Deadman Wonderland 01 – Dead Man Walking – Summary

A regular school day turns into a hellish nightmare for Igarashi Gunta when a man shows up outside their classroom (on the 3rd floor) and kills 29 of the 30 students. As the only remaining survivor, Ganta is arrested under charges of mass murder. Gunta insists that he is innocent as he goes to trial, insisting that it was the man in the red cloak who killed everyone. However, the verdicts comes out….guilty. Given the death sentence, Gunta is shocked and screams out that he is innocent. However, he  gets to see a video in which he more or less admits to having killed his classmates. Shocked, the boy can only cry as he asks why him.

The boy is taken away to serve in Japan’s only privately owned prison in Tokyo, Deadman Wonderland. The prison doubles as an amusement park to attract tourists to the city. Captain Makina explains to the newest members about the amusement park and also demonstrates just what kind of place they have come to. It is also revealed that the plan is for Gunta to die in an “accident” well before his execution but Makina questions the lawyer, why the rush to get rid of the kid. Naturally, she gets no answers. While doing hard labor in the park, Ganta encounters a white haired girl who is able to read Ganta’s intentions/heart. She tells him that they’re friends and that he should cheer up already. She asks if he’s kill her? Ganta insists that of he’d never kill his friends and breaks down crying.

But his fellow prisoners are hardly pleased with Ganta and don’t think much of him. They push Ganta into the corner and bully him (in the usual way) before Shiro steps in and tells them to stop picking on Ganta. But she gets smacked in the back of the head with a shovel. Gunta attempts to retaliate but gets beaten up instead. The lawyer muses that Gaunta saw the Wretched Egg’s Branch of Sin and still lives…lucky or not?

Shall he suffer and then die? Or live and become the lawyers toy?

As one of the prisoner’s kick Ganta’s chest, it seems to have some effect on that red stone which the red cloaked guy placed in him. But at that moment, a bomb goes off! The large sign cheerfully proclaiming “Deadman Wonderland” falls down straight towards Gunta! But Gunta thinks that he doesn’t want to die…he wants to prove that he is innocent….and to kill that Red Man. As he thinks this, the red stone in his chest starts glowing and he…awakens his powers which allow him to not only stop the falling mass scant inches away from his head but also to totally break it up!

At the other side of the prison, a man has taken a hostage and demands the officers to give him candy. Makina however is as cool as ice, checking the man’s collar for his info before saying that he should be dead in a few seconds. The man’s last works are that he is out of cast points and needs candy but..boom…the man is killed. This is the death sentence. Eating candy apparently adds to the time that you can live.

Gunta meanwhile is shocked and surprised at what happened. He managed to prevent any harm from coming to Shiro (the other guys, not so lucky).  Shiro wakes up and requests that they have a meal together. Slightly taken aback at first, Ganta agrees. End episode 01.

Score: A+/A+

I wish I could give this show an A++ for one of the most EPIC first episodes of the season. Cause you know what…wow. Just …. wow. That was just…excellent. It starts off so innocently and sweetly before everything goes to hell faster than you can say “Daisy Duke”! It was harsh, it was hard, it was very “in your face” in ways. And it hook you within the first five minutes! THAT is the mark of a GREAT first episode. This show has the strongest start from the rest of the shows this season, HANDS FUCKING DOWN.

The whole story concept and synop…totally didn’t do justice. Watching it was just SO MUCH MORE EPIC. I mean, the synop totally had my attention anyways. But watching it…my GOD. I AM BLOWN AWAY. Please carry this trend onward DmW and become the best show of the season! Ahem but back to the plot. I loved the fast pace of it! Everything goes by at a very brisk pace but it doesnt leave you feeling “Crap, slow the fuck down already!” instead the speed is just enough to keep with bated breath. Actually I think I kinda forgot how to breath while watching this >>;; ANYWAYS, point being – A VERY STRONG opening! Diving straight into the story, opening lots of can worms from the get go to keep the watchers interested and get em to come back for more!

If you saw the whole trial part and you weren’t screaming at your screen “How could you arrest a kid for those crimes?! HE WAS THE ONLY SURVIVOR! THAT IS CRUEL!” then…you kinda have no soul. I was mad. And this close to crying at the sheer injustice of it all….and then came the scene with that video of Ganta. My brain screeched to a fucking halt. It left skid marks bout 20 feet long – no, really! THAT came outta fucking NO WHERE! I couldn’t blink – was just stared with my eyes like O_O but my jaw fell open and i just…couldnt…think! It was like “oh….my…god….” kinda shock.

BACKSTORIES! I am looking forward to the unveiling of SOOO many plot points! The candy, whats up with that? The whole story I mean. That guy who Makina slashed, he stole that piece of candy yeah? How do you get more candy? (RFID tags? For prisoners? That is …. smart.) Makina’s boots, where can I buy some? Wicked Egg’s Branch of Sin? Is that some secret government experiment? Is this gonna go more down the sciency path or more fantasy path? PLEASE BE SCIENCE PLEASE BE SCIENCE! Who is Shiro? WHAT is Shiro? How can she take a shovel to the head and be alright? Ganta’s powers! WAS THAT HIS OWN BLOOD? O_________O  The HELL was that red stone? Is that Red Man still alive after ‘transferring’ his powers to Ganta too? WHY GANTA? Why his school? WHY GANTA? Why does Shiro already know about him? Is she part bloodhound smelling him from THAT high up? How does the death sentence thing/your-head-will-explode-when-the-time-on-your-collar-runs-out thing work out? I mean, does that time thing apply to EVERY prisoner or just the ones with a death sentence? Is there some contest or something where its musical chairs? One candy less than the players and if you lose, GAME OVAH? THE HELL is up with that sneaky tanuki lawyer guy? He works for Deadman Wonderland? Does he rig trials up to get more prisoners into DmW? He knows bout the Egg of Sin thing? O_O WHAT DID HE MEAN ABOUT GUNTA LIVING ON AND BEING HIS TOY? O_____________O Sneaky evil guy alert!

Captain Makina….*salutes* I think I smell potential for a KICK ASS female character of the likes of Cornelia (Code Geass) & General Olivier (Fullmetal Alchemist)! I am very attracted to her~ Yes I am indeed! The hair, the boots…THE EYES. Shes a cold beauty this one~ And I’m LOVING the character designs. Its the eyes….the eye lashes and the thickness of them, VERY attractive. And ooooo the animation…EXCELLENT. Props to the animation house

Three pats on the back to me for recognizing Paku Romi, Hanzawa Kana AND Nirgilis within SECONDS of hearing them. Three gold stars to me YAY~ Isn’t the ED love? Aw man seriously…

EPISODE 02 I WANT IT RIGHT THIS INSTANT! This is SO on the top of my watch list now!

• Setsuken

  Alright, saw this episode, liked it quite a bit.

  I did see they changed some stuff from the manga, but every change was minor and did make a lot of sense.

  The thing that I loved about this episode, and the series in general was the animation and the art. MY GOD! This anime looks pretty and the animation is jaw dropping, Its been a while since I ENJOYED just looking at a series.

  The pacing was also quite epic! Everything proceeded nice and smooth. The feeling that I felt from the first few manga chapters was exactly replicated here. Ganta was quick and swiftly thrown into Deadman Wonderland, his life going to hell in like… a matter of days.

  Now… for my twp problems with this episode.

  ONE! The censorship thing. I dunno if that was because of the sub I saw, but I did see the whole class massacre thing get heavily censored by
  “black lines”. The scene in the manga was brutal, and it was probably animated as such here as well. I just wanted to see it. I realize that this is on TV, and given what happened after stuff like School Days, people want to be cautious. I just don’t like censored stuff though XD

  Second! Ganta’s voice, voiced by Paku Romi. I love Paku Romi and her role as Ed in FMA was BEYOND epic. At the same time, her voice totally DOES NOT suit Ganta. IF anything, I wish they had used Renton’s voice from Eurekaa 7.

  Ganta is obviously very similar to Renton: http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo182/MiyuyaJB/largeAnimePaperscans_Eureka-7_fullm.png

  I wish they had just used his seiyuu, as Romi-san’s voice totally does not suit him. Not her fault either, I just feel like it was bad casting.

  I also thought it might’ve just been me, but I had a few friends watching with me who hadn’t read the manga, and they totally agreed.

  I’m sure I’ll adjust over time, but this kinda caught me off guard. Voice casting for characters is ussually spot on, and it was in this series as well. Everyone else’s voices from Makina all the way to Shiro, were perfect!

  Overall though, I love how well they handled the series. The animation is really bringing the already gorgeous anime to life. Can’t wait to see more!

  • Sweety8587

    THE ANIMATION! O________O It was just so smooth and SMOOTH <3 A sheer joy to watch!

    It was just a very provocative first episode It was FABULOUS to watch!

    Well duh they're gonna censor all that blood and shit But live soft porn-ish stuff is totally alright. oh Japan, you with your crazy standards! And nae worry, it’ll be uncensored with the dvd release

    I dunno…i kinda liked it! I like Romi-san’s voice :O i wouldnt have liked Rentons though >>;;;

    i cant wait either augh more more need more D:

• http://xebek.animeblogger.net/ FlareKnight

  I’m completely with you on the first episode. Of course I read some of the manga so it wasn’t as shocking for me. Though that video and just seeing it animated had a whole level of “OMG” to it.

  Honestly I think Ganta’s trial was a giant Kangaroo Court. I mean it’s hard to believe that a real jury would just convict him. Sure the video is damning, but it’s almost impossible to imagine a kid killing his whole class that brutally no matter what weapon. He’d need a freaking cannon to do that. Not sure what kind of evidence they used to convict him, but there you have it.

  I have to say just great job with this post. The energy and passion put into it was pretty amazing . I just can’t help feeling incredibly sorry for Ganta. His close friends are brutally (and I mean really brutally) killed in an instant and before he can even process this he is being charged with murder. He’s tossed into a kangaroo court and convicted. He sees that video and suddenly he’s a prisoner in Deadman Wonderland which is not a good thing at all.

  I’m fine with the voice casting in this series. I wasn’t sure what kind of voice I wanted for Ganta, but Paku Romi did a perfectly fine job with him. Shiro wasn’t bad either.

  In terms of all those questions, you’ll definitely get some answers. Of course it depends on the episode count. Honestly it’s impossible to cover the whole manga in 13 episodes, probably couldn’t do it in 26. Could just cover part of it and break it down into sequels I suppose. Either way I’m going to enjoy seeing the future episodes.

  • Sweety8587

    I had totally avoided the manga! Setsukan told me that it was a good story so I decided to just let it play out and let it hit me hard the first time Agreed so hard! The video, sound, animation – it all adds a whole new level of OMG to it.

    YES! *finger point* THAT is EXACTLY what it was! Ganta was totally set up! A 15 year old kid just CANT pull all that shit off no matter HOW damned crazy that kid might be. I dont think even a damn cannon could make that kinda damage i mean…DAYUM. I was just very very “evidence! on what evidence did you convict this kid! its all circumstantial at best!” But i guess they just needed a scapegoat and the video that got leaked out pretty much was the last nail on Ganta’s coffin

    ahahaha thank you! But yeah, i just felt horrible for Ganta. It was just…so unfair to him. For all the reasons you stated. He hasnt even processed the information and he gets tossed into a place like Deadman Wonderland….thats just….yikes.

    I liked that they used Hanazawa actually! I dont think I should say this but, I think she sounded like the character. Plus, on Romi-san, I remember her awesome job on Ed so I cant hepl but think that “I know how good she can be so I have faith that she’ll do a great job.”

    True true. I had been planning to read the manga after the anime finishes but of course I’ll wait for any news on a season 2 before I go jumping all over the manga

    • http://xebek.animeblogger.net/ FlareKnight

      Yeah if someone told me this was going to get an anime before I started reading then I probably would have waited. Of course can believe a good series will get animated, but who knows when that will be. Haven’t seen a chapter since the anime was announced, since it’s just my policy when it comes to something like this.

      I definitely find it hard to believe that any jury that isn’t being paid off could convict Ganta. One kid just can’t do it. Sure it’s possible to kill a whole class with one person. Get into the back with some heavy weapon (assault rifle, or machine gun, or cannons) and you should be able to get most of the class without anyone running away. But from what actually killed them there wouldn’t be gunshot wounds. No chance that one person could kill a whole class without something like that and not have people screaming or getting out of the room. No matter how incompetent the defence attorney I just can’t see a jury that isn’t set-up to convict actually doing it. Of course maybe it worked out like this: that world had suffered a major disaster that cost them old Tokyo. After something horrible like that they have a whole class murdered and see a video like that. Maybe they were so angry they just convicted based solely on that?

      I think it was a nice call for Hanazawa though since it’s so close after Fractale I keep expecting Shiro to call herself Nessa . Definitely think after Full Metal Alchemist that Paku Romi can handle this role. Knowing how she handled Ed I think Ganta will be fine no matter how he develops in the series.

      Will have to see how they handle this. Hopefully it just sells like crazy and they have to quickly put out multiple seasons until it’s done.

      • Sweety8587

        yeah thats very true! Its not easy to put faith in a series for me now because just having a good story isnt enough. so many factors can get screwed up that its not even funny :

        *nods* completely agreed! NO CHANCE for everyone to be killed like that without some running away or something. Either the jury was rigged or they just took that leaked video and just RAN with it. I think its the video bit – they just got scandalized by it and hung Gunta up cause of it.

        Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best! Heres to season 2!!