DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO Episodes 5-8

DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO (DEADMAN WONDERLAND) (2011)
Episodes 5-8
JP
Directed by Koichiro Hatsumi

PLOT:
     After finding out that he was set up for the slaughter of his classmates, Ganta is forced to compete in a cruel experiments set up as fights for the entertainment of the rich.

REVIEW:

     Welcome back, those that read the review for Deddoman Wandarando for the first four episodes. I will admit that I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started watching this series, but I can say honestly I've been pleasantly surprised so far. Yes, some of the characters seem more one dimensional, but the main characters are pretty fleshed out which is hard to do within the set of time in the series so far.  With this next set of episodes the inner workings of Deadman Wonderland are more exposed and the cracks that are the character's personalities shine more brightly. Even though the series is more sci-fi than horror, it has horrific elements that adds to the tension that is building in each episode. Anyway let us continue on with the review for the series. And there will be spoilers from here on out in these last two reviews for the series.

CARRION FESTIVAL (CARNIVAL CORPSE):

     With barely any time to recover from their previous scuffle, Ganta and Crow are forced to fight one another in the true reason for Deadman Wonderland, the Carnival Corpse, which is an experiment gone extreme to view the different uses and forms of the Branches Of Sin. Crow easily gets the upper hand and punishes Ganta throughout the match. Ganta due to being un-used to using his power uses to much of his blood as projectiles and suffers anemia. Crow uses this to his advantage to go in for the kill only to walk away from the downed Ganta viewing him as almost nothing. It is at this point Ganta thinks of Shiro and finds resolve to continue and wins the match with a point blank range projectile surprising everyone that is watching. During the match Yo and Shiro are looking for a way back into G Block, Yo to search for a girl and Shiro to look for Ganta. In a scheme meant to distract the guards and get Shiro captured goes wrong as Shiro ends up killing all the guards after her, as it turns out Shiro also has the use of Branches Of Sin. It is in this episode we find out that Ganta though always complaining about his situation can easily think outside the box to find solutions. Yet when ever he thinks he gets ahead he finds out that for every action there is a reaction in response to what he does as he finds out after his match with Crow.

HUMMINGBIRD:

     Ganta after waking up after seeing the end results of his match with Crow, which is the Sore Loser Game, goes exploring and meets Minatsuki, another Deadman. Together they decide to try and escape only to be captured by G Block Guards who comment that Ganta is facing Minatsuki, who goes by Hummingbird, tomorrow in the next Carnival Corpse. Once in the ring Minatsuki's true personality comes out as she mercilessly berates Ganta for being weak and easily fooled. Right before Ganta can truly start fighting back, Yo shows up and we find out that Minatsuki is his sister he's been searching for the whole time he has been in Deadman Wonderland. Even though Minatsuki tries to play innocent to her brother, Yo tells her that she can stop acting and apologizes for not protecting her like he should have. This pushes Minatsuki over the edge into a rage and she takes Yo as a shield against Ganta. Ganta showing his ability to think around situations circumvents Minatsuki's shield and wins the match with a headbutt instead of using his ability. After the match with the crowd booing him for lack of bloodshed, Ganta flips off the audience telling them he won't kill anyone. This greatly amuses Tamaki and the true director of Deadman Wonderland who was watching the match with Shiro.

ORIGINAL SIN (WRETCHED EGG):

     The Director wakes up Shiro and tells her that it's time and the two start a battle using their Branches Of Sin. Shiro is the winner and comments on the melody that isn't there as she dons the redman outfit. Around this time Minatsuki is in the infirmary after her battle with Ganta talking to her brother Yo and Ganta as a earthquake happens. Ganta is struck by hurt in his chest as a earthquake hits, which sends a flood of forgotten memories from his childhood with Shiro. Ganta and Yo both rush to Minatsuki to keep her safe which  cracks her tough exterior a little even though she says it's useless as they can't protect her. At this both Ganta and Yo rush off to find some way to buy her freedom. Yo is confronted by Tamaki and lead Undertaker Genkaku, who then tries to attack Tamaki to no effect thanks to almost being killed by Genkaku. Ganta while trying to find someway to help Yo's sister is knocked out by another Deadman, Koshio Karako. Ganta wakes up in bar with Koshio and another Deadman, Kengamine "Owl" Nagi, watching over him to make sure he's alright. Both Owl and Koshio tell Ganta that they've been looking for someone like him when Genkaku busts in with Yo's limp body which he throws at the group. Ganta in a rage charges at Genkaku and tries using his Branches Of Sin on him to no effect, which takes the fight out of Ganta. Just as Genkaku is about to kill to Ganta, Shiro drops down from the ceiling and stops Genkaku destroying his weapon.

As you can tell, this is one of the most plot heavy episodes of the series so far as a lot happens in a short amount of time. The interesting thing about this is that even though it seems a lot to take in, it actually was set up very well where you don't get lost, unlike reading the above.

CHAINS OF FREEDOM (SCAR CHAIN):

     After being saved by Shiro from Genkaku, Ganta is introduced to Scar Chain, a group of Deadmen  plotting to break out and expose the corruption of Deadman Wonderland during inspection week, in which time Carnival Corpse is shut down. It is during this time Ganta learns that the Undertakers are also a group of prisoners who are the worst of the worst that could not be rehabilitated but are selected to be anti-Deadmen who have technology that makes Branches OF Sin powers revert back to normal blood. Unknown to them Warden Makina is also using this time to find proof of what is truly going on there as well as too many secrets are being kept from her. After Ganta gets upset after having his intentions questioned he leaves the Scar Chain, thanks to Rokudo Binjou who happens to be working with the Undertakers. After learning of Nagi's wife being killed on the order of Tamaki, Ganta joins the Scar Chain to get revenge against Tamaki and promises Shiro that they will ride a Ferris Wheel together once they have their freedom. The break out attempt begins but goes bad quickly once a security bot is sent out to capture the escaping Deadmen. Koshio decides to give the group time to escape and stays to fight off the bot and gives Ganta the computer chip with the information that will expose Deadman Wonderland and saying that she trusts Ganta with it. With this episode, the series sets up a lot of upcoming story lines and conflicts that are going to happen later on.

BEST DEATH:
     Yo's shower of body parts thank to Shiro.

BEST LINE:
     Shut the HELL up you shits! Like I'd kill anyone, dipshits!

FUN FACTS:
     Here's the lyrics of the opening song to Deddoman Wandarando.

One Reason by Fade

Slit the throat of reason and reality
Cut myself and scream for their insanity
Wake up to this nightmare that will never end
The main attraction of this twisted master plan
Trust nothing but pain to get me through the daze
Sleep with one eye open not to be their prey
Fist against my face they bring me to my knees
The pressure’s crushing down so hard
I can’t break free
When I can feel my skin crawl
When I’m about to crack
The hunger for revenge
gives me strength to stand
I will be your deadman
With nothing but this blood on my hands
Stuck in your “wonderland”
I just want to make you bleed like me
Everyday goes by without a second thought
Living in a perfect and controlled project
A puppet of their sick perversion’s appetite
Will I be trapped inside this hell until I die?
So what if no one cares
Enough to make a change
I give my bleeding heart out for one reason
I will be your deadman
With nothing but this blood on my hands
Stuck in your “wonderland”
I want to make you bleed just like me
So make me your deadman
With only poison in my veins
Stuck in your “wonderland”
Stagnated by the passivity
I’m gonna make you bleed like me

DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO Episodes 1-4

DEDDOMAN WANDARANDO (DEADMAN WONDERLAND) (2011)
 Episodes 1-4
JP
Directed by Koichiro Hatsumi

PLOT:
     After being setup for the slaughter of his class and the soul survivor of the massacre, Ganta, is sent to a privately run prison in which the inmates are the performers of a bloody circus of death for the fun of the masses.

REVIEW:
    It's been about a week plus since my last review, sorry about that to all that read this. So I had some time to think what I wanted to do next and I decided to review a complete series as the what's next for me. Those that have read what I've written know that I've done some reviews for anime titles before and this will be a good exorcise for later on this year when I review another full anime series as well. As for this set of reviews I decided to review the Japanese version of a series that is on air at the moment here in the U.S. That series is Deadman Wonderland as it is something different. Something more raw and savage. Each installment of the reviews for Deadman Wonderland will include four episodes as the whole series runs only twelve episodes. So without taking to much more of your time readers with my ramblings on to the review.

DEATHROW INMATE:

     As far as first episodes go, you have to grab the attention of the audience quickly to keep them involved in what they're trying to watch. In that regard Deadman Wonderland does that in spades as we're introduced to Igarashi Ganta with his friends at school talking about past times they have spent together and talking about a earthquake that destroyed Toyko ten years ago. It's at this point that a person wearing red armor and cape is seen floating outside the classroom window before the entire class is slaughtered in a matter of seconds by the smirking Red Man. Quickly Ganta is railroaded as being the cause of the slaughter and sent to the prison Deadman Wonderland with a death sentence. Once there Shiro, a mysterious albino girl is introduced and seemingly knows Shiro from when they were kids, though Ganta has no memory of this. At the end of the episode it is shown that Ganta has the same power that the red man does as it saves his and Shiro's life after an explosion goes off that was planted to kill Ganta. The first episode is fast moving without any pause except for when Shiro is introduced and snaps Ganta out of his depression. This one episode is one of the best first episodes I've seen in a long time due to that the character's emotions aren't hidden and no one person is seen as being flat or two dimensional but more rounded.

ANTIDOTE (CANDY):

      Unlike the first episode, this one is slow starting as the environment Ganta is forced to live in is explained as Deadman Wonderland is more than just a Circus, but is more of a small city unto itself. We are also introduced to Takami Yo, another prisoner that has quick hands and a thief explains the ins and outs to Ganta and that to live everyone has to eat a antidote called candy for the poison that is slowly killing all the prisoners due to the collars the inmates wear. But to get "candy" the have to earn cast credits to buy more, and to do so the inmates have to work and perform for the amusement for the general public as this is a circus the live in. It is here that Ganta, Shiro and Yo  decide to enter one of the more extreme amusements, Dog Race. Seeing that Ganta is involved with this race both the warden, Makina, and Tsunenaga Tamiki who is the real force behind Deadman Wonderland pay close attention to see what he does. The friendship that starts to form between Ganta and Shiro is the main focus of the episode as Ganta sees that Shiro is trying to protect him no matter the cost. Because of this Ganta finds the will to live no matter what.

G BLOCK:

     Tsunenaga Tamiki, puts Yo in charge of keeping tabs on Ganta, is forced to witness the return of the redman. It turns out the redman goes by the name Wretched Egg and is kept at Deadman Wonderland in a state of suspended animation most of the time. As in before, destruction follows Wretched Egg as multiple prisoners are killed, yet this time there are survivors. Wretched Egg seems to show up just to see what Ganta would do and to test him. This is also the second time Ganta uses his powers that seem to flow from his wounds. In the aftermath, Ganta wakes up in the infirmary with Shiro by his side. It is here that Ganta learns that Wretched Egg is kept in G Block which is separate from the rest of the prison. With a direction to finally go in, Ganta and Shiro go in search of G Block with Yo being dragged along due to his bad timing. It is at this time Warden Makina views footage of Ganta using his powers and orders him to brought to her no matter what. The interesting part of this episode is that we find out that there is more going on at Deadman Wonderland than what is shown on the surface and that those that think they are in charge find out just how little power they truly have. Ganta and Shiro's friendship is also shown to grow more as Ganta is shown to start caring more for Shiro and how he would truly be lost without her.

CROW CLAW:

     Finally finding G Block, Ganta is forced into a realizing that besides for him and Wretched Egg, there are others who have the same powers. The power is called Branches Of Sin and it depends on the users blood and each carrier of the virus has a different type. All this is explained to Ganta by Kiyomasa "Crow" Senji who calls Ganta "Woodpecker". Crow, also explains that people with these powers are referred to as Deadmen and that his fight with Ganta wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow yet doesn't mind that Ganta wants to fight today. Ganta at this point starts to learn how to use his powers and the cost of it. Before the fight can go on to long it is stopped by special forces that are kept at G Block. After waking up Ganta comes face to face with Tsunenaga Tamiki who explains that he was the one who got Ganta convicted of the slaughter of his class. Tamiki also explains that G Block is the true Deadman Wonderland which is fights between Branches Of Sin users called Carnival Corpse to the death or until one user cannot fight anymore. Tamiki also tells Ganta that he has his first fight the next day against Crow. Throughout this episode you see Ganta being beat down and broken because of what he finds out and the desperate situations he finds himself in all thanks to the sadistic nature of Tamiki, all for his enjoyment it seems.

BEST DEATH:
     Razor runway multiple amputation.

BEST LINE:
      It may be crazy to you, but that's only because reality is absurd.

FUN FACTS:
     Here's the lyrics to the song Shiro was singing when Ganta is first brought to Deadman Wonderland.

One mischievous little woodpecker
Today, poking your holes
Ruining the woods
The angry old forest god turned your beak into a poison knife
Poor little woodpecker
Your nesting holes are all tainted
Your food rife with toxins
If you touch your friends
They will all die
Oh, sad little woodpecker
Poisonous tears shining brightly
As they stream down you cheeks.