What a surprise: a Deadman Wonderland episode that actually takes its time.
This was actually a very good premise of how an OVA should be done: this neither was pointless fanservice or random gags, but it also wasn’t just “another episode”. Instead we get to see the background of one of the side-characters: Senji. On top of that, this episode did not have the rushed pacing of the TV-series, and it actually gave ample time for Senji to show who he was before he ended up in the Deadman Wonderland prison.
What’s even stranger though is that the creators didn’t decide to show how he ended up in the prison, but instead focused this episode around the time when the prison got built (it was definitely a nice touch to see the setting of the TV-series still in its building stages by the way; that’s a neat way to flesh it out), focusing on how some of his friends got killed by some asshole who also happened to have those special blood powers.
This episode may not have been as interesting as the episodes of the TV-series, but it’s nevertheless a good source of background. The bad guys here were very stereotypical, but Senji got out of it as a better character. We also learn that there are more ways for people to get their special powers, compared to how Ganta got them in the first episode.
Here is the thing, though: Deadman Wonderland has completely bombed in terms of manga sales. Seriously, I couldn’t find sales numbers about this one at all, and that indicates that they were abysmally low. I’m much less bitter about this compared to Michiko to Hatchin not selling well, but the problem is Manglobe overall: they once were among the best animation studios out there, but they have really gone downhill since. Deadman Wonderland was their last chance, with the adaptation of a popular manga, but that too completely failed. With moe shows like Seiken no Blacksmith and TWGOK selling moderately well… the result is Mashiro-Iro Symphony. What a bloody shame.
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Deadman Wonderland – OVA
Their moe shows haven’t been successful either…..Blacksmith probably fell quite short of any break even point, while TWGOK S1 only did well enough to prevent a cheap OAD from getting canned (S2 was most definitely a flop though). Granted, they didn’t bomb as badly as some of Manglobe’s other offerings, but that’s the only “positive” note.
Direction has consistently been the studio’s achilles heel. They hire good animators, but their directors (usu. veteran animators without much of a directorial background, if any at all) generally don’t have much skill in storyboarding or scene composition. This hurt TWGOK since it made a slow-going show seem even more boring.
CKSqua: and the bizarre thing is that their good shows had some of the best directors out there: they got Tomomi Mochizuki and Shinichiro Watanabe for Sarai-Ya Goyou and Samurai Champloo, they discovered the surprisingly talented Sayo Yamamoto for Michiko to Hatchin and they also hit gold with the director of Witch Hunter Robin.
Well, TWGOK wasnt perfect but at least it’s better than Deadman Wonderland or The Sacred Blacksmith. 😀
“Here is the thing, though: Deadman Wonderland has completely bombed in terms of manga sales.” – You mean in Japan? It has 11 volumes, why did it sell badly and still got 11 freaking volumes? I don’t understand how you think that.
That’s a bad typo. I meand dvd sales, not manga.
And now Manglobe has Mashiro Iro? WTF, How lowly can this company get… I think this will be worse than The Sacred Blackshit. Oh Well I have my Michiko to Hatchin and House of Five Leaves.