Manga Review: Deadman Wonderland, Volume 5, by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: October 14, 2014

Volumes: 13

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Framed for the brutal murders of his classmates by the mysterious Red Man, middle school student Ganta Igarashi finds himself sentenced to death and sent to the bizarre and fatal theme park/prison that has risen from the ruins of the Great Tokyo Earthquake--a hell on earth known as "Deadman Wonderland."
With their leader captured, Scar Chain's uprising is thwarted by the Undertakers. Ganta seeks training so he can learn to use his Branch of Sin powers, even though doing so will draw him further into the deadly plots brewing inside the prison. The final battle between Scar Chain and the Undertakers is coming, but who really wins when one of them loses?

Review:

The more I read of this series, the bloodier it gets. The more violent, the more psychotic, more intense it gets. Including character deaths, although I won’t spoil those.

So there were backstories, surprising psychological reveals, a death, all leading up to the ending: a possible start of something new. There was a nice scene with Shiro. But there’s also a new character at the end, who will definitely be bringing horrible things. The people in charge of the facility, too, are up to something that will happen soon. Ganta is revealing to be surprisingly powerful, but mostly I’m surprised that he’s not annoying me more. He’s still weak and impulsive and irrational, but he’s all right. I don’t hate him, at least.

There is just so much horror in this series, so much blood. It definitely earns its “Older Teen” rating. And I’m still surprised by how much I am enjoying this series, and how much I’m looking forward to the next volume.

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