Summary
Deadman Wonderlandis a wonderful thriller incorporating shōnen progression. It’sone of the best horror anime of all time, and also a litmus test for a fan’s willingness to let an adaptation diverge from its source material. Fantastic in its own right,Deadman Wonderland’s adaptation is fraught with challenges that make it almost certain it will never have a second season. Nonetheless, it’s an incredible series thatCrunchyroll users can and should watch now.
Fans ofTokyo Ghoulwill particularly feel at home withDeadman Wonderland. Both franchises are infamous for blurring the line between shōnen and seinen, andthe two series intersect thematically and aesthetically.
The lack of an obvious narrative overlap and the difference from the source material shouldn’t deter lovers ofTokyo GhoulfromDeadman Wonderland. Consideringthe varied criticism towardsTokyo Ghoul’s adaptation, its fans will be empathetic to the challenges of adaptation while respecting that an unfaithful adaptation can be independently great.
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Deadman WonderlandGives A Fresh Take On A Familiar Premise
Deadman WonderlandExpertly Shakes Up A Tried And Tested Formula
Deadman Wonderlandis an anime that seems straightforward on the surface, but with a lot actually going on. The series centers around a character who is placed in a private prison where he’s forced to compete in cruel competitions. The narrative at the core ofDeadman Wonderlandisn’t “new”, per se, ascountless series have had a similar premise. The K-drama sensationSquid Gameis an apt example. However, it has one major advantage:the wide use of its premise makes its success dependent on execution.Deadman Wonderlandaces execution and renders the premise fresh.
Falsely accused and placed on death row, Ganta has to clear his name. He’s aided by a mysterious girl named Shiro who seems to know him. Prisoners wear collars that inject a steady stream of poison, only curable by a candy antidote taken every few days. This candy must be earned or purchased. At a certain point, Ganta develops the power to weaponize his blood, and he’s forced to participate in underground spectator fights.
Shiro adds a ton of intrigue to the story, but there are other standouts among the cast. For example, Yō Takami, another prisoner who befriends Ganta after trying to steal his antidote candy, has acompelling backstory motivated by freeing his sister. He and many others contribute to the show’s intensity. Although suspenseful,Deadman Wonderlandis heavily character-driven. It’s deep and challenging, at times heartbreaking and at others genuinely funny. Above all, the series isa provocative look into how strong its cast can be— in every sense.
Circumstances Make The Anime Unlikely To Ever See A Season 2
Despite its excellence,Deadman Wonderlandwill never see season 2. A reboot faithful to the source material isn’t out of the question, but the story established by the initial adaptation is unlikely to ever be resolved.Deadman Wonderlandfell victim to a common problem for anime adaptations:running out of materialwhile the path the mangaka takes differs greatly from the adaptation.
Although the mangaka hasn’t officially made a statement about his satisfaction with the adaptation, it’s reasonable to say that he wouldn’t want a series using his characters and core concepts to deviate from his vision, just to make up for what’s effectively filler. To make matters worse, the studio which was adapting it, Manglobe,went bankrupt in 2015. So there’s essentially no chance that fans ofDeadman Wonderlandwill find a resolution.
Tokyo Ghoul Fans Owe Themselves Deadman Wonderland
Deadman Wonderland Gives Familiar Themes A New Approach
Being aware of this raises whether it’s worth it to invest time in something that one knows will never be resolved. The anime adaptation stands apart from the manga narrative as a self-directed realization of the core premise, but will never be finally wrapped up. There will be no closure.
That’s the reasonDeadman Wonderland’s adaptation should be given a chance. The fact viewers won’t get closure isn’t a huge deal; even when a series “ends” and ties up all its loose ends, it’s common to feel a vacancy. The reason painful feelings of all kinds are pushed through is because the narrative is worth it, andDeadman Wonderland’s anime is one such case.
Tonally,Tokyo GhoulandDeadman Wonderlandmeet each other with unsettling atmospheres and provocations of viewers' sensibilities. It transgresses what viewers expect and are willing to accept at times, and it can be difficult to watch. Through it all, whether with Kaneki or Ganta, the viewers observe their transformation and struggle asthey adapt themselves to unexpected circumstances in a frigid world.
Both series borrow shōnen tropes fairly heavily in different ways, but use them with great effect to drive home more difficult themes. A prevailing notion of overcoming one’s circumstances underlies either series, and perhaps what will resonate most withTokyo Ghoulfans is thatDeadman Wonderlandpulls no punches in showinghow devastating and gruesome circumstances can be. There aremany horror anime fans ofTokyo Ghoulcould try, butDeadman Wonderlanddeserves to be top of the list.
No, theDeadman Wonderlandadaptation will never be completed. It will thrill, excite, and terrify, and then leave the viewer stranded. But the difficulty of the watch and the pleasure of overcoming is the core theme of the manga and anime alike, however much they might eventually diverge. The anime is the product of accident: irrevocable flotsam in an unforgiving ocean dissolving time and circumstance. But ifDeadman Wonderlandshows anything, it’s thatthere’s always beauty in a challenge.
Deadman Wonderland
Cast
Deadman Wonderland is an anime series based on the manga by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou. It follows Ganta Igarashi, a middle school student wrongly accused of mass murder, who is sent to a privatized prison amusement park where inmates perform deadly tasks for the audience. Inside, he must find a way to survive while uncovering the dark secrets behind the facility and its administrators.
