D.Gray-Man, Vol. 3 (edition 2006)

This was great. I actually thought the art was well done and it made me want to read more. ( )

This was great. I actually thought the art was well done and it made me want to read more. ( )

Allen Walker, an exorcist sworn to destroy evil spirits called akuma, is once again sent out to collect "innocence," a weapon against akuma. This time he and fellow exorcist Lenalee are dispatched to a rewinding city, where it's been October 9th for more than a month. Only one woman in the city, a klutz named Miranda Lotto, is aware that the day keeps repeating itself. But there are also akuma wandering the city, and a mysterious girl who claims to be part of an organization called The Clan of Noah.

So I wasn't too happy with the last volume of D. Gray-Man. The third volume was an improvement, though there's still a lot of silliness in the first chapter. Once the story actually settles down and gets started (boo giant robots going crazy!), you begin to feel comfortable with the characters and the artwork. There are less of the constant jumps between fighting and dialog, unlike volume 2. The characters also develop more, particularly Miranda, who moves from being a side character to someone we'll see further in the storyline (I hope!). Road Kamelot, a member of the Clan of Noah, was something of an eye-sore to me - she looks a lot like Sora from Kingdom Hearts, in his Nightmare before Christmas attire, but with a mini-skirt and black-and-white socks. The umbrella and some of the weapons/doors that Road uses look like they were taken straight out of Kingdom Hearts, so that bugged me.

Overall, I think the storyline progressed more and the artwork really improved - though I still don't think it's as good as the very first volume. Miranda was the character in this book that really kept my attention, and I hope to see here again. Onward to the next volume, I suppose! ( )