#mana d. campbell

[eclipsepetals]

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And here it is, at last!! I'm so, so very happy and delighted with the way everything came out!! ♡ I implore you to go ahead and check out the Iconic Moments Zine for yourself; everyone did amazing!!

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Now, about this piece, it was revolving around Mana and Nea's reunion. As those who know me may already know, that this specific piece holds an extremely sentimental value to me, and it's also my dedication to my late ( first cat, my little white fluffy loaf of love ) Jigu.♡ A happy 21st Anniversary to my all time beloved favourite series. Here's to many more years; to keep walking and uncovering all the mysterious and stories within the journey of our beloved Dear Gray Man.♡

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[lovesitcomsandgaystuffs]

what do y'all know about doomed siblings

[dearloonies]

Why I think that Mana was in fact truly an Akuma and not some form of false memory

Dgm is filled with mysteries and paradoxes, and the relationship between Mana and the Earl of Millennium is one of those. On the surface, it is contradictory that Mana could have been turned into an Akuma when he is later revealed to be the Earl. However, the narrative provides subtle hints that may reconcile this paradox. (Bear with me guys)

1. Dual Identities and the Split of the Earl

The Earl of Millennium isn't a singular, static entity, this we already know. Over 52 or so years ago, Adam split himself into two infants in front of Katerina who would adopt and name the infants 'Mana' and 'Nea', raising them as twins. Mana and Nea were both integral parts of the Noah family, and there's this suggestion that Mana might have been a vessel of Adam's memories and thus was the one who became the Earl of Millennium while Nea could not, because he likely lacked something. When Mana lived as Allen’s foster father, he have suppressed/lost his memory of being the Earl due to his grief-stricken mind and deteriorating mental state. This allowed him to exist as a separate individual while being consciously aware of the Earl's existence.

2. The Akuma Creation Mechanism

The Akuma creation process involves a soul being bound to a body after someone calls it back from death. If Mana’s "human side" died and was mourned by Allen, the Akuma process could have targeted only that fragment of Mana’s identity. If the Earl of Millennium that appeared in front of Allen is indeed Mana at that time yet still present for when "Mana" was turned into an Akuma, there's a possibility that the Earl at that time was simply the Golem Suit, Mana himself but his body usurped or, as mentioned above, because the Akuma is Mana's human side.

3. Mana’s actions as an Akuma

The corrupted Mana attacks Allen, since his human persona was overridden by the Akuma’s violent instincts. However, his plea for Allen to "keep walking forward" does suggest that Mana's original personality wasn’t entirely lost. One is free to think of Allen's cursed left eye, which gives him the ability to see the souls of the Akuma, is a punishment but i saw a theory that the eye is the Earl's eye(?? I forgot the exact wording or speculation/theory but I got some of it from: @poppystheories ) although in a sense that Mana's curse serves to warn Allen of the presence of Akuma, of the tortured souls and also of the fact that the Earl's "arms and legs" (or was it "eyes and ears"?) are near. And we know from Alma that Akuma are offshoots of the Earl, which is how he knew that Allen was a Noah.

4. Foreshadowing and Symbolism

Hoshino frequently employs themes of duality and identity in DGM. Mana’s transformation into an Akuma while also being the Earl symbolizes the conflict between the Noah and humanity, as well as the tragic cycle of grief and that drives the story. This paradox could serve as a microcosm of the series’ central conflict, also the duality of having humanity and an inhumane identity can also be seen in this.

In Short: Mana’s transformation into an Akuma despite being the Earl of Millennium is because Allen called for Mana Walker rather than his Noah identity as the Earl of Millennium. Thus why the Akuma Mana could exist at the same time as the Earl's, his curse also have warned and er- "protected"? Allen more than once. It's also undermining if the Akuma summoned by Allen turned out to be some rando soul that the Earl used, since it doesn't make sense. The only plausible reason my mind could come up with is that the Akuma Mana summoned was the human aspect known and remembered by Allen.

[poppystheories]

Allen's in serious trouble. He was already in bad shape from everything that's happened so far, considering the hits to the head he's taken and bite Krory took out of him. But just as he can't find the strength to continue fighting...

My first thought was: Allen's Innocence has activated on its own again! But that’s wrong; it doesn't seem to be activated. Something just made Allen's hand move to catch the axe.

A certain someone has awoken!

This isn't an illusion, or a hallucination. This is not in Allen's head. This actually happens, as Eliade sees it. Akuma!Mana is right here.

First there's the Spiral, and then the entity has the D from the logo too, though we don't have a clue as to why. Mana D. Campbell? Something to do with what the D stands for?

You'll also note that the skulls is incomplete, and its right side references the spiral again. Souls can be called back from the Spiral by their bonds with the living, so long as they have an anchor: the upside down star that represents matter prevailing over spirit, which Allen has carved in his face.

The curse evolves right in front of our eyes, then retreats back inside him. Akuma!Mana even talks to him, saying "I'm back". Back from being temporarily destroyed by Road, or is this the first time the consciousness with the curse has awoken at all?

We've seen these black eyes on the Earl and Nea. Allen's star is also now filled in. Was its shape before indicative of some kind of incompleteness? Meant to represent that before, it was empty, but now it is properly housing something?

When Akuma evolve from Level 1 to 2, they become a lot more sentient, with their own thoughts and personalities. Allen's eye is doing something similar; Allen himself even points that out, with the Dark Matter evolving to the next stage within him. Still, the whole-ass consciousness that came with that evolution does not get acknowledged enough.

Allen's thoughts are presented to us like this.

This:

is someone else entirely. There's an entity inside the eye now, with its own separate thoughts.

Allen recognizes that Mana is the one speaking to him, somehow using the Spiral of Life. We see them them standing together within it, at least.

Allen tells Mana the conclusion he's come to: he has finally found a place to belong, a path to walk. The tragic fate of an exorcist is his choice. He appreciates Mana's gift to him (Mana's desire to protect him), but he would've chosen the path regardless, even though it's dangerous.

In this moment, there's no doubt that this "Mana", whatever part of the original he is, knows Allen is his own person, the child with Innocence, not Nea or a dog.

He is also dressed like "Mana Walker", nothing like the youthful Mana D. Campbell's more casual clothes or the beige suits the Earl wears.

All of this makes me think that Akuma!Mana is the "soul" of all the memories from in-between meeting Red and Mana "dying" that the Earl wanted to discard, alongside any inconvenient sentiments like fatherhood that may hold him back.

If that turns out to be true, that might mean this remnant of Mana doesn't even know who Nea is.

Don't get up on the "fall" wording here, the translations vary. I think "sink" might have been a better choice.

Akuma!Mana encourages Allen, and even gives him what could be some advice or a some kind of hint. Did Mana also see the world of black and white, when he was alive? Is that one of the Earl's abilities? The ability to see the souls is leading Allen to some kind of answer; he definitely grasps at least some of that truth when he uses the knowledge to take his body back from Nea much later.

This whole scene is one of the most interesting in DGM, but I really don't think its discussed enough. Again, this is not some symbolic or metaphorical meeting of Allen connecting with his own grief, this very much happens. Eliade witnessed the skull and everything.

Mana is somehow using the curse as an anchor and connecting to Allen from or through the Spiral or something like that. He is conscious and aware and "back". Maybe Road's candle really did do something that allowed him to gain so much consciousness, and even move Allen's body.

Regardless, this will not be the last time this entity within the curse interferes. He doesn't talk much, but he is very much present going forward, and saves Allen on several occasions.

The names of these chapters are "return" and "merge", by the way.

So yeah. Akuma!Mana is in Allen's eye and he's along for the ride. Neat.

[annafall]

oh look, the similarities between those two

im sure this means nothing at all

[metiredlr]

''We've long since missed the chance to catch the train on the opposite side / If I had to put it all into words, then what I've run over was my repentance and love''

Adipocere/あだぽしゃ by Iwoya

[poupeesdecirque]

Weekly Photo 52/2024

Summing up this year with the Millennium Earl in .... various forms. Similar to the year their life is a huge clusterfuck and nobody really knows what will happen in the future.

[justacynicalromantic]

🥲

🥲

[frankencanon]

[namikazegirly]

Why would you hide this in the tags!!

All the possibilities!!

Hey if anyone is still around from my D.Gray-Man theorizing days, I’ve got another crumb for you.

I’m almost certain that what Cross meant by “you will kill someone you care about” is that should Neah take over, he will kill what remains of Mana. A lot of people have also caught onto that!

But… I also think it has a double-meaning. Cross doesn’t want this to happen any more than we do. I think… I think part of him hopes Allen can win. And, I think, if that happens, Neah’s memory will be destroyed and he will die.

And if Neah is to be believed, Allen offered himself as a sacrifice willingly.

Now, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Past Allen did this entirely logically, if he really was the previous Bookman Junior. Maybe he looked at this from a detached perspective and decided this was the most likely solution to save the world. But something tells me that’s not the case.

Allen as a person… even before Mana, even as Red, he was emotional and empathetic and felt things extremely deeply.

I think he loved Neah.

And I’m afraid now, what he will do when he remembers that.

[dgm-fanprojects]

Happy 21st Anniversary D.Gray-Man!

Here is a project made by fans for the 21th anniversary of D.Gray-Man. It is viewable for free and can't be downloaded and sold in any way. 68 contributors participate in this project, resulting in 57 illustrations of Iconic Moments and 60 chronological doodles of little moments.

This fanbook has no affiliation with the official DGM in any way. The contributors claim no ownership or right to the DGM work, which is the sole property of Katsura Hoshino and Shūeisha. Each artist is the owner of and responsible for their art. Reposting any of the artwork is strictly forbidden without direct permission from the artist who made it.

We hope that our work will prompt new and old readers to take interest into D.Gray-Man. Please buy the manga to support the author!

The Zine

And the password to see it : IconicMomentsFanProject!

You can put it in full mode in the top right corner, the four squares there are also a table of content.

This project is our way to celebrate this manga we love and we hope you readers will enjoy our art as much as we loved making it!

[eclipsepetals]

Sketch pages~✩ There was this lovely sketchbook template I found on the CSP assets store; and needless to say I love it. (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ) It gives the feeling of sketching on an actual sketchbook, 10/10. Yes I am probably going to be using this template a lot for my doodles and sketches.

[renieule]

My piece from the Iconic Moments zine, based on Chapter 214!

[magekrove]

Left hand is for the akuma

[poppystheories]

An Eye Theory

There's been a lot of debate, over the years, about whether Mana ever loved "Allen".

In the flashback, we clearly see Mana is a compassionate man who wanted to help a kid in a bad situation; in his final moments as himself, he wanted to take Red away from the circus with him. He wanted them to leave together. But that was compassion, not love.

And then Apocryphos used Red's Innocence to shatter his mind. After that, it's very much a question of if Mana was even capable of loving "Allen", as mentally unstable as he was. From what we've seen, he was very affectionate, and though he got Allen the dog and Red the kid mixed up, he eventually went on to introduce "Allen" to the symbols. You don't try to teach a dog to read your secret code. He understood "Allen" was a person, but more than that, we don't really know.

But the soul the Earl excised out of himself and had Allen put into an Akuma did some stuff that doesn't line up with it being the soul of a completely clueless man.

If we go on the assumption that the Earl was trying to rid Mana of any inconvenient memories through this process, we can assume Akuma!Mana is a conglomerate of just more than "Mana Walker". My best guess is that when the Earl excised Akuma!Mana, the memories he was trying to get rid of included stuff that re-stabilized Mana Walker, including knowledge of what actually happened when he met Red. If we consider that as a possibility, a lot of other things become more explicable.

First: If he remembered their first meeting, Akuma!Mana could know that "Allen" was an accomodator with an already activated Innocence capable of combat, perfectly able to destroy a level 0. He also would know “Allen” was fated to be an exorcist, and the threat that Akuma therefore pose.

Second: Akuma!Mana could have gained access to some of the original Mana's knowledge, including stuff about the Earl, Akuma, and souls.

Akuma!Mana said the usual Akuma stuff, and did the usual Akuma stuff, which Akuma cannot seem to help. But Akuma!Mana also did more than that: the "I'll curse you!" wasn't just bluster. He actually did manage to "curse" Allen, which the Earl clearly didn't know about. The Earl must not have thought the Akuma even capable of it, so he certainly wasn't making the Akuma do that specifically.

Mana couldn't control all the instincts of the Akuma, but he could use them to his own advantage.

As evidence, we gotta go on a bit of a tangent:

In the second volume, Hoshino mentions a play that inspired Lala and Gozul. The play goes like this: Old servant falls in love with high-class young lady. She plays with his feelings and he dies. As a vengeful spirit, he decides to curse her. But in the end, he changes his mind, and decides that as a spirit, he'd rather protect her instead, so long as she promises to remember him.

I've seen people dismiss this play in the analysis of DGM before, because let's be real, the premise here is kinda creepy. And it doesn't seem to actually have much to do with Lala and Gozul besides the aesthetic of "old man" and "beautiful maiden".

But the concept of a vengeful spirit saying they'll curse someone they once loved, only to overcome their negative feelings and decide to protect that person instead is present in the story, in a pair of characters the deliberately parallel Lala and Gozul.

Or maybe even more than one pair of characters that parallel Lala and Gozul.

We'll be focusing on Mana and Allen for now though.

I pointed out before that Akuma!Mana didn't need prompting by the Earl to attack, unlike Claire. I think Mana was using the programming of the Akuma to his advantage; if he attacked, he could place the anchor (the star) he'll need on Allen's face without the Earl finding his actions suspicious, and Allen's Innocence would activate to protect Allen, destroying the Akuma shell and freeing his soul to latch on to that anchor.

This gave Allen the ability to see souls, probably because it was Mana's power originally, ensuring Allen would be protected in the future. Thanks to this ability, most of the risk of being ambushed as an exorcist is minimized, so Allen’s career as an exorcist would be relatively safer.

Mana was the "vengeful spirit" (aka Akuma) that decided to become a guardian spirit of someone he loved instead, just like in the play. Allen is "younger loved one" that, in exchange for that protection, must carry Mana's memory.

But it's not just Mana's memory Allen carries, but Nea's too. Nea's also a spirit haunting a loved one, but he hasn't decided whether he wants to destroy or protect yet.

Of course, there’s no guarantee any of this is true. I might be completely off base here. But it’s my current theory, and I’m gonna roll with it, because it does explain a lot of things.

And, most importantly, means Akuma!Mana did mean it when he said he loved “Allen”.

[metiredlr]

''We've long since missed the chance to catch the train on the opposite side / If I had to put it all into words, then what I've run over was my repentance and love''

''I'll keep walking on, even if we never come to understand each other for the rest of our lives / I hope we both find happiness, so that we'll never cross paths again / I hope we both find happiness / A bell is chiming''

Adipocere/あだぽしゃ by Iwoya

Bloody version of the last gif undercut: