Manga Review: Deadman Wonderland, Volume 1, by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: February 11, 2014

Volumes: 13

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Powells. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Wishlist Thursday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 Framed for the brutal murders of his classmates by the mysterious Red Man, middle-school student Ganta Igarashii finds himself sentenced to death in the bizarre and fatal theme park/prison known as “Deadman Wonderland.” The inmates of this insane penitentiary fight for survival every day to provide entertainment for the masses. Ganta is determined to survive Deadman Wonderland and clear his name, but the price may be his soul…

Reads R to L (Japanese Style) for teen plus audiences.

Review:

I’ve been interested in this book for a while, especially after I watched a few episodes of the anime. It has a very interesting premise, and the beginning definitely draws you in.

This volume goes farther than what I watched in the anime, too, and I was very happy about that, plus it makes me want to read more.

Ganta, our main character, gets blamed for the murder of his classmates (his entire class, actually). He didn’t do it, but he was the only one who lived. And so he gets put away in prison, a carnival of death-like place that puts on shows for citizens. The citizens think it’s all fake, though.

Ganta meets a girl named Shiro, who wears a weird outfit and has white hair and a very upbeat personality. She’s able to sneak around the prison for some reason, while the others have strict rules. She knew Ganta when they were younger, but he doesn’t seem to remember her. She also seems to know more than she plays off, and I’m really interested in finding out about her. I like her a lot so far.

We also meet a few other inmates and people in charge. The guy in charge is obviously up to something. An inmate named Yo seemed nice at first, but now I’m rather upset with the turn he took. The red guy I’m really intrigued by, because I don’t understand who he is, what all he can do, and what his connection with Ganta is.

Ganta seems alright so far. I’ve been warned (by my brother) that he’s whiny, and I can definitely see that getting on my nerves in the future, but he seems alright thus far, and I hope he bucks up later. 

This was definitely a very good starting volume. I’m thoroughly intrigued and look forward to getting the next one. Also, there were a few comic strips at the end of the volume, which I wasn’t expecting for such a serious series, but they were really entertaining. Oh, and there were colored pages at the beginning, and those were very pretty.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, and Erik Jansen from MediaLab PR. Thank you so, so much!