"Deadman Wonderland" (Manga) Review

I have an odd relationship with this series. It's not one of my favorite manga series I've ever read--though is one of the few I've managed to actually get through without dropping it for its anime counterpart--but is one I feel very attached to. When I decided to start reading this series and picked up the first volume off the bookshelf, I had no idea that every few months I would eagerly await the next volume. The twists and turns by the end of each volume kept me coming back. Yet there were so many characters and moving pieces that I often forgot names or characters. 

That's one of the issues I have with buying manga in genera, especially a Shounen-esque series like Deadman Wonderland. There are so many characters and you only get to see them every couple of months. I remember Ganta, Shiro, Azami, Senji, and Yo just find but that might be just because of their names. Everyone else I know either by their Deadman names, like Hummingbird or whatever, but not their real name, which is a shame. Nagi I often confuse with Kakuro for some reason, too. If I were to see them on the page, I could recognize them and tell you what they do. 

I'll get more into my issues with the characters but for now I should address the elephant in the room. Yes, I did review the anime series for this already. And no, I'm going to avoid as many comparisons between the two as I can, given the very different nature between them. The manga has finally wrapped up its English release and the anime may never see a continuation of the story, nor proper revelations or introductions to other characters, which is a darn shame. So many characters were shown in the anime that never were really explored, such as Azami (who was only hinted at toward the end as a Ninben), Toto (aka Mockingbird), and Warden Makina (who becomes super awesome later on in the back half of the manga). 

This is still a good series though, and very enjoyable with very interesting and complex concepts. The story I found is split into three key elements I'll address soon: a coming of age story, a redemption story, and a tragedy. 

The coming of age essence of Deadman Wonderland, and I suppose part of the tragedy, stems from how the story begins, and what it centers around. Ganta Igarashi is a young Japanese junior high student that one random day in class is attacked by the mysterious Red-Man who obliterates all of his friends in class and leaves him to blame (this also taking place ten years after an equally mysterious "Great Tokyo Earthquake"). Naturally, Ganta is immediately sent into a maximum-security prison known as Deadman Wonderland, where he befriends such fun characters as the light-hearted Shiro, the wise-cracking Yo, the former cop Senji (a.k.a. Crow), and the sadist Minatsuki (a.k.a. Hummingbird). Together, they must outlast Tamaki and all the villain factions he throws their way with the hope of one day escaping and finding the true secrets of Deadman Wonderland. 

The coming of age story belongs to Ganta, and I felt his development over the series is some of the best I've seen in this genre. He starts off as scared and just really mad at everything around him, putting a lot of heat on people who are either just trying to help or just trying to get by. The weight of the new world around him also comes crashing down fairly fast and his struggle to adapt is certainly an interesting one. He does not want to go through with hurting people that already know how to play the game. Ganta is very much a rule-changer, he is very much against the flow and wants to only help people. The shock of losing all of his friend so suddenly sticks with him and in every major confrontation, Ganta does not sit idly by to let the bad guys walk over them. 

The Ganta we see at the beginning of the story, the middle of the story, and the end of the story are all three separate beings, it seems, yet all have one strong tether. Ganta's beginnings are him being pissy and scared. Ganta in the middle are him being aggressive and pissy. Ganta's endpoint are him being in control and trying to assess the situations and the fights, knowing that so much death and destruction has occurred that he wants none of that for anyone else. He just wants it to be over. One of the biggest moments for me happens about partway through--and is actually where the anime cuts off. Kakuro gives him an irresistible offer that he turns down, and it works well because it shows that Ganta has taken a major step in his development and shows a clear goal for the rest of the series.  

The redemption story is mostly for the side characters, though you could argue Ganta also has to go on a redemptive path to clear his name. Senji and Makina take the forefront of this. Azami never seems to do anything wrong but does have a wrench throw into her character's development that does make her go down a redemptive path. Besides Ganta and Shiro, Senji and Makina have the most development of the cast for two different reasons, and it almost seems as if both are juxtaposed in a way that's never really examined. Senji was a cop before tragedy stuck him in Wonderland and he has to struggle with being a criminal. Makina is the Warden of a facility that tortures people, and slowly morphs into a vigilante of sorts, somewhat like how Senji was when Scar Chain began forming to battle the Undertakers. 

Senji and Makina also develop as leaders for their respective factions, both because of their intelligence as well as their raw power. Makina is unafraid to stand up to any Deadman, skilled with a sword. Whenever Senji stepped into the ring to fight someone, there was always this air of confidence about him that he would come out successful. 

With the Deadmen's fights, though, it often seemed as if the Shounen-elements took effect. When the group had to go up against the Forgeries later on, battling them one-on-one rather than together like they did against Genkaku or the Undertakers (or even the climactic final battle), there was a chapter dedicated to their fights and to characters that I honestly could not remember that well. I recall there being an entire volume devoted to these, with Senji getting two full chapters to him as he was the bigger character of the group. It was at this point that they got the "secret technique" deus ex machina used or a "nakama" power-up, in which the character is inspired by their friends to suddenly become super special awesome and defeat their opponent (see all of Fairy Tail or One Piece for examples). Ganta never really had this problem for other reasons that felt more like generic deux ex machinas than anything else, though these things were explained later on. 

The tragedy of Deadman Wonderland is ultimately the situation that led all these characters to the facility, that being the Great Tokyo Earthquake, and how it really connects with Shiro and Ganta by the end. I won't spoil it for you, but is both complex and very intriguing. There are no loose threads by the end of Deadman Wonderland and this is for the best. Given how the series only had 58 chapters to it, it was impressive to see just how much they could fit in or space out, given some of the more Shounen qualities that were exemplified throughout. This did lead to some pacing issues, in which whole chapters or volumes were released where information was thrown at the reader and made it impossible for some information to stick, but the final volume does an excellent job of wrapping things up and bringing all that information together. 

Though, I do have a problem with the ending. Specifically with the final few pages. Again, I won't spoil it for you, but needless to say that some may feel the ending was a bit forced and doesn't really make much sense. I could draw a parallel, but considering how close they are I think I would be giving it away, still. Regardless, it does not take away from the rest of the series. 

Deadman Wonderland is a mature series, both in terms of violence/ language/ gore as well as its themes. Child-slavery and experimentation is brought up on more than one occassion as well as children as soldiers in a war. When Ganta and Hummingbird are forced to do battle, you have to keep in mind that these kids are no older than sixteen or seventeen, and are being forced to kill each other in front of audiences. 

The series also grapples with violence and its exposure into the world, but in a not-so-subtle way. The people watching these fights think that they're fake, so they enjoy it more. But when they find it out it was fake, they feel cheated and lied to rather than feeling despicable for ever having liked the violence in the first place. 

Family and how one fights for/ with one is also a major theme, but that doesn't take too much maturity to understand. What one does for a loved one, and understanding the sacrifices being made? Yeah, that does take some level of maturity. The biggest intensity from the series I could see it getting is from its use of vulgar language, but one should also keep in mind that these people are (1) prisoners of an insane asylum (2) forced to watch their friends be killed or tortured daily and (3) are psychotic thanks to the experiments performed on them all the time. These prisoners are on a clock set for their death, and they have gone insane. 

Deadman Wonderland is a series I'm going to miss reading, but not sorely miss. I'm glad to have read it all the way through and collected all thirteen volumes to maybe go back and read from time to time. The chief characters all were distinguishable and memorable, though I do wish there had been less of them so I wouldn't feel so guilty forgetting some. While the fighting did sometimes get cliched and the plot a bit confusing--ending on a mediocre note rather than a high one--the series is still memorable for its unique premise and interesting concepts. If you haven't already checked out the anime, I'd suggest looking at the manga, too. It's not too long and worth your time. 

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