Deadman Wonderland – 02

Let’s have a friendly race (with guillotines)! :3

If your school was going on a field trip to Deadman Wonderland…would you go? It’s a school trip after all, and your class would go with or without you no matter your decision. If you went, would you enjoy the carnage too? As much as I like to think the spectators are sick people –  if a bunch of my friends were going, I’d probably tag along to watch. Mostly out of curiosity. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll be able to get away with a prison like that. It would be an interesting alternative to Disneyland, that’s for sure.

Moving onto what actually happened instead of trying to make everyone feel bad (I bet it didn’t even work, you crazy sadists)…Ganta gets patched up in the infirmary, but his wounds seem minor compared to the kid who got slashed by Makina yesterday. Ganta got hit by half of a BUILDING and he has less scratches than Yoh. He gives Ganta a friendly reminder to eat his candy, but Shiro appears before he can explain that it’s not just because he has a sweetooth and that you need to eat candy to counteract the poison slowly being injected into your veins. Oh well, Ganta doesn’t have to know about his 3 day life span until later I guess. Racing for food is more important right now!

Yoh recovers from his injuries and enters the Dog Race along with Ganta to try and win cast points, which are needed to buy food and even take time off your prison sentence. Just as he’s up on his feet again, he gets his arm crushed under the feet of a tae-kwon-do master who is forcing everyone to let him win the race and get those points. Sorry, Yoh, that’s what you get for leaking info about Ganta to Tamaki.

Karma in a nutshell: your arm gets broken if you act like a douche

Once he’s done breaking Yoh’s arm, he gets his henchmen to hold Ganta in place for him to mess around with and knee in the stomache. He almost socks Shiro in the face too for her untimely entrance, but Makina catches his punch and slashes his chest as a warning. No blood is drawn, but she gives him a very stern warning! Alright, problem solved, now everyone play nice in this bloodbath race for the crowd. :3

These G Cups are all muscle, bro

Ganta chooses now of all times to read the part in the manual where it explains that he will die tomorrow if he doesn’t eat a candy. Normally, he’d have a candy with his starter bag, but Yoh knocked it out (probably stole it). With a sudden fire to win and stay alive, Ganta sprints towards the finish line…and sees people getting dismembered left and right by gauntlets. You didn’t expect a normal “hurdles” race, did you? They’re trying to “accidentally” kill Ganta, so of course they ramped up the difficulty.

Ganta makes it through bungee jumping, archers and pits of either acid with the help of the always smiling Shiro to the halfway point. Out of nowhere it hits him like a ton of bricks – he is trapped here following the prison rules until he dies. He is forced to atone for a crime he didn’t commit for the rest of his life, being jerked around like a puppet on a string. Shiro is a free spirit and sees no point in following rules, which is enough to give Ganta the strength to at least press on to survive until the end.

Only Ganta, Shiro and Mr. Martial Arts Douche make it to the final stage. The object of the game is to be the one holding the beach ball when time runs out, while avoiding falling floor panels that give way to a forest of spikes. No one’s getting up from that kind of fall. Ganta miraculously catches the ball first, and he runs around like a frenzied weasel trying to escape. When he’s cornered he panics…but then gets a hold of himself and throws the ball in his attacker’s face so Shiro can catch it.

That’s pretty much the end for the Tae kwon Do master, who gets impaled by the bed of spikes. Ganta rushes to Shiro’s platform, where she’s barely hanging on. He realizes that she’s been protecting him the entire time at the exact moment her platform disappears and sends her tumbling down to her demise. She tries to give Ganta the ball, but he chooses to save her instead of winning those points. He calculates that he’s going to die tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter as long as he feels he did the right thing.

IIII WAAAAANT CAAAANNNDY~:

Simultaneously the best and worst ramen commercial in existence

…And now you know I have a thing for both bandages and guys with hair covering one eye.

L’oreal shampoo? I’m an Herbal Essences man, personally.

Deadman Wonderland: Blood, gore, suffering…and sometimes chickens

End Thoughts: Episode 2 and Deadman is still looking as good as ever. Emotional turmoil? Check. Gore? Check…sort of. Action? Check. Shiro being adorable? It’s all there. Imagine how glorious it will be once those black miasma censor clouds disappear and we get to see death by acid, spikes, arrows, electrocution, guillotine and bungee cord all in one episode. That is one brutal dog race. It’s a wonder they still have a decent amount of prisoners. I know they upped the difficulty for this one, but is every match to get points this deadly? Or is this prison just full of so many sacrificial lambs that their sources of entertainment will never run out? Whatever the case, I’m amazed these spectators actually know that the people in the race are criminals and STILL think it’s just “special effects.” That is just creepy. Did you see the number of spectators too? My God.

I really hope Ganta has a mini breakdown every episode, because I love watching them. Deadman does such a good job of conveying genuine feelings of oppression and despair without making Ganta seem like a crybaby. I can’t get enough of the deadly atmosphere! The music really helps set the mood too. (That OP is just…UNF…so good.) I love his reaction to just about everything, especially how disgusted he was at himself for being bullied by a tae-kwon-do champ. He had to sacrifice his pride a bit to stay alive in the moment, but he hated it. He is repulsed by so many things going on, but he always finds a reason to push through anyways. I love that inner conflict.

How the hell is Shiro so cheerful? There is no way she’s oblivious to all the death surrounding her, because she protects Ganta throughout the entire race. She knows the consequences of messing up. My only guess is that it’s her coping mechanism to NOT go batshit in this hellhole. Although she probably already is a mess if she’s going around acting like that. Emo fringe guy seems nice, but he’s basically a traitor who leaks information…I don’t know what the Director of the prison is planning and why he’s so focused on Ganta, but it can’t be good.

Preview: We all knew the main character couldn’t die so quickly. The thing Yoh wanted to give Ganta before the Dog Race must have been the candy he gives Ganta in the preview. More explanations and plans for the next contest are most likely abound, with some Shiro cuteness to keep any nightmares the show may cause at bay. See you next week~

“Sorry I don’t take candy from strangers” “It’s Melon  flavoured” “FUCK YES, MELON”

About

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
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40 Responses to “Deadman Wonderland – 02”

  1. umi_no_mizu says:

    Shiro has to be somewhat insane for not flinching at the 24/7 bloodbath going on around her o_O on the other hand Ganta is kind of an idiot for not questioning why the heck everyone was telling him to eat candy… although everyone in DW is crazy so i suppose he just passed it off as everyone having a candy-obsession?

    and that op was awesommmeee! even the random ab-flexing at the end somewhat fit in >_>

    • Overcooled says:

      There’s definitely something wrong with that snowy little head of hers….<_< You wouldn't think the candies would be a life or death situation normally. I mean...poison form the collars? No one would guess that. He should have asked why the hell everyone was so insistent though at the very least >_< I am always up for some muscle flexing...Heh.

    • Namika says:

      This means that Shiro is actually very cruel and twisted inside. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!

      That’s what yanderes are all about – cute on the outside, vicious on the inside *,*

  2. Namika says:

    This is so good :3 I want more, RIGHT NAO phrase stealer!

    Ganta was so adorable, when he yelled at that walking wardrobe guy!! *O* *fangirls* But I’m hating that director more and more >_<"

    • Overcooled says:

      Me too! I don’t think Ganta can be adorable when he’s suffering that much, haha, but I’m glad he stood up to him.

      • Namika says:

        This shows how much of a sadist I am xD Though I meant the moment when he stood up to him. He’s much smaller and weaker than that guy, but the determination and spiritual force(sounds terrible, I know xD) coming from him made me “DAAAAAAW~!” deep inside my heart <3

        I know, I'm making no sense 😀

  3. Mad Chemist says:

    Dang, what is it with people stepping on Yoh? Man just can’t catch a break.

    I’m enjoying this show so far, despite the censorship. I cam here expecting crazy violence and sadistic assholery, and that’s exactly what I’ve gotten. Can’t wait to see the next episode, and I’ll definitely be buying the DVDs if they ever get localized- if I can see any series improving without the censorship, it’s this one.

    • Overcooled says:

      I feel bad for the guy. Kinda.

      The spirit of violence is still there and we get to see the emotional scars left by the censored violence, so it still delivers in that sense. But it would so much better without the censors ahhhh…I can’t wait for the uncut version!

      • Mad Chemist says:

        ikr? Part of the appeal of the series is definitely the ludicrous violence, and while I’m happy it’s all there under that ink and glare, I am looking forward to all that disappear for even more delightful ultraviolence. This show definitely has the most potential this season for scratching that particular itch.

  4. Hime says:

    Whoa the humor in this episode was soooo out of place.

    But besides that HOLYMYGODJESUSDSSJFNSFJSNFS was episode 2 wonderful. Starting with the OP…IT WAS DAMN SEXY. And the song! THE SONG IS SO BADDASS. I’m using too many inflections.

    Poor Yoh, I had to laugh that he gets beat up so much, he is the prison snitch after all. Ganta was dead cute this episode, he has some adorable expressions while still being badass. The scene where the dude made him laugh was so hard to watch ><!!!!

    The censoring was so annoying! But the whole race was AMAZING regardless. So much action and bloodshed! I love it!~~~

    • Hime says:

      Oh NOW it posts my comment! Once I’ve already typed another one!

      • Overcooled says:

        I went to go save it (as well as delete like 20 Yu-Gi-Oh! spam comments. wtf). If your comment doesn’t post just wait…One of us will get to it and save it from the spam filter XD But we WILL save it, so it’s not gone.

        Yeah, I don’t like humour in my Deadman Wonderland. Just…don’t even try. Stick to your guns and keep it bloody. (Well, as bloody as it can be without censors). I loved the scene where he was forced to laugh, he looks so petrified…It was so tense, I thought he was gonna get beaten up big time >_< That OP absolutely floored me. I NEED THE FULL VERSION ON MY IPOD.

  5. BlackBriar says:

    Good episode. Sounds like a combination of Olympics and Death Race. The spectators who are enjoying the carnage must direct descendants of ancient Romans. Though I have admit that I, myself, am enjoying it. I like seeing Ganta’s expression of despair.

    Maybe Shiro is cheerful because she’s been there for so long and finally snapped and loving the blood and gore.

    And as for Yoh. If he keeps that attitude, you can be sure that he won’t last much longer. Weasels like him have a short life expectancy.

    • Overcooled says:

      Death combined with any sport is always fun to watch. No matter the decade, people can’t tear their eyes away from tragedies. I’m really enjoying this myself <3

      Shiro might actually love the gore, poor thing. Or at least, trick herself into thinking she likes it so her life isn't as horrible. All I know is her head isn't screwed on quite right <_<

      • BlackBriar says:

        Ganta’s gonna be beyond therapy if he stays locked up in that madhouse of an amusement park. He’s slowly losing who he is. He’s already accepted the fact that he’s going to die. It’s only the second episode and I’m already sick of that spineless lawyer. They should put in the prison instead. I’d love to see him breakdown.

  6. Dan-go says:

    A character as happy as Shiro has to have a dark past, there’s no way she’d be as one dimensional as just that happy crazy girl, cant wait to see what happens :3

  7. Elyon says:

    Oh my god, I just noticed that Shiro is wearing a one-piece suit. I thought she was nekkid this whole time. O_O
    I kind of found it a bit unbelievable that this stupid kid managed to survive when like everyone else died except that one guy even with Shiro protecting him, but meh, I guess that’s just shounen for you. :/
    So far Yoh is my favorite. I too enjoy bandages and long emo hair. XD

    • Overcooled says:

      LOL When I saw all the promo art I thought she was naked at first too, but I knew she couldn’t be COMPLETELY naked.

      The only reason Ganta survived is because Shiro saved him multiple times. Still, you would think more than 3 people would make it to the end…and that 2 little kids wouldn’t be among the final 3. SHOUNEN ANIME, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN. DON’T QUESTION IT.

      I’m so charmed by Yoh’s looks i don’t care that he’s a snitch XD As long as he keeps having to wear those bandages…

      • BlackBriar says:

        I don’t think that anyone has told this to Yoh yet. In prison, snitches are not long for this world. That place is a madhouse. You mess with the bull, you get the horns.

        • Overcooled says:

          It doesn’t even seem like his snitching is paying off, considering even Makina slashed him meanwhile she let the tae kwon do master off easy. :/ Poor guy probably won’t last long.

  8. amado says:

    I heard that in the manga, at this point, Show ▼

    now im interested in the manga.

    • Overcooled says:

      Yeah, I also heard they skipped the introduction of a character to get to this part, so maybe it was her? Whatever the case, they skipped SOMEthing, but I’ll see when I go read the manga afterwards.

  9. cassi says:

    Wow episode 2 was even better than the first! I adore the score and the opening!!!

  10. MikADo says:

    OMGGG Hanazawa is so good at acting shiro XD
    I think it was a great choice XD
    BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD i want moar BLOOD plox : D

  11. Eri says:

    I just noticed but… completely white eyelashes; is that even possible? maybe Shiro’s using too much mascara ._.

  12. Kyokai says:

    …And now you know I have a thing for both bandages and guys with hair covering one eye.

    HHNNNGGG…. Go, watch, Kara no Kyoukai movies NAOOOOOO! You will not be disappointed. There’s a megane hottie, which would make your day. Not to mention enough blood and gore to please anyone.

    Coming to Deadman, mannn… I’m loving this. The OP had me all up in a twirl. SO GOOD. Just became the newest fan of fade. I’m liking all the characters and plot twists (Makina is my favourite). If this continues, my holy trinity of this season would be disturbed… =3=

    • Overcooled says:

      But Kyokai, I’ve seen all of them…! =O Back when I first joined Metanorn!

      Deadman just keeps getting better, the OP was just the icing on the bloody cake XD Haha. The holy trinity is becoming unbalanced!

  13. Foshizzel says:

    That OP SO AWESOMEEEEE

    Great episode extreme ninja warrior was nuts! Good thing Ganta has Shiro around or he would have got owned. great stuff so far lots of blood, still wanting to know what Shiro did to end up there maybe she caused everyone to go insane and kill themselves? XD Nessa overload probably.

    • Overcooled says:

      I KNOWWWWWWWUHHHHH

      Ganta wouldn’t have gotten far without Shiro’s amazing acrobatics, that’s for sure. He still did pretty well for a shrimp though, I guess.

      Let’s see Ness…er..Shiro’s dark past!

  14. Dan-go says:

    i have a feeling yoh is going to give him a candy, cuz he mentioned something beforehand, also the boss guy no longer wants him dead… i love the gradual decline into insanity of the people around, the various stages of development going on, and you get to see it firsthand in ganta. maybe i’m just sick, but it’s like Othello, Heart of Darkness or Lord of the flies, i love that gradual decline of the people we are under the intense strain of isolation. And then Shiro just acts as this MASSIVE contrast point to the rest, the happy almost deluded shiro just makes the rest of them look even more disgusting. oh and i love the bgm that comes on right before the race, it gives a decent sense of epicness

    • Namika says:

      You couldn’t say this more perfectly, I swear O_O

    • Overcooled says:

      The preview shows what looks like Yoh giving him a candy, so I’m with you on that one.

      Everyone is fascinated by madness on a certain level. It’s just so strange and entrancing. I love that slow descent into madness as well~ Shiro makes a good contrast in her happy mode, definitely. Secretly she’s probably just as bad (or worse) than them though, she just has an incredible coping mechanism.

      The music for Deadman is so PERFECT!

  15. […] “I really hope Ganta has a mini breakdown every episode, because I love watching them. Deadman does such a good job of conveying genuine feelings of oppression and despair without making Ganta seem like a crybaby. I can’t get enough of the deadly atmosphere!” – Metanorn […]

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