Chapter 212 Discussions and Chapter 213 Theories

**Mikki Walker** · 02-04-2012, 10:10 PM

**Freakanzoy** · 02-05-2012, 02:47 AM

You're an angel!
I've been checking my usual manga site impatiently these last few days, I almost exploded

Thanks!

**Sinamon** · 02-05-2012, 06:39 AM

so we find out more things we already suspected (link is still alive) and an image of mana looking like tyki (neah looks like tyki who looks like mana; they're all kinda related, no surprise there). then we find out that somehow johnny has secretly turned into the lenalee of the series. johnny and allen are crying like babies lately...i wonder if people are going to crucify them for crying as much as lenalee has been over this series. she should just step in and wake allen up with a kiss. that is...unless johnny wants to do that first, sheesh!

i didn't know that central provided botox injections. if the panel didn't blatantly say "LINK IS ALIVE!!" i wouldn't have known who the hell that was cuz it doesn't look like him -- unless it was link from 10 years ago or something. again, i really want to know who's drawing this series.

it's on indefinite hiatus again, folks. *sigh*

**Freakanzoy** · 02-05-2012, 09:08 AM

Woah, indefinate hiatus?
Could you please give me a link or source?

Oh man

We suspected ages ago Link was alive, so no surprises there. He's apparently needed to save both Allen and the 14th, again, no surprises he's showed up near Allen

I don't mind Allen and Johnny crying, because they don't cry every time even something minorly bad happens.
While I think Johnny sometimes overdoes the emotional part, he is a lot better of actively thinking of solutions. That golem was cool

I wonder what Kanda promised though? He said he promised not to tell anyone why he gave up his freedom until he dies, anyone including Allen.
Alma seemed to know something about Allen or Nea...

I'm also still annoyed by how confusingly everything's drawn. It's hard to figure what's happening sometimes.

**Sinamon** · 02-05-2012, 09:51 AM

Originally Posted by Freakanzoy

Woah, indefinate hiatus?
Could you please give me a link or source?

Oh man

We suspected ages ago Link was alive, so no surprises there. He's apparently needed to save both Allen and the 14th, again, no surprises he's showed up near Allen

I don't mind Allen and Johnny crying, because they don't cry every time even something minorly bad happens.
While I think Johnny sometimes overdoes the emotional part, he is a lot better of actively thinking of solutions. That golem was cool

I wonder what Kanda promised though? He said he promised not to tell anyone why he gave up his freedom until he dies, anyone including Allen.
Alma seemed to know something about Allen or Nea...

look on the last page of the manga, on the bottom. it says the next issue...."dgm is on a break." this is indefinite hiatus. we don't know how long this break is. in the past, it has lasted anywhere from 3 to 6 months. i hope it's not that long in this case.

we actually DO know what kanda promised -- he promised not to tell anyone, including allen, what the last moments of alma's life were. we don't specifically know why he made that promise but i wager it's because of what kanda said...that being able to have that last moment and make that kind of promise between himself and alma alone is the proof that they won their freedom in the end, regardless of whether or not kanda went back in the order, wearing the uniform. telling others about that moment between him and alma strips it of its specialness and significance and so he will keep it until he dies. makes sense. we don't need to know what the moment was, just that they had it and kanda knows it shows that allen won them their freedom. that is the proof that he and alma had, in the end, broken free, and so he never wants to give that up.

things are gonna have to wrap up pretty soon and i want to have hope in hoshino-sensei that she knows what to do to get it there. allen can't keep suppressing the 14th forever. somehow she is going to have to have the story progress where the 14th finally awakens and allen either disappears or he is able to co-exist and work with the 14th in the destruction of the earl (i am pretty sure it will be the latter). i just don't know if she knows how to do it yet and so the reason for the hiatus. the manga has been going on for 5 years now and this major story arc still hasn't been resolved, aiya.

hoshino's art style has long been a point of contention by fans because of how much it has changed since chapter 1. it started off nice and gothic and then went berserk and then went to cleaner, more simple lines, and then somehow back to kinda messy. during all that, characters started to look different from their original selves or, conversely, exactly like other characters where you couldn't tell them apart. i understand that art grows and changes and evolves. the art in rurouni kenshin, for example, changed as the series progressed (kenshin's hair got less bushy, facial expressions became less cutesy, lines became more simple, etc) but there was always a definite movement in one direction. here, in dgm, it goes to random places and back, which makes me think that a lot of the art (minor characters, backgrounds, and even some major characters) are often drawn by her assistants and she may not have the same ones consistently.

even with all this griping, i am obviously going to see this through and finish it however long it takes. i am still interested in where it will go. however, with all these breaks and delays, my grandkids may be reading it by the time it actually ends, lol

**Mikki Walker** · 02-05-2012, 11:19 AM

hoshino's art style has long been a point of contention by fans because of how much it has changed since chapter 1. it started off nice and gothic and then went berserk and then went to cleaner, more simple lines, and then somehow back to kinda messy. during all that, characters started to look different from their original selves or, conversely, exactly like other characters where you couldn't tell them apart. i understand that art grows and changes and evolves. the art in rurouni kenshin, for example, changed as the series progressed (kenshin's hair got less bushy, facial expressions became less cutesy, lines became more simple, etc) but there was always a definite movement in one direction. here, in dgm, it goes to random places and back, which makes me think that a lot of the art (minor characters, backgrounds, and even some major characters) are often drawn by her assistants and she may not have the same ones consistently.

I agree, a lot of manga artists' styles DO almost evolve as they go. I mean, sure they don't all go through such a big shift as hers has, but if you look at, say, Kurshitsuji chapter 1 and the more recent chapters you can see the difference right away. Even chapter 31's art style looks different! But there's also the fact Hoshino used to have a weekly chapter as opposed to a monthly one. It would make sense for the art to change if you're not pressed for time. But then there's also the fact you have to adjust your characters' appearances to your shift in drawing as well, and that transition may not be very well done...Personally, I love her art in each stage it went through

I rolled my eyes when Johnny cried but can't really blame Allen (Kanda's face was hilarious when they started to cry.). It makes sense he'd be a little unstable in the emotions department. If you were turning into the enemy you swore to defect and there was little hope you'd be 'alive' after the transformation was done, well, you'd be prone to tears too. He also seems to be in extreme pain and trying to keep himself in check by repeating 'It's alright' over and over. Still, credit to Johnny with the tracker golem that other golems can't find.

I now think Allen is the heart, though. Kanda says 'It looks like...a strange attachment to me.' So either Allen is special or maybe innocence isn't as innocent as we thought. (no pun intended.)

if the panel didn't blatantly say "LINK IS ALIVE!!" i wouldn't have known who the hell that was cuz it doesn't look like him -- unless it was link from 10 years ago or something. again, i really want to know who's drawing this series.

I thought Link looked like Link...

**Freakanzoy** · 02-05-2012, 12:46 PM

@ Sinnamon, whoopsie, must have missed in it all the excitedness of reading a new chapter

Definitely NOT excited about yet another issue on hiatus. DGM is my favourite manga, and I want to know moooooooore! Pandora Hearts is a close second, but as that is a monthly as well it brings little relief. However, I'm hopeful it will only be a 1 month break because they said "next issue". I probably shouldn't though

I'm not sure about Kanda only promising not to speak of Alma's last moments. He wouldn't have to give up his freedom or return to the Order to keep those to himself. If anything, I think Alma told him something that made it seem necessary to Kanda to go back to the Black Order, and find Allen.

As for the drawing style changing, I don't mind as long as characters are still recognizable (be it by their Innocence or other things). During the Alma Karma arc Allen's face was more square for example, but that didn't bother me because I could still tell it was him.
I thought in the last two chapters the eyes were a bit off though. Tyki's eyes seemed too big and close together and Link's just too big and dark.

No, what gets me is that I sometimes have to reread or really look at a panel for longer than should be necessary to understand what is happening.
It's not so bad that I don't want to read anymore, but I'd surely appreciate a bit more clarity.
I also loved both the story and the art, no matter what stage they went through.

**Sinamon** · 02-06-2012, 03:54 AM

Originally Posted by Mikki Walker

I thought Link looked like Link...

for your viewing pleasure, i submt to you the three phases of howard link. :-) (click for larger image)

Link's Makeover Again.jpg

Phase 2 and 3 are a lot more similar than Phase 1 but good lord does he look fem in Phase 3 (just my opinion). he's 20 years old but somehow he has miraculously regressed back to his early (girly) teens. i kinda like phase 2 link myself :-)

to me, kanda didn't have to come back at all but he must have come to some sort of conclusion in those 3 months he was alone (or however long it took for alma to expire). i won't deny that maybe alma said something further to kanda regarding allen that caused kanda to return but i think kanda felt some sense of obligation to allen since he was responsible for giving himself and alma that moment of freedom. kanda believes himself to be free because he is able to keep that moment between himself and alma. in thinking about kanda's return, the order is the only thing he really knows. i won't say that he has any mushy feelings for anyone there, even a sisterly lenalee, but maybe he was somehow able to reconcile the fact that he can be the person he wants to be now that he was been freed of the memories of his past.

in anycase, i wouldn't really say he has actually fully "returned" to the order anyway. even though he wears the uniform, i think kanda is now making the order work for him (getting him access to things and places, using his accoutrements to buy time at the inn, etc.) but it doesn't seem that the order really has any more control over kanda anymore. seems he just kinda up and went to look for allen on his own volition since no one at the order seems to know where kanda is at the moment lol. this sort of thing makes me think that kanda chose to return but on his own terms and will now be living on his own terms as well, even within the order. it's what a free-man does :-) bottom line -- he looks badass!

**Skittlez** · 02-06-2012, 07:59 PM

WOW Link has changed a lot... He's not even the same person anymore O_O Maybe his change in looks reflects his change in personality? That would sure be interesting. 'Cuz my looks definitely change whenever my personality does. *Says in sarcastic tone*

I'm less concerned about why Kanda went back to the order (To me, it makes sense- it's all he's ever known, and it would probably be hard for him to return to a normal life), I'm more wondering how the order is so lenient with whatever he does. Normally, it seems like Leverrier would sooner kill Kanda before letting him be as free as he is. To me, it's far too weak of an explanation that 'Kanda won't tell anyone anything, so we're just gonna let him do whatever he wants'. Even if Kanda DID just run away, there were probably plenty of people expecting it. Also, on page 6 of chapter 208, Leverrier seemed... What is it, satisfied? So either he had a personality change of his own and is less pushy (that's an understatement), or he had something planned. ORRR... I could be over thinking things. But with D.Gray-Man, ya never know~

As for what Alma said, I have a feeling it'll be revealed, but probably around when we're learning about Lavi's past. I have no idea why I think this- it's just a hunch. I also don't think it's too important; it'll probably just be a sweet, fluffy kinda thing. That, or dark and depressing. Either way, I think it'll be more like the whole "Allen, keep walking forward" thing, only for Kanda and different words, but of the same importance to the individual character, not so much the plot.

Who thinks that Lavi will die after his past is revealed? Sure, Hoshino would be killing one of the most popular characters in D.Gray-Man, but it would be pretty interesting. Although it would be hard to write/draw it so it's not just a disappointment, I think that Hoshino-sensei could pull it off. It would also be a change in pace- a character would finally die, and it would most likely mean the final events are getting closer. Though probably unlikely, it would be unexpected...

**TykiMikkFan** · 02-06-2012, 08:40 PM

My Reaction, Page by Page:
Page 1- Yay, new chapter! *begins reading*
Page 2-D. Gray-Man... the 212 night...blah, blah blah, on to the next page!
Page 3- There's something in the shadows!!! :O It's a noah probably! :D
....What the heck is Johnny holding?
Page 4- It's a fluffy golem thingy! :D Can't be tracked by the Church... Pretty cool, pretty cool~
Page 5- The little fluffy thing is so cute! :D :D :D Wait, wait, NO TIMCAMPY! DON'T EAT THE CUTE FLUF- it's gone...
Page 6- Oh yea! It's Noah time!
Page 7- I wonder what's going to happen..... O_O
Page 8- Aw, poor Allen... *wondering what's going to happen next~*
Page 9- :O I wonder....is it...?
Page 10-NEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D ...he's crying.... I wonderz....
Page 11- ....
Page 12- OH MY GOODNESS, IT'S AN AKUMA! Totally ruined the Neah and Allen moment~
Page 13- Kanda's here~
Page 14- and Johnny...
Page 15- Interesting, interesting...
Page 16- yelling, yellin- WHAT U DOING KANDA?
Page 17- ...
Page 18- They iz crying.... *looks at third panel again* O_O
Page 19- Allen!
Page 20- What is it Kanda? A Noah? :D
Page 21- Look! It's the feathers!
Page 22- Tyki memories! :D
Page 23- ...
Page 24- Go kill the Akuma, Yuu!
Page 25- sleeping Allen, lalalala- :O It's a pocketwatch! :D
Page 26- The fight with the 14th's memories~ Will it ever end? xD
Page 27- ...ladidada...Johnny talking...
Page 28- Kanda, Kanda, Kanda....
Page 29- No... Don't tell me it's...
Page 30- NOOOOOOO!!!!!
Page 31-LINK!!!!!!!!!!!! D:
I wrote this after I read the chapter so this was basically just for fun and not what I was seriously thinking when I read this xD
But seriously, can anyone please explain to me the third panel on page 18?