Deadman Wonderland

When a strange man in red armor slaughtered Igarashi Ganta's entire class and embeds a red crystal in his chest, his life changed forever. Days later he was sentenced to death and sent to a prison camp that  also functions as a theme park. In Deadman Wonderland, inmates are asked to perform various tasks that sometimes result to death. Each prisoner has a collar which constantly injects poison in the bloodstream. There is an antidote however in the form of a candy which must be consumed every three days. It acts as a currency in the prison and is acquired by performing the tasks given to them such as contests and performances.

Ganta believes he can still find the "Red Man" and avenge the death of his friends. However, he must first figure out how to survive the lethal games in Deadman Wonderland. With the help of his new friend Shiro, Ganta might just discover something more to the strange events he's been thrown into since the massacre of his classmates. Maybe it wasn't a random act of brutality after all.

Igarashi Ganta (sitting, left) with his dear friends before the massacre

Shiro and Ganta

The beginning was pretty intense and it's the kind of opening that gets you hooked to the story right away. This 12-episode series is action-packed, has a great back story and full of interesting, crazy characters. The downside to having so many colorful characters however is that they sometimes overshadow Ganta's story. The series tried to pack so many stories in such a short time that it's both exciting and frustrating. The animation isn't bad either. My main complaint is that the lead characters Ganta and Shiro are not as memorable as they should be for a promising series. Some characters become too distracting, you tend to forget what the story is about.

There are some great moments in the series however, especially the fight scenes. I don't recommend this however to people who don't like bloody battles.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10