D.Gray-man - Hallow

I remember that I was just getting into the anime world when I saw the previous series, and I wasn't particularly into this one; although according to the comments I apparently enjoyed the teenage scenes and a certain crush on some of the characters, apparently, but that had passed, so there wasn’t really anything interesting left. Maybe the manga is better, but the anime doesn't entertain. There are an exorbitant amount of characters, some dying or disappearing only to come back later or at least to be constantly remembered. Basically, in the end, you don't even know what's going on anymore, because the story keeps splintering and adding more things to it without the previous ones being brought to a satisfying conclusion. Basically, nothing about the new series impressed me at all. If, for example, the story had focused primarily on Allen and the rest of them just weren't "shown" so much with their backstories, hurts, and pickles, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more. This way the focus gets incredibly broad, and while it is trying so hard to seem terribly complex, it's not very well put together. A sequel that didn't impress (just like the Berserk one...). (14.08.2016)

I saw the first anime series a long time ago; however, at least two things stuck in my mind from it. The first is Millennium Earl, who very quickly became one of my favorite main antagonists. This polite, funny, and yet very peculiar character, whose appearance reminds me of a cross between Batman's Penguin and The Joker, simply won me over. I do not know if it was because of that particular image or just the great voice acting, as I was perpetually waiting for Earl to say "konbanwa" just as a little boy wants an ice-cream. The second thing was the thrilling conclusion and especially the piano battle. I had chills running down my spine at that moment, and I was very tense and really impressed. So I still stand by the five stars I gave the original anime series. I was all the more looking forward to the follow-up that has now arrived; however, unfortunately, it just somehow does not feel right. The atmosphere that I experienced when watching the original series is not there. The original voice actors have aged considerably, so new voice actors have logically picked up the baton, which is unfortunately noticeable. My favorite characters like Krory and Miranda get almost no screen time, and even the expected excitement when Millennium Earl appeared was not what I imagined. Plus, I found it to be very rushed and slightly chaotic. Still, it is not a big deal, and I am still curious to see what Allen is going to do next since I have not read the manga, even though no matter what I do, this follow-up is just better than average. 6/10. (31.07.2016)