farewell, our paradise

Alright, where do we start, where do we end?

First of all we meet Cross rather early in the series as Allen's Master and one of the 5 (then 4) Generals of the Black Order. Cross Marian doesn't contact the Order, they even thought he wasn't alive anymore as there was no sign of him in years. Until Allen shows up with Timcampy.

As the Noah start to target the Generals Allen is send out (accompanies by Lavi, Bookman and Lenalee) to find Cross and protect him/bring him back to the Black Order as Timcampy can lead them to Cross.

Cross hides in Japan, the current Akuma capital of the World, there is no humans on this island anymore aside the Noah.

He lives there just like that, drinks sake and calculated exactly when the others would need his help so he send out Chomesuke to help them. Later on he teams up with Allen and the Gang to order Allen to controll the Ark, he is eventually later on killed by Apocryphos. This as a small sum up.

We do learn that Cross searched for Nea and followed Mana around and then found Allen, noticed that he was the Host and decided to raise him until Nea takes over. In the recent chapter it is revealed that Cross is Cyrus van Campbell, Uncle to Mana and Nea. Head of the Campbell family and was only mentioned once as the weirdo of the family. That's all we knew about him till we were able to connect the dots.

Cross' Abilities

So here we come to one of his first abilities. Cross Marian can modify Akuma, there is no human known who can do that aside him.

Bookman confirms that Cross is the only one able to do so. Also Cross can shapeshift. Cross can build machines (Golems) that only can be destroyed if you use a piece of Cornelia, they can regenerate otherwise. Even scientists like Komui can't create such a being.

This lines up to the fact Cross posesses other abilities that aren't common among the humans in this world.

He can control two Innocence, something nobody else can do.

He is able to use the same ancient magic the Skulls do, the same magic the Noah are able to perform as they gain their abilities from what's granted to them.

Also Cross does not age. He's pretty much an adult as he takes over the Campbell family, yet he does look like he is clearly under 50 in every panel we see of him.

Do you know who also doesn't age?

Katherina. The other member of the Campbell family we know of. And the one Adam seemingly feel in love with, the Katherina who raised Mana and Nea.

Katherina is the same age all the time and we do know that Hoshino can draw aged characters, she looks the same no matter how old Mana and Nea are. Katherina's lullaby is the song to navigate the Ark. Was this always the case? Or did Nea change it together with Mana? Also Katherina is Eve ... I do lack more information to go into depth with her though.

But back to Cross.

Cross can summon objects/people from other Dimensions (namely Grave of Maria) due magic. Also he was able to hide from the Akuma in Japan, Akuma can smell humans and their blood, they have the urge to kill. Yet Cross had a pretty good darn life there.

Another ability is he can visit Allen in his inner world.

Though we can't be sure if that is truly Cross or Road and Cross cooperating here. Anyways Cross has a ton of abilities that are special even in the World of D.Gray-man.

To pick up the "shapeshifting" topic again along with another theory I just pointed out..

.. the Campbell Residence is most likely part of another World/Dimension. It is not accessable by humans other than through an Ark Gate created by Nea. Yes it could be that Cross just build an army of Guardians to protect the place but even then you could get there somehow.

To get to the point here: I do think Cross and Katherina aren't humans from this World. They are from a different World, a third World aside the one we know in the series and the one we know the Noah came from and that got destroyed by the pillar.

This 'flashback' of Road shows a world that is similar to the one we currently live in. This World existed for at least 7000 years.

Road and him also talk very different about the world they are in currently as if he is detached from this one. Road's host was born in this current world, but her spirit is from centuries ago.

Cross knows there is indeed several Worlds. He's super casual with Road about everything, I don't know why but was he able to get into the Ark just like that? He knows about its mechanics and all.

Why is Road so chatty with him?

Yes he is a "relative" of Mana and Nea but I don't think it boils down to this when we come to his overall role. I don't think the Noah would endure other humans in the Ark aside maybe the Bookmen, as the Noah thought they did cooperate in the past.

Cross moves between all of the sides of this war like he's not part of them, he has a cooperation with the Bookman Clan going on regarding the Campbell Residence, he speaks casually with the Noah, even the Golem Suit. He joined the Black Order just like that.

Oh and while we are at that he was not on Tyki's List of the 14th's affilates to be killed. The Earl send out Devitto and Jasdero to end him because "he's annoying", so he still somewhat differs him from just being a relative of Nea.

And Cross is aware of the whole history of the Earl, which is another point why I think Cross is on another secret side, another World involved.

Biggest hint so far is this:

Mother tells Cross he has stepped over the border of humanity, that he got burned by the truth he had discovered.

That implies Cross has a very different and bigger role that just being the Uncle with cool abilities.

While we are at that.

I don't think Cross died. It's Apocryphos who shot him with Judgement, an Innocence that shouldn't harm humans. Why did it harm Cross?

Also where went his body? I have several ideas here:

He himself opened the Dimension he stores Maria in to hide and escape

Road picked him up through a door as the both of them clearly cooperated to give Allen the hints through his Dreamworld, Road even says she can't connect their dreams that well

The Earl. Which would be another option, Deus ex Machina if you would like to call it so

In any case we are none the wiser. I still think Cross and Katherina might not be humans from this World but another third reality we haven't seen a glimpse upon.

Overall I do have the feeling he's a bit like Howl from Howl's Moving Castle, if you have read the Book you might know what I am talking about. As Howl is indeed not from Inari but from ... Wales.

...

I. About the Machiboke figurines

"I don't know if they have already been released or if they will be released later, I have no idea. But right now, there is a D.Gray-man gacha. I don’t know the release date because I am only supervising the merch, so I have no clue about the release schedule".

"I really hope the shop in Sannomiya will be selling Machiboke figures. If I get the chance, I’d like to try it myself. Because, you know... this time... they didn’t send me any samples. Like, I struggled SO HARD all this time, and they don’t even send me samples?! But... well, to be honest, I don’t care that much because I’m not working just to get samples (laughs)"

II. About the DGM café

"I recently received the sales performance report from the Osaka DGM café. It was a real success, and you could clearly see it from the sales numbers. Thank you very much. I can't tell you how much I will receive from the profits; they just sent me the overall sales figures. I’m happy it ended up being such a success. It went by so fast! I spent so much time and struggled so much during the supervision period, but the event itself was over in a flash. And I couldn’t even go there to try it"

"We still have a lot of events planned in the future, so if you’re able to attend next time, please check it out. Right now, I’m trying to supervise everything as best I can"

III. About the D.Gray-man Stars festival event

The D.Gray-man Stars Festival...? Am I right? (laughs) I don’t even know the title (laughs). Anyway, there will be an event where Allen, Lavi, and Kanda are designed according to their constellations. I think you’ve already seen the announcement, right? It was in the RISE issue. Well, I think this will be the first and last time we do constellations, because, you know, I never accept the same offer twice. So, if you’re interested, please take a look.I do remember the merch being pretty cute, so yeah, please check it out."

Let me tell you... Allen and Lavi, especially Allen, were HELL to draw. I know he’s the main character, but... how should I put it... when I first heard I would be drawing constellations, I naively thought Allen and Lavi would be easy-peasy because they represent Capricornus and Leo. For me, the real problem seemed like it would be Kanda, who represents Gemini. It’s hard to represent Gemini’s distinctive traits in clothing, right? And when it’s an animal, like a lion, I thought, “Oh, that’s gonna be easy.”

However, Kanda was actually the one I drew most easily, and then second was Lavi. The one I redrew like a thousand times was Allen. You can’t imagine how many times I changed Allen’s clothes. I tried this, I tried that, it just wasn’t good, I didn’t like it, and I redrew it over and over.

Look at the Capricornus constellation, the head is like a goat, right? But the lower half is supposed to be like a mermaid’s tail. At first, I really tried to make Allen’s legs look like a mermaid’s, but it made him stand out too much compared to the others. He ended up looking like he’d stepped out of a fantasy novel, while the other two were realistic. So I tried to redraw Allen... I was literally crying. So yes, please take into account all the effort I put into Allen’s design.

Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but Allen isn’t looking straight ahead, he’s looking at the sky. I actually often get asked to draw Allen looking at the sky. And each time, I wonder, “Is it really okay if Allen doesn’t face forward?” Because I tend to think it’s better for merch to have the characters looking forward... but when it comes to Allen, I often get requests for him to be looking upward. So I came to understand that everyone has that perception of him. Honestly, I sometimes get bored drawing characters looking straight ahead, so when I get a request like that, I usually go along with it.

But this time... yeah... it was hell.

IV. About making merch in general

"Okay, let me tell you one thing.

I receive a lot of merch offers, and each time, they show me the concept they want for the exclusive illustration. But I’m a very honest person: if I dislike the concept, I’ll tell them straight up that I won’t do it. If I think the concept doesn’t fit my characters, I refuse.

The concept I absolutely do not want to do is the one where they’re all wearing white tuxedos and holding flower bouquets. I will NEVER draw this, even if you threaten to kill me. There are a lot of events and exclusive illustrations coming in the future, but let me tell you, don’t expect that kind of illustration from me (laughs). I really hate it, that whole “white tux and flowers” thing. I hate the concept. But don’t get me wrong, if a famous idol does it, I don’t care; I might even like it. But for D.Gray-man? Imagining Allen & co like that... no. Even if I were paid a million, I wouldn’t do it.

I don’t mind the tuxedo part! For me, the problem is the bouquet (laughs). Again, I don’t mind the concept for other manga, but for my characters? Never. I don’t want to do that to Allen & co. But actually, I often receive offers with that exact concept. Every time I get an offer, they show me several ideas, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, one of them is “white tux with flowers.” Even if I have to die, I won’t do it.

At first, I actually thought about refusing the constellation concept. When they first presented it, I wasn’t very convinced. But I accepted because they let me do whatever I wanted with it. If they’d given me too many restrictions, I wouldn’t have drawn it. If I can make it match Allen & co, I’ll do it. But the white tux and flowers... no matter how much I think about it, it just doesn’t suit them. I mean, imagine Kanda wearing a white tux and holding flowers in his hand... no. I can’t (laughs). No matter his pose or expression, it’s just not Kanda.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but years ago there was that drawing of Lavi wearing an ebi-furai scarf, right? I didn’t draw that, but for me, it’s on the same level as the tux-and-flowers idea. I’ll be honest: I hate that drawing.

What I hate the most is when the fan service is too obvious. You might think, “They’re just characters, let them be,” but maybe for YOU they’re just characters. For me, they’re my children. They have their own personalities, just like my cats (laughs). So I don’t want to make them suffer. If I think it’s weird, I won’t do it. Even if you tell me it would sell well, I don’t care.

For the record...this is the Lavi x ebi furai

I don’t want to make weird drawings... I don’t want my characters doing cheap fan service. If I think D.Gray-man fans would find the merch weird, I usually refuse the offer. I hate merch that doesn’t take into account the characters’ personalities and traits. You know, when it’s just a template, and they slap the characters’ faces on it, but there’s no soul at all. I hate that. I hate it when they don’t think about the characters. I’m like, “They would never dress like this or do such things.” So when they say, “This is very popular right now, so we’d like to do it with your characters as well,” I systematically refuse.

If it matches the characters, I’ll do it, but if not, then I won’t. Please, just imagine Cross wearing a white tux with flowers in his hand. You’d be like, “That’s not Cross at all, is it???”