Ganta Igarashi (五十嵐 丸太)

“Life hurts, you think we don’t know that? But some of us choose to go on regardless. Some of us don’t have time to die cause people count on us to survive.” – Ganta Igarashi

Ganta Igarashi is the main character of the anime Deadman Wonderland. His birth name is Maruta, and he is the son of Sorae Igarashi.

Interestingly, Ganta was conceived as part of his mother’s research, which involved human experimentation. However, after giving birth to him, Sorae’s maternal instincts began to awaken, and she started to question her original intentions.

While in the maternity ward, Sorae met with a man named Hagire Rinichirō, who was thrilled at the prospect of continuing his research—planning to use Ganta as a test subject.

But Sorae had a change of heart. She made a plan with her lab assistant—who is implied to be Ganta's father—to escape with Ganta. To protect him, she arranged for another child to take his place as the test subject. That child was Shiro.

Ganta and Shiro eventually met and became close friends, as they both lived at the research facility. Ganta, however, had no idea about the horrific experiments Shiro endured at the hands of Hagire and even his own mother.

One day, while looking for Shiro to play, Ganta accidentally stumbled upon the room where the experiments took place. There, he witnessed the brutal massacre of several scientists. Horrified and traumatized, he ran away in fear.

The chaos had been caused by the "Wretched Egg"—Shiro’s violent second personality, born from the pain and trauma she experienced. Fearing for Ganta's safety, Sorae sent him away with his father and pleaded with him to forget what happened to Shiro. Due to the psychological shock, Ganta seemingly lost all memory of her anyway.

From there, Ganta started a new life. He moved in with his father, enrolled in a new school, and made new friends—unaware of the dark past he had left behind.

“I won’t go down without a fight. Like hell I’ll give up!” – Ganta Igarashi

At first glance, Ganta doesn’t seem all that impressive. With his round, baby-like face, bluish-grey eyes, and short black hair, he looks every bit like an average 14-year-old boy. He’s not particularly tall and has a slender build, which only adds to his youthful appearance.

To make matters more relatable, Ganta is often seen crying throughout the series—a sign of just how sensitive and emotionally expressive he is. These moments add to his “baby-faced” image and remind us of his young age.

But don’t let that fool you! Just because he looks soft on the outside doesn’t mean he backs down easily. When faced with a challenge, Ganta gives it everything he’s got and fights with all his strength. He might not look tough, but his determination says otherwise.

“If you can’t see what’s important, then it’s because you’re too ashamed to open your eyes.” – Ganta Igarashi

At the start of Deadman Wonderland, Ganta comes across as just a regular, harmless schoolboy. But everything changes when he’s thrown into the brutal world of the prison. Suddenly, he’s terrified and confused, forced to navigate a chaotic place where survival means living with constant fear and madness.

After witnessing the horrific murder of his classmates at the hands of the Red Man, Ganta’s character takes a sharp turn toward vengeance. He becomes determined to seek justice for their deaths, fueling his resolve to fight back.

When Ganta is sent to the G-ward, his fear and confusion only grow. Now, he’s forced to battle other prisoners in deadly “punishment games” created by a man named Tamaki—all for the twisted entertainment of others. During moments of intense emotion, Ganta sometimes loses control, acting irrationally and even lashing out with harsh words or actions.

At one point, Ganta falls into a deep depression after learning that a close friend has died.

He begins to lose hope—until Senji steps in with some hard-earned wisdom: fear only traps you in endless circles; it’s not a way to live.

With this new perspective, Ganta realizes he can’t change the past, but he can shape his future.

“If you’re gonna kill me, then kill me. If you’re gonna execute me, stop waiting. Until then, I live by my own rules!” – Ganta Igarashi

One thing Ganta is truly passionate about is his friends and allies.

As the story unfolds, it’s revealed that Ganta has strong feelings of love for Shiro—and she feels the same way about him. This adds a complicated twist because Ganta now faces the heartbreaking possibility of having to confront—and maybe even fight—Shiro, due to the dangerous split personality she developed called the Wretched Egg.

Luckily, his friend Senji steps in with some wise advice: Ganta can’t give up on Shiro without first trying to understand her. After all, everyone has their reasons for the choices they make.

Taking this to heart, Ganta learns the truth about Shiro’s painful past after Hagire’s death, which helps him see how he can save her from herself.

By the end of the anime, Ganta’s personality has grown a lot. He’s learned to face the chaos and irrationality of his life—not by losing his fear, but by gaining the courage to look fear in the eye.

“It doesn’t matter whether this world is crazy or not. It doesn’t matter if this absurdity is real. It doesn’t matter how messed up this place may be… I want to survive.” – Ganta Igarashi

What can we learn from Ganta?

First, never judge someone just by their actions. Everyone has a story behind what they do, and understanding that story might open the door to helping them. Before reacting, take a moment to reflect and try to see things from their perspective.

Second, when faced with something scary, it’s okay to feel fear. You don’t have to push it away—instead, acknowledge it and move forward anyway. Often, it’s through facing our fears that we discover just how much we’re truly capable of.

So don’t let fear hold you back. Use it as a stepping stone to climb even higher!

What do you think about Ganta? We’d love to hear your thoughts—drop a comment below!