D. Gray-Man: Season One, Part One Blu-ray features mediocre video and solid audio in this mediocre Blu-ray release
Darkness is moving in, and young exorcist Allen Walker is humanity's greatest hope against the wicked forces conspiring to bring civilization to its knees. Akuma - cruel spirits born of tragedy and lost souls - lurk in every shadow, willing and eager to do the bidding of their leader, the dread Millennium Earl. With an eye cursed to see evil in its truest form and blessed with an arm to slay soul-devouring demons, Allen stands ready to confront the gathering storm. Should he fail, Innocence will be lost forever.
With the recent release of D. Gray-man on Blu-ray, Funimation switched gears by delivering bite-sized portions of the lengthy first season, rather than offering a colossal 51-episode box set. While I can't say I'm all that excited about playing the waiting game for subsequent episodes, it appears the next 13-episode bundle is set for release only four months after this collection (not that bad considering the typical release schedule during the DVD days). For those unfamiliar with the anime series, D. Gray-man originally began as a critically-acclaimed 2004 manga production, written and illustrated by Katsura Hoshino. Given the popularity of the manga publications, D. Gray-Man was licensed to TMS Entertainment and Aniplex to create a 103-episode anime series spanning 2 seasons between 2006 and 2008.
Allen Walker seems pleased with himself.
15-year-old Allen Walker is a young man with a heart of gold and a powerful secret. As a child, he discovered his left arm possesses the ability to transform into a deadly weapon when demonic beings known as Akuma are present. Following a tragic set of circumstances, Allen is taken in by a General of the Black Order named Cross Marian, who recognizes the strength within the young boy. Trained in the way of the Exorcist (warriors tasked with destroying the Akuma), Allen soon realizes his arm isn't the only gift bestowed upon him, as encounters with various Akuma reveal Allen's unique ability to identify the demons within the human vessels they inhabit. Other Exorcists don't possess this ability, so they rely on their instincts and quick reaction time when faced with the sudden emergence of the Akuma. Thanks to teachings of General Cross, Allen also learns the Akuma are mechanized monsters containing the human soul of a deceased human. Brought to life by a powerful trickster known as the Earl of Millenium, Akuma must be called forth by the lips of a grieving loved one, who then serve as a vessel for the enslaved soul within the Akuma (it makes more sense if you have a visual representation). The Earl of Millenium intends to destroy all of humanity using his army of Akuma slaves, but recognizes the realistic threat of the Akuma-hunting Exorcists of the Black Order. Knowing the Exorcists require spiritual pieces known as Innocence in order to defeat the demon army, the two sides begin an epic power struggle for the hidden shards of Innocence.
This is my first exposure to D. Gray-man, but I definitely enjoyed what the series has to offer so far. It's always difficult to judge a series when you only have a fraction of the 103-episode series available, but if this 13-episode introduction is an accurate taste of what we can expect out of the rest of the show, I'll be one happy camper. Digging into the meat of the first 2-disc set, the strengths thus far lie in the revelations of Allen Walker's tragic past, and a well-staged introduction to the world of Exorcists and Akuma. Within the first two episodes, we have a pretty good idea where everyone stands in the epic power struggle, which lends the series room to breathe throughout the episodes that follow. This could have posed a problem if episodes 3-13 were devoid of revelations, but it soon becomes apparent Allen and the Black Order have a great deal to learn about the Earl of Millenium and each other.
Moving on to the structure of the series, I have two minor complaints worth pointing out. First, there's a tendency for individual story arch's to carry on through one too many episodes. I'm never one to complain about extended plotlines, but the self-contained episodes maintain a brisk pace that's often lost when they extend the plot beyond a 2-episode arch. A prime example is the sad story of Miranda Lotto, who eventually discovers she's an "accommodator" of Innocence. This drawn out story continues throughout episodes 9-12, despite an overall lack of interesting elements. Some may argue the introduction of Road as the first villain from the Noah Group is worth four episodes, but I quickly grew tired of the ongoing discourse between Allen and Road, coupled with Miranda's constant crying. By the time I reached episode 13, my patience was wearing a little thin. My second complaint regarding the structure of the plot and the flow of the series has to do with the antics in episode eight ("The Black Order Annihilation Incident"). I don't mind a certain degree of comedy to counter the depressing aspects of most episodes, but number eight felt like a tacked on waste of time that failed to generate many laughs. The comedy in Japanese anime has a tendency to be a bit hit-or-miss, with some viewers loving it and others grimacing, but I usually count myself in the camp that appreciates some level of comic relief if it suits the material. To each their own, but I'll likely be skipping episode eight on repeat viewings.
Aside from those two flaws, there aren't any missteps worth pointing out. Allen Walker is an interesting character that undergoes a noticeable transformation over the first 13 episodes; Earl of Millenium is an effective villain who grins and laughs as he engages in the most unthinkable deeds; and the supporting players on both sides exhibit a sense of depth that's sure to grow as the first season continues. Beyond the plot of the series, the animation is a pleasure to behold, with fluid character movement, realistic human proportions, and well-rendered effects. Background art could contain a bit more detail if we're getting nitpicky, but for a 51-episode television series, there's little reason to complain.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 21Mbps), D. Gray-man offers one of the sloppiest visual presentations I've seen from Funimation. In recent months there've been growing concerns over the use of digital noise reduction on anime productions from Funimation (Samurai Champloo and Basilisk to be exact), but the newly released 2-disc set of D. Gray-man is easily the weakest entry out of the three. The most egregious offense is the presence of noticeable stair-stepping along fine lines (such as character outlines), which I'd expect to be less of a problem with the transition to 1080p. The second major deficiency is the appearance of aliasing within blocks of consistent color (you'll notice the effect when a slightly brighter color is moving in odd waves over the top of the source coloring). The presence of these issues in such a noticeable fashion raises concern over the level of quality control at Funimation these days, and may indicate a need to slow down their aggressive release schedule in order to focus on the consistency of their product. I recently contacted the video team at Funimation regarding the overuse of DNR, and received an acknowledgement that too much grain was removed in the completion of recent transfers (not necessarily D. Gray-man), and they are working toward remaining faithful to the source material. Perhaps the first release of the D. Gray-man series will mark the end of what could be perceived as a recent drop in quality from the heavy-hitting anime studio.
Moving away from the negative aspects of the transfer, I was largely pleased with the coloring of the predominantly dark series, and felt black levels demonstrated average depth. Contrast showed a degree of weakness at times, as if brightness had been kicked up to offset the dark nature of the show, but taken as a whole it wasn't something I'd consider bothersome.
In the end, D. Gray-man is a bit of a disappointment in the transition to high-definition, and leaves plenty of room for improvement as the series moves forward.
Mirroring Funimation's DVD release from a year ago, The Blu-ray contains the original Japanese language track in Dolby Digital 2.0 (not Dolby TrueHD 2.0 as the back cover indicates), but offers a lossless upgrade for the 5.1 English dubbed track. In a perfect world, I'd hope for a lossless surround option in the native language of the series, but considering the limitations of the original recording, my only disappointment with this effort lies in the decision to stick with a lossy 2.0 track, rather than providing a lossless 2-channel option. As always, I prefer the native language on any foreign-produced series, so I was somewhat disappointed in the diminished quality of the Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The front-heavy mix lacks the depth of finely tuned surround separation, leaving us with an experience that's merely adequate at getting the job done (but not what I'd consider a value-added audio experience). The English dub on the other hand, demonstrates an excellent sense of immersion, separating nuances in the audio effects to create a wild roller-coaster ride. The world of D. Gray-man melds the atmosphere of 19th century England with technology of the future to create a balance between familiar and fantasy elements. As such, we have musical selections and environmental effects that often seem quaint and innocent, but transform into cold, violent themes with the drop of a hat. The battle sequences between the Exorcists and the Akuma are often lengthy standoffs with each side progressing through increasingly powerful weaponry. The Akuma favor rockets and cannons, which project effects throughout the surround field, while the Exorcists typically utilize traditional hand-to-hand weaponry. During the blade encounters, the clashing sound of metal-on-metal registers with amazing clarity, demonstrating the precision of the mix. From the standpoint of volume balance, every element is given appropriate weight, without one aspect overpowering another.
If I had the option of scoring the audio offerings separately, I'd give the English track a 4/5, and the Japanese track a 2.5/5. The differences between the two tracks are certainly noticeable, but the lack of surround separation on the Japanese mix never downgraded my overall enjoyment of the show.
As a side-note, there've been reports of an audio-sync problem on the English dub during episode ten (second disc). After hearing about the problems some were having, I tested the episode on my Samsung 1500 Blu-ray player, and noticed the audio from episode 11 plays over episode 10. However, upon testing the disc on my Playstation 3, the problem had disappeared. I haven't attempted a firmware update on my Samsung yet, but it appears this could be a player-specific issue.
The supplements on this release are limited to a commentary track on episode two, a collection of trailers for other Funimation releases, and textless opening and closing songs. The English commentary features Todd Haberkorn (voice of Allen Walker and director of the English voice cast) and Luci Christian (voice of Lenalee Lee and contributing writer on the English version). Rather than focusing on the action in the episode, the pair discuss the casting decisions for the series and the difficulties Haberkorn encountered while splitting his time between voice work and directing.
The first 13 episodes of D. Gray-man build a good base for the rest of the series to build on. By the end of this initial collection, we know Allen is expected to play a large role in a terrible prophecy, and the Earl of Millenium has enlisted the aid of a group known as Noah. Both revelations look to play a role in the direction of the series, and should make for a high level of entertainment in the episodes to come. Although I've expressed my overall enjoyment of the series from a content standpoint, this still doesn't register on my list of greatest anime offerings, and I'm going to pass on a recommendation at this point. 13 episodes simply isn't enough content to offer a recommendation on the merits of a 103-episode series, so I'll stick with a rental suggestion at this point.
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