D.GRAY-MAN FAN EVENT (05/11/2023) ENGLISH SUM-UP
Hello.
As you may know, there was a D.Gray-man fan meeting with Hoshino Sensei on November, 5th. I've written a small thread for the ones who wanted just the essential information, but here, I'll do a more detailed translation of what has been said during the event.
How did the event take place ? The fan who were present selected their favorite panels from the manga and Hoshino Sensei would comment them and explain them in front of the fan. Then, she answered some fans' questions.
There is no real spoiler
I. Manga panels explanation
1. Kanda and Allen speaking after the Mattel mission "I want to be an destroyer who can save people"
She insisted on the fact that broken things like, Lala, don't come back to their former state. This includes Timcampy as well (😭). So did Allen really save Guzol and Lala ? That's up to the reader.
She wanted Guzol to say "I love you" (Ai shite iru) but it ended up in "Daisuki" because at this moment, Guzol was like a small kid.
2. Lenalee drinking her Innocence during the Invasion ark
She wanted to draw Lenalee as beautifully as possible. Like if she were drinking holy water. It's almost a religious type of drawing.
Hoshino sensei said she will write again about the relationship and the past of Komui and Lenalee. It was a very hard scene to draw. The words "I'm off" (Ittekimasu) "I'm home" (Tadaima) "Welcome home" (okaeri) are very important words in D.Gray-man
3. When Allen tries to save Suman
At this time, Hoshino Sensei was not very sure how to draw Allen. It was the first time she was drawing Allen in such a weak state (physically and psychologically). However, Allen is at his weakest, it is the reason why he wanted to help Suman. It's very Shonen-manga like.
At first, Hoshino Sensei wanted to save Suman as well, but then, Tyki came out and she understood she had no other choice but to kill him.
4. The first activation of Clown Crown
She wanted to show Allen becoming less and less human, almost like a saint. Also, it's the very first change of Allen : he changed from being a boy to being a man. For Hoshino sensei, it was her first goodbye with the former Allen. It was difficult (psychologically) to draw.
A fan asked why it was an AKUMA, and not a Noah himself, who attacked the Asiatic branch. She answered Allen can feel AKUMAS, so if it were a Noah, Allen would have taken more time to realise he was there. Besides, AKUMA can report to Noahs, so they would have known what happened anyways. At last, for Allen, AKUMAS are one of his reasons of living, so she made AKUMAS attacked the Asian branch.
Also, she knew the Allen and the Earl would face eventually and she decided that it would be the occasion to show Allen is the counter part of the Earl (Good clown/Crown Clown VS the Earl)
A fan asked if Hoshino Sensei was first thinking about the Innocence, or the character ? And does the Innocence have a personality ?
She answered the Innocence is like a character for her, it has its own personality and its own will.
5. The scene between Alma and Kanda in Mattel
From the moment Kanda and Alma were in the Order together, Kanda has always wanted to tell him to run together. Kanda wanted to run away, from a very a long time. It was the first time Kanda was really honest with his feelings. Hoshino Sensei was literally screaming while writing this scene.
Q. Why is the background white for this scene ?
A. It is white because Sensei wanted to show it was only the two of them in their world.
Q. Where do the children from the Second exorcist project come from ?
A. They are male babies, abandoned by their families, that the Order picked up. Because it is a project from the Asian branch, it is mostly Asian kids.
6. The scene with master Zu and Kanda (when he comes back)
For Hoshino sensei, this was the moment Kanda became Kanda Yu. Until this moment, Kanda was caught up in his past, but he got free.
Q. Do Lenalee and Kanda have a romantic interest?
A. They don't ! Actually, for Hoshino Sensei, Lenalee thought it was kind of disgusting when Kanda drank the Innocence from her hand.
7. The scene with Lenalee and Allen when he runs from the Order : Allen-kun, where are you going ?
So, for this scene, Hoshino Sensei had really a lot of troubles to think about the dialogue. It is easy to write empty but cool dialogues, but she didn't want to do that with D.Gray-man. When she writes a dialogue for Allen, it needs to match to Allen personality. You have to think that a bit of Hoshino Sensei is within Allen as well.
Q. When you were writing the characters's ressources at the beginning, did you know Allen would run away from the Order ?
A. Yes, I knew it but since it was a long time ago (when I first wrote the characters story lines), I realised it didn't match what I was writing so I had to change a bit.
Q. When will Lavi appear ?
A. I won't make you wait five more years. Probably next year, I'm preparing it. Lavi will appear soon, please wait ! However, I don't know if he will appear in a form that everyone wished for (!)
Q. Recently, Allen has not cried a lot even though he is going through a lot. When it's hard, he is smiling. Will he ever be saved ?
A. Allen is wearing Mana's mask, if he is not wearing it, he could not live on. This is the reason why I feel Allen is cursed in many ways. I think Allen will really cry a lot when he will have to face Nea. In the future, Allen will definitely cry a lot.
8. I thank you Allen Walker (by Kanda)
This scene is the last moment of Kanda before he comes back as Kanda Yu.
When he said those words, he was 80% his old self, when she means his old self, she means the base of the Second exorcist project.
9. The scene where everyone says to Allen "Welcome home" after the ark
To be honest, she is not sure Allen will ever be told "Welcome home" again. Allen never thought in the first place he would have a life where someone would tell him welcome home as he is an orphan.
Q. Do you think Kanda will call Allen by his name again ?
A. For me, for the moment, there is no chance.
Q. Did Road know Allen was the host ?
A. Yes, she knew it from the moment they met.
Q. Has D.Gray-man ever encountered the risk of being discontinued?
A. No, never. During the meeting for the 10 years of the publication, I was afraid it would, but the editors never talked about it. I was so happy and I understood I had still a long ride to go.
II. Random facts (fan questions)
-Cross Marian purposely chose a name that sounded too good to be true, like a perfect name. It is not his real name. We will discover more about him, but it will be probably after Lavu appears.
-Kanda uses soap, Cross made his own shampoo and Tyki has someone washing his hair for him
-If Allen has a bad mouth, it is because of his education and environment when he was young. For Kanda, it is just because of his personality.
-Road has good grades at school, as she lived fro many years. She asked other Noahs to help her with her homeworks just because she didn't want to do it.
-Cross likes determined women. Allen likes women who can cook and who can make him feel at home.
-Jasdevi don't wear underwears.
- Obviously, there is a reason why Tyki looks like Nea
- Kanda doesn't eat what Link cooks because he hates CROWS.
- In the chapter where Allen is trapped within Nea's world and talking with Cross, Allen has a kid represents his anxiety and worries. As an adult, he embodies his will and determination.
Well, that's all ! Maybe there are things that I missed but it is because this sum up is a patchwork of different Japanese sum up, as there is no transcript of the talk show.
Thank you for reading !
