First Look: Deadman Wonderland
Title: Deadman Wonderland
Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Summary: A massive earthquake ravaged Japan’s mainland and destroyed most of Tokyo, sinking three-quarters of it into the ocean. Ten years later, the story starts with Igarashi Ganta, a seemingly ordinary, unassuming middle school student attending Nagano Prefecture’s middle school. An escapee, a survivor of the great earthquake, Ganta has no memories of the tragedy and has lived a simple, normal life. This all changes one day when a strange man covered in blood and crimson armour appears, floating, out of his classroom windows. Smirking madly, this Red Man massacres Ganta’s entire class and, instead of killing him, embeds a red crystal shard in his chest. Within days of the massacre, Ganta is declared the sole suspect and, following a suspiciously quick trial, is sentenced to life imprisonment in Deadman Wonderland, a massive theme-park-like prison.
First Look: Finally this anime has come out! I have been looking forward to this ever since I started reading the manga months ago. And low and behold my prayers have been answered in only a few seasons! I think the anime was released since the manga seems to be coming to a close. Which also brings me to the hope that they wont be making an anime original ending, and instead extending the series to follow the manga. So far they have been doing a pretty good job.
The story is amazing and twisted. I’ve loved it since the start when Ganta first arrived at the amusement park from hell. The series seems to moving in the right direction and turning out much better than I expected. When I first saw the anime I could have sworn it was done by MADHOUSE for its visual masterpiece. And let’s be honest, MADHOUSE seems to be picking up these kinds of anime lately with Supernatural and Highschool of the Dead. But alas, it is done by Manglobe, a company I’ve not really heard much about. Then again, I’m not really into the details of production more than the anime itself. I’m hoping they keep it up and continue staying true to such a great manga.
Just about the only difference I see between the manga and anime is the gore. While he manga can be as sick and twisted as it likes, the anime has to sensor some parts here and there. Of course that isn’t to say that the anime holds back. The opening scene where Ganta has to suffer through the Red Man’s slaughter of his classmates was quite graphic. Specific scenes from the manga such as his best friend’s head being held in the Red Man’s grip was brought to animation beautifully (in a gruesome way). They don’t spare the details and keep the anime true to the manga. I’m loving the fight scenes and Deadman Wonderland events and can’t wait to see more. Currently on episode five, Deadman Wonderland has introduced one of my favorite characters, Crow. Seeing the fight between him and Ganta was very nostalgic. Every week has me excited to see the next episode. Even though I’ve read the manga, I feel like the watching the series is a good reminder of what the characters were first like. The comparison made me realize there was a lot of character development. Especially with one of my new found loves for Shiro. Most likely the match up with Shiro’s character and voice actress Kana Hanazawa was the cause of this. I’m curious how her cute voice will match up later in the series…
Final statements: I have absolutely zero complaints and keeping this on watch as I expected in the previews. For anyone who wants to watch the anime version, I have no complaints because it is sticking true to the manga so far. Plus the action scenes are all the better. However, if you want to get much further in the story then pick up the manga, I’m sure you wont be disappointed.