Creative Staff
Story: Katsura Hoshino
Art: Katsura Hoshino
Translation/Adaptation: Lance Caselman
What They Say
Allen has been revealed to be the embodiment of one of a special class of demons known as the Noah, but some of his friends don’t want to believe he’d really go over to their side. Finding Allen and getting him to clear up the matter, however, proves to be a difficult and extremely dangerous proposition.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ever since the discovery that Allen is the reincarnate host for the Fourteenth Noah, things have understandably been a bit shaky in the Order. Volume 23 mostly deals with the aftermath of Allen’s disappearance since he left to try and conquer the Fourteenth. The combination of emotional resonance and comedy really work well here as we deal with two new plot threads. The first thread is that of the reappearance of Kanda. Ever since Allen sent Kanda and Alma away to fight without endangering the others, our large cast of supporting characters had all believed Kanda to be dead. The joy and surprise on everyone’s faces really make his reappearance heartwarming, but the crux of this thread is Kanda’s decision to return to the Order. His decision is one of curiosity as Kanda always hated the Order; and with the revelations during the Alma arc, he should down right loathe it. Kanda’s reasoning for returning to the Order is something that adds the amount of character development and sympathy needed to help maintain reader interest. Kanda was always a good character, but there was little reason to root for him and fully engage in his character. This volume rectifies that in spades.
The other plot thread deals with Johnny of the Science Division. Johnny has quit the Order to go home and take care of the family business because his mother has grown ill. Of course that’s only what he says as his excuse for quitting and the “truth” that is passed around after his departure. The real reason is because Johnny has decided to go off on his own to search for Allen. With this storyline, we get mostly comedy in the form of tearful goodbyes the only way our cast of crazies know how, in as silly a way as possible. Once Johnny begins his journey, he teams up with Kanda in the search for Allen thus fusing the two plots together. I really liked how this worked because it is not uncommon for D. Gray-Man to have too many storylines/characters running simultaneously. Usually, this can make reading a volume or chapter slightly confusing as you are trying to maintain what’s what and who’s who amidst all the action and chaos. This turn of events allows the story to have a strong focus which works only to its benefit.
We get extremely clean artwork throughout the entire volume and when the actions starts ramping up towards the end, there is a vision of clarity that allows the book to deliver the plot and show the characters, interactions, and action without ever getting muddled. The book overall really doesn’t have too much happen in it, but the deliberate pacing makes each chapter that much more effective. I like D. Gray-Man when it is crazy, I love it when the plot twists come flying and everything becomes that much denser; but it’s near perfect when it takes a breather. Much like the last volume, volume 23 is paced wonderfully but has more of a sense of urgency in its plot that makes it that much more captivating and essential.
In Summary
The “Oh Shit” moments don’t come until the end of the volume which makes this book seem meandering at first glance. However, because it takes its time and builds up the story and emotion with the characters with more than enough time before the ball starts rolling, this book seems like a lynchpin almost. Without it the story becomes too rushed. Without it, readers having a hard time following the overarching story may lose interest with the continuously fast pace where there’s only a chapter or two to take a breath. However, with it, it seems as if a whole book of filler taking up time. That can be bad as well but that is not the case. Volume 23 is a terrific addition to the D. Gray-Man saga that balances everything out perfectly but with more meaning than the last volume. It also acts as a great buffer to not just excite the reader for what comes next (every volume does that in some way), but to recharge the reader, to let us know that the steam isn’t running out but rather growing into something much more substantial.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: December 4th, 2012
MSRP: $9.99
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