D.Gray-man watch order
Allen Walker, a boy with a cursed eye and an anti-Akuma weapon for an arm, joins the Black Order of Exorcists to fight the Millennium Earl and his demon-machines in an alternate 19th-century Europe. Katsura Hoshino's manga has two anime: the 103-episode 2006 series and the 13-episode sequel D.Gray-man HALLOW (2016).
First time? Watch D.Gray-man (2006), episodes 1–103 (you can skip the filler listed below), then D.Gray-man HALLOW. After that, the story continues only in the manga, from chapter 209.
Story order
Story order and release order are the same: the 2006 series, then HALLOW. There are no movies, OVAs or recap specials.
- D.Gray-man (episodes 1–51)
The first half of the 2006 TMS series, sold in Japan as the 1st stage. Canon arcs are Allen joining the Order, the Ghost of Mater, Rewinding Town (1–13) and Krory's castle (19–24). Most of the rest is filler: episodes 14–18, 25, 27, 29–36 and 41–50 are anime-only, and 26 is mixed.
- D.Gray-man (episodes 52–103)
The 2nd stage, almost all manga story: the end of Suman's arc, Allen's recovery at the Asia Branch, the battle in Edo, the Noah's Ark arc and the Level 4 attack on headquarters. Only 63 and 64 are mixed with anime-only material. It ends around manga chapter 158.
- D.Gray-man HALLOW
The sequel, eight years later, with a new Japanese cast and art style. It skips a few comedic chapters (roughly 159–164, the Order's move to a new headquarters) and picks up at chapter 165, then moves fast through the Alma Karma story to chapter 208. It ends on a cliffhanger.
Release order
The 2006 series aired weekly on TV Tokyo from October 2006 to September 2008; HALLOW aired in summer 2016.
- D.Gray-man (episodes 1–51)
The first half of the 2006 TMS series, sold in Japan as the 1st stage. Canon arcs are Allen joining the Order, the Ghost of Mater, Rewinding Town (1–13) and Krory's castle (19–24). Most of the rest is filler: episodes 14–18, 25, 27, 29–36 and 41–50 are anime-only, and 26 is mixed.
- D.Gray-man (episodes 52–103)
The 2nd stage, almost all manga story: the end of Suman's arc, Allen's recovery at the Asia Branch, the battle in Edo, the Noah's Ark arc and the Level 4 attack on headquarters. Only 63 and 64 are mixed with anime-only material. It ends around manga chapter 158.
- D.Gray-man HALLOW
The sequel, eight years later, with a new Japanese cast and art style. It skips a few comedic chapters (roughly 159–164, the Order's move to a new headquarters) and picks up at chapter 165, then moves fast through the Alma Karma story to chapter 208. It ends on a cliffhanger.
Explained
Which episodes are filler?
All the filler is in the first 50 episodes of the 2006 series: 14–18, 25, 27, 29–36 and 41–50 are anime-only, and 26, 63 and 64 mix manga and anime-only scenes. Everything from episode 51 on is manga story, and HALLOW has no filler. The filler mostly fills time while the Exorcists search for General Cross, so skipping it loses nothing the story needs.
Why does HALLOW sound and look different?
HALLOW was made eight years after the first series, by a different director, and the whole Japanese cast was replaced (Allen went from Sanae Kobayashi to Ayumu Murase). The English dub did the opposite: Funimation brought back the original dub cast, so dub watchers hear the same voices.
Does HALLOW skip anything?
A little. The 2006 series ends around chapter 158, and HALLOW starts at chapter 165, after the Black Order has already moved to its new headquarters. The chapters in between are a light comedy stretch, so you aren't missing major plot, but the jump can feel abrupt. HALLOW also compresses the manga heavily, covering chapters 165–208 in 13 episodes.
Where do I go after HALLOW?
Read the manga from chapter 209, the start of the Searching for A.W. arc (volume 23). Because HALLOW rushes and trims, many fans suggest going back to chapter 165, or even 159, to read what was cut. The manga is still running, a chapter every few months in Jump SQ.RISE, and Viz publishes it in English.
Is there an English dub, and is more anime coming?
Funimation dubbed episodes 1–51 of the 2006 series and all of HALLOW, and later released episodes 52–103 in 2017–18. As of 2026, no new D.Gray-man anime has been announced.