Is Mana the earl?

[marmalah]

Alright! I have a theory that I'd like to share. ^^
Many people are concerned about, if the Earl is in fact Mana, how it would be possible since they were in the same place at the same time when Mana was called back as an akuma. It's still possible! (or maybe I'm just really crazy) When Allen called Mana back, he called back his soul into the akuma, which was then going to kill Allen to wear as a skin (sounds super creepy..). What if the Earl is only wearing Mana's skin, like an akuma? Because why couldn't the Earl do the same thing as akuma, which he creates?
In Hoshino's one shot, Continue, SPOILER KINDA the Earl takes over the main characters best friend. So who's to say that the Earl in D. Gray-Man can't do the same? So it's still possible that the Earl is Mana, or vica versa, just not the Mana that we know (technically). So the Earl is just using Manas body. I'm not sure how he could've gotten it if it was buried, but maybe he took it after Allen called Mana back. I'm sure if it is in fact what happened, Hoshino will have some kind of explanation. xD
A lot of people have stated why. Maybe because he thought it would make Neah want to join him again, cause he was talking about wanting to be by his side? Maybe he has crazy reasoning that, if he looked like Neah's brother, that would make the 14th more willing to join him again instead of try to kill him. Or maybe it was because it would make it harder for Neah/Allen to kill him? I thought it was interesting that neither the 14th nor Allen has seen the Earl in his human form yet. Cross did say that when Allen became the 14th, he would have to kill someone that he loved. Allen loves Mana more than anyone else! And the 14th wants to kill the Earl to become him. So it makes sense.
And that's just my two cents on it. :b

also, I've always imagined like, towards the end of a chapter where Allen encounters the Earl, he'd be in his human form and Allen would be like, "Mana...?"

And I've also wondered, why does Mana have golden eyes? It said so quite a few times in Lost Fragment of Snow... there can't be two more Noahs that no one knew about, right? That's been really bugging me.

[Alert]

I know this is old, but this is what I thought when I read the manga. Sometime when people translate it's hard to really read the actual meaning, and as I said, every post is their opinion.

Mana was indeed a Noah, and was also a fake father of Allen. The person in Allen was suppose to be the next king or something, but he ran away. The Earl knows a lot about Mana and the other boy of Allen. Allen is supposedly be the 14th Noah. His real family is a mystery and most likely Allen is the humanoid form of the 14th. As I watch or read the manga/anime, it shows that Allen only remembers the night of his abandonment and the kill of Mana; anything beyond who he was or where he came from was a mystery. I think that the 14th is Allen and that he sealed his memory.

[Roux23]

Yes! he is going to turn out to be the Earl. In the chapter Wisley they Noah with the eye on his forehead appears it shows all the Noahs and list their number and name, after seeing what the Earl looks like after 35 years he asks Road what was wrong with his face/body. It then shows an image of a normal boy in maybe about his teens or early twenty's, and Road says "I forgot what his face looks like". Then later on in the chapter called Truth I think Cross tells Allen how he is related to the 14th along with Mana. When it shows the picture of Mana and Neah standing side by side, they are the same height so I believe they are going to turn out to be twins also. When you see that picture you can def tell its the same boy in the picture that was supposed to be the Earls true form in the previous chapter. This also would connect the dots on why Allen ends up with the same sword as the Earl. In chapter 214 I think it shows Allen offering his body to Neah who is against the wall holding the same sword Allen pulls out of his arm, it would make sense to me that Mana/Earl have the black sword and then Alllen/Neah have the blue sword because they where brothers, which makes more sense when the Earl gets all emotional with wanting the 14th to come back to him so he can be close with him again. I just hope in chapter 218 when it shows some more Allen scenes that the Earl shows up looking like Mana.

---------- Post added December 18, 2012 at 11:18 AM ---------- Previous post was December 11, 2012 at 10:15 PM ----------

even more reason to think so!

Cross " What if I told you that you will have to kill someone you love when you become the 14th"

Allen wants to kiill the Earl and so does the 14th, the only person Allen loves is Mana.

[kannazuki]

Okay so just to reiterate, until the last week or so I had no idea this theory existed before chapter 218 came out. It was the latest chapter that made some folks on another forum and I start to think Mana = Earl is plausible. I wondered if others might have started to think so from chapter 187 onward but this thread started in 2010? Yikes...

Anyway here is my version of our independently thought-up theory and I'll put my reply to RandomCuteOtaku at the end:

1. Mana was trying to resist becoming the Earl.
Mana 35 years ago was just like Allen is right now: struggling to keep the Noah memory *away* and stay a regular human. Nea's known behaviour, and Mana's guilty conscience suggest he didn't want to let this happen.

2. Nea & Mana went on the run (probably after Earl killed their mother).
Nea and Mana tried to run away from the other Noah clan members, but as we've been seeing with Allen, it's impossible for a Noah to hide from the other Noah... so Nea had to fight to protect Mana. Unfortunately, despite all that, the Earl gained enough control to finally kill Nea.

3. Mana/Earl went insane from killing his brother.
Obviously Mana came back after Nea died, but remember what Cross said? Mana was never the same after his brother died and had probably gone insane. Could it be that Mana lost control, let the Earl kill his (mother and) brother, and is so wracked with guilt (Allen's hallucination of Mana from Nea's memory in 212: "Do you hate me?" AND 218; Earl hallucinates Mana saying "Nea... I am sorry, Nea..."). What did we just see in 218? The Earl is insane! What did we see in 187 (and then again at least one more time during the NA Incident)? The Earl has a fond memory of, and feelings for, Nea that resemble feelings Mana would have about his younger brother. (The Earl even *calls* the 14th his brother at at least one point-- I personally think that's out of his *confusion* rather than it having to do with them both being Noahs.) *Looks* like Hoshino could be giving signs that Mana is still fighting back from deep within the Earl's mind. Either that or the Earl's psyche is really messed up.

See both here:

"But it's a secret," she says before disappearing. So what's the secret? Maybe it's something to do with the 14th-- whom she told Wisely to shut up about in 187, because it's a "private matter." :>

It could also be what Road and the Earl are talking about where they first appear in 188:

Now check out what the Earl says just two pages later:

(**Note: Most sites have that translation that says he must "keep standing," which makes no sense in context, regardless of whether you believe this theory or not. I think that's gotten people very confused...)

"I as the Millennium Earl can't stop..." and "I can't allow myself to stop, no matter what." <3

Hmmm... Sound familiar?

As Road said in 205, Nea's *last words* and they were for *Mana.*

As a matter of fact, compare the following:

Earl in chapter 188 (above): 「何があろうと立ち止まることは許されない」 (No matter what, I can't allow myself to stand still.)
Mana's words to Allen: 「立ち止まるな、歩き続けろ。」 (Don't stand still. Always keep walking.)

**Note the usual intransitive verb for "stop" in Japanese is "tomaru" (止まる). The verb Hoshino uses in both cases here is "tachitomaru," which combines "tatsu" (立つ) for "to stand" and "tomaru" to make a more specific term than just "stopping."

Also, compare how the Earl (talking to doll-form Road above) looks without his costume to Cross' memory of Mana w/o clown makeup (from 206). Middle right panel...

Same sideburns, scruffy beard, and wispy hair?

4. Nea's promise to Mana was about what he'd do if/when Mana "dies."
In 215, Nea says he'll keep his promise to Mana. So maybe Nea promised that if Mana became the (evil) Earl for good, he would kill him (like Kanda intends to do if Allen "permanently" becomes Nea, though we know that won't likely happen) and become the new Earl (which Nea says he's going to do in 188 I believe, or around there).

5. Memory Loss for both Allen (but not Nea) and Mana/Earl.
Until now, the Earl's (Mana's) mind has just been too *scrambled* to remember things clearly, much like Allen's too scrambled to remember 35 years ago, much to the 14th's evident chagrin in 215. I think the Earl/Mana has been experiencing psychological trauma. (Ch 187's flashback of Nea, and the Earl getting upset over his "brother" at the NA incident, give me that strong impression, personally.)

More possible signs Mana is the Earl (no particular order)

• Earl's words suspiciously like Mana's (can't "stand still") - Ch 188
• Earl's profile in 188 has similar features to Mana's in 206
• Earl's flashback of Nea saying he'll stay by his side - Ch 187
• Mana's guilt & apology - Ch 212, 218
• Allen & Mana were clowns; CC Allen & suited Earl: "clowns,"
  • Earl: Ch 88, p. 15; 89, p. 4 & 5 <-- "What a comical child you are!" <3
  • Mana: Ch 137 ("If not, then what are we?"), 166, & cover of 167 (matching, mirrored eyes)
    
• Earl wears same clowny ornamental ball (& hat) as Mana did - Ch 137, 166, 167, 188, 198, 206, &c.
  
• Johnny's 'No, together! We're leaving together!' is a *memory trigger* for the Earl????" - Ch 218
• Earl's inconsistent behaviour; back-and-forth between fondness and wanting to kill Nea. o_O;
• Earl calls Nea & Mana's mother "okaasama" (very polite, honourable term for "mother" in Japanese) - Ch 218
• Eyes/Mirroring (Allen's right eye relates to Nea; left eye relates to Mana) - Ch 36 (skull eye swirl), 166 (consistent marking over Mana's right eye), 167 (child Allen has same marking as Mana's over left eye), 182 (bulging veins around right eye when Nea awakens), 198 (entire 14th awakening sequence), 206 (Winking Clown Mana w/ star over right eye; perhaps even little Allen's bloodshot right eye), 218 (Earl's eyes look strange; appear to mirror Allen's)
• Nea's comment about the Earl and Allen not remembering/being "(mad) dolls" - Ch 198
• "Lost Fragment of Snow" describes Mana having "golden eyes," twice (his most striking feature); and he's described as a "broken puppet" three times. (The word "ningyou" in Japanese is used for both dolls and puppets.)
• In "Lost Fragment of Snow," when Allen hits Mana with his innocence arm, sparks of light fly up and he starts talking like a broken record. Then the Earl appears to arrive on the scene as a separate person. That's a problem with this theory, but considering everything else I consider it more of a red herring. (A possibility I've also considered is that the Earl may be in a separate body but connected to Mana, and if so then the very old mystery person who collaborated with the 14th, that the Order has given asylum as protection from the Earl, could be the older Allen from 35 years ago.)

Also, the theory could explain...
• Cross' comment about Allen killing someone he loves (Mana!) when he becomes a Noah - Ch 167
• Mana's childhood illness - Ch 214
• Road "defending" Mana from Nea (or so it appears), yet still loyal to Earl - Ch 218
• Why the Earl said everything was "Mana's" fault - Ch 218
• Why Nea could kill all the other Noah (except Road) but failed to kill the Earl, even with the Earl's sword in his hands
• Why Allen's sword is just like the Earl's
• Why the Earl didn't try to kill Allen when they first met

Added April 10:
There's *clown* stuff I keep forgetting to put in. Adding it in two shades of pink!

Added March 20:
Since I'd forgotten to include the Johnny bullet point above .

I thought I should toss that image in here that innocencexxxx posted on tumblr:
On the left, chapter 118; on the right, 218. It could be coincidence but Hoshino seems to have a way with subtle foreshadowing and imagery. I have trouble believing she'd frame the two incidents so similarly by accident, considering the visual symmetry appears to represent a certain situational symmetry when applied to the theory above. Considering her odd expression and behaviour at the time, the incident on the Ark could easily have been déjà vu for Road...

In the flashback from 218, Nea was standing over Road looking absolutely livid. In 118, Allen had just "exorcised" Tyki on the Ark-- his aim was to remove the Noah (Joyd) from Tyki without damaging the host. Perhaps Nea was desperately seeking a way to destroy the Noah Earl without harming the host Mana? Allen is even Nea's host now, and Kanda seems to have taken over Nea's old role (assuming the theory is correct), now being prepared to kill the 14th once it's certain that Allen can't be saved (which would sort of put Johnny in Cross' role, strangely enough-- Cross was even a member of the Order Science Dep't in the past... lol).

@RandomCuteOtaku:

I have indeed heard that particular theory, many, many times (there's actually a lengthy thread about it on this forum already), and quite frankly i don't want to put much faith in it for the time being, mostly because of the two crucial flaws in it; the fact that the Millennium Earl has not died and, therefor, not had to regenerate and pass the memory on to a different host, in the last 7000 years, or so says the Earl in chapter 187, and the fact that, you know, Mana kinda DIED and was brought "back to life" then DIED AGAIN. I mean, i know the whole dying process in dgm is a bit iffy but, when someone is turned into an akuma and then killed off i'm PRETTY sure that that means their soul is kinda done, you know?

1. It's true that Wisely said in 187 that the Earl has lived continuously for 7000 years. You might roll your eyes at this, however he didn't say that he continued to live *in the same body.* Hoshino has said that the character of the Earl was based partly on Nicholas Flamel and partly on the Count of Saint Germain. The legend of the Count, at least according to how I remember it was told in the novel Foucault's Pendulum, was that the Count was "immortal" yet didn't keep the same body. His bodies still aged so he retained his memories as he travelled from one body to another, reappearing with a similar name and reputation from era to era (much like we've already heard about the Noah clan doing, except the rest, aside from Wisely, suffer "memory damage" if they die. (Also, except for the 14th, we don't know of any Noah who transfer bodies while still alive).

2. We know next to nothing about what happened in the cemetery except that Allen was probably crying over a tombstone with the wrong name on it. xP I don't think trust either Allen's or the Earl's memories from that time, honestly, but piecing things together from that anyway (since I don't believe we've ever gotten Cross' version), we don't know where Mana's soul came from. Allen, when calling for "Mana," instead of it coming down from the sky or whatever, what if it messed up the Earl by restoring some portion of Mana's memories that should have been wiped clean? That would double as a possible explanation as to why the Earl didn't attack Allen at that time.

So again, you might not accept these answers but like I said in the other thread, I just thought I'd tell you what we came up with while thinking it through.

So unless the Mana that Allen knew and turned into an akuma was a different Mana from the one who's related to Neah and the one that everyone is saying became the Earl that we know in the series,
or if you all can come up with some other way that Mana managed to worm his way out of the whole akuma incident AND around the fact that the spot for Millennium Earl was never open in the first place when Mana and Neah came into the picture,
then i can't really settle for that theory as an answer :\

You know I actually *have* seen someone try to claim that Mana Walker and Mana Campbell are two different people. Hahaha... I think we can both agree that that one is ridiculous. (At least he eventually accepted that.) :P