D.Gray-man Volume 22 (Ch. 200-205) Discussion

I don't think the story's in that much of a danger. Kanda's backstory did leave some minor inconsistencies (the fanbook said Kanda met Marie after becoming an Exorcist), but I've only seen that mentioned once or twice by fans.

The only thing she might have trouble with is Mana and the Earl. I don't think they're the same person, so it would be possible for the Earl to be present at his grave, but she needs to clearly explain how and why the Earl's human form is identical to Mana. The sooner the better.

I definitely agree that Hoshino started planning the series around the Suman Dark arc. The Fourteenth first appeared in Chapter 54, I believe, which was right after Allen lost his Innocence. And it's easily miss-able that Tyki was sent by the Earl to kill anyone connected to the Fourteenth. Cross was on the list, obviously, but so was Allen. That's kind of interesting. Hoshino was foreshadowing, even back then, that Allen, and in turn, Mana, had something to do with the Fourteenth.

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Originally Posted by MSofAofCOCA

well, that's where i get confused with allen and road. Back at the Rewinding Town, her advances made her look like a creeper to me... I strongly thought that Road was going to be the main stalker and straight out crazy character of the series. And then suddenly when allen met her in the Ark and she kissed him.... it blew me away because it actually seemed like she liked him, but compared to the pure sadistic obssession i felt in the rewinding town, she actually showed compassion and interest that wasn't sadistic!

I guess in other words, the beginning of the series, up until the suman ark, seems like a different story to me. looking back at the events from then, it seems to me that Hoshino hadn't had the story planned out even close to where we are now, so i'm continuously having trouble linking events from the first few volumes to the current events and treating these links as "foreshadowing material" or "support/proof" of the relationships between the characters at the moment. With that, i also wouldn't be surprised if Hoshino ends up creating a gigantic plothole sooner or later, because i don't think she started actually planning the story till the end of suman ark, so it seems to me that to make some of these things fit (like mana and earl, age differences, ect) she'll have to either spring a whole new plot point on us (witches, anyone?) or she will have to directly go back on what we were told at the beginning (ie, she might have to redo the whole of Mana's death to make it fit with the current storyline)

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right some things are fuzzy, but the basic storyline is there
the d gray man reverse novel were released as early as May 2005 with info provided by Hoshino sensei
in it Kanda's search for Alma is already mentioned

her oneshots continue and zone written before d gray man have many plot points that are used in d gray man

while the manga did start in the May of the previous year, writing novels takes a while...
Mana, Earl, the 14th, Allen relationship is the core of the story
at least that much should of been though out as well as the purpose of the Heart
as for Road - she mentions that she is "Human" too while hugging him, perhaps foreshadowing an important relationship

things like designs of the newly revealed Noah maybe weren't solidified early on...but who knows

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Originally Posted by MSofAofCOCA

those things that Allen said at the end of 205 to Lenalee....what if, they are relatively the same things that Neah said to Road before he left the Noah clan?

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Wow, that's a really interesting idea. If it's true, it would put a whole new spin on Road's actions during the series.

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Originally Posted by tgirl

As for Road's little lovey dovey advances with Allen, I always guessed that it has something to do with her relationship with Nea in the past. Otherwise, she wouldn't say something so tender back in the rewinding town.

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Road was only created during the Rewinding Town story arc, so I wonder if Hoshino had thought her and her history through much at that point? It's probably not surprising that Road's gone through big changes during in the series, both in the way she behaves and her character design, because she wasn't planned as a major character right from the start. If Road's actions in the Rewinding Town make sense in regard to the 14th, I'd guess that it's luck in retrospect rather than careful planning from Hoshino.

Here's the info about Road's design from Gray Ark:

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Design concept
The earliest concept is a girl who acts like a boy. Because she was designed to be a cruel
child, I gave her some aggressive aura. The Noah’s dressing follows a Gothic style. I
personally like pleated skirts, so if someone had to wear one, it would be Road. Road has
become cuter recently, I feel very happy everytime I draw her.
Final design-draft: The design that was decided only just before the Noah’s appearance
in the series. Road was only created during the re-winding town arc.

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Hoshino was still making lots of changes at that point, I think. Miranda was originally intended not to be an Exorcist, if I remember right, but Hoshino liked her so much that she kept her in the story.

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Originally Posted by MSofAofCOCA

well, that's where i get confused with allen and road. Back at the Rewinding Town, her advances made her look like a creeper to me... I strongly thought that Road was going to be the main stalker and straight out crazy character of the series. And then suddenly when allen met her in the Ark and she kissed him.... it blew me away because it actually seemed like she liked him, but compared to the pure sadistic obssession i felt in the rewinding town, she actually showed compassion and interest that wasn't sadistic!

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That could be due to Road being such a new character during the Rewinding Town. My guess is that Hoshino hadn't decided on the finer details about Road and the plots connected to her until then.

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Originally Posted by MSofAofCOCA

I guess in other words, the beginning of the series, up until the suman ark, seems like a different story to me. looking back at the events from then, it seems to me that Hoshino hadn't had the story planned out even close to where we are now, so i'm continuously having trouble linking events from the first few volumes to the current events and treating these links as "foreshadowing material" or "support/proof" of the relationships between the characters at the moment

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Though I bet that Hoshino didn't have things fully worked out until later on and may even now not have firmly decided on some things, I don't think the plot is in that much danger. Even though Hoshino retconned a number of things, like changing the number of years Allen was with Cross from 3 to 5, or as Jaymie mentioned, contradicting the Gray Ark timeline about when Kanda and Marie met. She's definitely not infallible.

There was a lot of foreshadowing for some things, so I'm fairly sure that Hoshino must have had a good idea about the gist of what she wanted to do with several characters. At least with Kanda. The Mateel plot, in retrospect, makes a lot more sense and is very meaningful in regard to Kanda's character, in a way which I have a hard time believing could be a coincidence.

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Originally Posted by Aracely

Road was only created during the Rewinding Town story arc, so I wonder if Hoshino had thought her and her history through much at that point? It's probably not surprising that Road's gone through big changes during in the series, both in the way she behaves and her character design, because she wasn't planned as a major character right from the start. If Road's actions in the Rewinding Town make sense in regard to the 14th, I'd guess that it's luck in retrospect rather than careful planning from Hoshino.

Here's the info about Road's design from Gray

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I was just particularily thinking about page 7 of Night 25. Road said that Allen was the one she would focus the most on. I understand that she wasn't fully developed in that arc and created right at that point without much thought. But I'm thinking that in later chapters, Hoshino went back to that scene in order to help her develop Road. It's just that particular scene that left me scratching my head because her expression doesn't match with the rest of the arc. (I know that scene is at a basic villain speech level, but at the same time, she looks sad as if she was hiding something. For an undeveloped character, I'm intrigued. :D )

So, I'm just hoping Hoshino really explains Road's feelings/past that clarifies her actions back in the Rewinding Town as a form of connecting the present with the past. So much potential here instead of seeing a plot hole or a retcon.

ah in chap 205 did road that sweety die? in that case i will cry
i liked her,
AND what happend to tykki? he went to fight that dude didnt he, why cant we find out what happen?

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Originally Posted by Ruki92x

ah in chap 205 did road that sweety die? in that case i will cry
i liked her,

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We don't know. Well, this is what i think. In my opinion she has only returned to his real body, not died. Like how Timothy has to do when he takes possesion of someone using Tsukikami.

If Road really did die,it would have been one of the worst deaths ever considering the awesomeness of this character.
But well,i don't think she died.Hoshino wouldn't do that...