Deadman Wonderland Review

Synopsis:
The story follows a young boy named Igarashi Ganta, who witnesses the slaughter of his entire class one day at the hands of a mysterious figure known as the Red Man.  The Red Man leaves shortly thereafter, but not before implanting a strange red crystal into Ganta’s chest.  Ganta is accused of committing the murders and is sentenced to do slave labor at a strange amusement park called Deadman Wonderland.

Review:

This series was one of the most talked about and anticipated of 2011, but could it ever live up to that hype? Deadman Wonderland comes from the powerhouse of manga, Shonen, so it is no surprise that the overall quality is excellent. There is a great story here with tons of potential for growth, it is also a darker side of Shonen. The visuals are great, but there are tons of similarities when  compared with Bleach or Naruto. Several of the characters have personalities and other traits which almost seem directly taken from other Shonen series. This is especially true when it comes to voice work, but that is definitely not a bad thing. Deadman Wonderland is not perfect but the excellent manga and vast fan base will carry this series regardless.

As I mentioned before there are tons of similarities between Deadman Wonderland and Naruto/Bleach. Which kind of comes full circle when you see Ganta’s special blood move, which looks EXACTLY like Rasengan from Naruto. This lack of uniqueness will turn many off from the series all together. Another downfall is the level of gore and censorship, which makes the visual quality look awful. They show tons of blood and violence, but then completely black everything out that can even seem gory.

Deadman Wonderland will have to discover a perfect level of violence without leaving the art styling looking clunky. There are tons of cool characters, but the similarities of the main characters to those in other famous Shonen series seems like a lazy route by the artist and writers. There will almost definitely be a second season, so there is no worries when it comes to vague story. If you are looking for a somewhat more mature version of Bleach and Naruto then you will love this anime. I am just hoping this is not going to be another 500 episode series like some other overhyped Shonen series.

3/5

Studio: Manglobe Genre: Horror/Action Episodes: 12

Original Run: Apr 17, 2011 – July 03, 2011 Language:Japanese with Subs

Article by: Larry Harris