This week in Anime News we have a first look at the Japanese premier of Deadman Wonderland and an announcement of the upcoming release of Eden of the East‘s post-series film, The King of Eden.

First up: Deadman Wonderland.

This Spring in Japan has been full of the usual, extremely-long list of premiers that people have to really sift through to see what’s going to stand out. I’ve been going through the lists that some of my Japanese friends compiled (plus my own list) over the past couple of weeks to figure out what will be best to watch. My first must-see on the list was X Men, which is proving to get better each week, and next up is Deadman Wonderland.

After seeing the first episode, I can definitely say that someone is going to end up picking this up for US distribution. The show has got that successful balance of crazy and intriguing anime plot going on that is well received in both Japanese and international markets. My personal reception of this series is that its refusal to shy away from violence and gore, while actually conveying a deeper plot, will really make it stand out this year. It touches on themes of sci-fi, horror and suspense while providing us with an entertaining look into the supernatural, high-tech prison that is Deadman Wonderland. This fictional version of Tokyo’s future is dark and ominous!

Check out this great trailer from Kodokawa! – “Deadman Wonderland Promotion Trailer”

And now, for a review of episode one with some light spoilers (these spoilers are in all the advertising for the show so they’re not really spoilers. Feel free to read on.).

The story surrounds a boy named Ganta, who in the first few minutes of episode one sees his entire middle school class get annihilated by the “Red Man.” Before leaving the scene of his violent crime, the Red Man tosses the head of a decapitated classmate and turns to plant a large red shard in the center of Ganta’s chest. Since Ganta is the only one left alive in this horrific room of gore and debris, the police decide that all available evidence points to him as the culprit. A mysterious video showing Ganta’s “confession” of the crime also surfaces during his trial, but it is still unknown how this video came into being. (I sure do find it suspicious that Ganta’s defense lawyer in the trial seems to have some part in the operation of Deadman Wonderland, don’t you?)

After being sentenced to death, Ganta is taken to Deadman Wonderland – a privately owned amusement park that has been built up over what used to be a part of Tokyo (which was abandoned due to a devastating earthquake). In Deadman Wonderland, prisoners are sentenced to carry out their days entertaining guests in what appear to be insane-looking sideshows.  They are forced to wear taser-linked, GPS and RFID tagged collars around their necks. Prisoners can also be sentenced to death at any time by an injection of toxins through these collars. As for the owners of the prison – they’re obviously shady individuals and we are meant to be suspicious of them from the beginning. (This is no surprise. Anime writers usually don’t seem to care if you recognize right off who the villains are going to be.)

So far, I just can’t help but feel terrible for Ganta. He’s so grief-stricken over the loss of his friends, and to be blamed for their murder seems to be sending him over the deep end. There is an especially gripping scene in the courtroom where the father of Ganta’s late friend Mimi jumps over the benches and starts beating Ganta senseless – all while he pleads with him that he didn’t kill his friends. By the end of the episode, I feel like maybe Ganta is going to go on a power-hungry rampage to get revenge on the Red Man, but it’s not yet clear what direction they’re going to take for him to try to achieve this task. All we know is that he’s got a red shard in his chest that has given him some kind of special powers…and that will make this show very interesting in the episodes to come!

My overall review – I think this will turn out to be a good watch. The animation is crisp and looks great in HD, and the story does a good job of kicking in during the first episode. Fans of horror and thriller anime will want to make this a must-see for later 2011 when the show will undoubtedly get brought over.

We’ll be sure to let you know here on Big Shiny Robot as soon as we get word about the US distribution rights for Deadman Wonderland.

Next up: Eden of the East: The King of Eden.

I haven’t gotten a chance to watch The King of Eden yet because I’m just now finishing up the series (and I refuse to expose myself to the spoilers that will come from watching this movie), but I can tell you that, judging from what I’ve seen in the series, this film probably be awesome. Eden of the East has rapidly climbed my list of all-time anime favorites.

Check out this fantastic trailer from Funimation for the Complete Series:

“Nobilesse Oblige: I pray for you continuing service as a savior,” – is one of my favorite lines from the series. The concept behind the show – that a rich, anonymous individual can force 12 people to become “saviors of the world” or die by his hand – makes it one of the best series to come out in many years. Some people call it a Bourne Identity rip-off, but I say look a little closer and you’ll really enjoy this series. Look for my upcoming review of the Eden of the East series soon here on BSR.

Check out the new film, The King of Eden here on Funimation’s website. It hits shelves on April 24th.

You can watch the Eden of the East series on Netflix streaming and pick up the DVD or Blu-ray set over here through Funimation.

Stay tuned to BSR for all your Geek News and Anime Updates!