Deadman Walking

Story Line
Framed and convicted for the murders of his co-workers, Yoshiya is sentenced to imprisonment in the infamous jail/amusement park: The Golden Land. He is beaten down by the wardens called 'witches' and learns of the 'gangs' within the Golden Land. Confused by his circumstances and loathing the cruelty of the prison, Yoshiya seeks to prove his innocence and survive.

He later finds that in order to avoid his 'execution' from the collar stuck on his neck, he must buy 'candy' which is an antidote only good for 3 days per candy. And to get 'creds' to buy the candy, Yoshiya has to compete in the Furniture Attractions: cruel and dangerous 'games' that could very well kill him. Except, he is pulled from the Attractions to the Matches--one on one private battles where people bet on the winner. When he is forced into the arena, he is called 'Kanon' rather than his true name. Left with no choice, Kanon has to fight and ends up victorious because of his ability to summon a blade of light--an ability he was unaware of.

Because of his 'special ability', he is moved to a different wing and meets his cellmates, Keiichi and Battler, the latter seems to know the system of The Golden Land inside and out and often 'debates' with one of the wardens, Beatrice. Unfortunately, because of his underdog status, demand for Kanon becomes so intense, Keiichi comments that he's never seen such a demand since the Wizard Hunter or Death Sentence Dlanor.

Unable to refuse the Matches, Kanon continues to fight and finds it sickening at his 'cowardice' of clinging so closely to life. And it only mortifies him further that he may have developed an alternate personality that enjoys massacring. Knowing he has to prove himself before he loses his sanity, Kanon finds help in the most unlikely of places: SSVD, Eiserne Jungfrau, and Himazawa--the top 'gangs' of the Golden Land.

With a secretive conspiracy underway, will Kanon be able to take back his freedom? Will he learn why he has these powers or why he was locked up? Or will the Witches and Yamainu prove too powerful to stop?

Yasuda Yoshiya (Kanon)
Yoshiya was framed with mass murder of his co-workers and sentenced to life in the Golden Land. Terrified and disgusted by the 'ruling' of the prison, Yoshiya wants to prove his innocent. He finds out he is 'popular' with both the wardens and the gangs of the prison. In the Death Matches, he is referred to as Kanon

Wright Willard (Wizard Hunter)
Will is the leader of the SSVD, a gang of all male advanced furniture. He is the first friendly face Yoshiya meets in the prison and invites him into the gang. Dlanor, Eiserne Jungfrau's leader, is a good friend of his and it is revealed that Will also was Toshiaki's mentor before he became a demon. Will doesn't know of the secret purpose of the Golden Land but continues to investigate it.

Knox Dlanor (Death Sentence Dlanor)
Dlanor is the head of the Eiserne Jungfrau, the female counterpart to SSVD. She has yet to make a physical appearance in the series but has been stated she is friends with Will.

Beatrice
Beatrice is a witch, or warden, of the Golden Land. She's considered one of the more 'kinder' of the witches in the prison. The witch seems to be fond of Battler because of their banter.

Lorelei
A witch within the Golden Land. She is infamous in the prison and holds a higher position than Beatrice, since she refers to Lore as "Lady Lorelei". It appears she is enjoys luring furniture into false security before revealing ehr sadistic nature. Lorelei also likes male prisoners to tease.

Ushiromiya Battler (Golden Sorcerer)
Battler is an advanced furniture that resides in SSVD and is supposed to room with Yoshiya. He appears to act familiar with all the female wardens--particularly Beatrice. It is unknown how he ended up in the prison, but as Will has told Yoshiya: most of the prisoners were framed for their crimes. In reality, unbeknownst to everyone, Battler is actually a warden that ranks above most, including Beatrice and Lorelei. He knows of the real intentions of the Golden Land and has dropped 'hints' for the gangs of the prison to find.

Bastian
Bastian is the youngest demon of the Golden Land. He is partnered with Toshiaki, who is only 6 years his senior (since most demons are older than both), whom he secretly treats like an older sibling. Unlike many furniture in the Golden Land, Bastian actually killed people before entering. It is unknown why he began killing because his parents cut his tongue so thus he cannot speak.

Kazuhiko Toshiaki
Toshiaki is the second youngest demon of the Golden Land, but he holds the most kill count than any inmate (furniture or demon). His partner is Irvine, who he likens to a younger brother. And like his partner, he actually killed prior to entering the Golden Land. It is also revealed that before his sentence to the Golden Land, Toshiaki was Yoshiya's senpai, who often took him out when Yoshiya was short on money.

Setting
Deadman Walking takes place in the Golden Land, a high security prison and amusement park. It is set up with six wings of a prison that is shaped like a butterfly. Three of the wings of occupied by three seperate gangs; SSVD, Eiserne Jungfrau, and Hinamizawa. The walls are metallic or white. There are security cameras that cover the expansion of the hallways and the major interaction areas of the furniture. All furniture have their own cell however they are usually left unlocked--as most of the security are on floors above the furniture's housing--that can be decorated on the whims of the owner. The security floor is above the priosners where there are hundreds of monitors to watch furniture's activities as well as housing for the demons, furniture turned wardens (since wardens live away from the prison).

Unknown to all furniture and most staff (except the best wardens), there is a seventh sector of the Golden Land that is completely devoted to studying furniture's unsual abilities. It is also a sector that tries to create ways to make more aggressive, possessing advanced ability, and submissive furniture. Only few of the people know the true intentions of the Golden Land and those that do...are apart of it, coerced into silence, or dead.

Trivia

 * Deadman Walking was inspired by the series "Deadman Wonderland".
 * The title Deadman Walking refers to the first chapter/episode title of "Deadman Wonderland'.
 * Rather than being called 'deadmen', the prisoners are referred to a 'furniture', a shout out to Umineko no Naku Koro Ni.
 * The reseachers are called 'Yamainu', a tribute to Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni.