D.Gray-man HALLOW
Shounen is one of the most popular Anime genres over time. This is evident with the past and present “Big Three of Shounen Anime,” which are some of the most successful anime series of all time. They are also considered mainstream and some seek to reach out beyond that. Even so, the Action and Adventure of a Shounen are mandatory.
Veteran anime fans recognize the name D.Gray-man well, an iconic series of its time. D.Gray-man HALLOW is the much anticipated sequel series to it. This is a 13 episode TV anime series that aired from the 5th of July to the 27th of September, as a Summer 2016 title. It was produced by TV Tokyo, Aniplex, Dentsu, and Shueisha, licensed by Funimation, and brought to life by Studio TMS Entertainment.
The main staff behind the anime included Ashino Yoshiharu as Director, Kaneko Yoshiyuki as Episode Director, Takadera Takeshi as Sound Director, and Yokote Michiko on the Script. The series collectively featured the genres of Action, Adventure, Super Power, Demons, and Shounen. It is rated R - 17+ for its violence and profanity, most suitable for mature audiences.
This anime was neither released on Blu-ray nor DVD. While the first volumes were scheduled to initiate their release in September 2016, they were indefinitely delayed in order to improve their quality. Ultimately the release was later canceled in March 2017.
D.Gray-man HALLOW is based on the Source manga titled “D.Gray-man,” which initiated publication on 31st May 2004—serialized by Jump SQ.Rise. This is the masterpiece of Author and Artist Hoshino Katsura. The prequel series was titled “D.Gray-man“ as well, which ran for 103 episodes starting Fall 2006.
As this series concluded in September 2008, many fans eagerly awaited a sequel to this iconic title to answer the many unanswered questions. Thus when HALLOW was finally released in 2016, so many years later, they were nothing short of thrilled. D.Gray-man Hallow follows Katsura Hoshino's manga series from chapter 165 up to Chapter 208, which are covered in Volumes 17 to 23. This sequel met the expectations of many and left everyone quite entertained.
The Story of D.Gray-man HALLOW picks up from where it left off at the end of the Prequel series D.Gray-Man. While they do skip the Zombie Arc from the manga at this point, the story covered within these 13 episodes is nothing short of very interesting.
Unfortunately, the new arcs featured in this season are poorly skimmed through to work with the limited number of episodes. This aspect weakens the story as they simply wasted screen time on new scenes which weren’t as necessary. Regardless, the overall story covered is still good and remains faithful to the Source manga, which is an essential aspect for many series fans. As for the answers fans sought, they get what they justly deserve.
The Characters of D.Gray-man HALLOW are the main cast of the prequel D.Gray-Man series and are just as lovable as always. The portrayal and parts played by each of the characters are well done. If there were a weakness, it's the fact that some of the old characters, which fans already know and love, are unnecessarily involved in the series.
Under the relevant chapters in the manga, they were not portrayed as crucial as the anime makes them out to be. They seemed to exist in every episode even though they aren’t that important for those scenes. This robs screen time away from the characters who are the actual highlights of this season, notably Allen and Kanda.
The Art and Animation of D.Gray-man HALLOW have changed quite a bit from its prequel. The art, in particular, had been changed from the previous style to match the original Author’s art more. While this is a good improvement, it can be too inconsistent with the animation in some of the episodes.
This inconsistency leads to no overall standard in the Art and Animation department. As such, the animation in some episodes is just poorly done, while others felt outstanding. Unfortunately, the animation in such scenes is so poorly done that they ruin the whole scene and leave a bitter taste in viewers.
The Music and Sounds of D.Gray-man HALLOW are also a bit lacking. The Opening theme is "Key -bring it on, my Destiny-" by Lenny code fiction, and the Ending theme is "Lotus Pain" by Mashiro Ayano. While the Opening is both fantastic and catchy, it is also quite generic for this genre of anime.
The OSTs stay true to the original soundtracks from the prequel while using lighter and softer tone remixes. The immense nostalgia that comes with it is always welcome. The Voice Acting is overall bad. It is vastly different from the prequel and takes a lot of getting used to. Even after adjusting to it, the voice acting for some characters is absolutely terrible. Their attempt to recreate the precious Voice Actors’ performances rather than let it flow blew up in the anime’s face.
Overall D.Gray-man HALLOW is enjoyable. But for people who had high expectations for this much-awaited sequel, the anime falls short in several departments. It just feels like the Studio really didn't give the series their all and could’ve done so much better if they simply put in more work. This sequel isn’t bad, but just don’t expect too much from it, and you should be able to have an entertaining watch. It is highly recommended for fans of the D.Gray-man series.
