Deadman Wonderland
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| Deadman Wonderland | |
|---|---|
 Volume 3 |
|
| デッドマンワンダーランド | |
| Genre | Action, Horror, Sicence fiction |
| Manga | |
| Author | Jinsei Kataoka |
| Publisher | Kadokawa Shoten |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Serialized in | Shōnen Ace |
| Volumes | 3 |
Deadman Wonderland (デッドマンワンダーランド?) is a manga serial written by Jinsei Kataoka and illustrated by Kazuma Kondou, who also wrote and illustrated the Eureka Seven manga, and published in Shōnen Ace.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Ten years have passed since the 'Great Tokyo Earthquake', a massive natural distaster that sank over 70 percent of Tokyo into the ocean. Ganta Igarashi is an unassuming 14-year old middle school student in Nagano Prefecture. Ganta is an 'escapee', a Tokyo survivor of the earthquake, but he has no memories of the disaster and simply wishes to play soccer and live a normal life. All that changes one day when a mysterious man covered in blood appears outside his classroom window. The 'Red Man' slaughters Ganta's classmates, but strangely leaves him alive after imbedding a crimson crystal in his chest. Ganta's life goes from bad to worse when he is blamed for the grisly murders and sentenced to life imprisonment in 'Deadman Wonderland'.
Deadman Wonderland is Japan's only publicly operated prison, built after the earthquake as a tourist attraction to help revive Tokyo. The prisoners serve as staff and 'entertainment' for visitors. Due to the heinous nature of Ganta's crime, he is given DW's 'death sentence'. A metal collar placed around his neck slowly injects poison into his body. The only way to delay his 'execution' is by consuming a special candy-like antidote every three days. Shortly after arriving at the prison, Ganta meets a mysterious girl named Shiro, who seems to know Ganta from the past. He also befriends a prisoner named Yoh, a kleptomaniac with a talent for locating things.
Continuing to profess his innocence, Ganta becomes obsessed with finding the 'Red Man', who may be somewhere within the prison, and clearing his name. In the course of his search, Ganta begins to develop a strange ability to control his blood. He soon discovers a secret level below the prison that contains DW's 'Deadmen'. These deadmen, like Ganta, can control their blood and use it as a weapon. Ganta is forced to participate in secret gladiatorial deathmatches called the Carnival Corpse against other deadmen, in which anonymous people pay large sums of money to watch. The winner receives a large sum of prison credits (cast points) and a piece of antidote candy. The loser, if they survive the match, has a part of their body, selected by a macabre roulette game, removed for research.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Protagonists
- Ganta Igarashi (Woodpecker)
The story's main protagonist; known to the general population of Deadman Wonderland as Prisoner 5580. Ganta's entire middle school class was butchered by the mysterious 'Red Man'. For reasons unknown, the 'Red Man' spared Ganta's life and left, but not before imbedding a red crystal in his chest. Being the lone survivor, Ganta is found guilty of the murders and sent to Deadman Wonderland's 'Death Row'.
After arriving at the prison, Ganta meets Shiro, who used to play with him when he was younger, but Ganta initially has no memories of this. He also meets Yoh, who has been assigned to secretly observe Ganta. He eventually regards these two as his only friends in Deadman Wonderland. He is at first very distraught and depressed, but quickly resolves to survive in order to locate the 'Red Man' and clear his name.
One day while working at a construction site, Ganta manifests a strange power in order to destroy a large piece of falling debris what would have crushed him and Shiro. A short time later, Ganta reencounters the 'Red Man' and once again uses his strange power to attack him, but the 'Red Man' escapes. After learning that another prisoner possessing similar powers is contained in Sector G, he travels there with the help of Yoh and Shiro. There he comes face to face with Senji, who obliterates the Necro Macro security robot that has been pursuing the trio, and challenges Ganta to a fight.
Ganta then discovers that Senji, who he mistook as the 'Red Man', is in fact one of many prisoners with a power called "The Branch of Sin"; the 'Deadmen'. The battle is disrupted when prison guard subdue all four prisoners. Ganta is taught about the Deadmen and about his power. As the prison's new 'Deadman', Ganta is given the alias "Woodpecker", and it is forced to fight other Deadmen in a game called 'Carnival Corpse', duels observed by rich, anonymous people.
Ganta's 'Branch of Sin' power is called "Ganta Gun", coined by Senji himself, although Ganta himself does not like the name.If not already bleeding, he will activate it by biting his thumb. Ganta is able to craft his blood into bullet-like projectiles, which he fires from his palm. The more blood he uses the bigger they are, and the more powerful they become. Smaller bullets are not as powerful, but the are considerably faster than the bigger ones. The greatest weakness of Ganta's ability is that he loses blood with each bullet he fires. Due to his small stature, the longer a fight lasts, the greater the risk that Ganta will faint from blood loss.
- Shiro
A mysterious girl that Ganta encounters when he first arrives at the prison. Unlike the prison issue clothing all the inmates wear, Shiro wears a skin tight outfit covered in red swirl marks. She doesn't wear shoes and prefers to be barefoot and wears fingerless mitten on her hands. Shiro is very fond of Ganta and goes to great lengths to protect him. This attitude appears to stem from the fact that Ganta was Shiro's only friend when she was much younger, however Ganta cannot remember those times. Despite living in Deadman Wonderland, Shiro appears to be able to move throughout the prison with little difficulty and has a habit of suddenly appearing out of nowhere. She is extremely athletic and is inhumanly strong. Despite being close to Ganta's age, Shiro speaks in child-like, fragmented sentences and has a simple, somewhat innocent personality. It appears that either this personality is a facade,or she has a second personality which surfaces when the "lullaby" stops playing, as she is in actuality the Red Man.
- Yoh Takami
Yoh is a prisoner that Ganta meets after recently arriving at DW. He bumped into Ganta with a trolley, and is slashed by Head Guard Makina who suspects him of stealing from Ganta whilst his possessions were strewn everywhere. He quickly becomes friends with Ganta, yet was in reality assigned by Assistant Warden Tamaki to watch over him, in return for CP points. He seems to be fairly friendly and polite, yet is in fact a secretly violent and scheming person. His reasoning for being in Deadman Wonderland is to find his sister and pay for her release from the prison with his accumulated Cost Points. Later, after Ganta goes missing, he begins to investigate rumors that Ganta has been moved to a secret prison level. Yoh manages to infiltrate the level by dressing as a guard. There he is shocked to find Ganta and his sister fighting in a Carnival Corpse battle. He then reveals that he's always known that his sister was responsible for killing their father, but despite that still loves her and wants to free her. Yoh's sister uses him as a human shield to block Ganta's attacks, but Ganta frees him and defeats his sister.
[edit] Antagonists
[edit] Prison Authorities
- Chief Makina
The prison's senior officer and leader of DW's guards. Makina is a harsh officer who carries a sword which she uses to cut up prisoners who break the rules. She believes that reality is meant to be unfair. Despite her lack of concern for the prisoners, she is suspicious of Tamaki and does not agree with his actions. Her discomfort only increases when she later realizes there are hidden parts of the prison she does not have access to. She attempts to take her concerns to the Warden, but she is prevented from talking with him by his personal bodyguards.
- Assistant Warden Tamaki
The main antagonist, Tamaki is the son of the prison's Warden. Tamaki has largely taken responsibility for the management of the prison, and using his powerful position for unethical treatment of his prisoners. Tamaki is also a scientist and has secretly been studying the 'Branch of Sin' ability that began to manifest in people shortly after The Great Tokyo Earthquake. In order to observe the extent of these powers, Tamaki created a macabre 'game' called Carnival Corpse, where he pits two Deadmen (prisoners possessing 'Branch of Sin' abilities) against each other. If the loser dies, they are dissected, studied, and their organs preserved for further research. Even if the loser survives the match, Tamaki still removes a part of their anatomy for research, chosen at random by a roulette wheel. Tamaki has taken a particular interest in Ganta, mostly due to his desire to study the red crystal imbedded in his chest. It is later revealed that Tamaki was responsible for getting Ganta convicted for his classmates murder, in order to get him imprisoned in DW so he could study him. After Shiro kills the Warden, Tamaki takes full control of Deadman Wonderland.
[edit] Undertakers
The 'Undertakers' are Tamaki's special enforcement group who are specifically trained as an anti-Deadman soldiers. The group is comprised of some of the worst prisoners, those who could not be rehabilitated, in Deadman Wonderland, who survived a special 'correctional' program. They appear to possess technology that allows them to nullify a Deadman's Branch-of-Sin ability.
- Genkaku 'The Monk'
The first member of the 'Undertakers' introduced. Genkaku wears robe-like clothing and beads that gives him the appearance of a monk, or as he prefers to be called a Hyper monk. He also carries around a guitar that doubles as a weapon. Genkaku uses a strand of prayer beads to nullify Ganta's Branch-of-Sin ability. However, he is defeated when he is beaten up by Shiro and his guitar is destroyed.
- Bundou Rokuro
Originally introduced as a member of 'Scar Chain', Rokuro is the head of the group's intelligence gathering. He does not like Ganta and considers him a worthless addition. Rokuro has a habit of cracking his neck. It is revealed shortly after that Rokuro is actually a spy for the 'Undertakers'.
[edit] Other
- "The Red Man"
"The Red Man," (revealed to be Shiro) is the core and the spread of the Branch of Sin abilities. Her name stems from the fact that whenever she's shown, she's often covered with blood. Her body is confined to that of restraints, which were initially meant to bind her while in captivity within Deadman Wonderland. Apart from this, the lower portion of her face is the only other location that can be seen. So far, her abilities are that of blood control as well as an unknown ability which is capable of dismembering and/or causing death by contorting the body into unnatural positions. Initially, she was responsible for the death of Ganta's entire class as well as the one who embedded the red crystal within Ganta's chest. She is also presumed responsible for the Earthquake that sunk Tokyo. She is revealed to be Shiro after a battle with the original Warden of Deadman Wonderland, where she kills him. Until this point, she is thought to be a man. What Shiro's ultimate goal is, and how Ganta figures into it, is currently unknown.
- Kengamine Nagi (Owl)
The leader of the anti-control organization, 'Scar Chain', and also one of the 'Deadmen'. Nagi is opposed to the 'inherently twisted garden' of Deadman Wonderland. He is especially opposed to Assistant Warden Tamaki's experiments and control of the facility. Due to the constant death rate within DW, Nagi is constantly looking for new recruits to replenish Scar Chain's ranks. After observing Ganta's match with Hummingbird, he invites Ganta to join his organization. As a gesture of good will, he rigs the Loser Game so that Minatsuki only has her hair cut off for losing to Ganta in the last match. Nagi not only fights to gain freedom for the prisoners but also to avenge the death of his dead lover. Two years ago, he was forced to fight against her in a Carnival Corpse Game and intentionally threw the match. As a result, his vocal cords were removed and he now speaks with the aid of a synthesizer. However, Tamaki punished him further for throwing the match by having his 'Undertakers' kill Nagi's lover. He has a son, left in the care of a nursery outside, and fights for freedom to see his child.
[edit] Deadmen
- Senji Kiyomasa (Crow)
Senji was the first "Deadman," that Ganta encountered at the prison. After making their way to sector G, Crow destroyed the Necro Macro security robot which had been chasing Ganta, Shiro and Yoh. After a small skirmish, and an interruption by Shiro, Crow was subdued by the Deadman security. The next day, Ganta and Senji were slated to be the next two Deadmen to compete in the "Carnival Corpse." Despite Senji's experience and skill with his 'branch' ability, Ganta managed to win by fooling Senji. As a consequence for losing, Senji's right eye was removed for research. He returns a short time later during Ganta's next match, sporting an eyepatch and gives Ganta assistance with figuring out his opponent's techniques. He also helps Ganta understand his own capabilities. His change in personality toward Ganta is due to his respect for Ganta's strength. Senji comments that because Ganta beat him, he is not allowed to lose until they have a rematch.
He seems to thoroughly enjoy violence, and his favorite phrase is "Dead Center". Despite his wild and battle-hungry attitude, he does have a sense of honor and respects strength and determination. In an ironic twist, Senji becomes flustered and embarrassed when a woman acts immodest. When he first notices Shiro's form fitting body tights, his face becomes red and he give her his coat telling her to quickly cover up.
His Branch of Sin is called "Crow Claw". It manifests as two large scythe-like blades, made of blood, extending from long cuts on his forearms. He makes these cuts using two bladed rings he wears on his thumbs. While the blades are typically two to three feet long, Senji has demonstrated the ability to greatly lengthen them allowing him to attack people at range. He is responsible for naming Ganta's 'Branch of Sin' (Ganta Gun).
- Minatsuki Takami (Hummingbird)
Minatsuki is the younger sister of Yoh Takami, whom he has been searching for. When Ganta first meets her, she appears as a normal and innocent person. Ganta becomes friends with her, believing her to be the only 'normal' Deadman in the prison block. In reality, she is very sadistic and manipulative, using her innocent appearance to make new Deadman like Ganta lower their guard. Despite her young age, she makes very sexually explicit remarks and comments that she derives sexual pleasure from seeing the pained looks on her victim's faces. Despite her true personality, it is shown that she still loves her brother. Minatsuki is the second opponent Ganta fights. At first he can't bring himself to fight her, but when she reveals her true personality and insults Ganta's manhood, he lashes out and attacks her with his full strength. During the battle, she reveals her past showing she killed her own father. Yoh interferes in their match and Minatsuki uses him as a shield. However, she still loses after Ganta figured out how to ricochet his attacks, stunning her long enough for him to knock her out with a vicious headbutt. Much to everyone's shock, the Loser Game roulette indicated that Minatsuki would only lose her hair; shocking since hair was not an option in the game. In reality, the game had been rigged as a gesture of goodwill to Ganta by 'Scar Chain's leader, Nagi. Minatsuki has also indicated that she has been involved in the Loser Game twice in the past, losing a kidney and part of her stomach.
Her Branch of Sin is called "Whip Wing". She pokes her ears with the pointed ends of her earrings, and after her blood comes in contact with her hair, it will quickly grow and lash out as many thin whips. These whips can be used to both slash as well as restrain her targets, often at the same time.
- Chaplin "Masaru" Sukegawa
A crossdressing male who sees himself as a bright figure in Sector G, and held a welcoming party for Ganta. He helps do the commentary for some Carnival Corpse matches. It is speculated that he lost his genitals to the carnival corpse roulette.
- Itadaki "Masu" Kazuya
A fat man who eats almost anything, to the point that his was mouth was open torn so wide it had to be stitched together.
- "Hitara"
A mysterious old man who listens to his "daughter" through headphones, and has apparently not slept for a long time.
- Koshio Karako
Assistant Leader of the anti-control organization, 'Scar Chain'. She confronts Ganta in the G-Block hallway after his match with Hummingbird and knocks him out. She brings him to leader of her group, Nagi. She is extremely athletic and appears to be skilled in the martial art, Wushu. Her hand-to-hand combat skills are a perfect match for her Branch-of-Sin ability, which allows her to wrap her blood around her hands and feet (and presumably any part of her anatomy) to create a hardened shell, making her attacks more powerful.
