and like, there is no justice for alma. no justice for kanda. no justice for that child lenalee watched get experimented on. no justice for that ghost who triggered the zombie arc so she wouldn’t be alone. no justice for lenalee who’s chained to this place bc her dumbass brother joined of his own volition.
the order spent a hundred years committing crimes against humanity in the name of a holy war, only create one of the worst akuma out of their own people.
The longer I think about it, the more disgusting Alma's maternalization gets. Because Alma had been unconscious for nine years when the scientists implanted an Akuma "egg" in their body with literal markings over their stomach, while their mind was so closed off and unresponsive that even Wisely couldn't peek into it - Wisely, whose power lets him break minds like a nutcracker. Because when Alma was last conscious, they were eleven and had completely lost their will to live, tired of being exploited by the Order. Because everyone constantly referred to Alma as "the Womb" instead of a person.
The creation of Akuma has always drawn parallels to birth - not only is the whole process about resurrection, but the Earl is literally shown singing the eeriest Happy Birthday ever when an Akuma is created, and the mass of Dark Matter from which Akuma are created both resembles and is literally called an egg, and first ever Level Four is quite literally "born" from the caricature of a pregnant woman. But you know who also has been tied to the themes of birth from the start? The Seconds. It is no coincidence that when Yuu and Edgar discuss birth and love, both versions of Alma are also present in the room with them. When Edgar talks about how humans are born, when he ties the creation of life to love, he is also directly othering both Yuu and Alma from the conversation - humans are born from love, and the life humans give birth to is borne out of love. Because Yuu and Alma are Seconds, because they are subhuman "artificial" apostles, their "birth" is twisted, the purpose of their lives is twisted and later on, any life that rises from them (the Thirds that are born from Alma's cells) is also ultimately twisted.
But the truth is that Yuu and Alma had been humans all along, that they, by all means, should have been treated as humanely as anyone else. Everything they had been taught while growing up was a lie, and this whole time it was the scientists' acts that had been twisted. And nothing could drive this point better than Johnny asking why a kid has become the first womb.
Hey serious question. Do we ever actually see a single member of the Noah clan actually hurt a civilian? Like. Not the Earl or his akuma, as Cross said the Noah are tricking him, and he’s not actually a member of their clan. I mean the other Noah. Do we ever actually see them intentionally kill civilians with the level of sadism they target exorcists? The only example I can think of is Sheryl manipulating things to cause wars, and uh. That was explicitly to create more akuma to, again, target exorcists.
I’m starting to wonder if the Noah clan are the ones trying to save humanity, even if over the centuries they’ve thrown aside their morals and/or sanity to do it, just like the Black Order and the Vatican.
Especially since Wisely explicitly tells us in the Komui Discussion Room that Noah are usually pretty chill until they come in contact with innocence, which causes them to become more violent as their memories overwhelm them. Like it explains SO MUCH about their duel natures(incredibly chill and friendly with each other, making human friends, going to school or having jobs, marrying a human, and then suddenly becoming basically serial killer levels of sadistic when fighting an exorcist, ext.) Lavi even makes the observation in the same Discussion Room that the Noah become more violent or sadistic the longer they fight exorcists!
Is it just being overwhelmed by their anger at the memory of Innocence wiping out humanity?
It would we wild if we found out the reason Lenalee’s documents seemed forged was because Komui’s not actually her brother, he was just either (1) ordered to pretend to be to stop one of the few exorcists from being suicidal to the point of needing restraints or (2) felt compassion for the poor girl forced into this horrible situation and felt the need to give her some hope and human connection. Or some combination of the two.
At least, if we’re lucky, that realization will finally free Lenalee from the last chains she needed to run from her prison.
Absolutely obsessed with the way Kanda can correctly identify Apochryphos as Innocence from pain alone, because really, he is the only Exorcist who could have possibly done so.
Even Allen mistakenly thinks of Apochryphos' presence as an Accommodator's in the beginning and has to be corrected by Tyki - who is basically made of Dark Matter, who has memories from 7000 years ago as well as information from the Earl at his disposal. But Kanda?
Kanda does not need any external input to reach the truth - even after nine years since his last synchro test, he can recognise that pain anywhere, he couldn't mistake it for anything else.
And the sequence of the realisation? The hand reaching out from the darkness, encroaching over the panels like Apochryphos encroached over Kanda's memories? The fear in Yuu's eyes? The fact that the first page is the only time in the whole manga where we ever see him be genuinely, truly afraid of something? The fact that that something is Innocence?
In this blog post, I will sum up with bullet points what has been said.
But before that, a bit of context :
As some of you know, during this livestream, Hoshino Katsura has explicitly asked people to DO NOT share the content of her livestreams on other SNS (Twitter, etc.) She has not explained the reason, but after speaking with other fans, I assume it might be because she doesn't want us to take too seriously what is supposed to be a fun behind-the-scenes content. In short, it is not supposed to be the Holy Gospel of D.Gray-man, but more like personal insights on the series. For instance : in this livestream, Hoshino has stated she thinks Timcampy is a female. It doesn’t mean that canonically Tim is a female, and it has no impact on the story. But, if she had to choose, Tim would be a female. You see what I mean?
But here is the thing : those livestreams are free, public and available to everyone, there is even a replay! Anyone who understands Japanese can listen to it. When you are a best seller mangaka, I think you should take your responsibilities : if she is not comfortable with speaking on a livestream (because she is afraid of people twisting her words) she should not be speaking at all. I might sound harsh, but this is basic Internet common sense, especially when you are a public personality. Those are the rules of the game, I am not the one making the rules. As long as those contents are free, public, and available to everyone, I'll keep summing them up in English.
Now that’s been said, two disclaimers:
if you have not read D.Gray-man 257, spoilers ahead !
As explained before, this is not the absolute Gospel, do not take those anecdotes too seriously ;)
LONG POST AHEAD, please have some tea or something while reading !
- The Animate benefit, the holographic card, and the chapter: everything is about Lavi. It was not meant to be. It is a pure coincidence.
- The teaser lines (aoribun) on the chapter cover were written by her editor. It is always the editor who writes them. She discovers the teaser lines when she receives the chapter. On the last page, the editor wrote a teaser line about a “curse,” and she was like, “WTF?” She has no idea what the editor meant by “curse.” (lol)
- She drew Allen and Lavi holding a ribbon on the cover: the Bookman clan has always had deep bonds with Allen’s background as a character. This is what she wanted to represent.
- About the title of the chapter “Anomaly Encounter”: of course, Hoshino is the one who decides the title. She hesitated a lot about it. The fact that Lavi is at the Campbell mansion is one of the anomalies. Also, what is happening to Lavi, Bookman, and Allen, everything is an anomaly.
- About the chapter playlist : for every chapter, Hoshino makes a playlist to help her draw. The playlist is made of songs whose vibes match the chapter. It is not about the lyrics, but the overall atmosphere of the song. That being said, if there is one sentence or one word that matches the vibe of the chapter, she also uses the song. This time, the image song was Lemon by Kenshi Yonezu. The first sentence of the song, “If it were a dream,” matches Lavi’s feelings for this chapter perfectly. She felt like Lavi was speaking. She listened to it from the beginning until the very last page of the chapter. She thinks the vibe and rhythm of the song are perfect for Lavi. That being said, she thinks the sentence “if it were a dream” would also match Lenalee. She also listened to Wind Scene (Kaze no Jōkei) from Chrono Trigger.
-About the story board : Actually, she made the storyboard for this chapter before the COVID pandemy (so before 2020). Obviously, some elements changed between the storyboard she drew back then and the actual chapter. She had drawn the storyboard up to the middle of the chapter (she stopped just after Bookman’s death). When she first drew it, she was very satisfied with the scenario, but she tried to adapt it to her current situation. She had decided on many lines a long time ago, such as “The Bookmen are not your useful dictionary” and “We are the ones who decide to whom we speak and when we speak.”
She didn’t want to plan the storyboard too far in advance, so she stopped at the moment when Bookman says, “You’re the Bookman now,” back before the pandemy. She felt she didn’t have the strength to draw it because she didn’t want to kill Bookman. She loves him very much.
- About Lavi fighting: it is the first time she has drawn Lavi being serious about fighting. Lavi using his full power. At the Order, when Lavi fights with Kanda, he never uses his full strength. The same goes for the fights in the Ark. The reason is because Lavi is a Bookman: he cannot interfere with events and can only use his power to protect himself. So he has always been restraining himself. She thinks Lavi is the strongest among Kanda, Allen, and Lenalee, but he never uses his full strength in battle.
- About Lavi fighting (again): this time, Hoshino herself drew Lavi’s attacks (it is usually her assistant). She hates snakes, but she looked at so many snake pictures for reference that she felt sick. In the original version (pre-2020), she had not planned to burn Sheryl so much, but she felt the need to show how strong Lavi is. She likes it when Lavi says “no restriction.” She was deeply moved by how strong Lavi has become.
- She knows that the edges of her drawings will be cut when they are printed in a volume, because a volume page is smaller than a magazine page. So she voluntarily censored herself and drew Lavi’s attack smaller so that volume readers can see the full extent of the attack.
- She asks readers not to focus only on Lavi’s abs (lol).
- The most difficult scene to draw was the moment when Sheryl kicked Bookman.
- She really loves Bookman and loves drawing old men. She did not want to kill him. She also loves drawing Lavi and Bookman together. She had known for a long time that his death would come, but it was still very painful for her. She wished she could have given them a calmer environment for their separation.
- Her sister read the chapter in front of her and shared her impressions. Her sister was angry at Sheryl for calling Bookman an “old geezer.” She also found it funny that Sheryl still had enough strength to insult Lavi when Lavi was about to attack him.
Apparently, her sister was sad that the last person Bookman thought of before his death was Lavi, and not his own son, Past Lavi. But Hoshino thinks Bookman sees Lavi as his last hope. For her, this is natural and obvious. As readers, we have not seen much of Bookman’s true feelings yet, but later in the story we will learn more about his personal situation and emotions. His family (Joe, Lucia, Past Lavi) will also appear more in the future.
- She loved drawing small Lavi and thinks he is very cute.
- About Bookman’s family: her editor was amazed that readers could understand from just one word (“mother”) that Joe is Lucia’s mother.
- Hoshino had imagined many different versions of Allen’s arrival at the Campbell mansion. However, after drawing Bookman’s tragic end, she felt like drawing something bigger would be too much, so it became a small panel. In the storyboard she drew years ago, the arrival was more serious and dramatic. Still, she is satisfied with what she drew, as all the other versions felt strange to her.
- About Urcampy: it bites! She thinks of it as male. For her, Tim is closer to female. That said, golems do not have a gender. Tim might be Allen’s little brother, but it’s a girl (lol). “Don’t you feel Allen is better with a girl?” she asks.
It is the first time she has drawn Ur and Allen interacting, and she loved it. She felt like she was drawing Tim and realized how much she wanted to draw him, which made her cry.
- In the last scene, her sister criticized Ur for taking Tim’s spot.
- Of course, there is a reason why Allen has been sparkling in recent drawings.
- Past Lavi looks like his mother. Joe looks like his father.
- She always thought she was bad at drawing people carrying other people (the Wisely and Lavi scene), but she was satisfied with the result this time. She paid the most attention to Lavi’s tights when drawing this scene. If it had been Kanda, she would not have paid attention (lol). Obviously, Wisely can carry Lavi because he is a Noah.
- She cannot say much about Wisely (it’s suspicious), but because he has the magic eye, he is close to Bookman in many ways. Wisely also knows what happened 35 years ago, so he has a lot of respect for Bookman. Out of respect, he helped Lavi. By the way, this whole situation (Bookman and Lavi being captured by the Noahs, and Bookman being killed by Sheryl) is unforgivable for Wisely. It was not supposed to happen.
- The last scene between Lavi and Allen: she knows this scene can be misunderstood. That said, she thinks she drew it in the least ambiguous way possible. It is obviously not a romantic scene. For her, it is an emotional face-to-face. She had imagined two versions of this final scene, and those two versions were very different.
-She thinks that even if Lavi stayed in bed for three months, his abs would not disappear.
- Lavi will have scars from his fight with Sheryl, but they will not be as big as Allen’s. They will be small and almost invisible.
- She does not feel excited at all when drawing Kanda’s abs (lol) she’s like, “Yes, yes, we know you have abs, thank you, next.” But she did feel excited when drawing Lavi’s abs.
- She apologized for not drawing Lavi naked in the helix at the end of the chapter (lol).
- Lavi’s body (eye) reacts to the beginning of the succession ritual. When Bookman pronounces the words (Dia-ru?), the ritual begins. That is the sign, and Lavi’s body reacts.
- She was worried for years about drawing Lavi without his eyepatch, but she is satisfied with the result. She cannot say more about Lavi’s eye (suspicious).
- About Bookman’s last words: she hesitated a lot about what words to use. Those words are not from Bookman to his junior, but from a grandfather to Lavi. They are words of love. She tried to imagine what she would say to her cats in that situation. Those words will leave a deep mark on Lavi. By the way, those words are also linked to the fact that Lavi was shot by a stray bullet (cg. Bonus chapter). We will understand the connection later in the story.
- About the sentence “A Bookman has no need for a heart”: this sentence will still be important in the future. Even though Bookman has died, he remains a relevant character for the story going forward.
- She put a lot of effort into Joe’s outfit.
And that’s all for this time. I am sorry if this post was a bit long, I thought about making two parts but anyways...! Thank you for reading, as always ! And do not hesitate to comment or leave your impressions, I love to see other DGM fans' reactions 🩷
Just watched a video from someone who seemed quite confused, so I'll try to make sense of what is happening through correcting some misconceptions/assomptions that seeped into their theory. I just hope it helps people understand where we stand and what we know:
First things first, let's start with Mana and Nea.
They were raised as brothers, but in reality they are a single being, the original millenium earl, split in two. We do not know what caused this separation yet.
Mana held the memory of the Earl, which seemingly lay dormant until he reached his 17th birthday. He was a sickly child, maybe because he was fighting off his Noah memory.
Nea doesn't have any Noah memory of his own. He was called "the 14th" because he wasn't really part of the plan, and the other Noah do not see him as a real person, in many ways, but as a burden preventing the awakening of the Earl.
The year in which they turned 17, something happened. All Noah aside from Road died, something happened to the person who raised them like a mother, Katherina, and they started living on the run. We do not know what happened and why exactly, but people say Neah is the one who did something, and it was important enough Wisely locked the memory of that day for all the Noah who died. Only he, Road, and perhaps Nea know what happened.
Nea was friends with a Bookman Jr who went by Lavi. This guy betrayed his mission by taking Nea's side, and when it became clear Nea would eventually die, he aimed to become host to Nea's reincarnation. We do not know why Nea's death felt imminent or what the exact end goal for his reincarnation is, but as far as we do know, Nea wants to become the Millenium Earl in Mana's stead. Lavi never became a host because Nea made a deal with Allen first.
Onto Lavi and the "Bookman clan" now
The Bookmen are people who walk the earth and record history, more importantly the secrets that lay beneath the main History. They also work as informants.
Bookmen can only exist in pairs of two at most at a time, the Bookman in title, and his apprentice. There seems to be some sort of reincarnation system where one gets born whenever another one dies.
Their memory gets recorded through their blood. We do not yet know the importance or the functioning for this.
The Bookman clan, I.e the Zoogle, are a large group of people all connected by Bookman through a wide family tree (yes, the Bookmen all get some, and have a large descendence). It is said they can stand on opposite sides of a war without ever knowing their connection. They provide funding and support for the Bookmen to continue their mission smoothly.
The first Lavi seems to be the old Bookman's son. The second one seems to be his grandson. However, there is no confirmation the two Lavis are father and son. Bookman having a wide descendance, it is possible that biologically, their relationship is closer to uncle/nephew.
The names of the Bookmen Jr are actually file names meant to assist in the recording of a specific conflict. Lavi is the name of the file for the Holy War, explaining why the two characters share a name.
The first Lavi was considered a cursed child by the part of the clan he originated from. We do not know why. He questioned his role and his purpose a lot. Eventually he started recording the Holy War from the side of the Noah, where he met and befriended Nea. We do not know exactly what rallied him to Nea's cause.
Let's start talking about the messiest character now : Allen
The earliest information we have of him is that he was a solder in a war, and he was found dying by Nea. The two of them made a deal: Nea will exauce a wish of Allen, and Allen will become Nea's host. We do not know what Allen's wish was.
Allen met the first Lavi after this deal, and Lavi swore to protect him with his life. They lived together ant travelled the world for about 10 years.
Eventually they got attacked by Apocryphos, who servered Allen's arm and infected him with Innocence. Lavi intervened and, merging part of his soul with Allen, saved his life. This soul merging, as far as we know, had no direct incidence on Allen's personality or body features.
Apocryphos, noticing the energy that Allen exulted because of the soul merging (before this, his energy was normal) decides to exploit him by basically rewriting him an entire life. This is where he modifies, or moreso locks Allen's memories away and sends him to the circus.
There is no retcon there for now, btw, no events in the canon have been changed, they're just being recontextualized
Back to Mana for a bit, we do know that he lived with the Noah as the Millenium Earl for a time, then awakened as Mana and left, looking for Nea. His only clue was to "look for Allen", also he's convinced he's 17, but his body is that of a man in his fourties.
He has a dog, apparently named Allen by it's previous owner, who is seemingly dead, and has a street number with him as a clown.
People mostly understand what's happening in the circus arc so I'll be skipping it.
Mana's death is a complicated ordeal. It seems he "died" because his memory reached a point of damage so severe he couldn't process anything anymore.
Afterwards Allen burried him. Then the Earl showed up.
Now is a good time to mention the Earl and Mana can exist as separate beings, because the Earl can be a walking suit, but without a human body his power is very limited. We do not know for sure if the Earl that appears at that moment is fully the Earl or just the suit.
Either way, we do have the confirmation that Mana's body isn't in the coffin anymore, and that he currently is the host of the Earl. As for the state of his consciousness, the Earl says he is dead, but we cannot take his words at face value because of the context in which he said them.
We also do not know 100% for certain who Allen bought back from the dead that night, but for now, it seems Mana's soul was the one in the Akuma.
Allen's hair turned white after the traumatic event. Not as a result from it, but as an intervention from the first Lavi. We don't know what that did exactly aside from turning Allen's hair white, but it may have been made in an effort to prevent Allen's consciousness from completely falling apart.
There is no clear parentage between Allen, whether in his past or current form, and the Bookman clan. Things get more confusing when trying to assign family titles, but as far as we know Allen shares no genetic material with anyone known, so let's simply go with "he was someone important to the first Lavi, and his meeting with the second one was like a crossing of fates"
I can take questions and make additions from there, but that is the gist of it.
Grab a copy of SQ.RISE 2026 WINTER here to support Hoshino if you can!
Release 159 // [02.05.26]
Reminder that since Batoto has been taken down, our old translated chapters are still available on Cubari! Be sure to check out the translation notes at the end of the chapter, as well.
Big shoutout to the team and to everyone who’s been supporting us, it's much appreciated ♡
so allen canonically is about mana d campbell's age, and he is his own person. he just also happens to be possessed by two separate freaks, and has at least one death and a deaging under his belt. it makes sense why he joins the order in this second life. he's always been a soldier. marching towards death from the jump 😭
Been rereading som DGM to fill the void while waiting for the newest Chapter to be translated.
And had a small brain spiral about the Bookman Clan possibly having special blood for their "Records" (blood magic????maybe???)
And Crystal-type innocence, which is formed from the accomadators blood.
And well I thought I already knew why Bookman(Old Panda ver.) Was stressed about Lavi becoming Crystal-type, but now I'm thinking there's a deeper reason too.
Ok so Lavi watching the people he cares about walking past doors straight into events that will irrevocably change them is a running theme apparently ok. Ok. I'm so normal about this.
Now, wouldn't it be crazy if we see Bookman disappear through a door after having ensured his successor's safety while Lavi watches on? It's not like we already have precedent for him mysteriously disappearing behind a door in the Ark (presumably) in a conflict that involved Neah, the rest of the Noah and maybe past!Lavi- Oh wait. We do.
I just might end everything if that actually happens.
Alma being consumed by the Dark Matter after they were experimented on with the Eggshell of the Core of Dark Matter, aka the very thing that creates Akuma and is complementary to the Heart of Innocence
While they were themselves reincarnated, holding an old soul, specifically to wield the innocence
VS
Allen being consumed by the Innocence and because of Lavi's desperate meddling to save him, had his body remade with the Helix, taunting the Heart of Innocence
While all of this happened because he accepted the soul of a Noah inside his body, the natural enemy of the innocence.
Kanda holding Alma to their death reminding them of when they were children vs Lavi holding Allen to make sure he doesn't die and triggering an act of rebirth for the both of them
Kanda&Alma "being reincarnated together was a tragedy and it destroyed us"
vs
Lavi&Allen "being reincarnated together was the only way for us to be remade"
Kanda having to kill Alma himself vs Lavi being desperate to save Allen when he can
Kanda&Alma constantly remembering each other post reincarnation while the world wants them to become new beings all together
VS
Lavi&Allen absolutely not remembering each other post reincarnation but their survival depending on them remembering each others
My little theory about what could potentially be hiding behind that eyepatch:
Edit: a full drawing here
What if the first Bookman was also there to witness the Pillar that destroyed the old world along the Noah, and since then its afterimage is basically burnt into the eye of every successor (kind of like the Noahs' stigmata) and only goes away when they inherit the previous Bookman's memories and see the actual Pillar recorded in the original Bookman's memory?
Also, this was partially inspired by the Pillar being shown through Road's eye.
The Dark Boots' Evolution as a Metaphor for Menstruation, aka the End of Lenalee's Girlhood
I mean, the way the first panel's arrangement really says everything that needs to be said. Everyone's reactions to it - Lenalee's pain, Komui's panic over the uncontrollable blood flow, Hevlaska's worry and Lvellie's only concern being how this might affect the fight - are also very telling.
But let's look at everything leading up to this moment and the conflict among the main authorities of Order, aka Lenalee's home, caused by the Innocence evolving, shall we?
There's Lvellie, the highest authority figure of the Order we have seen thus far, and Lenalee's biggest nightmare. He literally shows up to tear Lenalee away from the Head Nurse's side, and the Head Nurse, despite wanting to protect Lenalee, literally lacks the authority to do so.
Lvellie is the epitome of patriarchy, the so-called "man of the house". His entire family built their influence through their girls, and only the girls, being sacrificed as saints.
Patriarchy sees the girls born into the family as burdens, as extra mouths to feed until they are given away, and the only value the girl has to the family is what the act of giving her away can bring into the family - aka the position of authority in Central that the Lvellies received in return for their sacrifices.
Menstruation is an inevitable part of growing up for most girls. Culturally speaking, it is seen as the first step of transition from girlhood to womanhood - in the 19th century time period dgm is set in, this notion would have only been more prevalent, and though it is unfair for them to mature so early on, girls were expected to leave their girlhood behind with their first period. Lvellie is literally pushing for Lenalee to grow up too fast to exploit her and further his own cause of winning the war.
Then there's Hevlaska. She is the Accommodator of the Cube, presumably the first saint that was sacrificed. She is the first victim of the Lvellie family, and over the years she has completely been absorbed into the Order as a tool for its corruption, a victim turned perpetrator. Under the family's orders, she has ultimately become complicit in a system inflicting the same fate onto other girls like herself, even if she is reluctant and opposed to it. She does warn Komui about what Lvellie is trying to do, but at the same time she ends up succumbing to Lvellie's demands even though it might prove fatal for Lenalee.
Finally, there's Komui, Lenalee's older brother. The second highest authority figure. The younger man with progressive values who seeks to protect his sister, and yet lacks the authority to overturn Lvellie's decisions. He is the only one opposing the forceful synchronisation until the very end.
Komui's reactions to Lenalee marrying are played as a gag, but there's a deeper reason for this - he wants to protect Lenalee, and that's why he doesn't want her to grow up. If she grows up, she will no longer be by his side where he can protect her. The last time she was taken from him, she ended up restrained to a bed with bloodied fingernails and a scratched face. So, his reluctance is understandable - but!
Lenalee is no longer the girl tied to her bed, she says so herself! Growing up is inevitable (the Innocence's evolution is inevitable now that the Akuma have evolved), regardless of whether people try to stop her or force her into it. The attempt of forcefully putting the Innocence into Lenalee's body fails spectacularly, but so does the attempt of keeping her away from the Innocence. Ultimately Lenalee is the one who gets to embrace the evolution on her own terms and without completely being severed from her only family's side, and most importantly:
She could not have done this without the support she received as a child. She could not have said farewell to the little girl she used to be without it.
Kanda my favourite ostensibly Japanese guy. Kanda my favourite 'as Japanese as Hoshino wants him to be' guy. On paper he gets to have as many traits of a cool Japanese character as the very Japanese author wants him to have: he has a Japanese name and a cool katana (initially a chokuto) which coincidentally also has a Japanese name. He eats nothing but soba. His personality literally screams shounen jump protagonist's main rival - ok fine that one might not have anything to do with him being Japanese and everything to do with him being an ex-shounen jump protagonist's rival.
...And he has probably never even stepped foot into Japan until the tender age of 18. Probably doesn't speak a lick of the language either, let alone read it. Hoshino said that he woke up and was raised in China, actually. He has mostly lived his life in Europe. His name? First made up by the scientists, and later on by Tiedoll. His sword's name? Also not picked by him, but by Zu Mei Chang instead. The reason he eats soba? Alma mentioned the dish in passing once. All Order paperwork of his background is canonically forged.
Not saying that Kanda isn't ethnically Japanese though. He probably is. But he was never raised in Japanese culture, which makes every explanation about his very Japanese traits increasingly amusing.
Random Theories About D.Gray-Man @dgraymantheories - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag