15 Years Later, Beloved Shonen Jump Character Returns to The Main Story

Katsura Hoshino’s beloved D.Gray-man manga debuted in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2004 but eventually faced numerous hiatuses due to her poor health. In 2018, the manga moved to a quarterly schedule in Jump SQ. Rise, leading to a far slower trickle of new chapters. While the manga releases new chapters every quarter, it’s getting increasingly difficult for global fans to read it, thanks to the delay in digitalization and translated volume releases. Despite this, the series maintains a dedicated fan base thanks to its brilliant world-building, unique power system, stellar art, and captivating storyline. The story is set in a world where, thousands of years ago, a chosen few were gifted with divine power, an ability to wield the “Innocence,” sacred relics capable of purging artificial creatures created by the Millennium Earl, known as Akuma.

The Millennium Earl seeks to destroy them along with the Innocence capable of killing those creatures. He also aims to plunge the world into chaos by recreating the cataclysmic event from centuries ago, a special organization named Black Order. The story has taken a major turn over the years, as Allen Walker struggles to come to terms with his own identity. Additionally, Lavi, one of the most beloved characters of the series, went into a deep sleep over 15 years ago, when Chapter 202 was released. The character finally makes his return in the latest Chapter 258, which was released in the Spring 2026 issue of the Jump SQ. Rise magazine.

Who Is Lavi in D.Gray-man?

The character’s return was already teased in the Autumn 2025 issue of Jump SQ. Rise magazine’s cover featured Allen Walker and Lavi. Lavi is his current alias, and his real name hasn’t been revealed in the manga. He was introduced at the beginning of the story and immediately became one of the most beloved characters. Although he didn’t appear in the manga for several years, even that didn’t diminish his popularity at all. Despite being an exorcist working for the Black Order, Lavi’s role is different from his peers since he is the current chosen successor of the legendary Bookman Clan. For centuries, the members of the clan have dedicated themselves to recording and maintaining the true, hidden history of the world.

Their job is to record history and not be a part of it, so they maintain their neutrality in any situation. Lavi struggled to witness everything unfold as a bystander since he grew to care about Allen Walker and the others at the Marian Unit of the Black Order, despite the constant warnings from his mentor. Additionally, his Innocence, which was installed in a hammer, gave him a major edge in battles, allowing him to subdue his opponents and save his allies at the same time.

The manga is available to read on the official platforms, such as Viz and the Shonen Jump app, which has only 245 translated chapters. An anime adaptation also debuted in 2006, which aired 103 episodes till 2008 before it stopped production due to a lack of material. Later in 2016, the studio released a sequel, D.Gray-man: Hallow, and aired 13 episodes without renewing the series for Season 2.

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