Suspense of disbelief is this tricky thing. It’s because of that that it’s hard to recommend, but if you’re not bothered by the fact that this series show doesn’t make any sense at times, it has a lot to deliver in return.
The thing with Deadman Wonderland is that it has a completely insane setting. The creators really tried to create a prison that would be the equivalent to hell on earth. There is so much morally wrong with this series and just about every episode is filled with practices and protocols that would cause a complete outrage normally. The way in which the prisoners are treated in this series is reallly imaginative, but also completely dark and twisted.
Now, just throwing in some dark and twisted stuff is nice and all, but those alone don’t make a good series. What makes Deadman Wonderland so interesting is that it’s got a very likable and diverse main cast where everyone has his or her own purpose. There’s a lot of overacting, but that is to be expected in this kind of setting. There is a nice amount of character development for 12 episodes, and the pacing of the story hardly ever leaves a dull moment.
As for not making any sense, this series does need to pull a few things here and there to make sure that its main character doesn’t just immediately… die. He’s a fourteen year old kid and while a decent lead for his age, a number of deus ex machina need to be pulled in order to keep it that way. The show is rushed, so it doesn’t have time to explain every single detail while also devoting enough time to its characters and the few quiet moments here and there.
So yeah, this series has cheese, deus ex machina, overacting and a rushed plot. On the other hand it has amazing action scenes, excellent characters, an engaging and imaginative setting and a great plot. It’s really going to be a matter of balancing the flaws and stenghts here, but personally, for me it really worked and I enjoyed ths show a lot.
Oh, but this show does cut off a the end with a huge cliff-hanger with no hint to a sequel in sight. That sucks.
| Storytelling: | 8/10 – Uses Deus ex Machina, but makes up for it with a grat plot and an intense style. |
| Characters: | 8/10 – The acting isn’t the betst at times and there is some cheese, but it makes up for this by great characterization, character development and a diverse and likable cast. |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 – Not up to Manglobe’s standards and it becomes clear that the earthquake left its mark here as well, but makes up for it with gorgeous money shots and very fluid animation. |
| Setting: | 9/10 – Imaginative beyond belief, and the creators really succeeeded in delivering a second hell on earth. |
Suggestions:
– Blassreiter
– Blue Gender
– Jyu Oh Sei
>>Oh, but this show does cut off a the end with a huge cliff-hanger with no hint to a sequel in sight. That sucks.
We have one more episode as an OVA in October at least.
I dropped the show at the point where the audience laughed at the massacre and said “Oh what a great Show blabla effects” wtf? *Head gets cut off* “HAHA NICE EFFECT!” lol..
I can’t understand how you gave 8 for the production values if this has the worst animation quality i’ve seen in a Manglobe series. Even The Sacred Blacksmith which is the worst Manglobe anime (DW is the second) has better production values than this.
The action scenes are lame, characters are cliches, the plot is fucking dull. How can someone like this?
@anon1
That is your personal opinion, you can’t say things like “How can someone like this?”, when many people really enjoyed this show. Psgels’s rating is correct, the show deserves an 8. It’s good to see shows as twisted as this from time to time.
I liked the way it strayed from the norm with the gore until it got to the point where it was just killing for the sake of killing. :/
Meh, I’m just not a fan of this. I like blood just as much as the next guy but this show just didn’t click.
It’s not really ‘killing for the sake of killing.’ The team did wipe their sooty fingers on Eureka Seven and gave it a bleaker continuity in the manga adaptation, so it’s probably something of a shtick for them, but, like with Narutaru or Elfen Lied, there’s actually a point to the violence other than the shock factor. I guess you could say there’s a little social commentary tied to it, if you look to see how the monsters are made and connected.
I felt that this show really suffered from only having 12 eps. I very rarely “wish” for more eps, but this is one of those rare time when I do. But by saying that, that is still no excuse for the show…
Overall the show was intriguing, but not nearly as smart and shocking as it thinks. Not to mention that despite having sympathy for most of the characters, what little character development there was was handled poorly. The worst offender being Ganta… easily one of the worst protags in recent years… maybe ever… top 5 at least.
In the end the potential was there, but with a slow start, rushed ending with more questions than answers, and poor character development, Deadman Wonderland ends up falling into the seemingly endless void of average anime.
I’d give it 6/10.
For me this series was the biggest disappointment in the Spring season. The setting was brilliant and I wanted to know more of the (underdeveloped) original cast and see the conflict with the Red Man advance.
Too bad the creators chose to abandon everything that was interesting in the series and braught in a rather boring new conflict with a couple of new characters and two really lame shounen-antagonists. Thus the second half of the series was completely worthless!
@Anon1
Well, 8/10 could be 7.75/10 rounded up.
Which is a C.
Which in my book is absolutely horrible.
I’d never accept anything less than an A on my report card.
In seriousness, I believe the definition of 8/10 is “decent”.
No need to get angsty now.
This is the problem.
He’s using a 10 point scale, but the points 1-7 mean absolutely nothing to most people other than “pointless garbage, do not watch” and an 8 is considered “meh” by many people.
Honestly, I don’t watch much anime, but I had been reading the manga for this for quite some time and was thoroughly entertained. Part of the thing with ultraviolent mangas being adapted to anime is that it goes from just graphic stills to full blown animation (although in EL the manga was twice as violent) which makes it more “shocking” to a viewer and considerably more offputting to many people.
If the plot to this is anything like the manga, there is a point to all of the violence that may not be fleshed out in the short anime series.
totally agree with this review.
It wasn’t realistic at all but it was fun to watch.
Cut off?
Then read the manga, jesus.