Regarding the reveal in Chapter 251 in D Gray Man...
Anybody remember when back in Zone- the main character Robin had a sister who looked like who we thought Past!Allen was?
Allen and Past!Bookman Jr. were planned to be two separate people since before the beginning of the series. If I recall correctly, Robin became an akuma of the two of them, but this adds the extra factor that perhaps they were siblings. One who had red hair, and the one with silver hair...?
This also begs the question- was true Past!Allen a real sibling of who we suspected who Past!Allen was- and if so, why would his sibling become Nea? Was true Past!Allen even a Bookman?
This reveal is not blind sighted, but it does ask a lot of questions that I hope will get answered next chapter. But we may end up getting a heck of a lot more flashback arcs so... good luck out there, fellow DGM Fans.
read all of d.gray-man this last week (fucked me up learning it's still ongoing btw) after avoiding it for like a decade cause i hated the anime ending when i watched it as a kid. found out that i had completely wooshed a good 60% of the themes of the story and thats why i didn't like the ending sdkjfbgkj.
also found out that my taste has not evolved at all because lavi is still my fav after all these years 🧡 lmao
lines/colors timelapse under the cut (❗flashing warning❗)
A lot of series go with the classic 'ominous shadowy figure in the background.' Here's Silco in Arcane. Sinister voice, sinister dude, sinister intent. Boom, you have your villain.
2. The Slow Reveal
Other variations of the 'shadowy figure' in which the series draws out the reveal of the villain. Avatar: The Last Airbender doesn't reveal the Firelord until the final season, but his presence is felt throughout the series. He's always this looming threat whose will is carried out by his underlings. (General Zhao, Azula, etc.)
3. The Fabulous Entrance!
Okay, so we do hear Ragyo on the phone a couple times before they actually show her face, but goddamn, this entrance. It is impressive and terrifying and, it perfectly suits the utter psycho that she is.
There is no normal expression this woman makes when she's 'happy.' She's always smug or angry or annoyed, but this face with her staring, manic eyes and smile still haunts me. Send help.
4. The Sudden Entrance
Shigaraki kinda comes out of nowhere in My Hero Academia. For the first few episodes, its all lighthearted and fun and dealing with Bakugo's BS and then the class heads off on a field trip and suddenly,
"Oh, shit! Plot is happening!"
This series started off with kids learning to be heroes, and now its tragedy and social upheaval and people's lives are in danger.
5. The Incognito Entrance
This is when some random nonthreatening dude/lady just kinda sidles into the plot the be the butt of a joke and later turns out to have been one of the villains.
This scene was so weird. Tyki is just minding his own business, scamming people at cards. Then Allen and Lavi show up looking for their friend (the guy currently being scammed), and even though he recognizes them as exorcists and his enemies, Tyki has to sit there and play it off like he doesn't know jack cause if he does anything, he's gonna blow his cover in front of his human buddies. And then he suffers the indignation of being stripped in a poker game in broad daylight because the main protagonist is absolutely evil with a card deck. And then he just walks away from this like it's a totally normal thing, not even really taking vengeance for it. (He went after Allen, sure, but that was more of a job than any personal vendetta.) He's not the main villain, but I couldn't resist pointing out how bizarre this is.
For those who haven't seen D. Gray Man, the guy in the center is one of the main antagonists, and though this is technically the second time you see him, the first encounter was so short it was practically a cameo and he was a Victorian-era, Dorian Gray dandy gentleman, not this hobo riding a train.
6. The Traitor
Since the Undertaker was more of a neutral party in Black Butler, I don't think he really counts as a traitor. Still, I don't think too many of us were suspecting the morbid jokester Grim Reaper was going to turn out to be a major antagonist later on.