"...if you're weak, then don't show your fangs..."

"...I just want to be strong... I want to become so strong that i could blow away what i am now..."

Dark, deeply philosophical, twisted stories have this irresistible charm that can captivate you from the start right down to the end.

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to 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. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland. [from onemanga.com]

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 privately 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 slot machine, removed for research.
[from wikipedia]

Comments for this manga:
well, the series is not yet done but as far as i've read, this is a hell of a manga. eerie settings with a highly disturbing plot.. with a variety of creepy characters to boot.
neck to neck in the dark-n-disturbing-o-meter with Battle Royale.

i suggest this manga. but recall that it's under "Seinen" genre, meaning that it is actually meant for mature audiences. not really adults since not all adults are matured enough...
this is not for the faint-hearted though. xoxo