DVD Corner

Deadman Wonderland- The Complete Series DVD Review

“Deadman Wonderland” starts out strong with the first episode, but it never quite lives up to its potential.

After a powerful person decked out in red slaughters every high school class member but Ganta, Ganta (a high school teen) is charged with the murders. His punishment? To go to Deadman Wonderland, a prison/amusement park run by prisoners. While there, he encounters a mysterious and strange kick-ass girl named Shiro. The bulk of the 12 episode series involves: Ganta learning the rules of the prison (ala the candy, cast points and deadly games), an exploration of the “Red Man” and Shiro’s characters, prison secrets, Ganta wanting revenge against the person in red who landed him in jail, Ganta getting powers like the “Red Man,” Tamaki (the crazy assistant prison warden), the Scar Chain (a group of prisoners who want to destroy the prison), exposition about the Branch of Sin powers, fights between criminals, Genkauki and the Undertakers (who are anti-prisoners), and an introduction of various prisoners like Senji, Yo, the mean Kazumasi, Yo’s wicked sister Minatsuko, and another person with powers. An OVA prequel is also included which revolves around Senji as a police officer.

After viewing the pilot episode, I thought I was going to be in for quite a ride. After all, the pilot not only had a great story hook, but it was nasty and fast paced. I appreciated the fact that it was very adult and I wanted to see what would happen next with Ganta and who the “Red Man” really was. Unfortunately, ‘Wonderland’ never manages to capture the imagination, intensity and creativity of that first episode.

While billed as ‘the complete series,’ ‘Wonderland’ feels decidedly incomplete and rushed. Without getting into spoiler territory, it feels like some of the primary characters (Shiro namely) aren’t explored enough. The writers could have dug deeper into her character especially considering how crucial she is to the storyline.

The other major issue is the prison itself. With the first episode, I marveled at the unique concept of a prison/amusement park. Alas, the writers also really fail to utilize this interesting setting as the stories are often more concerned with fights and character confrontations. Additionally, the more you think about the prison, the more baffling it is. How does this prison even continue to stay in business let alone operate with all of the fights and powers being displayed? The prison is out of control and it makes less and less sense the more you think about it.   

Video/Audio:

The series, which is presented in widescreen, is a visual feast. With sharp colors and impressive direction, fans should be pleased by this DVD transfer.

This set contains English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Japanese Stereo tracks. The English track is skippable as Greg Ayres gives a profoundly annoying voice acting performance as Ganta. The Japanese track is definitely the one to listen to here as the voice acting is simply better all around.

Extras:
* Trailers for “Mass Effect: Paragon Lost,” “Hellsing,” “Gantz,” ‘Ergo Proxy,” “Ga-Rei-Zero,” “Lost Girl,” “Panty And Stocking With Garterbelt,” “Black Lagoom” “Sengoku Basara,” and Funimation.com.
* Commentary on episode 6 by Leah Clark and Aaron Dismuke. The two curse, joke around, and don’t have much to say at all.
* An irritating commentary on episode 12 by Greg Ayres and the giddy Monica Rial. The two mostly talk about characters.
* 2 textless opening songs and 1 textless closing song.
* U.S. trailer, 3 commercials, and 3 promo videos for “Deadman Wonderland.”
* A U.S. video commentary for episode 7 by Joel McDonald, Greg Ayres, Monica Rial and Leah Clark. I don’t know why, but this video commentary seems to be more entertaining than the average U.S. audio commentary. They still don’t go into great depth into anything, but it’s more enjoyable to watch. It also helps that this track is raunchier and more adult than usual as well. 

Summary: I really wanted to like “Deadman Wonderland,” but it’s more frustrating than anything else. It might be worth a rent, but that’s about it

February 11, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Deadman Wonderland- The Complete Series DVD Review