Manga Review: Deadman Wonderland, Volume 4, by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: August 12, 2014

Volumes: 13

Spoilers?: Not really.

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

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ganta is recruited into the Scar Chain, an antiestablishment group planning a mass prison escape. After a brief meeting with Shiro, he stands at a crossroads, but Nagi persuades him to take part in the escape. However, a traitor has already leaked the plan to the Undertakers, a unit specially formed to stamp out the rebels.

Review:

I keep saying this, but everyone is psychotic in this series. Pretty much everyone. And every time we meet a new characters, it’s likely they’re also psychotic.

We met a few new characters at the end of the last volume, and in this one we meet their gang, just before their plan to expose Wonderland takes off. And, of course, this includes some deaths and psychotic people.

I don’t know why it’s still surprising me how horrific this series is. The deaths are not hidden from the viewer, or downplayed. They’re horrible. I should be more cynical about it at this point, shouldn’t I?

Anyway, they’re horrible. The characters learn more horrors of Deadman Wonderland, but nothing is really revealed to the outside. Two of the new characters have a story I’m at least a little intrigued by. Ganta, though, has a fight with Shiro, and I feel bad for her. He's kind of a jerk, even if he does have his reason. The betrayal from the last volume has been replaced by me just feeling bad for and wary of her. Because there’s more to what’s going on with her than I think even she knows. And I don’t like it.

I just like Shiro, and I want her to be happy.

The cliffhanger is a bit bad. I’m excited to see what happens next.