Manga Review: Deadman Wonderland, Volume 12, by Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: December 2015

Volumes: 13.

Spoilers?: No.

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

Volume: 1. 11. 13.

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.”

Thanks to Ganta returning to the battle, Senji narrowly escapes death battling Toto Sakigami. Still, Toto’s power is so overwhelming they remain at a disadvantage. Using a clever strategy, Ganta is able to land a timely strike against Toto, and Senji quickly follows up by slicing him along with the building. Toto is assumed to be crushed to death by the collapsed structure, but is he?

Review:

We finally get some real backstory on Rinichiro/Toto and Yosuga. And, of course, it’s really sad, and bloody. I feel bad mostly for Toto in this, and while I’m not particularly happy with what Yosuga does, I see why. She misses her friend, in the same way that Ganta misses Shiro.

There’s a lot of fighting—a very big fight scene between Ganta, Senji, and Rinichiro, and then another between the group and Rinichiro. Rinichiro is literally insane, and it’s horrible, and I want to see him go down. We only get a glimpse of Shiro in this volume, and it’s not good. We also get a surprising revelation about Ganta’s power, which could be really bad.

We’re left with a cliffhanger, leading up to the big conclusion in the next volume. I can’t wait. I just hope it’s not too horrible.