Millennium Earl

Millennium Earl
D.Gray-man character
The Millennium Earl as he appears in plans the anime series
First appearance	D.Gray-man manga chapter 1 (2004)
Created by	Katsura Hoshino
Voiced by	Japanese Junpei Takiguchi Yutaka Aoyama (Hallow) English Jason Liebrecht

The Millennium Earl (千年伯爵, Sennen Hakushaku), also known as "the Creator" and "Adam", is a fictional character in the manga series D.Gray-man by Katsura Hoshino. Introduced as the series' main antagonist, the Earl's role is to help revive the dead and turn them into demons known as Akuma. With Akuma, a group known as the Noah Family plans to destroy humanity. The Earl takes an interest in the protagonist: young exorcist Allen Walker, who is connected to the Noah. He plans to join Allen and reveal his own past when he learns that the exorcist is the successor of the 14th Noah, Nea. The character also appears in the second light novel based on the series.

Hoshino based the character on a celebrity whose identity she refused to reveal. Primarily a clown in his early appearances, she later gave him a human form which would have an unspecified impact in the series. Critical reaction to the Millennium Earl has been positive, with critics finding his revival of the dead and killing of humans appealingly ironic. His enigmatic depth in the sequel, D.Gray-man Hallow, was also praised. A variety of merchandise based on the character has been released.

The Millennium Earl was originally featured as the villain of Katsura Hoshino's one-shot comic, Zone, which featured other characters from the D.Gray-man series, most notably Lenalee Lee and the character who served as the basis of Allen Walker, Robin. As in D.Gray-man, the Earl promised people to return their dead love ones back to life. He tempts Lenalee by bringing back her lost lover but is stopped by Robin.^[vol. 8:40] Once D.Gray-man started serialization, Hoshino commented that she based the Earl on an unidentified, well-known person. Although the individual was noted for his art, his command of several languages and his prophecies, it was unknown when the person died. He called himself the "alchemist of time", and when D.Gray-man's first volume was published it was believed that he was still alive.^{[vol. 1:112]} Towards the series' beginning, Hoshino found the character as one of easiest to one draw alongside Hevlaska.^[vol. 3:86] In a later interview, Hoshino found the Earl's clown-like outfit still easier to illustrate in comparison with more "beautiful" characters, such as Yu Kanda.