(L) D.Gray-Man

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

176 is out. All I can say is: I think Link may have to fight next week.

I say, Allen and Kanda are almost scarier than the Lv 4

[Guido]

Actually, I'm very excited at how this arc is developing.

It seems that the Earl and his minions are placing or casting restrictions so as....

Spoiler:

to prevent Allen from using his cursed eye and powers as the Musician, therefore, leaving him opened and at a tactical disadvantage against the incoming Akuma breakout.

The most interesting of all is that Hoshino-sensei explores a little bit the nature of the Akuma regarding their levels.

Spoiler:

The Level 4 was sent personally to deal against Allen (now stripped off his Musician abilities), Kanda, and Marie, while the other Akuma who tresspassed the barrier are all Level 3 in charge to slaughter Timothy and the surviving orphans, in order for them to steal the Innocence.

The interesting of all this is that there's only a single Lv. 4 duking it, while we have a group of Lv. 3 going for the hunt in separate paths.

The thing is that:
Level 1 are foot soldiers all clumped together in groups
Level 2 while individual in nature, they cooperate with each other in teams and serve as managers to the Level 1.
Level 3 start to compete and behave aggressively towards each other when provoked, thus an inter strife will ensue. They only remain in groups if ordered by the Earl or the Noah family, but they look down upon the lowered level Akuma.
Level 4 are absolutely lonely hunters. They'll kill anything in sight regardless of friend and foe or human and Akuma, however, they still maintain their loyalty only to the Earl. It remains to be seen if they are subservient to the Noah family as well.

[Arabesque]

Originally Posted by Guido

Actually, I'm very excited at how this arc is developing.

It seems that the Earl and his minions are placing or casting restrictions so as....

Spoiler:

to prevent Allen from using his cursed eye and powers as the Musician, therefore, leaving him opened and at a tactical disadvantage against the incoming Akuma breakout.

Spoiler for :

While I like the idea that Allen won't be able to use his powers and the earl having had much common sense to actually take measures to restrict, to tell you the truth, I always thought that Allen’s eye was overrated, as he never really needed to materialise an Akumas soul except for once, and his ability to see where the Akumas are was pretty much his only advantage over them. So other than the fact he won’t be able to see the Akumas downstairs, he is pretty much not really at a disadvantage.

Originally Posted by Guido

The most interesting of all is that Hoshino-sensei explores a little bit the nature of the Akuma regarding their levels.

Spoiler:

The Level 4 was sent personally to deal against Allen (now stripped off his Musician abilities), Kanda, and Marie, while the other Akuma who tresspassed the barrier are all Level 3 in charge to slaughter Timothy and the surviving orphans, in order for them to steal the Innocence.

The interesting of all this is that there's only a single Lv. 4 duking it, while we have a group of Lv. 3 going for the hunt in separate paths.

The thing is that:
Level 1 are foot soldiers all clumped together in groups
Level 2 while individual in nature, they cooperate with each other in teams and serve as managers to the Level 1.
Level 3 start to compete and behave aggressively towards each other when provoked, thus an inter strife will ensue. They only remain in groups if ordered by the Earl or the Noah family, but they look down upon the lowered level Akuma.
Level 4 are absolutely lonely hunters. They'll kill anything in sight regardless of friend and foe or human and Akuma, however, they still maintain their loyalty only to the Earl. It remains to be seen if they are subservient to the Noah family as well.

Spoiler for :

That seems to be a good way to list it. It seems the more the Akuma evolves, they start to gain more negative aspects of humans. So I think that you might be on to something there.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

Spoiler for :

I always thought that Allen’s eye was overrated, as he never really needed to materialise an Akumas soul except for once, and his ability to see where the Akumas are was pretty much his only advantage over them. So other than the fact he won’t be able to see the Akumas downstairs, he is pretty much not really at a disadvantage.

I disagree though. The most dangerous thing about the Akuma is that they can hide themselves as human in plain sight, until Allen came along the Black Order had no way to counter this problem.

To be able to know where the enemies are is a great advantage overall tactically.

Look at the situation now- The Exorcists wouldn't have been caught offguard had Allen's eye been working, he would have noticed the Akumas getting into position, and would have told Link to get the children away from there, but now Timonthy and Link have walked into their trap.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

I disagree though. The most dangerous thing about the Akuma is that they can hide themselves as human in plain sight, until Allen came along the Black Order had no way to counter this problem.

To be able to know where the enemies are is a great advantage overall tactically.

Look at the situation now- The Exorcists wouldn't have been caught offguard had Allen's eye been working, he would have noticed the Akumas getting into position, and would have told Link to get the children away from there, but now Timonthy and Link have walked into their trap.

Well, each Exorcist had his way of dealing with this. Lavi hid his mistrust for everyone behind his mask, while Kanda just, in effect, shove his sword up their asses if they chose to tackle him. (The really glaring loophole in his powers was in the Ghost of Matel arc. After that, Akuma= dead meat in front of him. We'll see if the level 4 goes along the trend.)

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

Well, each Exorcist had his way of dealing with this. Lavi hid his mistrust for everyone behind his mask, while Kanda just, in effect, shove his sword up their asses if they chose to tackle him. (The really glaring loophole in his powers was in the Ghost of Matel arc. After that, Akuma= dead meat in front of him. We'll see if the level 4 goes along the trend.)

Yes, but that is effectively waiting for the enemy to act first, which not something you want to let happen everytime. Sure the Exorcists have learnt to deal with it to the point where they probably won't die to a sudden ambush, but what about the mission?

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Yes, but that is effectively waiting for the enemy to act first, which not something you want to let happen everytime. Sure the Exorcists have learnt to deal with it to the point where they probably won't die to a sudden ambush, but what about the mission?

As it is, their roles are never strictly defined. In times of relative peace, they are supposed to investigate and recover Innocence (Ghost of Matel) + recruit new Exorcists (Miranda and Krory). During times of war, they are in effect useless, although they're supposed to be the foot soldiers. In fact, I'm almost inclined to put the average Exorcist under the "Red Shirt Army" label.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

As it is, their roles are never strictly defined. In times of relative peace, they are supposed to investigate and recover Innocence (Ghost of Matel) + recruit new Exorcists (Miranda and Krory). During times of war, they are in effect useless, although they're supposed to be the foot soldiers. In fact, I'm almost inclined to put the average Exorcist under the "Red Shirt Army" label.

/facepalm

I mean, even if they could survive the initial attack, they might find themselves in a situation where they cannot complete their mission, or rather it's been made even more difficult. Just like what happened in this chapter.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

/facepalm

I mean, even if they could survive the initial attack, they might find themselves in a situation where they cannot complete their mission, or rather it's been made even more difficult. Just like what happened in this chapter.

Link's words already gave us a hint on Central's doctrine: Orthodoxy trumps reality. Cross's many occult abilities were useful in his job, but he had to keep them hidden. One could almost come to the conclusion that Central doesn't care too much about the Exorcists.

4th wall-wise, this chapter's probable use would be to showcase Link's fighting skills, as controlled by him. Also, maybe, just maybe, we get Ghost of Martel, take 2, where Kanda and Allen work together.

[Chaos2Frozen]

yezhanquan...

Why does it seem like we're not talking about the same thing?

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

yezhanquan...

Why does it seem like we're not talking about the same thing?

If that is the case, I must apologise. My lack of sleep must have gotten to me.

[andrewsch5658]

Spoiler for 176:

How did the earl know how to create a seal on Allen’s cursed left eye and the power of musician? Are the skulls control it on the black ark? Did you guys/gals think the postman will be useful in this arc or just a passby character? His their only hope for reinforcement.

Not only level 4 they need to deal, but also 3 others akuma.(level 3,level 2)

Horray for Allen and Kanda for kicking the level 4’s head. Credit to Marie for throwing that level 4 around with his innocence but the level 4 doesn’t seem hurt at all.

Allen and Link argument is really funny. Poor Allen been on the suck position. The 3 of them(Allen,Kanda and Marie) had to work together in order to defeat the level 4.

Oh My, what happen to the director woman-so creepy?

Overall, really an interesting and awesome chapter. Show more stuff on what the skulls can do other than guarding the egg. This time, the earl been really serious and seen focuses on defeating Allen is his current primary plan. Next chapter is gonna be more interesting IMO. It seems that this week chapter not that long, too bad for that. Looking forward for next week chapter.

Note: I think almost everyone notice that this arc had a lot of kicking scene/action. The level 4 became muscular? That’s just strange, never though off that to happen. (Wel,that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.)

[ffantasy24]

Hmm.Is it just me or is Hoshino sensei getting a bit skimpy on the artwork lately?There are alot of scenes with Allen and Co's faces in plain black with only dots for the eyes.Kinda feels as though she doesn't have time or didn't bother putting in actual facial expressions, and instead just filling in space with ink:S
Hoping that's not the case.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by ffantasy24

Hmm.Is it just me or is Hoshino sensei getting a bit skimpy on the artwork lately?There are alot of scenes with Allen and Co's faces in plain black with only dots for the eyes.Kinda feels as though she doesn't have time or didn't bother putting in actual facial expressions, and instead just filling in space with ink:S
Hoping that's not the case.

DGM's art has always been a bit iffy. However, if that gets the series killed, I vote that DGM be continued as a light novel series.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by ffantasy24

Hmm.Is it just me or is Hoshino sensei getting a bit skimpy on the artwork lately?There are alot of scenes with Allen and Co's faces in plain black with only dots for the eyes.Kinda feels as though she doesn't have time or didn't bother putting in actual facial expressions, and instead just filling in space with ink:S
Hoping that's not the case.

And by alot, you mean two?

/facepalm

It's meant to emphsize on the ferocity of Allen's and Kanda's attack. Seriously people, I don't want to be rude, but that's actually common sense

Originally Posted by andrewsch5658

Spoiler for 176:

How did the earl know how to create a seal on Allen’s cursed left eye and the power of musician? Are the skulls control it on the black ark? Did you guys/gals think the postman will be useful in this arc or just a passby character? His their only hope for reinforcement.

Well, the Skulls didn't seal Allen's eye like putting a lock on it or something... It's more like trapping them is a separate dimension/space. That would explain why Allen couldn't create a door out. And since the curse eye was hinted to function much like an Akuma, I would imagine the Earl would know a thing or two about stopping it...

...But this part is just my guess.

Originally Posted by andrewsch5658

Spoiler for 176:

Oh My, what happen to the director woman-so creepy?

How ironic... It was just moments ago that I finished watching "Exorcist: The Beginning".

Originally Posted by andrewsch5658

Overall, really an interesting and awesome chapter. Show more stuff on what the skulls can do other than guarding the egg. This time, the earl been really serious and seen focuses on defeating Allen is his current primary plan. Next chapter is gonna be more interesting IMO. It seems that this week chapter not that long, too bad for that. Looking forward for next week chapter.

Note: I think almost everyone notice that this arc had a lot of kicking scene/action. The level 4 became muscular? That’s just strange, never though off that to happen. (Wel,that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.)

I'm suprised by the revelation that Allen's Musician powers also allows him to create doorways into the Ark. I apologise if it was revealed earlier and I missed that detail.

But... Doesn't this reminds you alot like Road's power ?

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

I'm suprised by the revelation that Allen's Musician powers also allows him to create doorways into the Ark. I apologise if it was revealed earlier and I missed that detail.

But... Doesn't this reminds you alot like Road's power ?

Well, it was stated that Road had the 14th's powers, in the sense that she was the only other Noah who could control the Ark.

As for the seal on Allen's powers, it is possible that the Skulls came up with the solution (their knowledge being their own), but since they draw their powers from the Earl, the Earl was in a way responsible as well.

[ffantasy24]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

And by alot, you mean two?

/facepalm

It's meant to emphsize on the ferocity of Allen's and Kanda's attack. Seriously people, I don't want to be rude, but that's actually common sense

Twice can actually be considered very frequent, bearing in mind that this is in a mere 17 page issue.And I don't mean just the newest chapter, it's happened alot in the previous few chapters as well, that's why I thought it was kinda strange. It could just be Hoshino sensei's new style of art, but she's made the effort to include details in similar fight scenes in the past, which is why the sudden change seemed a little odd, plus with her recent tendency to prolong deadlines, I don't think its unreasonable to get the impression that she is often short of time and is sacrificing details for it. Again, this is just my opinion.You don't have to agree or feel the need to counteract to it.

And with the blank space=ferocity idea, it's a highly plausible idea, but I don't think u can be that certain in that it is DEFINITELY common sense. Everyone has different ways of interpretation, especially towards something as abstract as art.The blank faces could mean alot of things, not just ferocity,so ur apprehension there is slightly uncalled for no?

[yezhanquan]

No DGM this week. Seems like Hoshino-sensei is making DGM an unofficial one-chapter-every-two-weeks series. Sheesh.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

No DGM this week. Seems like Hoshino-sensei is making DGM an unofficial one-chapter-every-two-weeks series. Sheesh.

All the more reason why people should just give up on waiting for a second third season.

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

All the more reason why people should just give up on waiting for a second season.

Well, not so keen on it myself. 1 OVA series per arc sounds fair enough to me.