Deadman Wonderland

Plot

A massive anomaly ravaged Japan's mainland and destroyed most of Tokyo, sinking three-quarters of the city into the Pacific Ocean.

Ten years later, the story shifts to Ganta Igarashi, a seemingly ordinary student attending Nagano Prefecture's middle school. As an escapee, a survivor of the great earthquake, Ganta has no memories of the tragedy and has lived a normal life. This all changes when a strange person covered in blood and crimson armor floats through his classroom windows. Grinning madly, the 'Red Man' massacres Ganta's entire class but instead of killing him, embeds a red crystal shard in Ganta's chest. Within days of the massacre, Ganta is subjected to a kangaroo court as a suspect and is sentenced to death at Deadman Wonderland, a prison that doubles as a theme park.

Arriving at the prison, Ganta is fitted with a special collar which monitors his location and vital signs. A lethal poison is constantly injected into his bloodstream through the collar, but it can be neutralized by consuming a peculiar candy-like medicine every three days, which can be acquired through various activities in the prison, i.e. performing for audiences, working backstage, purchasing with Cast Points (a form of currency among inmates at Deadman Wonderland), etc. To gather Cast Points, an inmate must perform in the facility's lethal games and survive. Fortunately for Ganta, he is aided by a mysterious girl named Shiro who apparently knows Ganta but whose existence is unknown to the other prisoners.

While trying to survive as an inmate on death row, Ganta intends to find the 'Red Man' to clear his name. In a bizarre twist, Ganta begins to develop the ability to manipulate his own blood, to the point of turning it into a weapon. Unknown to Ganta, he has become one of the prison's "Deadmen," an isolated group of prisoners possessing the Branches of Sin an ability which makes them capable of controlling their blood. After his ability is discovered, Ganta is forced to participate in brutal gladiatorial death matches known as Carnival Corpse, whose anonymous spectators pay large amounts of money to watch. In his long struggle to survive he manages to befriend some of those he fought off in the arena and with their help, Ganta continues his quest to uncover the identity of the 'Red Man', why he turned into a Deadman, and the dark secrets the prison authorities are hiding.

About Deadman Wonderland

Deadman Wonderland is Japan's only privately operated prison, built after the Great Tokyo Earthquake on ground zero. Deadman Wonderland was founded by Rinichirō Hagire and run by Tsunenaga Tamaki. It gathers prisoners from all over Japan and raises money for the revival of the destroyed metropolis. To the public and the tourists that visit daily, Deadman Wonderland is a massive theme park-like facility run by the prison population. Unbeknownst to the general population, most of the prison's attractions involve cruel games of survival where many inmates lose their lives or are maimed for the entertainment of an oblivious public. The prison's guard staff is also granted autonomy over how to punish the prisoners, which often results in bloodshed.

Each prisoner is fitted with a collar that functions as a life monitor, locator and stunner. The prisoners on death row receive poison injections through the collar and must consume a special antidote candy every three days. Their collars contain countdown timers that warn the wearer with blinking and beeping when time is running low. When the timer reaches zero, the collar displays the word "DEAD" and the inmate immediately succumbs to the poison and dies. Afterwards, the collar unlocks allowing it to be removed. The collars can also be removed by key cards used by the prison guards.

While the threat of violence is constant at the prison, most prisoners enjoy a great deal of liberty inside Deadman Wonderland. Utilizing Cast Points, the prison's unique form of currency, prisoners can purchase a wide variety of items from ordinary lunches, to luxurious furniture for their rooms, and even years off of their sentences. Though Cast Points can't be used to buy the freedom of a "Deadman." Those on death row also use Cast Points to purchase their life-saving candies.

Despite its identity as a prison and theme park, Deadman Wonderland houses a much darker secret. Hidden away from the eyes of tourists and the general prison population is a massive underground facility known as "G Block". This is where the prison keeps their Deadmen secluded and where the Carnival Corpse arena is located. G Block also houses numerous laboratories and rooms where experiments on humans are performed and where scientists are attempting to harness the powers of the Deadmen for monetary and political gain.

Eventually, Ganta and his Deadman allies received the assistance of Makina, the chief of the prison guards, to defeat Tsunenaga Tamaki. Rinichirō Hagire and Toto Sakagami assumed control of Deadman Wonderland while Tamaki committed suicide. After Deadman Wonderland was closed, the necklaces were removed from the inmates. Most of the remaining inmates were transferred to different prisons where some of them were allowed a retrial.

Makina later rallies the Deadmen on a mission to infiltrate Deadman Wonderland and activate the Mother Goose Program to completely seal the Wretched Egg (another name for the Red Man), with the resulting battle destroying most of Deadman Wonderland.

Carnival Corpse

Deadman Wonderland also runs a secret gladiator-like game called the Carnival Corpse (also referred to as the Carnival of Corpses), where wealthy anonymous donors pay to watch death-matches between the prison's Deadmen. The viewers of the Carnival Corpse also place their bets on who would win. Deadmen who are defeated yet survive the game have a part of their anatomy surgically removed for scientific research. In a cruel twist, the loser spins a bird-shaped macabre slot machine to determine which part of their body will be removed (with the show being broadcast live to the other prisoners) for research with the parts ranging from the right eye (which was removed from Senji), vocal cords (which were removed from Nagi), and the hair, kidney, and part of the stomach (which were removed from Minatsuki). The winner is awarded a large number of Cast Points, life-saving candies, and other prizes.

Anime

On July 30, 2009, a retailers' solicitation sheet reported that an anime adaptation had been green-lit. It is animated by Manglobe and aired in Japan between April 17, 2011, and July 3, 2011. An original video animation episode was released on October 8, 2011, alongside the eleventh manga volume. The opening theme is "One Reason" by DWB feat. Fade and the ending theme is "Shiny Shiny" by Nirgilis. The series is licensed by Funimation Entertainment and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. The anime was broadcast on the revived Toonami block from May 26 to August 11, 2012. The anime aired in North America on the Funimation Channel on November 30, 2012.

Music

Two pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is One Reason by Deadman Wonder Band (DWB) feat. Fade. The ending theme Shiny Shiny by DWB feat. NIRGILIS. The two themes are used in all 13 episodes. Certain characters have their own character song also, Ganta, Shiro, Genkaku and Minatsuki all have their own character song. The songs are created by DWB and NIRGILIS and the characters that the song is for provide the vocals.

Legacy

Shiro's costume is featured in the video game Lollipop Chainsaw. It can be unlocked during gameplay, by using the coins at the closet menu.