title: D.Gray-man

text: The central character is Allen Walker, a new recruit to the Black Order who started training to control his Innocence after it destroyed the Akuma of his late guardian, Mana. The story begins in a villain of the week fashion, where Allen teams up with various members of the Black Order to search for Innocence while battling Noah's demons on the way. Later, Allen and his friends are ordered to track down exorcist General Cross Marian, Allen's missing teacher. Their search concludes with them stealing one of the Noah's transportation device, referred to as the Noah's Ark; this was made possible since Allen has been instilled the consciousness of Nea D. Campbell, the brother of Mana, and the exiled 14th member of the Noah Family, who the Earl wishes to have back. Cross reveals that Nea plans to use Allen as host upon reincarnating, effectively erasing Allen eventually. During the Third Exorcists insurrection story arc, Nea's consciousness begins superseding Allen's body. Now hunted by the Black Order, the Noah Family, and a humanoid Innocence called Apocryphos, Allen goes into hiding as he searches for a way to end Nea's resurrection. During his journey, he realises that his late guardian, Mana, alongside Nea, has a strong link to the Millennium Earl. He then decides to journey to the place where Mana and Nea grew up to learn the truth about them, and their connection to the Earl. Following his escape, Allen is tracked by the Black Order, Apocryphos and the Noah. When Apocryphos is distracted by the Noah, the Earl finds Allen who is possessed by Nea. During this encounter it is revealed that the current Earl is Mana D. Campbell, Nea's brother. Both were once the original Millennium Earl but were split and became enemies.


title: D.Gray-man

text: After graduating from high school, Hoshino was unsure what job get: animating or writing manga. When drawing manga, Hoshino saw herself as a failure when trying to draw "shōjo" manga, series aimed towards young girls. As a result, she decided to focus on manga aimed towards male readers, "shōnen" manga. After sending a one-shot to Shueisha, response from the editorial was positive much to Hoshino's surprise. "D.Gray-man" originated from a one-shot that Hoshino developed during her youth, where she aspired to write the Earl as the main character of her own works. However, finding the character unsuitable for a manga magazine aimed at teenagers, she instead created Allen to be the protagonist. Hoshino sent a draft of "D.Gray-man" to Shueisha on a non-specified date. She had mixed feelings about writing the series, since she had been offered other jobs (such as developing video games). However, Shueisha liked the draft and the staff asked Hoshino to go ahead with the series in 2004 believing it would be popular. She had originally intended to write a story about zombies, but was discouraged by her editor T-shi and decided to abandon the idea during the third chapter. Asked about her inspiration for writing about the supernatural, Hoshino said that she feared the supernatural after seeing the 1973 film "The Exorcist". Although the horror film frightened her, it also inspired the author to design the manga's Akuma. The area in the series known as Noah's Ark was based on science fiction ideas rather than the supernatural ideas that had influenced the Akuma. After conceiving of the Ark's role in the series, Hoshino decided to write a song when Allen is rebuilding it through a piano. She requested help from her editor, a university graduate, but decided to use her own lyrics. She blamed it on her own ego.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Elements of "D.Gray-man" first appeared in Hoshino's one-shot title "Zone", in which the Akuma, the exorcists, and the Millennium Earl plan to end the world. Although Allen Walker is male, his character is based on "Zone" female protagonist. Lavi is based on the protagonist of Hoshino's planned series, "Book-man", that she originally wanted to write. Other characters, such as the Millennium Earl, Lenalee Lee, and Komui Lee, are based on real people whom Hoshino has not specifically identified; some are well-known scientists, and Komui is based on Hoshino's boss. The character of Yu Kanda, based on a samurai, was created to vary "D.Gray-man"s Western setting. Hoshino found the design of some of the characters difficult early in the series. In 2011, the author visited New York City for research, and believed that the city had greatly influenced her work. Hoshino visited cemeteries, and was deeply impressed by her guides' comments at Ground Zero of the World Trade Center (left after the September 11 attacks). She said that she would like to spend more time in New York City to gather data for the series.


title: D.Gray-man

text: After beginning "D.Gray-man", Hoshino considered continuing to use the name "Zone" and also contemplated naming the series "Dolls" or "Black Noah". She chose "D.Gray-man" for its several meanings, most referring to the state of Allen and the other main characters. Although the title's meaning was not completely explained, Hoshino said that the "D" stands for "dear". According to the author, she got most of her ideas for the series while sleeping in her bathtub for six hours. One exception was the second-volume plot, based on a Noh story entitled "Koi no Omoni".


title: D.Gray-man

text: When the manga moved from weekly to monthly serialization in 2009, Hoshino heard concerns from readers about its possible cancellation and reassured them that the series would continue. She set up Kanda's backstory by introducing the Third Exorcists, characters related to him and Alma Karma. In Hoshino's original drafts, Kanda's past had a number of plot holes. A rewritten, published version had a young Kanda walking along a path surrounded by dead people who had cared for him. Due to its violence, the image was replaced with one in which Kanda learns that Alma Karma had killed them all. When the chapters were collected into a volume, Hoshino added a small chapter which included the corpses.


title: D.Gray-man

text: At the time of drawing, Hoshino often finds herself rewriting sketches to the point the final images does not match her original ideas. When writing titles, Hoshino attempts to think of something bright in order to contrast the series' dark narrative. Fellow writer Takeshi Obata claimed that Hoshino's art continues to improve the more she writes but she replied to him that she is not aware of her own change. Due to the intense development of the storyline, Hoshino believes she can no longer write simple eyes. When drawing the series, Hoshino entrusts her storyboards to her editor, which was initially complicated to her due to "D.Gray-man" being her first series. She faced difficulties with the initial weekly serialization of the manga resulted in multiple changes due to how the storyboards changed across this period. Following Hoshino's change to a three-mestral serialization, she uses digital from the storyboard stage. In bringing this style, she looked after manga author Tite Kubo, famous for writing "Bleach", who uses a similar style. This allowed her to add more details to her illustrations and made the faces of her characters more unique. Including Hoshino, there are three people working in the manga, but at times the number increases for the last spurt. Since moving to a trimestral magazine, the author has some leeway with time, so her assistants stay at their homes and work from there with what Hoshino send them. However, Hoshino expressed regrets of this idea of working as it often causes misunderstandings. In the making of fights scenes, Hoshino has claimed in an interview that she lacks the ability to properly draw them. However, manga author Osamu Akimoto has praised some of her compositions such as the handling of Lenalee Lee before Noah's Ark, or the handling of Jasdevi's guns.


title: D.Gray-man

text: When designing the characters, Hoshino first imagines their lives even though some parts might not be featured in the story. Their personalities are then written down along with their habits or eating preferences. She has admitted she does not have written details about a number of "D.Gray-man" characters. In designing the Earl, Hoshino gave him a colorful look to contrast the exorcists' who wore black instead. This look was meant to give the idea of a gentleman related with the tragedy he causes as Hoshino linked him to a poisonous flower. In designing the Black Order exorcist, Hoshino feels that their first uniforms were easy to draw so she like them. The second uniforms were brought the artist problems due to the idea of giving each the clothing zippers. For the third uniforms, the color remained black but Hoshino decided to them red too as a reference to blood because she thought such grotesque looks would fit the themes of "D.Gray-man". In other early colored chapters, Hoshino experimented with giving Allen gothic lolita style clothing and color style referencing American comics. Other early colored illustrations were meant to give the idea of symbolism such Kanda's being seen as a puppet or Allen being covered by threads of Akuma and later the idea of his Innocence returning to his body, giving him a shocked appearance.


title: D.Gray-man

text: The author noted that the character of Lavi was popular with fans, placing third in a poll (behind Allen and Kanda) despite infrequent appearances in later story arcs, and she promised that Lavi would return. The story arc involving Alma Karma, featuring several characters, was difficult for the author; as a result, the next arc in which Allen leaves the Black Order contained fewer characters per chapter due to its different format. The character of Apocryphos was introduced to hint at the Heart, a plot element briefly described in a past storyline which would later reappear. Due to "Jump Square" (the manga's magazine at the time) readership, which consisted of older men rather than children, Hoshino found Allen the most difficult character to write. She does not want Allen's problems in recent story arcs to lead to portraying him as a troubled teenager, preferring to show him as a cheerful person with a balance of strength and sorrow. After "D.Gray-man" dark narrative, Hoshino plans to write more lighthearted series in the future.


title: D.Gray-man

text: According to Hoshino, the series' main theme focuses on tragedy. Many characters such as Allen across the series suffer poor fates such as losing a loved one and being tempted to revive them by the Earl. Although this works, the people are revived as Akuma who consume the skin of their loved ones. This has led to her to state that an initial theme is that people should not be brought back to life. Although some characters like Kanda express unconditional love to Alma, their happiness is short-lived due to Alma dying shortly after this with another writer finding fitting for the series' dark narrative. Additionally, Allen's life becomes sadder across the series as he is forced to abandon the Black Order due to the Pope removing his rights as an exorcist and he is treated as Noah due to his connections with these characters. Nevertheless, Hoshino still tried to make it fun for the readers, stating that Allen will always have allies.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Another common theme of the series is the lack of black and white morality. Although Allen initially starts as a hero in the Black Order, their group are revealed to have created actions that might question the readers' thoughts in regards to whether or not the Order is good. Additionally, the Noah clan starts showing hidden depths despite their evil nature with the antagonistic Earl showing his care for the Noah Nea D. Campbell while Tyki Mikk questions Allen about whether or not the Exorcist should return to his "home" due to the way he has been treated as a result of being the Nea's vessel.


title: D.Gray-man

text: In the book "Representing Multiculturalism in Comics and Graphic Novels" Jacob Birken states another theme set in the series is identity. This is reflected in Allen and the exorcists familiarizing themselves with their own supernatural powers in order to become more humanize themselves. On the other hand, Allen's revelation that he is the 14th Noah which makes him less human. Another theme is grief, as seen in the Millennium Earl's appearance as a tired, middle-aged man who is constantly searching for a former comrade, Nea. Hoshino believes that the Millennium Earl, the series' main antagonist, would fit the manga's demographic. In the book "Anime and Philosophy: Wide Eyed Wonder" Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin discuss how "D.Gray-man", alongside "Spriggan" and "Ulysses 31", focus on the "end of the world" with "D.Gray-man" and "Spriggan" taking references from the blibical flood.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Hoshino's illustration involving Allen often have threads related covered with threads as she aims to show the fact that he is not only related to the fact that he is always associated with God as well as the fact that he is bound to exorcise Akumas. Similarly, Kanda was first illustrated in color pages with multiple threads in a symbolic way to say he is a puppet as the person he has been searching for his entire life but has been unable to reach his objective.


title: D.Gray-man

text: During production of the first anime adaptation, the author often visited the TMS Entertainment studio, where the voice actors requested advice about their characters. Although Hoshino was nervous about talking with them, she was surprised by their dedication in practising their characters—particularly Sanae Kobayashi (Allen), Takahiro Sakurai (Kanda), Katsuyuki Konishi (Komui), and Hiroki Tōchi (Cross Marian)—and joked that Lenalee seemed more beautiful after she saw Shizuka Itō's work. Early in production, Hoshino was shown an early version of the first opening theme: "Innocent Sorrow" by the Japanese rock band Abingdon Boys School. When she saw the video, Hoshino began to cry in delight while the staff laughed to her. Tyki Mikk's voice actor, Toshiyuki Morikawa, remembered the recording sessions for the series as "lively" because of the presence of many popular actors. After the anime finished, the actors (who became friends during production) kept in touch.


title: D.Gray-man

text: The anime's sequel was subtitled "Hallow", referring to Halloween; the holiday celebrates the "revival of the dead", and TMS Entertainment celebrated the "revival of the "D.Gray-man" anime series". Although it is a sequel, Hoshino called it a completely new "D.Gray-man" anime and thanked fans for following it. The original Japanese actors were replaced, with Ayumu Murase voicing Allen and Shinnosuke Tachibana voicing Howard Link; both anime adaptations retained most of Funimation's English-language cast. In the English version, Allen was voiced by Todd Haberkorn, who said that voicing the character was a career highlight.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Written and drawn by Hoshino, the "D.Gray-man" manga began its serialization in Shueisha's "shōnen" manga magazine "Weekly Shōnen Jump" on May 31, 2004. The series went on hiatus several times due to issues with Hoshino's health. Publication resumed on March 9, 2009. The series' 186th and last chapter in the magazine was published on April 27, 2009. The series reappeared in the seasonal magazine "Akamaru Jump" on August 17. After its run in "Akamaru Jump", "D.Gray-Man" resumed publication in the monthly magazine "Jump SQ", where it ran from November 4, 2009, to January 4, 2013. After an over two-year hiatus, the series was transferred to the quarterly "Jump SQ.Crown", running from July 17, 2015, to January 19, 2018, when the magazine ceased its publication. The manga moved to the then brand-new quarterly magazine "Jump SQ.Rise" on April 16, 2018.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Individual chapters have been published in "tankōbon" format by Shueisha. The first volume features Allen Walker and the Millennium Earl together. In original revisions of such cover, both were drawn from the back but the editorial demanded Hoshino to make Allen more visible as he is the main character. The first volume was published on October 9, 2004, and the 28th volume was published on October 4, 2022. In the making of each volume, Hoshino originally wanted each cover to be focused on a single character. However, following the 9th compilation of the series, Hoshino changed her mind and instead decided to try different types of covers that feature multiple characters.


title: D.Gray-man

text: At the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con International, "D.Gray-man" was licensed for English-language publication in North America by Viz Media. The company published the first collected volume of the series on May 2, 2006. The 27th volume was released on July 6, 2021. Viz Media reissued the series in a 3-in-1 format, publishing eight 3-volumes-in-1 editions from July 2, 2013, to November 3, 2015. Madman Entertainment published the Viz's 27-volume English edition in Australia and New Zealand, from August 10, 2008, November 15, 2021.


title: D.Gray-man

text: In June 2006, Shueisha announced that the "D.Gray-man" manga would be adapted as an anime. Its first episodes were directed by Osamu Nabeshima and produced by Dentsu, TMS Entertainment, Aniplex, and TV Tokyo. TMS Entertainment provided the animation, while Aniplex provided the music. The series began airing on October 3, 2006 on TV Tokyo. The anime's 51-episode first season, known as the "1st stage", ended on September 25, 2007. The 52-episode second season, known as the "2nd stage", began on October 2, 2007 and ended on September 30, 2008, for a total of 103 episodes. The anime adapts the manga's storyline from the beginning and concludes after the destruction of the Black Order headquarters. The episodes were released by Aniplex on 26 DVDs from February 7, 2007 to March 4, 2009.


title: D.Gray-man

text: The English-language versions of the first 51 episodes was licensed by Funimation in May 2008, and released in North America on DVD from March 31, 2009 to January 5, 2010. The anime made its North American television debut on the Funimation Channel in September 2010. The first 51 episodes were released on four DVDs by Madman Entertainment from August 19, 2009 to May 13, 2010, and a DVD box set was released on June 6, 2012. In the United Kingdom, Manga Entertainment released the first season in four parts from February 22 to October 18, 2010. A box set was released on December 6, 2010. On June 30, 2016, it was announced that Funimation had acquired the rights to the anime's second season. In August 2017, Funimation announced they would release the series' second half on home media version starting on October of the same year. In August, Crunchyroll started streaming the first 25 episodes of the series.


title: D.Gray-man

text: A second TV anime series was announced at Shueisha's 2016 Jump Festa. Hoshino called the new series a sequel of the first anime, rather than a reboot. It starts where the first series finished and ends with Allen's departure from the Order. The new series, "D.Gray-man Hallow", directed by Yoshiharu Ashino and written by Michiko Yokote, Tatsuto Higuchi, and Kenichi Yamashita, has character designs by Yosuke Kabashima and music by Kaoru Wada. Crunchyroll would stream the series as it aired in Japan. It aired on TV Tokyo from July 4 to September 26, 2016, and was broadcast on Animax Asia. "Hallow" home-media release was delayed, and in March 2017, the official "D.Gray-man Hallow" website stated the home-media release was cancelled due to "various circumstances".


title: D.Gray-man

text: The music for the "D.Gray-man" anime series was composed by Kaoru Wada, and four CD soundtracks have been released in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment. The first, 34-track "D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 1" (including its first opening theme and the first two ending themes), was released on March 21, 2007. It was followed by the 32-track CD "D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 2", released on December 19, 2007, which includes the series' second opening theme and its third and fourth closing themes. The series' opening and closing themes were collected on a CD, "D.Gray-man Complete Best", which was released on September 24, 2008. Its limited edition includes a DVD with credit-less footage of the series' introduction and closing scenes and anime illustrations.


title: D.Gray-man

text: The third soundtrack, "D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 3" with 31 tracks, was released in Japan on December 17, 2008. It includes the series' third and fourth opening themes, the fifth to eighth closing themes and the insert song by Sanae Kobayashi (Allen Walker's first Japanese voice actor). Another soundtrack, based on the "Hallow" sequel, was released on September 28, 2016. Entitled "D.Gray-man Hallow Original Soundtrack", the release includes 40 tracks.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Two "D.Gray-man" adventure games, based on the first anime series, have been released. The first, for Nintendo DS, was released in Japan by Konami on March 29, 2007 with Allen and his comrades as playable characters. The second, , was released for PlayStation 2 on September 11, 2008. In it, Allen trains in the Asian headquarters of the Black Order to regain powers lost after a previous battle so he can rejoin his allies to fight the Akuma and Noah. Allen and other series characters appear in the Nintendo DS fighting game "Jump Super Stars" and its sequel, "Jump Ultimate Stars", and he is a supporting character in the fighting game "J-Stars Victory VS".


title: D.Gray-man

text: A three-volume light novel based on the manga series, "D.Gray-man: Reverse" by Kaya Kizaki, was published by Shueisha. The first volume, published on May 30, 2005, focuses on Allen's journey to the Black Order after he finishes his exorcism training, Yu Kanda's mission to find a witch, and Asian branch head Bak Chan, who tries to learn how Komui Lee was elected European branch head (instead of himself). The second volume, published on July 4, 2006, is set in the Black Order. Allen and other characters attend a party, Lavi trains to be the next Bookman before he meets Allen, and the Millennium Earl searches for people to create Akuma. The third volume was published on December 3, 2010. Its first chapter follows Black Order scientist Rohfa's search for Allen, with whom she is infatuated. In the second chapter, Allen lives with a circus as a child after he is abandoned by his parents.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Several other series-related books also exist published by Shueisha. The "D.Gray-man Official Fanbook: Gray Ark" was published on June 4, 2008, and "TV Animation D.Gray-man Official Visual Collection: Clown Art" on September 4. Three omnibus editions were published on November 13 and December 11, 2009 and January 15, 2010. They were followed by an illustrated book, "D.Gray-man Illustrations Noche", on February 4, 2010. "Noche" was published by Viz Media on December 6, 2011. The artist's book also contains two interviews with Hoshino and manga artists Osamu Akimoto and Takeshi Obata. "D.Gray-man Character Ranking Book", a compilation of character popularity polls with character profiles by Hoshino and the one-shot , was published on July 4, 2011. A new book, "D.Gray-man Official Fan Book - Gray Log (Gray's Memory)", was released in Japan on August 4, 2017.


title: D.Gray-man

text: The manga has been popular in Japan. One of "Weekly Shōnen Jump" bestselling series, individual volumes have appeared on annual Japanese top-50 manga sales lists; in 2008, volumes 14, 15, and 16 were on the list. Later volumes were also Japanese bestsellers. In August 2020, the series had a Japanese circulation of over 25 million copies. Manga author Katsura Hoshino is grateful to the editors assisting her to the point of saying that she owes the series' success to them.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Volumes of Viz's English version of the series have appeared on bestselling manga lists in the "New York Times" and Nielsen BookScan. In its summer 2008 and Q3 2008 lists, ICv2 ranked "D.Gray-man" the 15th-bestselling manga property in North America. In 2009 and 2010, the series was North America's bestselling "shōnen" property and the bestselling manga overall. It was ranked as the 24th and 23rd North American manga property on "ICv2" Top 25 Manga list in 2011 and 2012, respectively.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Zassosha's manga magazine, "Puff", ranked the series the seventh-best long-story manga of 2006. In France, it received the Best Manga Series of 2006 award at the Anime and Manga 2007 French Grand Prix (organized by Animeland) and the 2006 Manga of the Year award from Webotaku. The anime DVDs have also been popular, ranking high on several Japanese animation DVD lists from 2007 to 2009, and the series was listed as a most-watched anime of the week. Its novelizations were also well-received; the second volume was the third-bestselling novel in Japan in 2006. "D.Gray-man" characters have also inspired cosplay. On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, "D.Gray-man" ranked #95.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Reception of the series has been generally positive. In his review of volume one, Carlo Santos of Anime News Network said that certain plot points "come out of nowhere" and the story was kept from its full potential due to finding some points like the designs generic. However, he enjoyed the series' quick-moving plot, exposition, and backstory. Sheena McNeil from Sequentialtart called it the best manga from 2006 based on its story and cast. A.E. Sparrow of IGN also reviewed the first volume, comparing the series' antagonist to three of "Batman"s villains due to his likeability despite his role. Sparrow also enjoyed Allen's characterization based on his tragic backstory. Calling the early volumes an "amateur comic", reviewer Leroy Douresseaux of Coolstreak Cartoons noted that the plot and art improved significantly with each volume, whereas "Otaku USA" was amazed by the amount of its different mixed elements, stating that it is "part shonen, part fantasy, part horror, part mythology, part action, part comedy, part really warped comedy, part goth, part historical, part alternative history," concluding that although these elements are typical of manga, the series "remains so different." Ross Liversidge of the UK Anime Network enjoyed the first three volumes; Hoshino had "an excellent quality of storytelling" in juggling dark plot, light comedy and appealing characters. According to Brian Henson of Mania Beyond Entertainment, the series became better over time; although some elements seemed derivative, it developed a unique identity. Yussif Osman of Japanator said that the characters were some of the deepest seen in "shōnen" manga, citing Lavi's backstory and the Noah Family.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Later volumes were also praised; "Otaku USA"s Joseph Luster appreciated the series' battles and Allen's development. The revelation that Allen would be an enemy of the Order and the 14th Noah was well received by Grant Goodman of Pop Culture Shock and Chris Beveridge of the Fandom Post. However, Goodman criticized early-volume reliance on comedy rather than plot. Beveridge and Erkael of Manga News were impressed with Kanda's dark past. Douresseaux liked Allen's situation in volume 21 (due to the character's connections with the Noah), and wanted to see more of that and less of Kanda's fight with Alma Karma. Chris Kirby of the Fandom Post felt the constant mysteries across the series were entertaining, but lamented the continuous hiatus Hoshino had to take, leaving multiple fans disappointed in regards to future story events.


title: D.Gray-man

text: Hoshino's art received mixed reviews. According to Casey Brienza of ANN, as of volume twelve, the battles were "practically unintelligible" yet liked the rest of the artwork. She described Hoshino's drawing style as the "aesthetic yet dynamic, superbly beautiful yet super-violent" style made famous by female manga artists arising from the late-1980s and early-1990s "dōjinshi" subculture, citing Clamp and Yun Kōga as examples. Brienza also talked about Hoshino's character designs, believing fans of both sexes would find them appealing. Douresseaux called Hoshino's art "highly stylish" and reminiscent of work by Joe Madureira, Kelley Jones, and Chris Bachalo. Describing her backgrounds as eerie and Lovecraftian, Douresseaux wrote that Hoshino made appealing scenes that combined both gothic and violent elements. Brian Henson criticized changes made to the Viz Media version, such as the replacement of Japanese sound effects with less-appealing ones and awkward translations of character names.


title: D.Gray-man

text: According to Funimation Entertainment president and CEO Gen Fukunaga, the anime series was popular in Japan and the United States. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network reviewed the first episode, calling it derivative with "absolutely nothing original" but not boring. Noting that Allen's use of the anti-Akuma weapon might seem clichéd, Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk found its use in the anime entertaining. Active Anime's Sandra Scholes and UK Anime Network's Kevin Leathers enjoyed the anime series and, similarly to Douglass, found its small borrowings from other series appealing. Both reviewers praised Allen Walker's characterization. "Anime Insider" Kimberly Morales said that the series' animation quality varied and although the story was appealing, voice actor Travis Willingham was miscast as Kanda. However, Morales liked the series and its cast overall. Tom Tonhat of "The Escapist" praised the cast due to how it inspired multiple cosplaying and noted the impact of the Earl's characterization as it involved about how the dead cannot be brought back to life.


title: D.Gray-man

text: UK Anime's Kevin Leathers criticized its lack of entertaining story arcs, and Anime News Network's Casey Brienza called the anime a poor adaptation of the manga. On the other hand, "Neo" enjoyed the direction of the episodes even though some are called "filler" based on how they allow to focus on the large cast. Allen's English-language voice actor, Todd Haberkorn, said that anime sales were poor despite generally-positive reviews; he suggested that fans buy DVDs on sale to keep the series from being cancelled.


title: D.Gray-man

text: The anime's sequel, "D.Gray-man Hallow", was one of the most-anticipated anime series of summer 2016 by followers of Anime News Network and the Japanese web portal goo. Since he had not watched the original anime for some time, Alex Osborn of IGN appreciated the brief exposition in the sequel's first episode to remind the audience of the plot. Although he enjoyed the interaction among the main cast, Osborn was confused by the revelation that Allen would become the 14th Noah and had to watch the scene again in order to understand it. In a later review, Osborn said he was amazed by Allen's first possession by the 14th Noah; although it was "disturbing", it enhanced the character's development. Anne Laurenroth remarked Kanda's character development in "Hallow", particularly his fight against Alma Karma and his return to the Order in the finale. Laurenroth noted "Hallow" poor animation and pacing but, although most of its episodes were grim, its final moments were upbeat. Manga Tokyo appreciated the black and white morality of the story when Allen is imprisoned by the Order he was working for and has to rely on the Millennium Earl's comrades in order to survive. However, the reviewer felt that viewers needed more information than what the story was able to provide.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the bachata group Aventura. In 2002, the song "Obsesión" reached number one in Italy for 16 consecutive weeks. He released several albums with Aventura before the group broke up. Since then, Santos has embarked on a solo career which has spawned seven number one songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart and seventeen number ones on the Tropical Songs chart. Over his career, he sold over 40 million albums and over 100 million singles.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Santos was born in 1981 in the Bronx, New York City to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. He had a humble upbringing, with his father, who worked in construction, under-paid but earning enough for his family with his mother staying at home taking care of them.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Santos began his career by singing in a church choir at a young age. Romeo was exposed to Latin genres of music at a young age due to his parents.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Romeo was inspired by many exponents of music to compose his songs, among them are: Shakira, Camilo Sesto, Rocío Dúrcal, Juan Gabriel, Manuel Alejandro, within his genre are: Juan Luis Guerra and Anthony Santos.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Romeo Santos started to do music since he was a teen. At first, he wasn't concentrating on bachata until one day his father bought a cassette from Anthony Santos. Romeo saw the cassette and notice that the artist had the same name has him. He tried out the cassette and immediately fell in love with his music. Thus, inspiring him to become a bachata singer.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Romeo was the lead singer, songwriter and co-producer of Aventura. Aventura was formed in 1994 by Anthony "Romeo" Santos, his cousin Henry Santos "Hustle Hard", and friends Lenny Santos "Len Melody", and Max Santos "Mikey a.k.a Max Agende". They were originally called Los Tinellers. In 1998 they signed with Premium Latin Music and were rebranded as Aventura.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Aventura released their debut album in 1999 with the hopes of breaking bachata music into the mainstream from its traditional base and fuse it with hip hop and R&B. In 2002, the song, "Obsesión" achieved huge success in many countries, topping many international charts in France, Germany and Italy. Aventura released five studio albums in a decade, spawning many top 10 hits like internationally famous "Obsesión", "Cuando Volverás", "Un Beso", :Amor de Madre", "Los Infieles", "El Perdedor", "Por Un Segundo", "Dile Al Amor", and many others.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In 2009, Aventura was invited to perform for the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama at the White House.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In 2011 Aventura separated. According to Romeo, the group was "on pause to do individual projects". Romeo, along Lenny, Mikey and Henry (Aventura) reunited to close out the second night of Romeo Santos' sold-out Yankee Stadium concerts on July 12, 2014. It was announced on December 1, 2015, that Aventura would have a set of concerts for the last time as a group for the whole month of February at the United Palace Theater in New York City. Their first concert since their split started with a sold-out crowd on February 4, 2016, with the final concert ending on February 28, 2016. On December 8, 2019, Romeo Santos posted a video saying that Aventura is going on tour around the United States in 2020 called Gira Inmortal. They would eventually go on tour until the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to cancel. In 2021, they continued the tour as a stadium tour in which they performed in 4 stadiums in the United States and 1 stadium in the Dominican Republic.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In April 2011, after his success as a songwriter and the lead singer for Aventura, Romeo announced he was leaving the band to pursue a solo career. Romeo Santos signed with Sony records on April 7, 2011.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On May 9, 2011, he released the debut single and his first single off his debut album "Formula, Vol. 1", called "You". The song went to number one on the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts.


title: Romeo Santos

text: The second single "Promise", featured a collaboration with R&B singer Usher. As with the previous single, "Promise" topped the Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts.


title: Romeo Santos

text: He released his debut album Formula, Vol. 1 on November 8, 2011. The album featured collaborations with Usher, La Mala Rodríguez, Mario Domm from the trio Camila, Tomatito, Lil Wayne and George Lopez. It also featured bachata legends Antony "El Mayimbe" Santos, Luis Vargas, Raulin Rodriguez as they united for the song "Debate De 4" ("Debate Of 4").


title: Romeo Santos

text: In February 2012, he sold out New York City's famous Madison Square Garden three nights in a row on the 11th, 23rd, and 24th of that month. The first night kicked off The King Stays King tour which was the tour of his first solo album. On August 20, 2012, a live version of the song Llévame Contigo was released as a single to promote Santos' first live album as a solo artist.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On November 6, 2012, Santos' released "". It is a CD and DVD based on the three nights at MSG. This is his first live album and concert film as a solo artist. The live album peaked at number 65 on the Billboard 200 and at 1 Billboard Top Latin and Tropical Albums charts.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In December 2012, He sold out twice in a row at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the 15th and 22th of that month. Santos made history selling out two nights at a stadium with a capacity of over 50,000 for concerts. This was the end of the 2012 portion of the tour.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In February 2013. He started the 2013 portion of the tour with two nights at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico on the 14th and 15th of that month.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On July 30 2013, he released the first single off his second album, "Propuesta Indecente". Ii peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin songs chart. It received a Lo Nuestro Award for Tropical Song of the Year in 2014. As of 2021, is the second best-performing Latin song of all-time on the chart. It lasted on the chart for 125 weeks in which it 4 of those it was positioned at number 1. It also peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Latin and Tropical Airplay charts. The music video for this single reach over 1 billion views on YouTube. As of 2022, it has over 1.9 billion views.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On January 28, 2014, second single, Odio, was released. It featured Canadian rapper Drake. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and lasted 13 weeks on that position. It also peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Latin and Tropical Airplay charts. This song was the first time Drake sang in Spanish.


title: Romeo Santos

text: His second album, "Formula, Vol. 2", was released on February 25, 2014. It featured collaborations with Drake, Nicki Minaj, Marc Anthony, Carlos Santana, Tego Calderón, and Kevin Hart. "Formula, Vol. 2" became the best-selling Latin album of 2014. In 2020, the album was awarded Billboard Top Latin Album of the decade at the 2020 Billboard Latin Music Awards.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In July 2014, he sold out an entire double-header show at Yankee Stadium on the 11th and 12th of that month. Santos was the first Latin artist to headline at the stadium. The Fania All-Stars last did so, one block south at the old Yankee Stadium on August 24, 1973. This show featured a special Aventura reunion to close out one of the nights.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In July 2015, he sold out three nights at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of that month. The tour would continue until August of 2016.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On February 10, 2017, He released the song "Héroe Favorito". It is the lead single for his third studio album "Golden". Santos partnered with Marvel Comics to design the art cover for the single. It debut at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and lasted 13 weeks on that position. It also debut at number 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay Chart It also debut at number 1 Tropical Airplay chart and lasted 8 weeks on that position. The music video was released 4 days later on Valentine's Day 2018. It was shot in Los Angeles, California. It featured American actress Génesis Rodríguez, who voiced Honey Lemon in Disney's 2014 film "Big Hero 6".


title: Romeo Santos

text: On June 23, 2017, He released his second, "Imitadora". It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. It also peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay Charts, which lasted four weeks on that position, and on the Tropical Airplay chart, which lasted 10 weeks on that position. The music video was released on July 18, 2017. It was directed by Carlos Pérez and won Best Bachata Video at the Videoclip Awards 2018.


title: Romeo Santos

text: He released his third studio album titled "Golden" on July 21, 2017. It featured collaborations with Swizz Beatz, Juan Luis Guerra, Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Daddy Yankee, Julio Iglesias and Jessie Reyez. This was his first studio album to not be part of the Formula series. It was nominated for Best Latin Album in the Billboard Music Awards 2018.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In February 2018, Santos would kick off the Golden Tour, which was the tour for "Golden", the same way he did for The King Stays King tour in 2012. He once again sold out New York City's famous Madison Square Garden three nights in a row on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of that month. The tour would end in February of 2019 with two nights at San Juan, Puerto Rico's José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum on the 8th and 9th of that month.


title: Romeo Santos

text: 0n April 5, 2019, he released his fourth studio album "Utopía" where he united with pioneers and legends of traditional modern bachata. El Chaval De La Bachata, Frank Reyes, Raulin Rodriguez, Elvis Martinez, Kiko Rodriguez, Teodoro Reyes, Joe Veras, Zacarias Ferreira, Luis Vargas, Monchy & Alexandra, and Anthony "El Mayimbe" Santos all participated in the album to show that unification within bachata is possible. The band Aventura, as a group, released an official song within this album titled "Inmortal". It was released as the lead single for the album. On the Billboard charts it peaked at 95 on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 5 on Hot Latin Songs, and at number 1 on both Latin and Tropical Airplays. Later on, the other songs from the album all got music videos with the exception of the song "Bellas".


title: Romeo Santos

text: On September 21, 2019, Romeo Santos sold out MetLife Stadium making him the first Latin artist to do so. The concert was based on the album "Utopía". It featured almost every bachata artist from the album, including the other members of Aventura. Not only did each artist sang the songs from the album, but also got to sing one or two of their greatest hits. This concert celebrated the history of bachata.


title: Romeo Santos

text: In the same year, Santos decided to do a tour around Dominican Republic during November and December. These shows were free to watch and went to different towns and cities.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On June 25, 2021, a film based on the Metlife concert premiered on PPV and then on HBO Max on July 30, 2021. On August 20, 2021, he released a live version of the song "Inmortal". It's from the film and became a single for Santos' second live album titled "Utopía Live from MetLife Stadium". The live album was released on September 10, 2021. It was named after the concert film released earlier that year.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On February 8, 2022, Romeo Santos announced that he would release a new album. It was first rumored, but then confirmed by Santos himself through YouTube and social media. It will be part of the Formula series as this album is titled "Formula, Vol. 3". Fans expected the third volume to have been his third studio album. However, his third studio album ended up being titled "Golden" and then "Utopía" for his fourth. After those two albums, fans never thought Fórmula would get a trilogy, until now. Its first single, Sus Huellas was released on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2022. On July 22, 2022, Santos performed on NBC's Today as part of the Citi Summer Concert Series. He said that he is planning to release the album on September 1, 2022, which is on his first born son's birthday. He did not confirm that it would be the official released date, but he said he was working on it. On August 15th, 2022, he posted a teaser and confirmed that the official release date was going to be on the date he had mention at the concert series.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On September 1, 2022, "Formula, Vol. 3" was released. It was released along with the music video for the single "Sin Fin" which featured American singer Justin Timberlake. His fans were confused when on that day at midnight the album wasn't available at that moment. Later on in the morning, Santos announced on social media that the album would be released at 11pm, which was 23 hours after the expected release time. The album featured collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Rosalía, bachata veteran Luis Miguel Del Amargue, Christian Nodal, Chris Lebron, Lapiz Conciente, and Katt Williams. It also featured merengue legends Fernando Villalona, Rubby Pérez, Toño Rosario, Ramon Orlando as they united for the song "15,000 Noches" ("15,000 Nights"). Santos included his manager Johnny Marines, requinto guitarist ChiChi and producer MateTraxx for a skit which featured a special character. He also included his 3 sons in the intro along with Williams. Santos mentioned that one of the reasons this album is his most personal one is because of his 3 sons being involved in it.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On November 6, 2012, "" was released on DVD by HBO Latino. This is Santos' first concert film as a solo artist. I was based his 3 night performance at Madison Square Garden in February of 2012. It is currently available on HBO Max as "Romeo Santos: The King Stays King – Live at Madison Square Garden". It featured perfomances by Anthony Santos, Luis Vargas, P. Diddy, Tomatito, Wisin & Yandel, and Usher. It included behind the scenes footage and clips of Santos talking about a few topics involving his life and career.


title: Romeo Santos

text: On June 25, 2021, "Romeo Santos: Utopía Live from MetLife Stadium" was released as a PPV event, based on the September 2019 concert in New York that featured guests Cardi B, Daddy Yankee, Emilio Estefan, Marc Anthony, Thalía and more. Concurrently, a documentary on Santos premiered on the same day titled "" which traced the history of Bachata, and showed Santos travelling to the Dominican Republic with The Kid Mero. To promote the documentary, HBO built an elaborate pop-up promotion in Washington Heights, NYC in the form of a bodega, called House of Bachata, with free haircuts, Presidente beer, and karaoke parties honoring Santos. At its center was a PORTL "hologram" device in which Santos appeared in lifelike, lifesized, volumetric 4K to interact with fans. On July 30, 2021, both films were released on HBO Max.


title: Romeo Santos

text: His first film appearance was on the 2007 Dominican film "Sanky Panky" as himself alongside his fellow band members from Aventura performing live at Altos de Chavón in the Dominican Republic. Romeo Santos made his Hollywood debut in the film "Furious 7", released April 2015, alongside Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, and Paul Walker. He was nervous about acting in "Furious 7" but the cast made him feel welcomed.


title: Romeo Santos

text: Santos was also the voice of the cartoon character Early Bird in the 2016 film "The Angry Birds Movie".


title: Tom Odell

text: Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, "Songs from Another Love", in 2012. It won the BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio album, "Long Way Down", was issued on 24 June 2013. Three years later, his follow-up studio album, "Wrong Crowd", was released, on 10 June 2016. This was followed by the release two years later, on 26 October 2018, of his third studio album, "Jubilee Road". "Monsters", his fourth album, was released on 9 July 2021, while his fifth album, "Best Day Of My Life", was released the next year, on 28 October 2022.


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell was born in Chichester, West Sussex, England, to an airline pilot father and a primary school teacher mother. He has an older sister. He spent part of his childhood in New Zealand because of his father's job. He was educated at Seaford College.


title: Tom Odell

text: Throughout his school years, Odell wrote songs in a band that had trouble maintaining a lead singer. This trouble inspired him to start singing the songs he wrote, and Odell says he "sang [the songs] how [he] wanted them to sound" rather than worrying about someone else not bringing his vision to life.


title: Tom Odell

text: At 18, Odell abandoned plans to attend the University of York and attempted to gain a place at a music college in Liverpool. A year later, he moved back to Chichester after being made redundant from his job as a barman. Using his grandmother's car, he travelled regularly to London to play shows and to put advertisements in music schools. He studied at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMM) in Brighton playing as part of the band Tom & the Tides before moving to London where he decided to become a solo artist because he "didn't want to have to rely on people".


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell was signed to In the Name Of, an imprint of Columbia Records. He was discovered by the label head Lily Allen, who remarked that "his energy onstage reminded me of David Bowie". He released his debut extended play, "Songs from Another Love", in October 2012. He made his television debut in November 2012 as a performer on "Later... with Jools Holland"; the show's producer Alison Howe later described it as "a classic "Later" debut". Odell was announced as one of 15 nominees for the BBC Sound of 2013 poll in January 2013. Also that month, his single "Another Love" was used by the BBC to advertise their 2013 schedule. Odell's music has been used in numerous Burberry fashion runway shows. He was named the BRITs' Critics' Choice Award winner, previously won by artists such as Adele and Florence and the Machine and was the first male artist to win the award, and was interviewed alongside previous winner Emeli Sandé during the television ceremony in February 2013.


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell's debut album, "Long Way Down", was released on 24 June 2013 and reached No. 1 in the UK Official Chart. He was due to support The Rolling Stones at London's Hyde Park on 13 July 2013, but was unable to perform because of illness.


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell performed his first new song since the release of "Long Way Down", entitled "Alex", on 7 February 2014 at the Plymouth Pavilions. The show kicked off the last leg of his UK Long Way Down Tour.


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell's song "Can't Pretend" was used in the TV series "The 100". "Can't Pretend" and "Long Way Down" were also featured on "The Blacklist" and the award winning movie "The Fault In Our Stars". His song "Grow Old With Me" was featured in an episode of "Reign". The song was also featured in a major 60 second ad campaign for Kaiser Permanente entitled "Thrive". His song "Heal" was also used in the movie "If I Stay", the TV series "NCIS", "The Vampire Diaries" and "Elementary" along with "Another Love".


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell's next song, a cover of "Real Love" by The Beatles, was the audio track to the 2014 John Lewis Christmas advert and gained him great publicity. Within hours of the advert being aired for the first time, the track reached to the top of the music recognition service Shazam's trending list. Within three days of release, it went straight to 21 in the UK top 40, peaking at 7.


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell began working on his second studio album in 2015, and played a variety of new songs at Forest Live, a concert series in England's forests by the Forestry Commission. On 4 April 2016, the first single, "Wrong Crowd", was released, and an upcoming second studio album of the same name was announced. In addition, Odell announced that he would be going on tour in the US and Europe. On 15 April 2016, the second single from the album, "Magnetised", was released. The next day, Odell revealed that his sold-out shows were titled the No Bad Days Tour, which kicked off on 20 April 2016 in London. The full album was released on 10 June 2016. In an interview with Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on "This Morning", Odell revealed that in some countries outside the UK, audiences have misunderstood the title of the album to be an insult, that they are in fact a bad crowd or so to speak the 'wrong crowd'.


title: Tom Odell

text: On his No Bad Days tour, Odell revealed he was writing for his third album and played several new songs live. In November 2017, he toured Germany on the New Fall Festival in Düsseldorf and Stuttgart and announced that the album had been finished and a first single was to be released imminently. On 20 December 2017 Odell announced in an interview on BBC Radio 2 that the album was scheduled for release in mid-2018. On 14 June 2018, the first single from the album, "If You Wanna Love Somebody", was released worldwide. The album, "Jubilee Road", was released on 26 October.


title: Tom Odell

text: "Jubilee Road" was inspired by his past neighbours and community. The title "Jubilee Road" is supposed to be a reference to a terraced street in east London that Odell lived on, but when he asked his neighbours if he could use the real name, they responded that they were afraid it would become a tourist destination and would rather him create a fictional name.


title: Tom Odell

text: "Numb", the first single from Odell's fourth album, was released in February 2021. In an interview with "The Gentleman's Journal" on 27 February 2021, it was revealed that Odell's fourth studio album is titled "Monsters". He stated that the album would feature darker, electro-pop tones, and the lyrics were inspired by artists such as XXXTentacion, Drake and Travis Scott. The second single from the album, "Monster v.1", was released in March 2021. The record touches on heavy subjects and rough experiences he had during a "fever pitch" in his life, particularly struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. The album was released on 9 July 2021.


title: Tom Odell

text: On 8 September 2022, Odell announced the release of his fifth studio album, "Best Day of My Life", scheduled for release on 28 October 2022. The album was preceded by the singles "Best Day of My Life", "Sad Anymore", "Flying" and "Smiling All the Way Back Home".


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell grew up listening to Elton John. One of the first albums he listened to was "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973). He also cites David Bowie, Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Arthur Russell, Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Rodríguez and Bruce Springsteen as influences. He is a fan of Arcade Fire, Adele, James Blake, Cat Power, Blur, Beach House, Radiohead, Coldplay and Ben Folds.


title: Tom Odell

text: Odell has said his lyrics are inspired by his "inability to sustain a relationship with someone for longer than six months." He says, "I find that I write much better songs when I'm being honest, and writing about things that happen to me. It can get a little weird though, when friends or girlfriends work out that a song is about them. But it's amazing what you can get away with it. Artistic license, I think they call it."


title: Tom Odell

text: In July 2020, he signed an open letter to the UK Equalities minister Liz Truss calling for a ban on all forms of LGBT+ conversion therapy.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the club has been affiliated with Chelsea F.C., a men's team in the Premier League. Chelsea Women were a founding member of the Super League in 2010. From 2005 to 2010, the side competed in the Premier League National Division, the top tier of women's football in England at the time.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: The club has won a record five Women's Super League championships, as well as the FA WSL Spring Series in 2017, and has the second-highest number of outright league championships after Arsenal. They have also won four Women's FA Cup titles, two FA Women's League Cup titles, and were Women's FA Community Shield winners in 2020. They reached their first UEFA Women's Champions League final in 2021, where they were defeated by Barcelona Femení.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea Ladies Football Club was formed in 1992 after supporters of Chelsea F.C. expressed desire for a women's side. In June 2004, Chelsea Ladies voted to be taken over and funded by Chelsea's Football in the Community department. The club then won promotion as champions from the Southern Division in 2004–05 to the Premier League National Division and have participated at the top level ever since.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: After starting 2005–06 with one point from six games, manager George Michealas was fired in September after four years in charge. They finished bottom of the league that season under Shaun Gore, but won a promotion/relegation play-off against Northern Division runners-up Liverpool 4–1 on aggregate to stay in the Premier League National Division. During the season the club had been linked with a transfer bid for North American star players Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: After an eighth-place finish in 2006–07, Gore drafted in England players Siobhan Chamberlain, Casey Stoney and Eniola Aluko that summer. American World Cup winner Lorrie Fair, regarded as one of the best midfielders in the women's game, joined in January as Chelsea finished 2007–08 in fifth position.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea Ladies introduced a new manager for the 2008–09 season, former Arsenal Ladies reserve team coach Steve Jones. On 2 July 2008 Chelsea surprisingly signed Lianne Sanderson and Anita Asante from Arsenal Ladies, in addition to veteran Mary Phillip. Then Arsenal Ladies manager Vic Akers criticised his former players as disrespectful, while pursuing players from other clubs to bolster his own squad.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea Ladies finished the 2008–09 season third behind Arsenal and Everton. Mary Phillip retired a month into the new season, Aluko and Asante left for the new WPS in March 2009, while Fair missed the whole campaign with a cruciate ligament injury sustained in May 2008. Jones departed as manager in January 2009, leaving Stoney to act as player/manager.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: At Stoney's recommendation, Matt Beard became manager for 2009–10. Cuts to the Ladies club's funding were offset by financial assistance from John Terry and other Chelsea F.C. players. A further blow arrived when Sanderson left for the 2010 WPS season.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: The club bid successfully to be one of eight founding teams in the FA Women's Super League in March 2011. On 13 April 2011, the first-ever WSL fixture was played — at Imperial Fields, Chelsea's home ground — between them and Arsenal, which they lost 1–0. Beard led the club to the Women's FA Cup final for the first time in 2012, but Chelsea were eventually beaten by Birmingham City on a penalty shootout after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw. In July 2012, Matt Beard resigned as manager after three years in the post.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Former assistant at Arsenal, Emma Hayes, was brought in as manager in 2012, who was one of the first female managers in the WSL. In Hayes' first season in charge, Chelsea, who were still a part-time professional club, finished third-bottom of the League. The following season, they finished second from the bottom. The club subsequently went full-time.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: The 2014 season was successful for Chelsea, as they finished second in the FA Women's Super League behind Liverpool on goal difference, after eight wins, two draws and four losses. A final day win would have clinched them the league title, but they lost 2–1 away to Manchester City. Their second-place finish meant that they qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history. They also reached the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, where they lost to both eventual winners, Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: In 2015, it was announced that many of Chelsea's players would be becoming full professionals for the first time.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: On 1 August 2015, Chelsea won their first ever Women's FA Cup. They beat Notts County Ladies at Wembley Stadium. Ji So-yun scored the only goal of the game and Eniola Aluko won the player of the match award. The team then beat Sunderland 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the FA WSL title and a League and Cup double. Chelsea repeated that feat in the 2017–18 season, winning another FA WSL and Women's FA Cup double; in the same season, the team also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time. On 23 May 2018, the club rebranded as Chelsea Football Club Women.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea were awarded the 2019–20 WSL title on a points-per-game basis after the season had to be abruptly terminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea began the 2020–21 season by winning their first ever FA Community Shield, against Manchester City. The season also saw them win their second consecutive League Cup, winning 6–0 against Bristol City. Chelsea and manager Hayes won their fourth WSL title, the most by any WSL team, by two points on the final day of the 2020–21 FA WSL season with a 5–0 victory over Reading. Chelsea broke the records for most wins (18) and most points (57) in a season, and became just the third team to defend the League title after Liverpool and Arsenal. Sam Kerr won the WSL "Golden Boot" for most goals scored by an individual (21), while Fran Kirby was joint top for assists (11) and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger registered the most clean sheets (12), winning the "Golden Glove". Given their remarkable performances over the season, Suzzane Wrack of "The Guardian" stated that Chelsea was "one of the best women's teams to ever play in England's top flight". On 16 May 2021, Chelsea, on course for a "quadruple", lost 4–0 to Barcelona in their first-ever Champions League final appearance. On 5 December 2021, Chelsea won the delayed 2020–21 FA Cup, beating the league leaders Arsenal 3–0 in a dominant display, with goals from Kirby and two from Kerr, helping clinch the trophy and their first domestic treble.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea Women play at Kingsmeadow in Norbiton, Kingston upon Thames, London. Chelsea F.C. purchased Kingsmeadow for the Women from its former occupant AFC Wimbledon, so that Wimbledon could finance their new ground, Plough Lane. Kingsmeadow has a capacity of 4,850.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Between 2012 and 2017, the team played their home games at Wheatsheaf Park. The stadium is located in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex and features capacity for 3,002 spectators.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: The team previously played at Imperial Fields during the 2011–12 season, the home ground of Tooting & Mitcham United.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: The current home attendance record of a Chelsea Women's match is 38,350, set on 20 November 2022 during the 2022–23 Women's Super League season match against Tottenham Hotspur, played at Stamford Bridge. Their current home attendance record at their primary ground of Kingsmeadow is 4,670, set on 28 April 2019 in a Champion's League semi-final leg against Lyon.


title: Chelsea F.C. Women

text: Chelsea's first major trophy was the Women's FA Cup, won in 2015. In the same year, the club also won its first League title. After winning the 2021–22 FA Women's Super League (FA WSL) season, Chelsea became the first team to win the WSL title for three seasons in a row. Their most recent success came in May 2022, when they won their fourth FA Cup title.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran. It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf. It is Gibran's best known work. "The Prophet" has been translated into over 100 different languages, making it one of the most translated books in history, as well as one of the best selling books of all time. It has never been out of print.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: The prophet Al Mustafa has lived in the city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: "The Prophet" has been translated into more than 100 languages, making it one of the most translated books in history. By 2012, it had sold more than nine million copies in its American edition alone since its original publication in 1923.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: Of an ambitious first printing of 2,000 in 1923, Knopf sold 1,159 copies. The demand for "The Prophet" doubled the following year—and doubled again the year after that. It was translated into French by Madeline Mason-Manheim in 1926. By the time of Gibran's death in 1931, it had also been translated into German. Annual sales reached 12,000 in 1935, 111,000 in 1961 and 240,000 in 1965. The book sold its one millionth copy in 1957. At one point, "The Prophet" sold more than 5,000 copies a week worldwide.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: Born a Maronite, Gibran was influenced not only by his own religion but also by the Bahá’í Faith, Islam, and the mysticism of the Sufis. His knowledge of Lebanon's bloody history, with its destructive factional struggles, strengthened his belief in the fundamental unity of religions, something which his parents exemplified by welcoming people of various religions in their home. Connections and parallels have also been made to William Blake's work, as well as the theological ideas of Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson such as reincarnation and the "Over-soul". Themes of influence in his work were Arabic art, European Classicism (particularly Leonardo da Vinci) and Romanticism (Blake and Auguste Rodin), the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and more modern symbolism and surrealism.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: Gibran’s strong connections to the Baháʼí Faith started around 1912. One of Gibran's acquaintances, Juliet Thompson, reported several anecdotes relating to Gibran. She recalled Gibran had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the leader of the religion, at the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West. Gibran was unable to sleep the night before meeting him in person to draw his portrait in April 1912 on the island of Manhattan. Gibran later told Thompson that in 'Abdu'l-Bahá he had "seen the Unseen, and been filled." Gibran began work on "The Prophet" in 1912, when "he got the first motif, for his Island God," whose "Promethean exile shall be an Island one" rather than a mountain one. In 1928, after the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, at a viewing of a movie of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Gibran rose to talk and proclaimed in tears an exalted station of `Abdu'l-Bahá and left the event weeping still.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: The book entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2019. It was already in the public domain in the European Union, Canada, Russia, South Africa, and Australia.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: Gibran instructed that on his death the royalties and copyrights to his materials be owned by his hometown, Bsharri, Lebanon. The Gibran National Committee (GNC), in Bsharri, manages the Gibran Museum. Founded in 1935, the GNC is a non-profit corporation holding the exclusive rights to manage the Lebanese author Kahlil Gibran's copyright in and to his literary and artistic works.


title: The Prophet (book)

text: Gibran followed "The Prophet" with "The Garden of the Prophet", which was published posthumously in 1933. "The Garden of the Prophet" narrates Al Mustafa's discussions with nine disciples following Al Mustafa's return after an intervening absence.


title: Porsche 928

text: The Porsche 928 is a luxury grand tourer produced by Porsche AG of Germany from 1978 until 1995. Originally intended to replace the company's iconic 911, the 928 combined the power, poise, and handling of a sports car with the refinement, comfort, and equipment of a luxury sedan. The 928 became the top-of-the-line production car sold by Porsche. Porsche executives believed such a flagship would have wider appeal than the compact 911.


title: Porsche 928

text: The 928 has the distinction of being the company's first production V8-powered model and its only coupé powered by a front-mounted V8 engine.


title: Porsche 928

text: By the late 1960s, Porsche had firmly established itself as a manufacturer of high-performance sports cars. In the wake of the 1970s oil crisis, executives, including owner Ferdinand Porsche, were beginning to consider adding a more fuel-efficient luxury touring car to the line-up. Managing director Ernst Fuhrmann was pressuring Ferdinand to approve development of the new model due to concerns that the then-current flagship model, the 911, was reaching the limits of its potential. Fuhrmann believed that the future of the company relied upon grand touring cars with conventional engines rather than unconventional sports cars. Slumping sales of the 911 in the mid-1970s seemed to confirm that the model was approaching the end of its economic life cycle. Fuhrmann envisioned the new range-topping grand tourer model as being the best possible combination of a sports coupé and a luxury sedan. This would set it apart from the 911, with its relatively spartan interior and true sports car performance. The targets were that the car had to compete on par with offerings from Mercedes-Benz and BMW while also being successful in the United States, Porsche's main market at the time.


title: Porsche 928

text: Ordered by Ferdinand Porsche to design a production-feasible concept for the new model, Fuhrmann initiated a design study in 1971, eventually yielding the 928 which was the first clean sheet design by the company for its own model; the 356 was a similar design to the Volkswagen Beetle, the 911 was an evolution of the 356, the 914 was a joint effort intended as a replacement for the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia and 912, and the 924 was the result of abandoned project by Volkswagen and Audi.


title: Porsche 928

text: Several drivetrain layouts were considered during early development, including rear- and mid-engine, but most were dismissed because of technical and legislative difficulties. Having the engine, transmission, catalytic converter(s) and exhaust all cramped into a small rear engine bay made emission and noise control difficult which were the problems Porsche had with the 911. After deciding that the mid-engine layout did not allow enough room in the passenger compartment, a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was chosen.


title: Porsche 928

text: Porsche engineers wanted a large-displacement engine to power the 928, and prototype units were built with a 5-litre V8 engine rated at . Ferdinand Piëch proposed the use of a 4.6-litre 90 degree V10 engine with 88 mm bore spacing, a derivative of the Audi 5 cylinder engine (used to power the Lamborghini Gallardo), which in turn is based upon the Volkswagen EA827 unit. The Porsche board objected as this engine would give rise to a rumour of a new 911 with a front-mounted Volkswagen-based engine, but also it is theorized that the board wanted to maintain some distance from the Volkswagen group.


title: Porsche 928

text: The resulting all-alloy M28 engine has multiple unusual features. Its bore spacing is 122 mm, reflecting the use of thick, all-aluminium cylinder barrels with no steel liners. Water jackets were very large, which indicated that Porsche may have wanted to eventually take this engine racing. In order to maintain a low hood line, the engine was designed for airflow first, thus the spark plugs are located at the top of the head. The four-bolt bearings are sizeable and are fed oil via grooves in the bottom surface of the block. The bearings themselves are supported by a large one-piece structure that forms a lower block, and the cast aluminum oil pan is bolted onto this part.


title: Porsche 928

text: The oil and water pumps are driven by a timing belt; DOHC engines introduced in 1985 used a hybrid timing system; the timing belt operated only the exhaust camshafts, and the intake camshafts were operated via an internally-mounted simplex roller chain from the exhaust camshaft. This method reduced the complexity of the timing belt layout, and as a result, required fewer components, such as idler rollers and guides, and led to easier and less costly maintenance of the timing belt. This timing system was later used in the Porsche 944, and was also used by Audi and Volkswagen on their belt-driven DOHC engines.


title: Porsche 928

text: The first two running prototypes of Porsche's M28 V8 used one four-barrel carburetor for initial testing. Actual production cars employed the planned Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system. When increasing concern within the company over price and availability of fuel during the oil crisis of the 1970s became an issue of contention, smaller engines were considered in the interest of fuel economy. A push began for the development of a 3.3 L powerplant envisioned by Fuhrmann, but company engineers balked at this suggestion. Both sides finally settled on a 4.5 L, SOHC per bank 16-valve V8 rated at ( in North America), which they considered to have an acceptable compromise of performance and fuel economy.


title: Porsche 928

text: The finished car debuted at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show before going on sale later that year as a 1978 model. Although it won early acclaim for its comfort, power and futuristic design, sales were slow. Base prices were much higher than that of the previous range-topping 911 model and the 928's front-engined, water-cooled design alienated many Porsche purists.


title: Porsche 928

text: Fuhrmann's replacement, Peter Schutz, decided that the models should be sold side by side, feeling that the 911 still had potential in the company's line-up. Legislation against rear-engined vehicles did not materialize. Although it never sold in the numbers Fuhrmann envisioned, the 928 developed an avid following and had an 18-year production run.


title: Porsche 928

text: The 928 featured a large, front-mounted and water-cooled V8 engine driving the rear wheels. Originally displacing 4.5 L and featuring a single overhead camshaft design, it was rated at for the North American market and in other markets. Porsche upgraded the engine from mechanical to electronic fuel injection in 1980 for US models, although power remained the same. This design marked a major change in direction for Porsche (started with the introduction of the 924 in 1976), whose cars had until then used only rear- or mid-mounted air-cooled flat engines with four or six cylinders.


title: Porsche 928

text: Porsche utilised a transaxle in the 928 to help achieve 50/50 front/rear weight distribution, aiding the car's balance. Although it weighed more than the difficult-to-handle 911, its more neutral weight balance and higher power output gave it similar performance on the track. The 928 was regarded as the more relaxing car to drive at the time. It came with either a five-speed dog leg manual transmission, or a Mercedes-Benz-derived automatic transmission, originally with three speeds, with four-speed from 1983 in North America and 1984 in other markets. For the first generation cars, 1978 & 1979, the majority of cars were fitted with the less expensive 5 speed manual gearbox while the optional 3 speed automatic was much scarcer. As the model years continued, this ratio evened out and then finally more cars had the automatic transmission. The exact percentage of manual and automatic gearbox cars for the entire production run is not known.


title: Porsche 928

text: The body, styled by Wolfgang Möbius under the guidance of Anatole Lapine, was mainly galvanized steel, but the doors, front wing, front fenders, and hood were made of aluminium to save weight. It had a substantial luggage area accessed via a large hatchback. Newly developed polyurethane elastic bumpers were integrated into the nose and tail and covered in body-coloured plastic; an unusual feature for the time that aided the car visually and reduced its drag. Another unusual feature was the pop-up headlamps which were based on the units found on the Lamborghini Miura and were integrated into the front wings.


title: Porsche 928

text: The 928 qualified as a 2+2, having two small seats in the rear. Both rear seats could be folded down to enlarge the luggage area, and both the front and rear seats had sun visors for occupants. The rear seats are small (due to the prominent transmission hump) and have very little leg room; they are only suitable for adults on very short trips or children. The 928 was also the first vehicle in which the instrument cluster moved along with the adjustable steering wheel in order to maintain maximum instrument visibility.


title: Porsche 928

text: The 928 included several other features such as the "Weissach Axle", a simple rear-wheel steering system that provides passive rear-wheel steering to increase stability while braking during a turn, and an unsleeved, silicon alloy engine block made of aluminium, which reduced weight and provided a highly durable cylinder bore.


title: Porsche 928

text: Porsche's design and development efforts paid off during the 1978 European Car of the Year, where the 928 won ahead of the BMW 7 Series, and the Ford Granada. The 928 is the only sports car so far to have won this competition, where the usual winners are mainstream hatchbacks and sedans/saloons from major European manufacturers. This is regarded as proof of how advanced the 928 was, compared to its contemporaries.


title: Porsche 928

text: Styling was the same in both 1978 and 1979, with the body lacking both front and rear spoilers. From 1980 (1983 in North America) through 1986, front and rear spoilers were present on "S" models, rear spoilers being integrated into the hatch. From 1987 through 1995, the front spoiler was integrated into the nose and the rear spoiler became a separated wing rather than an integrated piece, and side skirts were added. The rear tail-light configuration was also different from previous models. GTS models had wider rear fenders added to give more room for 9-inch wide wheels. Another easily noticeable visual difference between versions is the style of the wheels. Early 928s had 15-inch or 16-inch "phone dial"-style wheels, while most 1980s 928s had 16-inch slotted "flat disc" wheels, CSs, SEs and 1989 GTs had 16-inch "Club Sport" wheels, later GTs had 16-inch "Design 90" style wheels which were also option on same period S4s (shared with the 944 as well), the GTS used two variations of the 17-inch "CUP" wheels.


title: Porsche 928

text: Porsche introduced a refreshed 928 S into the European market in the 1980 model year, although it was the summer of 1982 and MY 1983 before the model reached North America. Externally, the S wore new front and rear spoilers and sported wider wheels and tires than the older variant, but the main change for the 928 S was under the hood, where a revised 4.7 L engine was used. European versions debuted with , and were upgraded to for the 1984 model year. From 1984 to 1986, the S model was called S2 in United Kingdom. These cars used Bosch LH-Jetronic fuel injection system and purely electronic Bosch ignition, the same systems used on the later 32-valve cars, though without the pollution controls, the high lift camshafts provided considerably more power than reported. It was not uncommon for these cars to show engine rated power on a chassis dyno. North American-spec 1983 and 1984 S models used among other differences, smaller valves, milder camshafts, smaller diameter intake manifolds, and additional pollution equipment in order to meet emissions regulations, and were limited to as a result. Due to low-grade fuel, the 16-valve low compression S engine was made for the Australian market in the 1985 model year. It had a 9.3:1 compression ratio pistons as opposed to the normal 10.4:1 but used the same large intake, high lift cams, large valves, etc. of other S engines.


title: Porsche 928

text: As the faster European model was not available in the United States and Canada during the first three years of its existence, a "Competition Group" option was created to allow North American customers to have an S model lookalike with front and rear spoilers, 16-inch flat disc wheels, sport seats, sport springs and Bilstein Shock Absorbers. Customers could specify paint and interior colours the same way as on a normal 928. Two cars were made in the late 1980 model year for U.S. with this option. The package was officially available in 1981 and 1982 model years and was canceled in 1983 when the S model became available for these markets. Many cars have had S model features added by subsequent owners, making original "Competition Group" cars difficult to distinguish without checking option codes.


title: Porsche 928

text: In the 1982 model year, two special models were available for different markets. 202 "Weissach Edition" cars were sold in North America. Unusual features were champagne gold metallic paint, matching brushed gold flat disc wheels, two-tone leather interior, a plaque containing the production number on the dash and the extremely collectible three-piece Porsche luggage set. It's believed these cars were not made with S spoilers even though these were available in U.S. during this time period as part of the "Competition Group" option. The "Weissach Edition" option was also available for the US market 911 for the 1980 model year and 924 for the 1981 model year.


title: Porsche 928

text: 141 special "50th Jubilee" 928 S models were available outside the U.S. and Canada to celebrate the company's 50-year existence as a car manufacturer. This model is also sometimes referred to as the "Ferry Porsche Edition" because his signature was embroidered into the front seats. It featured meteor metallic paint and was fitted with flat disc wheels, wine red leather and special striped fabric seat centers. Similar 911 and 924 specials were also made for world markets.


title: Porsche 928

text: Porsche updated the North American 928 S for 1985, replacing the 4.7 L SOHC engine with a new 5.0 L DOHC unit sporting four valves per cylinder and producing . Seats were also updated to a new style, these cars are sometimes unofficially called S3 to distinguish them from 16-valve "S" models. European models kept a 4.7 L engine, which was somewhat more powerful as standard, though lower 9.3:1 compression 32-valve engine together with catalytic converters became an option in some European countries and Australia for 1986. In 1986, revised suspension settings, larger brakes with 4-piston callipers, and a modified exhaust system was available on the 928S, marking the final changes to old body style cars. These were straight from the 928S4, which was slated to debut a few months later. These changes came starting from VIN 1001, which means that the first thousand 1986 cars had the old brakes, but later cars had this equipment available. This later 1986 model is sometimes referred to as a 1986 or 1986.5 because of these changes. The name is a little misleading as more than 3/4 of the 1986 production had these updates.


title: Porsche 928

text: The 928 S4 variant debuted in the second half of 1986 as a 1987 model, an updated version of the 5.0 L V8 for all markets producing , sporting a new single-disc clutch in manual transmission cars, a larger torque converter in automatic transmission cars and fairly significant styling updates which gave the car a cleaner, sleeker look. S4 was much closer to being a true world car than previous models as the only major differences for North American models were instrumentation in either kilometers or miles, lighting, front and rear bumper shocks, and the availability of catalytic converters in many other markets. The Australian market version was the only one with different horsepower rating at due to preparation for possible low grade fuel. Even this was achieved without engine changes.


title: Porsche 928

text: A Club Sport variant which was up to lighter became available to continental Europe and U.S. in 1988. This model was the toned down version of the 1987 factory prototype which had a lightened body. Also in 1987, the factory made five white lightweight S4 models with a manual transmission for racecar drivers who were on their payroll at the time (Derek Bell, Jochen Mass, Hans Stuck, Bob Wollek and Jacky Ickx). These were close to same as later actual Club Sport models and can also be considered prototypes for it. An SE (sometimes called the S4 Sport due to model designation on rear bumper), a sort of halfway point between a normally equipped S4 and the more race-oriented Club Sport, became available for the UK market. It's generally believed that these cars have more power than the usual S4. They utilize parts which later became known as GT pistons, cams and engine ECU programs. Some of them had stronger, short ratio manual transmission. The automatic transmission was not available for this model.


title: Porsche 928

text: For the 1989 model year, a visible change inside was digital trip computer in the dashboard. At the same time Australian models received the same engine management setup as other markets. Porsche debuted the 928 GT in the late winter 1988/89 after dropping the slow-selling CS and SE. In terms of equipment, the GT was like the 928 SE, having more equipment than a Club Sport model but less than a 928 S4 to keep the weight down somewhat. It had the ZF 40% limited-slip differential as standard like the Club Sport and SE before it. Also, like the CS and SE, the GT was only available with a manual gearbox. European 1989 CS and GT wheels had an RDK tire pressure monitoring system as standard, which was also optional for the same year S4. For the 1990 model year Porsche made RDK and a 0-100% variable ratio limited-slip called PSD (Porsche Sperr Differential) standard in both GT and S4 models for all markets. This system is much like the one from the flagship 959 and gives the vehicle even more grip on the track. In 1990, the S4 was no longer available with a manual transmission.


title: Porsche 928

text: The S4 and GT variants halted production at the end of the 1991 model year, making way for the final version of the 928. The 928 GTS was available for sale in late 1991 as a 1992 model in Europe and in spring of 1992 as an early 1993 model in North America. Changed bodywork, larger front brakes and a new, more powerful 5.4 L, 350 PS (257 kW/345 hp) engine were the big advertised changes; what Porsche wasn't advertising was the price. Loaded GTS models could eclipse US$100,000 in 1995, making them among the most expensive cars on the road at the time. This severely hampered sales despite the model's high competency and long standard equipment list. Porsche discontinued the GTS model that year after shipping only 77 of them to the United States. Total worldwide production for all years was a little over 61,000 cars.


title: Porsche 928

text: Second-hand models' value decreased as a result of high maintenance costs due to spare parts that are expensive to manufacture. Many parts suppliers and enthusiast networks exist, especially in the United States, Germany and the UK.


title: Porsche 928

text: Road & Track magazine published a speculative piece in their April 2006 issue regarding the possibility of a new, 928-esque coupé that may debut on a shortened version of the Panamera's platform sometime around 2011 or 2012 model year but this speculation remained uncredible as Porsche denied the possibility of any such model reaching production stage.


title: Porsche 928

text: The evolution of the 928 during its 18 years of production was quite subtle. The tables below show the major differences, which were made to the nose, tail, interior, engine, and wheels.


title: Porsche 928

text: All production numbers are approximate figures collected from several sources. Porsche hasn't published actual numbers.


title: Porsche 928

text: The Porsche 942 was a special edition 928 presented by the company as a gift to Ferry Porsche on his 75th birthday in 1984. It's also known as the 928–4. It featured a longer wheelbase than the normal 928 production model, including an extended roof above the rear seats to better accommodate tall passengers, and what were at the time very advanced projector headlights. The weight increased marginally, by . It also received the new front and rear bumpers two years before they entered production on the S4 and the 5.0-litre 32-valve engine before it was introduced in the US market. This early model of the engine was slightly less powerful, producing and of torque at 2700 rpm.


title: Porsche 928

text: Three years later, in 1987, the lengthened 928 that had been presented to the company's founder on his 75th birthday turned up as a "Feasibility Study", now with a second (rather narrow) set of doors, apparently opening in the same way as the suicide doors seen on the later Mazda RX-8. At the time "Study H50" appeared to sink with little trace, but two decades later, with the launch of the larger four-door Porsche Panamera saloon, the 928 based four-door saloon prototype from 1987 acquired greater significance.


title: Porsche 928

text: In 1986 Porsche together with tuning company AMG made a few long-wheelbase 928 specials. Unlike the 942, these had normal 928 headlights. One was presented to American Sunroof Corporation (ASC) founder and CEO Heinz Prechter. ASC was later partly responsible for manufacturing Porsche 944 S2 cabriolets.


title: Porsche 928

text: Porsche's Racing Department never officially entered or prepared a racing 928 for a pure works entry. Only once Porsche decided to make it obvious to the 911 enthusiasts that they usually tended to underrate the racing genes of the 928. Porsche then "arranged" this 928GTR to compete against the then-dominant 911 (993GTR) on the race track. In order not to offend sensibilities of their traditional 911 customers by openly challenging them with a Works 928GTR offering, Porsche asked Max Moritz Racing, their longtime private racing partner from nearby Reutlingen to enter a 928GTR Cup as a 'semi-works' car.


title: Porsche 928

text: The drivers were: Bernd Mayländer, Manuel Reuter (Porsche works pilots), also Harm Lagaay (then Head of Porsche's Design Studio). Vittorio Strosek sponsored MM with his Lightweight-Body-Parts and racing exhaust. The car was officially entered by Porsche-Club-Schwaben. Homologation minimum weight had to be, and actually is .


title: Porsche 928

text: Lagaay reports that the car was very competitive and able to hold most 964 Cup GTs down, although the engine was no more than fine-tuned after having been chosen from a set of high power output specimen in Weissach. In the last race of the season at Hockenheim a crank-bearing ran dry. As the car was supposed to race in 1995 as well, it was made ready to continue its successful competition in the 1995 season. A fresh engine was installed, selected from the same lot of high output engines and tuned as before. In 1995 Porsche's 928 production came to an end, and the car consequently was not raced in the new season.


title: Porsche 928

text: The late Max Moritz himself then added the car to his collection of historic vehicles. It was not put on the road again until after his death, when the family sold the car in October 2004 - with 24,500 km on the odometer.


title: Porsche 928

text: For the 1984 24 hours of Daytona, Porsche sent one of its experimental "All-aluminium" 928S to the Brumos Racing Team to be prepared with specific instruction not to modify the car in any way. Porsche wanted to promote the performance of the 928 to North America. The drivers Richard Attwood (GB), Vic Elford (GB), Howard Meister (USA) and Bob Hagestad (USA) were told to just "drive the car". During practice for the 24-hour race the drivers found the car to be somewhat unstable on the high banks of Daytona and wanted to add a rear wing to the car; Porsche denied the request. The Brumos team tinkered with the suspension set up to make the car more stable. The car finished in 15th overall and 4th in the GTO class. One driver stated in an interview later on, that were it not for a lengthy pit stop to fix some body damage, they would have finished in the top 5 overall. The car was then returned to Porsche and is now in the Porsche Museum.


title: Porsche 928

text: A 928S from Raymond Boutinaud also competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1983 & 1984 with a 22nd-place finish in 1984. The same car also competed in 1000k races at Spa, Brands Hatch and Silverstone in 1984, but with little success. It has been rumored that the Raymond Boutinaud 928S was also an "all-aluminium" car from Porsche but that has been unfounded.


title: Porsche 928

text: On August 7, 1986, American racing driver Al Holbert set a speed record at Bonneville in a pre-production 928 S4. This 928 would turn 171.110 mph in the flying mile and 171.926 mph for the flying kilometer. In March 1986, the same car reportedly did 180+ mph at Nardo, but the Bonneville run netted the United States Auto Club official record at the time for International Category A, Group 2, Class 9, for normally aspirated vehicles. That made 1987's 928 S4 the fastest non-turbocharged production car in the world.


title: Porsche 928

text: On September 15, 2011, at the Bonneville Salt Flats, American race car builder and driver Carl Fausett set a new Bonneville record of 216.63537 MPH, certified by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. USFRA. The car was a 900 BHP supercharged 6.5 Liter 928 specially built by Fausett and his team for the Bonneville attempt. The car was dubbed the “Rekordwagen” and raced in class Blown Gas Modified Sports B/BGMS. This was a new world record for the 928 model at that time, although Fausett would go one to eclipse this record again later (see Closed Course Speed Record below).


title: Porsche 928

text: The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is the second oldest auto race in the U.S.; a 12.42 mile (19.99 km) course with 156 turns starting at 9390 ft and ending at the 14110 foot summit of Pikes Peak. In 2007, 2008 and 2009 American racing driver Carl Fausett took his specially prepared and supercharged 1978 Porsche 928 to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and competed in the Open Division. Fausett placed third in the Open Division in both 2007 and again in 2009, where he was also the fastest 2WD car. At that time, much of the racecourse was gravel. Today the entire Pikes Peak Highway has been paved.


title: Porsche 928

text: A new closed course speed record was set for the Porsche 928 at the Transportation Research Center (TRC) Proving Grounds. TRC. in Ohio on October 5, 2020. Race car builder and driver Carl Fausett reached 234.434 MPH on the high-banked paved oval. The vehicle was the same car he took to Bonneville (above) with further enhancements. At the time of this race, it had 1134 BHP from a specially constructed and supercharged Porsche 928 V8 and had been named "The Meg" in reference to the Megalodon. Speeds were measured by Tag/Heuer laser traps and certified by TRC staff. The 234.434 MPH top speed eclipsed the previous record of 216.635 MPH and made the Meg the worlds' fastest 928, and set a new Porsche closed-course record. Excellence Magazine.


title: Crime fiction

text: Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, often a murder. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as historical fiction or science fiction, but the boundaries are indistinct. Crime fiction has multiple subgenres, including detective fiction (such as the whodunit), courtroom drama, hard-boiled fiction, and legal thrillers. Most crime drama focuses on crime investigation and does not feature the courtroom. Suspense and mystery are key elements that are nearly ubiquitous to the genre.


title: Crime fiction

text: The "One Thousand and One Nights" ("Arabian Nights") contains the earliest known examples of crime fiction. One example of a story of this genre is the medieval Arabic tale of "The Three Apples", one of the tales narrated by Scheherazade in the "Arabian Nights". In this tale, a fisherman discovers a heavy locked chest along the Tigris River, and he sells it to the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who then has the chest broken open, only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his vizier, Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days, or be executed if he fails his assignment. The story has been described as a "whodunit" murder mystery with multiple plot twists. The story has detective fiction elements.


title: Crime fiction

text: Two other "Arabian Nights" stories, "The Merchant and the Thief" and "Ali Khwaja", contain two of the earliest fictional detectives, who uncover clues and present evidence to catch or convict a criminal, with the story unfolding in normal chronology and the criminal already being known to the audience. The latter involves a climax where titular detective protagonist Ali Khwaja presents evidence from expert witnesses in a court. "The Hunchback's Tale" is another early courtroom drama, presented as a suspenseful comedy.