Production
In June 2006, Shueisha announced that the D.Gray-man manga would be adapted as an anime.[6] Its first episodes were directed by Osamu Nabeshima and produced by Dentsu, TMS Entertainment, Aniplex, and TV Tokyo. TMS Entertainment provided the animation, while Aniplex provided the music. The series began airing on October 3, 2006, on TV Tokyo.[7] During production of the first anime adaptation, the author often visited the TMS Entertainment studio, where the voice actors requested advice about their characters. Although Hoshino was nervous about talking with them, she was surprised by their dedication in practising their characters—particularly Sanae Kobayashi (Allen), Takahiro Sakurai (Kanda), Katsuyuki Konishi (Komui), and Hiroki Tōchi (Cross Marian)—and joked that Lenalee seemed more beautiful after she saw Shizuka Itō's work. Early in production, Hoshino was shown an early version of the first opening theme: "Innocent Sorrow" by the Japanese rock band Abingdon Boys School. When she saw the video, Hoshino began to cry in delight while the staff laughed to her.[8]
Kobayashi enjoyed voicing Allen despite finding it challenging due to how the character's mood changes often when he is talking or fighting. Meanwhile, Takahiro Sakurai noted Kanda's personality was different when comparing between the manga and anime adaptation. Once the series started airing, Kobayashi commented that Allen will mature across the narrative thanks to his interactions with other characters from the series.[9] Tyki Mikk's voice actor, Toshiyuki Morikawa, remembered the recording sessions for the series as "lively" because of the presence of many popular actors. After the anime finished, the actors (who became friends during production) kept in touch.[5]
The anime used original content not featured in the original manga to give Hoshino create new content to adapt. However, these episodes often contradicted Hoshino's material, resulting in criticism that led to its cancellation.[10]
The anime's 51-episode first season, known as the "1st stage", ended on September 25, 2007.[11][12] The 52-episode second season, known as the "2nd stage", began on October 2, 2007, and ended on September 30, 2008, for a total of 103 episodes. The anime adapts the manga's storyline from the beginning and concludes after the destruction of the Black Order headquarters.[13][14] The episodes were released by Aniplex on 26 DVDs from February 7, 2007, to March 4, 2009.[15][16]
The English-language versions of the first 51 episodes was licensed by Funimation in May 2008,[3] and released in North America on DVD from March 31, 2009,[17] to January 5, 2010.[18] The anime made its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel in September 2010.[19] The first 51 episodes were released on four DVDs by Madman Entertainment from August 19, 2009, to May 13, 2010,[20][21][22] and a DVD box set was released on June 6, 2012.[23]
Soundtracks
The music for the D.Gray-man anime series was composed by Kaoru Wada, and four CD soundtracks have been released in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment. The first, 34-track D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 1 (including its first opening theme and the first two ending themes), was released on March 21, 2007.[30] It was followed by the 32-track CD D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 2, released on December 19, 2007, which includes the series' second opening theme and its third and fourth closing themes.[31] The series' opening and closing themes were collected on a CD, D.Gray-man Complete Best, which was released on September 24, 2008. Its limited edition includes a DVD with credit-less footage of the series' introduction and closing scenes and anime illustrations.[32] The third soundtrack, D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 3 with 31 tracks, was released on December 17, 2008. It includes the series' third and fourth opening themes, the fifth to eighth closing themes and the insert song "Hands Sealed With a Kiss" (つないだ手にキスを) by Sanae Kobayashi (Allen Walker's first Japanese voice actor).[33]
