Initial Impressions: D. Gray Man ep. 1 and 2

So I managed to find some fansubs, and I figured I'd give my initial impressions on a few series. Well one at a time that is. None of these are meant to be endorsements or rejections of series. Just an initial opinion.

So here's my initial impressions of D. Gray Man, based on episodes one and two.

Synopsis - D. Gray Man is set in an alternate European history and follows the adventures of Allen Walker, an exorcist, as he hunts Akuma (demons). These demons are souls tied to machines and put into the bodies of people who've suffered some grief.

Review - If it sounds like you've seen this show it's because you have. D. Gray Man has the same initial set up of a dozen other shows (most notably: Chrono Crusade). The first couple episodes are the obligatory setting everything up episodes. So the jury is still out on whether this is going to rise above these humble roots and become something good, or whether it's going to just follow a pretty humdrum, one combat tournament after another type of formula. I'm still hoping for the former.

The characters are pretty standard so far. Allen is the plucky hero with the dark history trying to make right. The other members of the Dark Religious Order (that is how it was translated on the fansub) seem pretty normal - the crazy captain, the mysterious leaders, the soft-spoken sister - but none of them are offensive. My only nitpick is that this is set in England, so why the hell is there a Japanese member? And why does everyone have Japanese names, except for the one person who is actually from another country? I really hope that it gets explained because that's enough to wrankle me right there.

Really, the selling point of this show right now is the animation. It's really spectacular, and the character designs also are really interesting. That right there is enough to reccomend the series. It's such dazzling eye candy that I could forget anything having to do with lame characters.

So, initial verdict - Watchable, but I'm not expecting much from it.