Yu Kanda

Yu Kanda is a fictional character and member of the fictional religious organization known as the Black Order, in the anime and manga series D.Gray-man, by Katsura Hoshino.

Background
Kanda has long black hair (dark blue in the anime), which the mangaka notes that he uses soap to wash. At one point in the anime, Lavi braids Kanda's hair, causing himself to nearly get sliced by Mugen. He also comments that Kanda is a "pretty-type character", and Allen occasionally calls him "feminine face". However, Kanda has a harsh tongue, a foul mouth, and a cold manner, and tends to say "che" a lot. His master, General Tiedoll, calls him "an antisocial humbug."

Yu is Kanda's given name, but he dislikes being called that. He calls Allen "beansprout" (モヤシ, moyashi), because compared to him, Allen is somewhat short and of a slight build, not to mention Kanda is older. Kanda seems to know Lavi (who even calls Allen "bean sprout" for a while because Kanda does too), though he doesn't hesitate with his usual threats if Lavi calls Kanda by his given name. However, it is clear that Kanda does care for his fellow Exorcists and the Finders (whom he claims not to care about). For example, he saves Allen from an Akuma (despite his own injuries) even though he said earlier that he would not help Allen even if Allen were about to die. He also rescues Gozu, a Finder who accompanies him on several missions. He masks his emotions and often claims, "It's none of my business." In spite of his intentions, he and Allen are often at one another's throats and rarely see eye-to-eye on anything. He also behaves in an almost friendly manner towards Lenalee. He honors her request that he return alive before his battle with Skin Boric. Later on, during their meditation session he seems to have a certain amount of incite on her character that she is mainly hanging out with him, so she can avoid Malcolm C. Leverrier. However, when he saw that she was feeling depressed he told her that he always thought of her as a "strong woman".

Kanda's favorite foods are soba noodles and tempura (especially pumpkin, shishitou (a small, sweet green pepper), and lotus root). Kanda dislikes many things, to the point that "there are too many to write down". However, Kanda himself points out that he hates people with naive personalities (Allen), people who don't keep their promises (Allen, who promises to protect Lala and Guzol but is severely injured during battle), cursed people (upon his first encounter with Allen), people who can't keep their mouths shut (General Tiedoll), people who call him by his given name (Lavi), and "sweet things" (as in food, especially cake and candy).

An 18-year-old Exorcist from Japan, Kanda is the first Exorcist that Allen meets at the black order HQ. He can recover much faster than ordinary humans due to a mysterious tattoo above his heart (possibly the word 'Om'). Kanda seems to be able to withstand the blood of Akuma because of the tattoo. It is related to a lotus flower, sealed in an hourglass, that sits in Kanda's room and is connected to his life. It is said that when it wilts, he will die. His purpose in life is to find a person that he refers to as "that someone"; he states that the search will be hard, but until then, he will never allow himself to die. So far, the lotus flower has lost three petals, but is otherwise still robust--it still has 10 petals left. The hourglass and flower are said to be his only personal possessions. His birthday is on June 6.

Kanda is introduced into the series when the gatekeeper of the Black Order mistakenly identifies Allen as an Akuma. Kanda, the first to respond, attacks Allen and damages his left arm (Allen's anti-Akuma weapon). After questioning Allen about his arm, Kanda attacks again, only to be stopped by Lenalee. Allen then attempts to introduce himself civilly, but Kanda coldly brushes him off ("Like I'd shake the hand of someone who's cursed."). Allen later clashes with Kanda again, this time over Kanda's insensitive treatment of the Finders, and their mutual dislike grows.

To both Allen and Kanda's dismay, they are paired with each other for Allen's first mission (which is to find a piece of Innocence in Matel, Italy). When they find the Innocence serving as the heart of a living doll named Lala, Kanda wants to take the Innocence immediately, against Lala and her human companion Guzol's wishes; however, Allen objects to this idea. They argue until a level 2 Akuma appears. Allen attempts to fight it but is hindered by his Innocence, which rebounds at the last moment. However, Kanda steps in (despite his own injuries) and protects Allen, and they destroy the Akuma together. Kanda's wounds, though serious, heal in three days (to the great surprise of hospital staff), and he departs on another mission.

Kanda next appears in the company of his teammates, Noise Marie and Daisya Barry. When Daisya is killed by Tyki Mikk, Kanda and Marie continue on and find their master, General Tiedoll, who is searching for people compatible with Innocence. Together, the three of them travel to Edo to help General Cross' group fight the Millennium Earl. Kanda arrives in time to save Chaoji and Lenalee from Tyki Mikk. After the battle, when Lenalee is kidnapped by Lero, Kanda enters the Ark with Allen, Lavi, Chaoji, and Krory to save her. Inside the ark, Kanda engages the Noah Skin Boric in a one-on-one battle, allowing the others to go ahead. He promises Lenalee that he will survive and carry on, but it is his own desire to live that wills him to survive (Maybe to find the person Kanda mentioned in the manga). After an intense fight, he defeats him, but at the cost of some of his life after invoking his third illusionary style. Mugen is also shattered in this battle; however, it is only broken into fragments, not destroyed like Allen's was, so Kanda is able to remain as an Exorcist (later, in a comic manner, the shattered Innocence of Kanda and also Lavi are shown in burlap bags awaiting Komui's repair). However, Kanda is too late to rejoin the others, and he is "lost" as the Ark collapses. Later, when Allen restores the Ark, Kanda (along with the other "lost" exorcists) is revived.

Upon his return to the human world, Kanda is forced into the infirmary with the other Exorcists. He tries to leave, but General Tiedoll makes him stay. After a while, he is released, and he returns to his own quarters. When the level 4 Akuma attacks headquarters, Kanda protects Komui with a normal sword, since Mugen has not yet been repaired. Joined by Lavi and Allen, he fights the level 4 with everything he has, taking a lot of damage in the process, in order to save Komui, Lenalee, and Hevlaska. When Allen holds back an attack from the level 4, Kanda and Lavi both grab onto Allen's sword to help. After the battle is over, Kanda is seen sword fighting with Allen in a bet where the loser of the fight has to cut off his hair. Later, he is seen as a child, just like Lavi, due to the effects of a potion found during the Head quarter's moving process.

In the most recent chapters, Kanda has been acting even more coldly towards Allen after learning that he is the 14th and even Allen makes note of it. However, this could have been an act because he later gets along a little better with Allen as he and Marie accompany Allen and Link to investigate the boy named Timothy. He even shows concern for Allen, when Allen's own innocence harms him, which causes the 14th Noah to temporarily take over his body. Instead of killing Allen when it looked like the Noah would take over, he calls Allen "bean sprout" in order to help him regain control.

Anti-Akuma weapon
Kanda's anti-Akuma weapon is a sword called "Mugen" (六幻, illusions), which turns silver when activated. He runs his index and middle finger through the back of the blade to activate it. It initially took the form of a sleek chokuto with a black cross-emblazoned hilt and sheath, but was later reforged as a katana after the battle with Skin Boric. He has shown five illusions so far:

Kaichū: Ichigen (界蟲「一幻」, lit. First Illusion: Hell's Insects): Kanda swings his sword and releases a small swarm of supernatural creatures that devour his opponents. Nigentou (二幻刀, lit. Double Illusion Blades): Kanda covers his sword and scabbard in a coat of energy and generates an energy blade, creating two impossibly sharp weapons.

Hakka Tourou (八花蟷螂, lit. Eight Flowers Praying Mantis): Using Nigentou, Kanda quickly slashes the enemy eight times. The slashes collectively resemble a flower.

Shouka (昇華, lit. Sublimate): Kanda activates the power of his tattoo, and his pupil changes into three dots. Veins also rise around his eyes. Once Shouka is activated, Kanda can activate Sangenshiki.

Sangenshiki (禁忌 「三幻式」, lit. Three Illusions): Kanda drastically increases his speed and strength at the cost of some of his life.

As the sword is called "Mugen" (六幻) and "六" means six, it is speculated that there will be one more attack. It could also be that the 6 in the name is added to make a phonetic misinterpretation of the name possible: Mugen written as "無限" means "infinity".

In the recent fight with a Level 4 Akuma, Kanda used his Third Illusionary Style, but even this was not enough to kill it on its own.

Trivia

 * Kanda's favorite food is Soba.