Anime Review - Deadman Wonderland

''If you're gonna kill me, then kill me. If you're gonna execute me, stop waiting. 

Until then, I live by my own rules.''

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to talk to you about an anime I've seen last year: Deadman Wonderland.

Let's begin, shall we?

Notes: 

Directed by: Kōichirō Hatsumi

Written by: Yasuyuki 

Original run: April 17, 2011 – July 3, 2011

Episodes: 12 with 23 minutes each.

 

Plot:

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 focus on Igarashi Ganta, a ordinary student. This boy survived the earthquake and has no memories of that big incident. 

 

This all changes when a strange man covered in blood and a huge armour floats through his classroom windows. Two seconds later, the Red Man massacres Ganta's entire class but instead of killing him, embeds a red crystal shard in Ganta's chest. 

 

A few days later, Ganta is declared the sole suspect and, following a quick trial, is sentenced to life imprisonment in Deadman Wonderland, a massive theme park like prison. Where nothing is what it seems.

Visual effects and colour scheme:

The visual effects are great and I like the style of it. The characters and the prison have great detail and for me, that's a big plus.

 
The bright colours of the animations provided by the prison, in the form of cruel "games" for the prisoners, are a great way to deceive both us, watchers of the series and the spectators of such games, in order to trick our brain into accepting that cruelty as something fun and light. 

 

Psychologically, it is more acceptable to see bright colours and accept the cruelty inflicted by prison than to see animations with sad and gloomy ones, right?

 

The contrast shows us the sadism of the person who manages the prison. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the main characters:

Ganta Igarashi is the main protagonist of the series.

He is accused of murdering his classmates and  was sent to Deadman Wonderland. 

There, he swore vengeance on the "Red Man" for framing him for a murder he did not commit. 

 

 

 

Shiro is a childhood friend of Ganta Igarashi.

She was experimented throughout her whole life on her in order to gain insight in how to heighten a person's immune system. 

In order to cope with all her pain, she developed a second personlity. 

 

Also known as N° 2048

 

Kiyomasa Senji is one of the major supporting characters in the series. 

He is also a prisioner of Deadman Wonderland and has trained Ganta and helped him out on multiple occasions. 

 

Karako Koshio is also a prisoner in Deadman Wonderland. She will play a big role throughout the series and will fight alongside Ganta.

 

 

 

Music:

The Opening song is a great addition to the anime. It matches the theme perfectly.
The lyrics make you feel as trapped as Ganta and you can feel the rush inside of him to break free from the hell he lives in:

 

"Slit the throat of reason
and reality
Cut myself and scream for
their insanity
Wake up to this nightmare
that will never end

 
The main attraction of
this twisted master plan

I will be your deadman
With nothing
but this blood on my hands

 
Stuck in your "wonderland"
I want to make you
bleed just like me
So make me your deadman
With only poison in my veins
Stuck in your "wonderland"
Stagnated by the passivity
I'm gonna make you bleed like me"

 
The band is called ''Fade'' and the song is ''One Reason''.

Another song that matches perfectly the vibe of the series is the one Shiro sings - ''Woodpecker''.

 

This particular scene (please click here to watch) made me think about the sweetness in Shiro's voice mixed with her true colours.

*SPOILER AHEAD*

 

 

The Lullaby  was a song created by Sorae Igarashi for Shiro. 

This specific song is transmitted by the "Mother Goose System" to keep the Wretched Egg's powers under control.

The song is about a woodpecker, a hint to Sorae's son Ganta Igarashi, who's nickname is... Woodpecker. 

Sorae always cried when playing this song due to the remorse she has begun to feel due to all the pain she put Shiro through during her life. 

 

*END OF SPOILERS*

 

 

Reception:

Deadman Wonderland wasn't a huge success in Japan unlike the US, the sales of the DVD's where high (up to 1 million sales).

 
Due to the lack response from Japan, the studio just made 12 episodes and because of that the anime actually doesn't have an end.

 
If you want to have some closure, read more about the story and characters, I advise you to read the mange of the series. 

It's unfortunate the anime was cancelled because there wasn't time to show us the potential of the story.

 
I really hope that some day a second season is finally confirmed.

 

Update - 2024 - There's no second season in sight, unfortunately.


Trailer:

Final thoughts:

 

This is an updated review of the one I originally made in 2016 and with this said, If you like survival type of anime, this one is definitely for you. 

As I'm currently writing this (in 2024), Squid Games comes to mind when I think of Deadman Wonderland. 

People need to fight to survive and everything counts. The prison in Deadman is everything but fair and punishment is the key word.

As the anime was not given a proper ending, read the manga. You'll have a lot more answers to the cruel universe of Deadman Wonderland.

💬

As always, I thank you for taking a little bit of time to read this review.

I sincerely hope it helped you decided to give this story a try. 

I'll see you on my next post.


XO,

 
Adriana.