What started as an ordinary schoolday for Ganta Igarashi and his classmates ends in horror when their classroom is attacked by a strange being, leaving Ganta as the sole survivor. Accused and convicted in a show-trial of the murder of his classmates, he's sentenced to death and sent to Deadman Wonderland - a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Well, well - what have we here. Crunchyroll lists the series as "supernatural", which I haven't seen too much of yet (although the Red Man and mysterious girl Shiro could well fall into that category) - on the basis of this first episode, I'd class it more as riffing heavily off the Running Man vibe, complete with gameshow aspects and those exploding collars. Being compared to Running Man is no bad thing, though. There's a good bit of gore here - Ganta's classmates don't die neatly, and it seems that some edited-for-TV work has gone on - plus a layer of conspiracy as to who has framed Ganta and why, all of which will hopefully be explored by the series. But the main draw, I have to say, is the fucked-up world that allows Deadman Wonderland to exist in the first place - I though using prisoners as a spectacle was done away with at the end of the middle ages, but that's certainly what the world's first prisoner-staffed theme park seems to be going for. And you'll love the way the place carries out its executions - candy never seemed more appealing. THE GOOD: Very good setting, with some good foundations set for the story and some intriguing mysteries going on. It's a manglobe-produced series, with their usual high production values. THE BAD: There's nothing here that hasn't been done elsewhere before - it'll just come down to how well Deadman Wonderland executes it. It's probably only a matter of time before Ganta mutters the immortal "I must be stronger!", and which point my interest will diminish somewhat (although I'll be happy for the show to prove me wrong there...). So far, the best of this season's new shows. More, please. Now. Deadman Wonderland is being simulcast by Crunchyroll and, in the UK and Ireland, Anime On Demand.
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