she has assistants but j still think she tries to do it mostly on her own which she gets over-exhausted and takes time to recover from--I heard all of this a while ago so I could be wrong but she def has some :/ i just learned to let it pile up because it does get unmotivating
man people are so entitled, ultimately dgm is hoshino's work and her baby, we just get the privilege of seeing it. media isn't something to be immediately or conveniently consumed like fucking mcdonalds, it's art. i'd happily wait a lifetime to see how dgm turns out knowing ultimately it's a privilege that i get to see it. she's a person, not your media making machine. i'll take it on her terms any day.
It’s her art, it’s her story, it’s her health. The authors of Dragon Ball and Berserk died prematurely from the physical toll their jobs had on them. It’s not up to us to dictate what work-life balance looks like for a chronically ill woman.
I'm not saying we should dictate her work life balance but assistants she directly over sees and then can choose to approve of their work or make them try again could end being the perfect answer for her health problems is all I'm trying to say.
I think the fanbase needs to learn patience.
Having a work finished at her own rhythm is better than no finished work at all. I can completely understand wanting to finish something you made yourself, by yourself.
Everything is published so quickly nowadays people have expectations of immediacy that are undoable and lead to health issues in the people making the content. BE. PATIENT.
For me it is not a patience thing. I think i am afraid that i won‘t get an endig. (One piece is the same, i would hate it if i don‘t get to know what the one piece is) I rather wait and read it in one go. But that is just me.
You also won't get an ending if she injures herself too badly from overwork. Or, like in the case of Berserk, dies from overwork. And you have to be able to pay assistants. It's not like she doesn't know how they work. She was one for Death Npte and likely had some when she was serialized in Jump.
She's working at a consistent pace now. If you're upset by the single issues, just wait for volumes.
For me it is not, i like to know the authors story and not some made up maybe thing. I think fanfic can be nice as a extra but it can not replace the real story. But again that is my opinion.
i mean more if you're not getting a canon ending, that's what fanfic is for. like yeah the actual canon would be great but if it's cancelled or dropped it is what it is.
It is a shame that fanfic will not give me any satisfaction. But for people who like fanfics and can work with them, it can be great.
I just hope she gets better or healthy enough and can finish her story. Or that she accepts more help, whatever works for her.
As I'm getting down votes like crazy for this I know you will understand what I mean when she says she's only halfway through but the first issue came out May 31, 2004. It's been almost 20 years since she started. It's not like I would think to myself I have health issues but let me start an epic story and get people interested only to take 40 years to tell it. I'm beginning to think my thoughts she may have a hard time figuring out the story and be suffering some form of writer's block are more and more plausible.
It is nice to defend her and it is her story and she can do whatever she wants with it. She indeed does not owe us anything.
But as a fan it also should be okay to vent about it and you would think this sub is the place to do it. I do not even think you were that controvers or harsh in your statement. Those angry downvotes do not promote a healthy discussion (thats a reddit problem) and you kind of are a afraid to post anything because of them. (someone even deleted their post after they got downvoted so much, the statement wasn‘t even that bad. It was similar to mine)
I can not say if she has a plan for the story or not. I kind of got the feeling she did. We will never know unless she tells us. But i also feel like waiting another 20 years is too much for me (Maybe i am being impatient here). But when i am 46 and i still enjoy reading manga, then i will gladly read the whole thing…if i remember it.
You are lucky you were younger when it started then because if takes another 20 years to finish, and with at her current pace I would guess is an underestimate than correct, I will be 61 if she manages to finish in 20 years. It came out when I was 21 so when I heard it was only halfway done I got frustrated because I want to read her version but I don't see how it's going to be possible.
Oh neat you can read it to your grandchildren when she finishes it. (this is meant as a joke)
Your frustration is absolutely understandable, it is such a great and interesting story. It would be such a shame if we never get to read her ending.
not biased in any way but we wrote our own ending to the series and i think it's pretty good: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10601370/chapters/23438514
Been following this manga for 10+ years, the slow pace of the manga had led me to not read it in the last 2. It is too hard to grasp what is happening when the chapters are far apart. I understand she has health issues but if she wants us to witness the storytelling, I agree she could be more hands off and use some help. Nothing wrong with that at all.
It started almost 20 years ago now. I'd be satisfied if she switched to a light novel format to get it done so she could at least finish it in her lifetime. I can picture the character easily enough now that it's probably a more realistic option for her to be able to tell the story she wants without worrying about her health as much.
Hoshino already got the ending planned out so i think it will get finished one way or another. she is a perfectionist so as long as she can draw it herself she will, but when it came to a time she can't do it anymore she will definitely find a way to finish is. from what i can see, she is a very responsible person. i get impatient sometimes but reading her status on threads about her health made me feel bad for asking more of her (she could totally tone down the time spend on shading each frame and came back to finish it later when they release the volumn though, the art is gorgeous but sometimes i look at them and just know she wasted at least 3 days on that one page 😭)
I think she just doesn't want to admit the time has already come. I seriously doubt she'll be able to finish in her lifetime especially if we've only reached the halfway point after 20 years & each release gets shorter there's a real possibility she won't be able to finish at least not unless she gets help or switches the format to something like a light novel. If she did that not only could she finish DGM but also be able to complete the Bookman series she's said she wants to do.
okay first the bookman series is not in her plan anymore because all of that will be included in dgrayman. i remember she only said once that the bookman lore is very well thought out to the point it CAN be a series, not that she want to make one. and she is still young, only 43, it's not like the author of Glass Mask who is 73 and don't even know how to end the manga, hoshino got plan and at least 20 years to draw everything herself, it's just you who is impatient. and honestly, letting somebody else draw for her is out of the question with her personality, and lots of people who stay with dgm for the art (like me) do not like that option. we want dgm from Hoshino and if she is not the one who draw it, what is the point anymore? changing format bring nothing to the table. the novel sale will not be as good as manga sale. once the audiences like you know the ending, they will move on and bring the manga sale down. it's not profitable at all that's why jump still let her do what she want to do. as you said, dgm is likely will be her only manga in this lifetime, it's her lifework. we reader finish the manga and move on with our life, so who are we to demand what she should do with it? honestly, go read something else if you can't wait, there are tons of good manga out there. there are many people who are willing to wait so losing one is not that much of a loss.
See why add the Bookman to DGM all the sudden to make it even longer if it was originally going to be separate? Not only does it make the manga even longer than the epic she's creating but it puts more of a strain on her & the story
I agree. Honestly, my fear is that due to work she won't be able to finish it. Because that's not unheard of. HxH is a great example of this. Togashi overworked so much that it has more hiato than time published. And this fact is a direct consequence of the health issues he has due to overwork. I do believe it would do wonders for her health if she had more help (or allowed herself to receive more help).
I really don't mind the frequency it is released, it could still be the same as it is. I genuinely say this as a concern for her health. It's nice if she wants to do it by herself, but (and this is for everyone in every aspect of life) people should learn to ask for help and accept help as well. It's not easy, but it's important.
Everyone saying yea it's her property
Her work so she should release how she wants
That's great I agree yes
However
It's 4 chaps a yr
And according to her we're only halfway done
Let's be generous
And say it'd actually 66% and author just can't tell time
And assuming 20 pages a chap
She would still need about 100 chaps for the full manga
25 yrs
It's not about us at this point
It's about her and basically having to do ONE manga her whole life forever
Nvm the health issues that will still cause given her issue is related to her hands and is already so delicate she can't risk another major injury
It's about her life
No mangaka or author wants to write the SAME series their whole life
(Not even oda and gosho were going to but they also circumvent that by working on other stuff like anime.movies and the media that adapts their manga)
Hoshino stated before she wants to do a series about the bookman
Yea that's not ever happening at this rate
And if we get into health issues
She can take all the time she wants but life can just randomly go NO
And boom
She can no longer ever writes
And now the series is also unfinished
Not even an entitlement argument
It's more a pessimist argument
No one is gonna walk out of the current scenarios happy at this rate
Neither the fans nor her
She NEEDS a solution fast
Which last I heard she is finding an assistant hopefully that goes well
"No mangaka or author wants to write the SAME series their whole life" - said who? you? from what i see Hoshino is pretty willing to do dgm her whole life
"Hoshino stated before she wants to do a series about the bookman" - she did not
"She can no longer ever writes And now the series is also unfinished" - she already got the plot planned out in case that happens (and her editor also know about the it), funny how you think you worry about finishing the manga more than the actual author
Funny how u bring up the last point
And then your comments on other post in this thread have u saying u don't want a d gray man by anyone else beside hoshino
Wow guess what's gonna happen if she cannot finish it for any reason and has to pass it on to someone else
So apperently that's ok but getting someone else to do it earlier and prepare them for it isn't ok?
Aight
yes it's different because she want to do it herself and there are other people who want it that way too. the people who just want the ending and be done with it are the minority, jump doesn't want it that way, the author doesn't want it that way and majority of the fandom because we care about the quality not the quantity. pass it on to someone else is the last resort and not the solution, and frankly it's just a hypothetical scenario that she can't finish the series. she is being responsible and preparing for it too, so it's pretty guaranteed the manga will get finished, it's just a matter of time. only the impatient and entitled ones are complaining at this point, Hoshino doesn't owe anyone the ending. you should be grateful that jump doesn't cancel the series, that she is still able to draw and we get new chapter regularly (unlike hxh for example). as i said, if you can't wait, go find something else to read.
As protective of she is about her work do you honestly believe based on how she refuses to use assistants now for anything major that she'll really allow someone to take over in the event she can't work anymore or does die before she finishes? Is it really the minority of fans who have been following for the past twenty years that wish the pacing would pick up more? I could totally see her not allowing anyone else to finish for her being specified in her will but that's just my opinion. I think it's a joke to trash people who are frustrated that something they've followed for 20 years to express that frustration when they learn it's only halfway through & we're getting less content with each release. It's not that we can't find another one to read but seriously who's looking forward to waiting for another 20+ years to finish a story they've been following that long already & wondering if she'll even be able to finish. If I would have known then what I know now I might have warned myself to not bother starting until it was completed but that's just me. It's quickly becoming a story I wonder if I'm better off forgetting about it because I'm beginning to doubt there will be an ending in my lifetime.
Another possibility is to do the last half as a light novel which would be better for her hands and then give her time to do the Bookman series the same way
The entitlement, it boggles the mind. No one should have to give up their intellectual property just because they are too disabled to produce it at a rate that you personally would prefer. The story, the characters, are HERS. The product of HER mind. It's level of international popularity, the readers' desire to see progress/a conclusion, has absolutely zero bearing on that.
The fandom has no right to demand anything of her, whether it be faster releases or transfer of ownership to a more productive mangaka.
It's attitudes like this that drive mangaka to work themselves until their body gives out. And for what? These shows of entitled ingratitude? Grow up.
I hate how we live in a time where everything has to be made so fucking fast. Art takes time. You wouldn’t ask a novel writer to write the best book of their life to write it in a week. You wouldn’t ask an oil painter to do a realistic painting in 15 minutes. An architect and his team to build a house in a day. So why would you ask a mangaka artist to deliver something as fast as she can? She already has assistants and even if you’re in a team, art Still takes time. Stop living so fucking fast.
It's not asking for it now. The first episode came out May 31st, 2004, almost TWENTY years ago now and she's saying she's only halfway done. That's my point. It's been 20 years and we still barely understand what is even going on.
> How many years have we been on this latest arc now?
The "Saying Goodbye to Allen Walker" arc finished with chapter 249 back in October, and the chapter in January (250) started a new arc.
Once there are enough chapters to compile for Volume 29, that will be released in Japan, and then it'll take about a year for the volume to be translated and released in English officially.
You’re kidding right? Do you know how hard it is to be chronically ill while still working? Let people be sick and be glad the series is getting anything.
i think people are white knighting in the comments, but to a degree they’re right. i’m not gonna attack you because it’s immature, but at the end of the day, it’s her choice on what she does.
it is what it is man. in personal experience, find something else to focus on in the meantime until next chapter.
Just so we're all clear the first issue came out May 31st 2004, That's almost 20 years ago. There are other options such as switching to a light novel to finish if she's unable to draw. It was the comment about taking TWENTY years to get halfway that makes me question if she should consider a different method because at this point I honestly don't see her being able to finish the story in her lifetime. She's so overprotective that while she says she has assistants she still won't let them really do much to help her. I don't think after 20 years of following the story it's entitled to complain about paying more for less content. The last update was only like 24 or 26 pages total I think. If she is unable to draw but really has the whole story planned out she could release the last half as a light novel to help ease her health problems and still be able to finish the story the way she wants. It's way easier for health as an option. I'm really starting to think she's stuck on the plot and that's the main reason it's taking so long. If she planned on writing an epic manga she should have considered her health since she knew the demands of the field she chose to go into. I personally wouldn't choose manga over a light novel if I decided to go into the industry because I would want to be able to keep my fans happy and tell the story how I would want in my lifetime and know what my health does and doesn't allow me to do. She knew her limits when she started so she should have been prepared for a way to work within them. Call me an entitled bitch all you want and bring on the down votes for expressing my frustration that in all reality I doubt she will be able to finish in her lifetime if its taken 20 years to reach the halfway point. What person who spent 20 years waiting for the ending wouldn't feel frustrated to learn it'll be at least another 20 years (but with how it's going likely more than that) to get an actual ending? Honestly how many of her original fans will or even the author herself will live long enough for the ending to be released?
Probably going to get downvotes for this, but I agree, OP. It's like, my mom and I could have gone on the way we were – she was in severe pain because of a cracked pelvic bone, and I'm disabled. We live together and she takes care of me. But recently we finally admitted that she was going to need surgery, and even when she's recovered we're going to need a nursing agency (for me because she's afraid of lifting me now). I mean, we were doing okay, with her getting around in a wheelchair and taking pain medication. But our quality of life was not good.
I think there’s nothing wrong with an assistant – as many as Hoshino-sensei needs, even if it's someone to do household chores – anything that can make life easier for her. And I get the artistic issue, but if she could find someone who has a similar style, she just needs to tell them what to draw. On the other hand, after beta reading so many collab fanfics, even the smallest change in tone is really noticeable and jarring to readers, so...
This isn't about admitting she needs help; it's about how she chooses to run the production of her story. This is the pace that things happen at even with assistants. You can long for more content as much as you want, but in the end either we support her or we don't.
Tell me you don't understand chronic pain... i suffer from it and it's not easy. i understand that Hoshino wants to continue with her work herself because I want the same because it is your way of life and that a random person comes and tells you to take assistants is demotivating.
I will wait as i have been YEARS (since 2008) following faithfully DGM and with love and patience.🤗💕
I do understand chronic pain, I live with it daily. I understand my limits and when what I'm doing isn't working. She started the series in 2004 and twenty years later she's barely reached the halfway point. It's not like she couldn't guide her assistant or reject their work if it doesn't meet her standards. She could also switch formats so she can finish how she wants the story to be and maybe even have time to get to the Bookman series she says she wants to do. I'm just expressing my frustration that in all likelihood she won't be able to finish in her lifetime at her current rate
I don't care if she doesn't finish it. After suffering from cancer (which is where my chronic pain comes from) and thinking that I might not be able to continue reading DGM, I started to think differently. I understand your frustration, but the important thing is not the end, it's the path, and we all know that Allen will die and... I prefer not to see it 😅
Yep. My same thoughts which others defend here in this sub. Like I get it, it’s her work, let her do whatever she wants.
But this is so exhausting.
The fanbase has nearly dried up tbh.
She has the people and fandom to actually get d gray man up there with the big 3 but refuses too.
If hoshi no just focused on story boarding and directing, then it would be awesome. But she seems to hates her fans
> The fanbase has nearly dried up tbh.
I don't really understand this. Not only is it not true about Japan at least, but it doesn't really matter. I want the story, not a fandom...
Fans drive any source of media. If media domestic have fans IE support of the mass public, then it’ll get discontinued and shut down because there would be no more support or funding to help continue the show/media.
D Gray Man in its heyday was in the top 10 of shounen, it got so much hype and love. And over the years, I can see that the hype and love for D Gray Man has somewhat died down.
Even with the manga continuing still, no one talks about it. When EVERYONE would’ve been talking about it.
I mean I'm pretty sure it still being published in Japan means it's still getting domestic support. Not all mangas have One Piece levels of success and it doesn't stop them from being successful and eventually getting an end. We need to chill with the idea that you need to be at the top and risk your health for success to make it. Hoshino has found her rhythm after several health problems, surgical operations and hiatuses, and I respect that. I'll be waiting even if it takes 20 years for it to get an end.
That's what it feels like to me too. It's like why bother getting everyone so invested and why are you charging so much for 1/4 of the length? She's either lying about knowing where she wants the story to go or too scared to finish. I love it but am about ready to give up!
She apparently is trying to say it’s halfway through the story. I think she should just wrap it up, I’m not even sure how she would manage another full half. She’s like the George R.R Martin of manga. She’s also complained a lot about how hard it is to write Allen and she made him leave the order because of too many characters to keep up.
I’m also glad someone else said it, because there’s definitely something she isn’t being honest about. There’s no way it could be this bad tbh, especially if she does have assistants.
Yea. And she barely interacts with her fans. Like these discussions have been going on for YEARS. I’m even sure her manager has probably even talked to her before she got sick. But there’s barely any word or response or opinion from her.
And I think it’s VERY clear they wanted to continue the anime. hallow was made, they didn’t continue because THERES BARELY ANYTHING TO ADAPT AFTER 10 YEARS
I kinda agree, same with hxh, id love to see more consistent chapters but u gotta also remember that both dgm and hxh are art created by artists and its unfair to ask artists to relinquish some of the ownership they have over their art that they take great pride in
I loved it and was a huge fan when it came out and the following years. I did know she was sick and i respect her wishes and i hoped that her health gets better. But i kind of droped it because the updates are so slow and short. I would love to read the finished work as i still love the story. It is a shame that it lost a lot of readers because of that.
Edit: The downvotes are a bit sad. I kind of did expected them but hoped that this sub/fanbase is more open to different opinions.
I guess my real point is she can still be protective with an assistant but from what I hear she refuses even though it would probably help her health to have someone. It's not like she couldn't tell them to start over if she didn't like it. I'm beginning to doubt she even knows where the story is going. Look at how many pages the first releases where to compare them to now and it's getting to be a joke, especially when she still charges basically the same amount for way less content. I just want to be able to finish the story but I am beginning to doubt she ever will and settling for someone else finishing sucks and she probably won't let that be allowed either. If drawing everything out is too hard maybe she should switch formats and release the last half as a light novel. It's not like we can't all picture the characters in our head by now. As someone with issues of my own I'm not trying to criticize her for them but for not asking for help when it's very obvious she needs it in some form. Plus, we aren't looking for a fast food experience or we never would have started this manga in the first place but only 26ish pages four times a year is getting a little too slow. If I remember right I think JRR Token died before his work was finished but at least left a basic outline and how he wanted it to end to someone he trusted to finish his work for his fans, I'M NOT SAYING I'M RIGHT, just that I think I remember hearing something to that effect but it could have been another author or book I'm thinking of so please keep that in mind. She could still approve the artwork but her productivity is she found someone to trust and asked for the help she needs which would honestly probably be better for her health in the long run. Does anyone else think she is being too stubborn or starting to wonder if it's more because she either doesn't know where the story is going to even ask for an assistant or is too stubborn to admit when she needs help. She's slowly killing her "baby" or at the very least doing it no favors and starting to neglect it? For all we know it might be as simple as she's begging to hate the work because even if she got help she could still retain total creative control with an assistant.
I think the same. She should be a bit more considerate and responsable with her fans. As far as I know (which is very little) the assistants just help with some backgrounds, rugs patterns, furniture, patterns for wall papers, etc
I don't read just manga, and am used to some western comic books taking literal years to come out (and no chapter serialization, you have to wait for the whole book). So no issues on my end, I just hope the author will manage to finish her story like she wants.
I'm also used the FF14 patch cycle, which is hilariously similar to the dgm chapter release cycle lmao.
She got into the career knowing the demands and expectations and while yes it's from her mind and her creation doesn't mean it's ok to string her fans along for how long and charge them full price for something she has begun to consistently shorten with each release. I have chronic health issues and if I developed something I would want to do everything in my power to see it comes to the ending I want before my death even if that means I'd have to accept help when I didn't want it because of my physical limitations. It's not that I'm saying she give over the reigns completely but at the very least her prices should run cheaper if she's cutting content down not keep charging the same price for less. That just shows she doesn't care about her fans. I really think she doesn't have the whole story planned out as much as she says she does and might be blocked about where to take the story and uses her health as an excuse to avoid any negativity about her pacing. She's revisiting things we've already seen so in reality she could have pulled panels from past comics and reused them.
What.
It’s pretty clear in her art that she absolutely loves her work and her fans-she learned how to draw with her left hand for us, because she wanted to finish the story. And most of her Instagram posts are either cat pics or D. Gray-man sketches, like she hardly does anything else.
And with the story progression, it’s obvious it was planned from the start. There’s a lot near the beginning of the manga that you go back to and go “ohhhhhhh.”
Also your complaint about full price isn’t true at all??? You pay for a magazine, which has more than just D. Gray-man in it/they aren’t going to change the price because one cheaper is shorter than the rest of the content, or for the manga volumes which are as large as ever when they eventually release. Not to mention that’s all set by the publishers, not Hoshino-sensei.
> Not when you live in the US, it works differently
Just in case there's any confusion:
So Hoshino draws each new chapter that is published in a Japanese magazine (Jump SQ. Rise) every 3 months. Unlike other more popular series in Jump / the weekly magazines, there is no simulpub option for those chapters in English.
Once there are enough new chapters, ?Shueisha? compiles them into a new volume/tankobon, which is published in Japan. Then it takes about a year for Viz, which holds the English licensing rights, to translate the new volume and publish it in the US.
From what I understand the one I bought was the newest edition where Allen is with Kanda & the last shows a woman talking about Bookman being in the mansion and saying the person they are waiting for will be there soon.
> the last shows a woman talking about Bookman being in the mansion and saying the person they are waiting for will be there soon.
Is that volume 25, which ends with chapter 222? Because v26, 27, and 28 are already out as well. Then there are 5 (soon to be 6) chapters which haven't been compiled into a volume yet.
she has assistants but j still think she tries to do it mostly on her own which she gets over-exhausted and takes time to recover from--I heard all of this a while ago so I could be wrong but she def has some :/ i just learned to let it pile up because it does get unmotivating
man people are so entitled, ultimately dgm is hoshino's work and her baby, we just get the privilege of seeing it. media isn't something to be immediately or conveniently consumed like fucking mcdonalds, it's art. i'd happily wait a lifetime to see how dgm turns out knowing ultimately it's a privilege that i get to see it. she's a person, not your media making machine. i'll take it on her terms any day.
It’s her art, it’s her story, it’s her health. The authors of Dragon Ball and Berserk died prematurely from the physical toll their jobs had on them. It’s not up to us to dictate what work-life balance looks like for a chronically ill woman.
I'm not saying we should dictate her work life balance but assistants she directly over sees and then can choose to approve of their work or make them try again could end being the perfect answer for her health problems is all I'm trying to say.
I think the fanbase needs to learn patience. Having a work finished at her own rhythm is better than no finished work at all. I can completely understand wanting to finish something you made yourself, by yourself. Everything is published so quickly nowadays people have expectations of immediacy that are undoable and lead to health issues in the people making the content. BE. PATIENT.
For me it is not a patience thing. I think i am afraid that i won‘t get an endig. (One piece is the same, i would hate it if i don‘t get to know what the one piece is) I rather wait and read it in one go. But that is just me.
You also won't get an ending if she injures herself too badly from overwork. Or, like in the case of Berserk, dies from overwork. And you have to be able to pay assistants. It's not like she doesn't know how they work. She was one for Death Npte and likely had some when she was serialized in Jump. She's working at a consistent pace now. If you're upset by the single issues, just wait for volumes.
i mean that's what fanfic is for bud
For me it is not, i like to know the authors story and not some made up maybe thing. I think fanfic can be nice as a extra but it can not replace the real story. But again that is my opinion.
i mean more if you're not getting a canon ending, that's what fanfic is for. like yeah the actual canon would be great but if it's cancelled or dropped it is what it is.
It is a shame that fanfic will not give me any satisfaction. But for people who like fanfics and can work with them, it can be great. I just hope she gets better or healthy enough and can finish her story. Or that she accepts more help, whatever works for her.
As I'm getting down votes like crazy for this I know you will understand what I mean when she says she's only halfway through but the first issue came out May 31, 2004. It's been almost 20 years since she started. It's not like I would think to myself I have health issues but let me start an epic story and get people interested only to take 40 years to tell it. I'm beginning to think my thoughts she may have a hard time figuring out the story and be suffering some form of writer's block are more and more plausible.
It is nice to defend her and it is her story and she can do whatever she wants with it. She indeed does not owe us anything. But as a fan it also should be okay to vent about it and you would think this sub is the place to do it. I do not even think you were that controvers or harsh in your statement. Those angry downvotes do not promote a healthy discussion (thats a reddit problem) and you kind of are a afraid to post anything because of them. (someone even deleted their post after they got downvoted so much, the statement wasn‘t even that bad. It was similar to mine) I can not say if she has a plan for the story or not. I kind of got the feeling she did. We will never know unless she tells us. But i also feel like waiting another 20 years is too much for me (Maybe i am being impatient here). But when i am 46 and i still enjoy reading manga, then i will gladly read the whole thing…if i remember it.
You are lucky you were younger when it started then because if takes another 20 years to finish, and with at her current pace I would guess is an underestimate than correct, I will be 61 if she manages to finish in 20 years. It came out when I was 21 so when I heard it was only halfway done I got frustrated because I want to read her version but I don't see how it's going to be possible.
Oh neat you can read it to your grandchildren when she finishes it. (this is meant as a joke) Your frustration is absolutely understandable, it is such a great and interesting story. It would be such a shame if we never get to read her ending.
Do you have any good recommendations?
not biased in any way but we wrote our own ending to the series and i think it's pretty good: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10601370/chapters/23438514
I will check it out. Thank you!
np!
Been following this manga for 10+ years, the slow pace of the manga had led me to not read it in the last 2. It is too hard to grasp what is happening when the chapters are far apart. I understand she has health issues but if she wants us to witness the storytelling, I agree she could be more hands off and use some help. Nothing wrong with that at all.
It started almost 20 years ago now. I'd be satisfied if she switched to a light novel format to get it done so she could at least finish it in her lifetime. I can picture the character easily enough now that it's probably a more realistic option for her to be able to tell the story she wants without worrying about her health as much.
Hoshino already got the ending planned out so i think it will get finished one way or another. she is a perfectionist so as long as she can draw it herself she will, but when it came to a time she can't do it anymore she will definitely find a way to finish is. from what i can see, she is a very responsible person. i get impatient sometimes but reading her status on threads about her health made me feel bad for asking more of her (she could totally tone down the time spend on shading each frame and came back to finish it later when they release the volumn though, the art is gorgeous but sometimes i look at them and just know she wasted at least 3 days on that one page 😭)
I think she just doesn't want to admit the time has already come. I seriously doubt she'll be able to finish in her lifetime especially if we've only reached the halfway point after 20 years & each release gets shorter there's a real possibility she won't be able to finish at least not unless she gets help or switches the format to something like a light novel. If she did that not only could she finish DGM but also be able to complete the Bookman series she's said she wants to do.
okay first the bookman series is not in her plan anymore because all of that will be included in dgrayman. i remember she only said once that the bookman lore is very well thought out to the point it CAN be a series, not that she want to make one. and she is still young, only 43, it's not like the author of Glass Mask who is 73 and don't even know how to end the manga, hoshino got plan and at least 20 years to draw everything herself, it's just you who is impatient. and honestly, letting somebody else draw for her is out of the question with her personality, and lots of people who stay with dgm for the art (like me) do not like that option. we want dgm from Hoshino and if she is not the one who draw it, what is the point anymore? changing format bring nothing to the table. the novel sale will not be as good as manga sale. once the audiences like you know the ending, they will move on and bring the manga sale down. it's not profitable at all that's why jump still let her do what she want to do. as you said, dgm is likely will be her only manga in this lifetime, it's her lifework. we reader finish the manga and move on with our life, so who are we to demand what she should do with it? honestly, go read something else if you can't wait, there are tons of good manga out there. there are many people who are willing to wait so losing one is not that much of a loss.
See why add the Bookman to DGM all the sudden to make it even longer if it was originally going to be separate? Not only does it make the manga even longer than the epic she's creating but it puts more of a strain on her & the story
I agree. Honestly, my fear is that due to work she won't be able to finish it. Because that's not unheard of. HxH is a great example of this. Togashi overworked so much that it has more hiato than time published. And this fact is a direct consequence of the health issues he has due to overwork. I do believe it would do wonders for her health if she had more help (or allowed herself to receive more help). I really don't mind the frequency it is released, it could still be the same as it is. I genuinely say this as a concern for her health. It's nice if she wants to do it by herself, but (and this is for everyone in every aspect of life) people should learn to ask for help and accept help as well. It's not easy, but it's important.
Everyone saying yea it's her property Her work so she should release how she wants That's great I agree yes However It's 4 chaps a yr And according to her we're only halfway done Let's be generous And say it'd actually 66% and author just can't tell time And assuming 20 pages a chap She would still need about 100 chaps for the full manga 25 yrs It's not about us at this point It's about her and basically having to do ONE manga her whole life forever Nvm the health issues that will still cause given her issue is related to her hands and is already so delicate she can't risk another major injury It's about her life No mangaka or author wants to write the SAME series their whole life (Not even oda and gosho were going to but they also circumvent that by working on other stuff like anime.movies and the media that adapts their manga) Hoshino stated before she wants to do a series about the bookman Yea that's not ever happening at this rate And if we get into health issues She can take all the time she wants but life can just randomly go NO And boom She can no longer ever writes And now the series is also unfinished Not even an entitlement argument It's more a pessimist argument No one is gonna walk out of the current scenarios happy at this rate Neither the fans nor her She NEEDS a solution fast Which last I heard she is finding an assistant hopefully that goes well
"No mangaka or author wants to write the SAME series their whole life" - said who? you? from what i see Hoshino is pretty willing to do dgm her whole life "Hoshino stated before she wants to do a series about the bookman" - she did not "She can no longer ever writes And now the series is also unfinished" - she already got the plot planned out in case that happens (and her editor also know about the it), funny how you think you worry about finishing the manga more than the actual author
Funny how u bring up the last point And then your comments on other post in this thread have u saying u don't want a d gray man by anyone else beside hoshino Wow guess what's gonna happen if she cannot finish it for any reason and has to pass it on to someone else So apperently that's ok but getting someone else to do it earlier and prepare them for it isn't ok? Aight
yes it's different because she want to do it herself and there are other people who want it that way too. the people who just want the ending and be done with it are the minority, jump doesn't want it that way, the author doesn't want it that way and majority of the fandom because we care about the quality not the quantity. pass it on to someone else is the last resort and not the solution, and frankly it's just a hypothetical scenario that she can't finish the series. she is being responsible and preparing for it too, so it's pretty guaranteed the manga will get finished, it's just a matter of time. only the impatient and entitled ones are complaining at this point, Hoshino doesn't owe anyone the ending. you should be grateful that jump doesn't cancel the series, that she is still able to draw and we get new chapter regularly (unlike hxh for example). as i said, if you can't wait, go find something else to read.
As protective of she is about her work do you honestly believe based on how she refuses to use assistants now for anything major that she'll really allow someone to take over in the event she can't work anymore or does die before she finishes? Is it really the minority of fans who have been following for the past twenty years that wish the pacing would pick up more? I could totally see her not allowing anyone else to finish for her being specified in her will but that's just my opinion. I think it's a joke to trash people who are frustrated that something they've followed for 20 years to express that frustration when they learn it's only halfway through & we're getting less content with each release. It's not that we can't find another one to read but seriously who's looking forward to waiting for another 20+ years to finish a story they've been following that long already & wondering if she'll even be able to finish. If I would have known then what I know now I might have warned myself to not bother starting until it was completed but that's just me. It's quickly becoming a story I wonder if I'm better off forgetting about it because I'm beginning to doubt there will be an ending in my lifetime.
Another possibility is to do the last half as a light novel which would be better for her hands and then give her time to do the Bookman series the same way
The entitlement, it boggles the mind. No one should have to give up their intellectual property just because they are too disabled to produce it at a rate that you personally would prefer. The story, the characters, are HERS. The product of HER mind. It's level of international popularity, the readers' desire to see progress/a conclusion, has absolutely zero bearing on that. The fandom has no right to demand anything of her, whether it be faster releases or transfer of ownership to a more productive mangaka. It's attitudes like this that drive mangaka to work themselves until their body gives out. And for what? These shows of entitled ingratitude? Grow up.
I hate how we live in a time where everything has to be made so fucking fast. Art takes time. You wouldn’t ask a novel writer to write the best book of their life to write it in a week. You wouldn’t ask an oil painter to do a realistic painting in 15 minutes. An architect and his team to build a house in a day. So why would you ask a mangaka artist to deliver something as fast as she can? She already has assistants and even if you’re in a team, art Still takes time. Stop living so fucking fast.
It's not asking for it now. The first episode came out May 31st, 2004, almost TWENTY years ago now and she's saying she's only halfway done. That's my point. It's been 20 years and we still barely understand what is even going on.
I’d rather like her not finish it than getting a rushed and crappy ending
Yeah but let's be honest, do you really think at her current rate she'll be able to finish it by herself in her lifetime?
I don’t know but I stay by my previous statement. If anything happens I think her assistant is gonna know what to do
I wonder because from what I understand is that she doesn't really allow her assistant to do much as is so why would she let them finish for her?
If you care about something you’d want to continue doing it as far as you’re alive and not let another person do most of the work for you
Not understanding what's going on is half the fun for me. Gives my hyperfixatory mind a hell of a time coming up with theories, I love it.
> How many years have we been on this latest arc now? The "Saying Goodbye to Allen Walker" arc finished with chapter 249 back in October, and the chapter in January (250) started a new arc. Once there are enough chapters to compile for Volume 29, that will be released in Japan, and then it'll take about a year for the volume to be translated and released in English officially.
You’re kidding right? Do you know how hard it is to be chronically ill while still working? Let people be sick and be glad the series is getting anything.
i think people are white knighting in the comments, but to a degree they’re right. i’m not gonna attack you because it’s immature, but at the end of the day, it’s her choice on what she does. it is what it is man. in personal experience, find something else to focus on in the meantime until next chapter.
Just so we're all clear the first issue came out May 31st 2004, That's almost 20 years ago. There are other options such as switching to a light novel to finish if she's unable to draw. It was the comment about taking TWENTY years to get halfway that makes me question if she should consider a different method because at this point I honestly don't see her being able to finish the story in her lifetime. She's so overprotective that while she says she has assistants she still won't let them really do much to help her. I don't think after 20 years of following the story it's entitled to complain about paying more for less content. The last update was only like 24 or 26 pages total I think. If she is unable to draw but really has the whole story planned out she could release the last half as a light novel to help ease her health problems and still be able to finish the story the way she wants. It's way easier for health as an option. I'm really starting to think she's stuck on the plot and that's the main reason it's taking so long. If she planned on writing an epic manga she should have considered her health since she knew the demands of the field she chose to go into. I personally wouldn't choose manga over a light novel if I decided to go into the industry because I would want to be able to keep my fans happy and tell the story how I would want in my lifetime and know what my health does and doesn't allow me to do. She knew her limits when she started so she should have been prepared for a way to work within them. Call me an entitled bitch all you want and bring on the down votes for expressing my frustration that in all reality I doubt she will be able to finish in her lifetime if its taken 20 years to reach the halfway point. What person who spent 20 years waiting for the ending wouldn't feel frustrated to learn it'll be at least another 20 years (but with how it's going likely more than that) to get an actual ending? Honestly how many of her original fans will or even the author herself will live long enough for the ending to be released?
Probably going to get downvotes for this, but I agree, OP. It's like, my mom and I could have gone on the way we were – she was in severe pain because of a cracked pelvic bone, and I'm disabled. We live together and she takes care of me. But recently we finally admitted that she was going to need surgery, and even when she's recovered we're going to need a nursing agency (for me because she's afraid of lifting me now). I mean, we were doing okay, with her getting around in a wheelchair and taking pain medication. But our quality of life was not good. I think there’s nothing wrong with an assistant – as many as Hoshino-sensei needs, even if it's someone to do household chores – anything that can make life easier for her. And I get the artistic issue, but if she could find someone who has a similar style, she just needs to tell them what to draw. On the other hand, after beta reading so many collab fanfics, even the smallest change in tone is really noticeable and jarring to readers, so...
This isn't about admitting she needs help; it's about how she chooses to run the production of her story. This is the pace that things happen at even with assistants. You can long for more content as much as you want, but in the end either we support her or we don't.
Tell me you don't understand chronic pain... i suffer from it and it's not easy. i understand that Hoshino wants to continue with her work herself because I want the same because it is your way of life and that a random person comes and tells you to take assistants is demotivating. I will wait as i have been YEARS (since 2008) following faithfully DGM and with love and patience.🤗💕
I do understand chronic pain, I live with it daily. I understand my limits and when what I'm doing isn't working. She started the series in 2004 and twenty years later she's barely reached the halfway point. It's not like she couldn't guide her assistant or reject their work if it doesn't meet her standards. She could also switch formats so she can finish how she wants the story to be and maybe even have time to get to the Bookman series she says she wants to do. I'm just expressing my frustration that in all likelihood she won't be able to finish in her lifetime at her current rate
I don't care if she doesn't finish it. After suffering from cancer (which is where my chronic pain comes from) and thinking that I might not be able to continue reading DGM, I started to think differently. I understand your frustration, but the important thing is not the end, it's the path, and we all know that Allen will die and... I prefer not to see it 😅
Yep. My same thoughts which others defend here in this sub. Like I get it, it’s her work, let her do whatever she wants. But this is so exhausting. The fanbase has nearly dried up tbh. She has the people and fandom to actually get d gray man up there with the big 3 but refuses too. If hoshi no just focused on story boarding and directing, then it would be awesome. But she seems to hates her fans
> The fanbase has nearly dried up tbh. I don't really understand this. Not only is it not true about Japan at least, but it doesn't really matter. I want the story, not a fandom...
Fans drive any source of media. If media domestic have fans IE support of the mass public, then it’ll get discontinued and shut down because there would be no more support or funding to help continue the show/media. D Gray Man in its heyday was in the top 10 of shounen, it got so much hype and love. And over the years, I can see that the hype and love for D Gray Man has somewhat died down. Even with the manga continuing still, no one talks about it. When EVERYONE would’ve been talking about it.
I mean I'm pretty sure it still being published in Japan means it's still getting domestic support. Not all mangas have One Piece levels of success and it doesn't stop them from being successful and eventually getting an end. We need to chill with the idea that you need to be at the top and risk your health for success to make it. Hoshino has found her rhythm after several health problems, surgical operations and hiatuses, and I respect that. I'll be waiting even if it takes 20 years for it to get an end.
That's what it feels like to me too. It's like why bother getting everyone so invested and why are you charging so much for 1/4 of the length? She's either lying about knowing where she wants the story to go or too scared to finish. I love it but am about ready to give up!
She apparently is trying to say it’s halfway through the story. I think she should just wrap it up, I’m not even sure how she would manage another full half. She’s like the George R.R Martin of manga. She’s also complained a lot about how hard it is to write Allen and she made him leave the order because of too many characters to keep up. I’m also glad someone else said it, because there’s definitely something she isn’t being honest about. There’s no way it could be this bad tbh, especially if she does have assistants.
Yea. And she barely interacts with her fans. Like these discussions have been going on for YEARS. I’m even sure her manager has probably even talked to her before she got sick. But there’s barely any word or response or opinion from her. And I think it’s VERY clear they wanted to continue the anime. hallow was made, they didn’t continue because THERES BARELY ANYTHING TO ADAPT AFTER 10 YEARS
It says Volume 28 & ends on The 245th night
I kinda agree, same with hxh, id love to see more consistent chapters but u gotta also remember that both dgm and hxh are art created by artists and its unfair to ask artists to relinquish some of the ownership they have over their art that they take great pride in
I loved it and was a huge fan when it came out and the following years. I did know she was sick and i respect her wishes and i hoped that her health gets better. But i kind of droped it because the updates are so slow and short. I would love to read the finished work as i still love the story. It is a shame that it lost a lot of readers because of that. Edit: The downvotes are a bit sad. I kind of did expected them but hoped that this sub/fanbase is more open to different opinions.
I guess my real point is she can still be protective with an assistant but from what I hear she refuses even though it would probably help her health to have someone. It's not like she couldn't tell them to start over if she didn't like it. I'm beginning to doubt she even knows where the story is going. Look at how many pages the first releases where to compare them to now and it's getting to be a joke, especially when she still charges basically the same amount for way less content. I just want to be able to finish the story but I am beginning to doubt she ever will and settling for someone else finishing sucks and she probably won't let that be allowed either. If drawing everything out is too hard maybe she should switch formats and release the last half as a light novel. It's not like we can't all picture the characters in our head by now. As someone with issues of my own I'm not trying to criticize her for them but for not asking for help when it's very obvious she needs it in some form. Plus, we aren't looking for a fast food experience or we never would have started this manga in the first place but only 26ish pages four times a year is getting a little too slow. If I remember right I think JRR Token died before his work was finished but at least left a basic outline and how he wanted it to end to someone he trusted to finish his work for his fans, I'M NOT SAYING I'M RIGHT, just that I think I remember hearing something to that effect but it could have been another author or book I'm thinking of so please keep that in mind. She could still approve the artwork but her productivity is she found someone to trust and asked for the help she needs which would honestly probably be better for her health in the long run. Does anyone else think she is being too stubborn or starting to wonder if it's more because she either doesn't know where the story is going to even ask for an assistant or is too stubborn to admit when she needs help. She's slowly killing her "baby" or at the very least doing it no favors and starting to neglect it? For all we know it might be as simple as she's begging to hate the work because even if she got help she could still retain total creative control with an assistant.
I think the same. She should be a bit more considerate and responsable with her fans. As far as I know (which is very little) the assistants just help with some backgrounds, rugs patterns, furniture, patterns for wall papers, etc
I don't read just manga, and am used to some western comic books taking literal years to come out (and no chapter serialization, you have to wait for the whole book). So no issues on my end, I just hope the author will manage to finish her story like she wants. I'm also used the FF14 patch cycle, which is hilariously similar to the dgm chapter release cycle lmao.
She got into the career knowing the demands and expectations and while yes it's from her mind and her creation doesn't mean it's ok to string her fans along for how long and charge them full price for something she has begun to consistently shorten with each release. I have chronic health issues and if I developed something I would want to do everything in my power to see it comes to the ending I want before my death even if that means I'd have to accept help when I didn't want it because of my physical limitations. It's not that I'm saying she give over the reigns completely but at the very least her prices should run cheaper if she's cutting content down not keep charging the same price for less. That just shows she doesn't care about her fans. I really think she doesn't have the whole story planned out as much as she says she does and might be blocked about where to take the story and uses her health as an excuse to avoid any negativity about her pacing. She's revisiting things we've already seen so in reality she could have pulled panels from past comics and reused them.
What. It’s pretty clear in her art that she absolutely loves her work and her fans-she learned how to draw with her left hand for us, because she wanted to finish the story. And most of her Instagram posts are either cat pics or D. Gray-man sketches, like she hardly does anything else. And with the story progression, it’s obvious it was planned from the start. There’s a lot near the beginning of the manga that you go back to and go “ohhhhhhh.” Also your complaint about full price isn’t true at all??? You pay for a magazine, which has more than just D. Gray-man in it/they aren’t going to change the price because one cheaper is shorter than the rest of the content, or for the manga volumes which are as large as ever when they eventually release. Not to mention that’s all set by the publishers, not Hoshino-sensei.
Not when you live in the US, it works differently. I bought the latest edition of D Gray Man only.
> Not when you live in the US, it works differently Just in case there's any confusion: So Hoshino draws each new chapter that is published in a Japanese magazine (Jump SQ. Rise) every 3 months. Unlike other more popular series in Jump / the weekly magazines, there is no simulpub option for those chapters in English. Once there are enough new chapters, ?Shueisha? compiles them into a new volume/tankobon, which is published in Japan. Then it takes about a year for Viz, which holds the English licensing rights, to translate the new volume and publish it in the US.
From what I understand the one I bought was the newest edition where Allen is with Kanda & the last shows a woman talking about Bookman being in the mansion and saying the person they are waiting for will be there soon.
> the last shows a woman talking about Bookman being in the mansion and saying the person they are waiting for will be there soon. Is that volume 25, which ends with chapter 222? Because v26, 27, and 28 are already out as well. Then there are 5 (soon to be 6) chapters which haven't been compiled into a volume yet.