started to read the manga after the anime finished. I was amazed by how much the art style was changing during the course of the manga and got into it even more.

These days, I still continue to read DGM, because it's something to look forward to. Something that I simply really need lately.

 

[AlphaIkaros]

When: I never knew DGM until I first saw the anime was back 2009. i immediately fall in love with the anime and I realized I want to see more. I was quite frustrated that time because I couldnt watch the anime because I have school, and I remember the struggle of hurrying to go back home just to be able to catch up with the anime. Then I saw the manga, and there my dears, on how I fell in love with the series

Why: No particular reason... At first I thought the series will be one of those like Case Closed (mystery solving, detective stuff), I'm glad it didnt turned out to be like that. Maybe, that time I was really looking for some action-adventure-comedy kind of anime, and it happens that DGM is the only one that suits my taste. Although some of the filler episodes felt so off from the main theme of the anime, I still dig deeper to the series. When Suman Arc came, that's where I decided to read the manga. And boy, thats the greatest decision I 've made. I was following DGM since then. I was even a member of DGrayDivinity (same as MH) then when it closed, I migrated to MH, because I want to share more insights of the series.

I think what made me fall in love with this series are the balance of action, mystery, drama and comedy. the Noah's Ark arc is definitely one of my favorite arcs throughout the series. In addition, the religious references takes the plot much more interesting. I think this series isn't the typical dark/gothic-themed manga, in addition to the beautiful visuals that has been improved through the years.

Although the pacing has become so slow with the recent hiatus, and the feeling like it has become more "shounen ai"-ish, I still cling to this series... I can't believe I even made a mini-doujin out of my fangirlism

 

[wikifairy]

When: I started reading it back in high school (around 2012?) after I'd just switched schools. Someone I knew heavily encouraged me to read it, so I ended up borrowing copies of the manga from them. I was pretty desperate to make friends, so being able to connect over something with someone seemed like a good way to start. I think I ended up a little more attached than they initially were, because I've been pretty dedicated to keeping up with it over the years, and always made efforts to see what its current status was.

Why: I sort of already answered why up there, but really I think that it's a really fascinating narrative. I've always been pretty interested in religious narratives, and especially narratives that are equally interested in critiquing organized religion (which does seem to be what Hoshino is up to...). Bildungsroman narratives are also always really cool to read! It's very interesting watching this all from Allen's perspective and as he grows and matures, especially as you watch him realize bit by bit how corrupt the Order is, and that perhaps the Noah aren't necessarily full of shit. I'm really interested to see where Hoshino will go with that. I wouldn't call myself a particularly religious person either, and I don't really come from a Christian background per se, but it's just like... neat! Also, like, as an aspiring artist, it's really inspiring to see the transformation of Hoshino's art style over the years! I feel like I have so much to say about why I continue to read DGM, but that's all I can really seem to put down.

I made an account here specifically to comment here, after having checked the DGM forum for years, and I don't even have that much to say...

 

[Skylent]

interested in critiquing organized religion (which does seem to be what Hoshino is up to...).

Is she? I felt more like the religious setting is the perfect one to set up the atmosphere she yearns for, maybe exploring the religious institution but I never saw it as critiquing (that or anything else for that matter).

 

[wikifairy]

Is she? I felt more like the religious setting is the perfect one to set up the atmosphere she yearns for, maybe exploring the religious institution but I never saw it as critiquing (that or anything else for that matter).

I wouldn't say she's putting it in a particularly welcoming or positive light! She's interested in discussing it at the very least, if not critiquing.

 

[Ibafarshan]

Hello!
When: Honestly I don't even remember how I discover it, but I started reading it something like four years ago, and I remember waiting anxiously for other chapter to come out and in the meantime I would re-watch/re-read the whole serie (same thing happened with HxH for me).
Why: I really like the themes that are touched in this work, and I absolutely love all the characters' personalities and worries (the bookman and 'Lavi', with their questions about humanity and such are intriguing, don't let me even start on the Noah family and Allen). The art also is pretty neat and it is pretty cool to see all the changes during the course of the serie, and I've grown quite attached to the story; there are some characters that I don't like, but the rest of the cast and the plot make up for it. Also I kinda just can't leave a good work unfinished, so I'm sticking around until it ends.

 

[ValiantCielSquirrel]

Hi everyone. It’s my first time writing in this forum, despite keeping up with it on and off for a few years now. It’s good to finally write here, and I may get more involved. I was introduced to D.Gray-man around 2008, and my interest increased gradually since the first couple of story arcs all the way to the present one. I think I’ve been a patient loyal fan (most of time at least), and, despite the occasional breaks I took from reading the manga or forums, I know DGM’s story made a deep impression on me, so I won’t forget it. I have so many fond memories of the manga and light novel readings, rereads, parts of the anime adaptations, the English dub, and even the theories of other fans here, that I can say after many years that D.Gray-man is one of my top favorite stories/manga.

The characters and their interactions told very compelling, down-to-earth, sometimes amusing stories, and Allen was especially like-able and worthy of my respect. The mysteries of this war, its third side, some of the prophecies and symbolic dreams came to capture my imagination, the art style grew on me, and Hoshino showed great talent and care for her chapters. Sometime after learning of the author’s hiatuses and much less frequent releases, I began worrying not only about Hoshino’s own health, but even the chance that her own story didn’t mean enough to her to finish anymore. I can’t hope to know the author’s intentions (much less other authors), but I still have hopes for her story and the love she gave to it. I’m praying for good news, and am striving to keep supporting the artist.

I’ve gotten to understand, recently and a little more fully, the reality of Allen’s recent existential crises in the manga, and of wanting to leave a lasting mark in the world. I don’t want that life to be so easily replaced by another, regardless of how interesting the mysteries or 14th becomes. Also, since I’ve missed or forgotten some of the details of the mystery, I’ve been slowly rereading and finding new details to help me get closer to the truth. I think being able to uncover new details and clues in the story makes rereading more rewarding and exciting. The truth about the Noah family’s relationships, how they changed after Neah’s betrayal, Road’s past, and how Allen changed from the past to present are some of the questions I want answered the most. I’m really looking forward to future chapters.