The series is set in England at the end of a fictitious 19th century. The main character of D.Gray-man is a 15-year-old boy named Allen Walker. When he was a child, Allen was abandoned by his parents due to a "deformed" left arm. Allen ended up being adopted by a traveling clown named Mana Walker.
After Mana died, Allen was approached by Millennium Earl, who offered to revive Mana. However, Mana reappeared in a machine called an Akuma. The Akuma was ordered to kill Allen and to take on his skin. But at that moment, Allen was gifted with an ability to control his left hand. His hand had a substance called Innocence embedded into it, which turned it into an anti-Akuma weapon. Against his will, Allen ended up killing Mana. Before Mana died, Allen's left eye was cursed; this curse later gave Allen the ability to see the souls of Akuma.
Allen discovered that Millennium Earl tries to trick those who lose loved ones to turn their dead soul into Akuma, because he is trying to build an army of Akuma to destroy mankind. Allen decided to train himself in order to stop Millennium Earl, and he became the apprentice of general Cross (an Exorcist of the Black Order). The Black Order is a secretive organization trying to stop Millennium Earl.
Other Exorcists who help Allen are Yu Kanada, Lenalee Lee, and Lavi. Yu is a rude 18-year-old Exorcist from Japan, and is the first Exorcist that Allen meets at the Black Order headquarters. Yu and Allen don't get along very well. Lenalee is a kind 16-year-old Exorcist from China, and she has developed a strong attachment to Allen. Lavi is a cheerful 18-year-old male Exorcist of mixed race. He originally joins the Black Order simply to be close to events that must be seen, but as time goes on, he grows closer to his Black Order friends.
While D.Gray-man is not an overly gory or violent anime series, I wouldn't recommend it for a younger audience due to its subject matter. Personally, I would recommend this series for anime viewers who are 15 or 16 years of age and older.
| D.Gray-man | 103 | 2006-2008 | Osamu Nabeshima | TMS Entertainment | FUNimation Entertainment |
