Deadman Wonderland: Akai Knife Tsukai

Deadman Wonderland: Akai Knife Tsukai (2011 OVA)

A story about Kiyomasa Senji as an OVA to give the history of his being a cop prior to being in Deadman Wonderland.

The story is a single episode that covers a fair amount. It covers how he was rough in his past and was taken in by an old cop who made him into a cop in turn. Some people don't respect him due to his past but they are corrupt cops. The team he works with all like him and are good guys. He seems to have a love interest Hinata who is part of him expanding ... his power through the tragedy that follows.

We also see that some 'Sins' apply to more than one person which would make sense.

The episode is a really good addition. I watched after meeting him in the main series as to provide more background. It is like the main series in that its a great one. Also, have to love that ending song every time it is played.

This is a mini-review since it's roughly 30 minutes long, and there are some minor spoilers.

There's not a lot to say about this one. It's a short OVA that focuses mostly on Senji and his days as a police officer before he got sent to Deadman Wonderland. It reveals some backstory, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem of Deadman's story being criminally incomplete. It's backstory and nothing else. It's got some of Deadman's trademark action, yes, and it's always fun, but this OVA isn't much at all.

I technically have this rated a tick or so higher than the full series, though that's less due to any particular strength displayed by by this, and more to the disappointing ineptitude of the series. I probably wouldn't have even bothered watching it if I knew it wasn't officially a part of the first series (it's added on digital platforms—itunes, anyway—as a 13th episode). Which probably describes why most people (now, anyway) watch this: They don't realize the series ended with episode 12. (Pro-tip: If your viewers don't know the series is over, you've probably fumbled the narrative.)

(MAL's review system demands I add more words ... here, but this isn't worth more words. Is this enough? Let's find out...)