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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
This has been a recurring pattern in dystopian world, pitting people together like gladiators. And these people, despite their abilities will never revolt because they're usually either oppressed to the point of not thinking beyond the day after of they have a relatively comfortable life that they fear change.
These kind of books makes me angry because it mimics real life and that is depressing. We became playthings for the rich and powerful. I guess they(the books) exist to remind us that we could get out of this slump. But, instead of being one of the people up there looking down on the little people, we be the change that we want to see in the world.
These kind of books makes me angry because it mimics real life and that is depressing. We became playthings for the rich and powerful. I guess they(the books) exist to remind us that we could get out of this slump. But, instead of being one of the people up there looking down on the little people, we be the change that we want to see in the world.
4 stars.
Y'all.... this shit is fucked up. Truly. Fuck everyone except Ganta and Shiro.
Y'all.... this shit is fucked up. Truly. Fuck everyone except Ganta and Shiro.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I could be remembering wrong, but I don't think that ending is the same as the anime! Lol that was pretty crazy, I'm excited to read on.
The horror genre has been a staple of literature since probably before the ancient Greeks. People terrify one another with tales of death, monsters, or the unknown. I decided to skew away from traditional western horror and take a look at post-apocalyptic horror manga Deadman Wonderland. I read the first five volumes, which is the point at which the anime ends. This manga follows the story of fourteen-year-old Ganta Igarashi after he is falsely accused of murdering his entire class. The courts send Ganta to death row in Japan’s only privatized prison, Deadman Wonderland, where he learns not everything is what it seems. What I liked about this story were the complex characters, the setting, and the mysteries laid before us. I did not so much like the anime tropes that appeared in the books, and Ganta was at times an annoying protagonist. Read the rest of the review at toomanythoughtsmedia.com or listen to my thought on the Fantasy Book of the Month podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Ganta Igarashi’s life sucks. First, his entire junior high classroom is murdered by a being called “Red Man”, then Ganta as the sole survivor is framed for the crime. He’s sentenced to life imprisonment in Deadman Wonderland, a for-profit prison built on the ruins of Tokyo and run as a tourist attraction. The prisoners are forced to entertain visitors with various dangerous contests to earn “cast points” to buy essentials and luxuries, and “candy” which is a temporary antidote to a poison they’ve been given.
On the bright side, Ganta has made a couple of friends, the kleptomaniac Yo, and the white haired girl named Shiro. Shiro’s a bit of a mystery–she obviously knows Ganta from childhood, but he doesn’t remember her at all, and Shiro’s not in the prison databases.
At the beginning of this volume, Ganta’s in the infirmary recovering from a deadly race during which he suddenly exhibited strange powers-powers that remind him of the Red Man! Other prisoners’ gossip suggests that the Red Man may be locked away in Ward G, a part of the prison that isn’t on the maps.
Ganta and his friends go in search of Ward G, but the guards release a “capture” robot codenamed Necro Macro. Just as things are looking most dire, a new face shows up and destroys the robot. But he’s not a friend, but an attacker known as Crow, who wants to challenge Ganta, calling him “Woodpecker!”
Ganta’s strange power activates again, but the authorities catch up and stop the match, as it was planned for tomorrow. Yo and Shiro are returned to the main prison, while Ganta is taken into Ward G.
Exposition time! Turns out Ward G is where the “Deadmen” are kept, people who can turn their blood into a weapon, like Crow, Ganta and probably the Red Man. This is kept secret even from the regular prison guards. In an event known as “Corpse Carnival”, the Deadmen are pitted against each other in duels for the amusement of the extremely wealthy, who wager on the duels. It also turns out that Tamaki, the “promoter” who runs Ward G, is the alleged “defense attorney” who represented Ganta in his rigged murder trial.
While Yo and Shiro try to find a way into Ward G, the battle between Crow and Woodpecker begins. Can Ganta survive when he doesn’t even know how his power works?
This combination of dystopian YA fiction and battle manga was moderately successful, getting a translation from Tokyopop and spawing a short anime.
About the best thing this series has is the notion of hemokinesis as the central power gimmick. It lends itself to nifty if gory visuals, and establishes some limits to what the Deadmen can do.
Like many dystopias, however, the elaborate setup of Deadman Wonderland seems highly implausible. The sheer reliance on human cruelty at every step of creating a theme park prison, plus the super cruel area even the guards are in the dark about? And it’s all been set up within the last ten years! Just thinking about how many people had to sign off on this project breaks my suspension of disbelief.
And Ganta’s a stock boys’ manga lead at this point in the story. Spiky-haired, woefully under-informed and slow on the uptake, but has a stubborn personality and never gives up. Shiro’s a much more visually interesting character, but her…odd…behavior seems likely to lead to some reveals later on that could be iffy on the mental health stereotypes level.
Content notes: gory violence, torture, mutilation. Shiro’s skintight leotard is supposed to be skin-colored, making her look nude. A trans character dresses in lingerie as daywear, which makes me suspect transphobia coming up in future volumes.
Recommended with caveats for fans of dystopian battle manga.
On the bright side, Ganta has made a couple of friends, the kleptomaniac Yo, and the white haired girl named Shiro. Shiro’s a bit of a mystery–she obviously knows Ganta from childhood, but he doesn’t remember her at all, and Shiro’s not in the prison databases.
At the beginning of this volume, Ganta’s in the infirmary recovering from a deadly race during which he suddenly exhibited strange powers-powers that remind him of the Red Man! Other prisoners’ gossip suggests that the Red Man may be locked away in Ward G, a part of the prison that isn’t on the maps.
Ganta and his friends go in search of Ward G, but the guards release a “capture” robot codenamed Necro Macro. Just as things are looking most dire, a new face shows up and destroys the robot. But he’s not a friend, but an attacker known as Crow, who wants to challenge Ganta, calling him “Woodpecker!”
Ganta’s strange power activates again, but the authorities catch up and stop the match, as it was planned for tomorrow. Yo and Shiro are returned to the main prison, while Ganta is taken into Ward G.
Exposition time! Turns out Ward G is where the “Deadmen” are kept, people who can turn their blood into a weapon, like Crow, Ganta and probably the Red Man. This is kept secret even from the regular prison guards. In an event known as “Corpse Carnival”, the Deadmen are pitted against each other in duels for the amusement of the extremely wealthy, who wager on the duels. It also turns out that Tamaki, the “promoter” who runs Ward G, is the alleged “defense attorney” who represented Ganta in his rigged murder trial.
While Yo and Shiro try to find a way into Ward G, the battle between Crow and Woodpecker begins. Can Ganta survive when he doesn’t even know how his power works?
This combination of dystopian YA fiction and battle manga was moderately successful, getting a translation from Tokyopop and spawing a short anime.
About the best thing this series has is the notion of hemokinesis as the central power gimmick. It lends itself to nifty if gory visuals, and establishes some limits to what the Deadmen can do.
Like many dystopias, however, the elaborate setup of Deadman Wonderland seems highly implausible. The sheer reliance on human cruelty at every step of creating a theme park prison, plus the super cruel area even the guards are in the dark about? And it’s all been set up within the last ten years! Just thinking about how many people had to sign off on this project breaks my suspension of disbelief.
And Ganta’s a stock boys’ manga lead at this point in the story. Spiky-haired, woefully under-informed and slow on the uptake, but has a stubborn personality and never gives up. Shiro’s a much more visually interesting character, but her…odd…behavior seems likely to lead to some reveals later on that could be iffy on the mental health stereotypes level.
Content notes: gory violence, torture, mutilation. Shiro’s skintight leotard is supposed to be skin-colored, making her look nude. A trans character dresses in lingerie as daywear, which makes me suspect transphobia coming up in future volumes.
Recommended with caveats for fans of dystopian battle manga.