Gantz

Posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 10:12 by animesempai

Summary:

Gantz is a manga and anime series written by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of a teenager named Kei Kurono who dies in a train accident and becomes part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which he and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens. The missions they embark upon are often dangerous. Many die--again--on each mission, but others replace them in the same manner as Kei Kurono's appearance.

Story: 10

When a pair of high school students (Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato) are seemingly run over by a subway train, after saving the life of a homeless drunk who had fallen onto the tracks. Following their untimely deaths, Kei and Masaru find themselves transported — alive and well — along with a number of people who have also just died, to the interior of an unfurnished Tokyo condominium from which the Tokyo Tower may be seen - and none of them are able to leave. At one end of the room is a featureless black sphere we later learn is called "Gantz". After a short amount of time, a postwar Japanese exercise radio begins to play from the sphere. By way of green text that appears on the surface of the sphere, Gantz informs those present that their lives have ended. The following words appear on the black sphere's surface: "Your lives have ended. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. That's the theory, anyway." (The ADV translations have it as "Your lives are over, you bastards. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. So there you have it.") The sphere then opens up to reveal suits that, when worn, amplify the user's attributes, such as strength, speed and agility. Along with the suits are various high-tech weapons with different uses for different situations. Next, information on the Gantz Targets appear on the surface of the sphere, shortly before the Gantz Team are transported to the location of the mission.In addition to the weapons, suits, and scanners, Gantz holds what appears to be a muscle-bound bald man on life support in the center of the ball. The true identity and purpose of this man is never revealed; but there has been no small amount of implication that he is in some way responsible for the running of the game, selecting players, scoring the individual players' performance, and monitoring the team both during missions and during the 'off hours' in between.

Animation: 9.5

Add into the fact that the animation is powerhoused by the renowned Gonzo studio, what results is a masterfully crafted series with a solid storyline, intriguing characters, and something that's as appealing to the senses as it is to the mind. After all, what better way to get fanboys to drool over a property than throw in the Gonzo name, wrapped up in a shiny package of pseudo-psychoanalysis? The characters are just as pleasing on the eyes, and all-around, it's just a show ready and waterproofed for fandom drool.

Music: 10

What really sets Gantz apart from other alien slaughter fests is the way that it's presented. The atmosphere is aided by a pumping soundtrack, ranging from a catchy hip hop intro to creepy background music. It's just as variegated and disjointed as the show, which really brings out the flavor of the story. Switching lightly between generic “Action! And Adventure!” guitar riffs and eerie chanting, followed up with traces of trance, the music is absolutely fascinating. ??????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ????? http://www.ripslyme.com ?????? ???? ????? ???????????? ???? http://www.bonniepink.jp

Characters: 9.5

K U R O N O Kei ---- The story's protagonist, a 10th grader. He is summoned by Gantz, along with Kato, after being hit by a subway train in an effort to help a hobo who passes out on the tracks. In the beginning, he is a rather selfish character who often ends up being the reluctant hero. Gantz initially refers to Kurono as "Bitch" and "Loser," K I S H I M O T O Kei --- Kishimoto first appears naked in the Apartment as her death involved slitting her wrists while in a bathtub. Kurono has a deep crush on her, but she herself has a crush on Masaru Kato; she even sacrifices her life in an attempt to save his in the Buddha Temple mission.Gantz calls her by the names "Boiled eggs", "Titz" and "Miss Melons" due to her fairly large breasts. M A S A R U Kato --- He is an old friend of Kurono. He is a noble and heroic person and was inspired by the Kei-chan he knew as a boy. At school, he acts as a guardian to the weaker students who often find themselves bullied, getting himself a bit of a reputation for fighting. He is summoned, along with Kurono, by Gantz. Gantz addresses him as "Kat?-cha", after the Japanese comedian, Kat?cha. M A S A N O B U Houjou --- He is a former model who dies after being hit by a truck driver who falls asleep. His face is rather similar to Kurono's except for slightly different hair styles. At his time of death, his stalker, Sadako, is on the back of the bike he borrows to escape her. S U Z U M U R A Sadayo --- She is a stalker of Masanobu Hojo's. She dies after being hit by a truck driver who falls asleep. Her nickname given by Gantz, "Sadako," is due to her bearing an extremely uncanny and creepy resemblance to the homicidal "ghost" Sadako in the Japanese "Ringu" horror novels and movies. S A K U R A O K A Sei --- Sei is proficient in martial arts and bears a striking resemblance to Lara Croft from Tomb Raider. Since Sei was the first person Kei ever had sex with and because she had a strong attachment to Kurono (asking him to be her boyfriend) J U U Z O U Tougou --- One of the newbies in the Buddha Arc. He is the unnamed sniper who tested the reach and accuracy of the X-Rifle at the beginning of the mission. His tactics (sniping the aliens from a roof with good distance, attack an enemy from behind while hiding in a dead body) suggest that he has significant combat experience (or at least training). J O U I C H I R O U Nishi --- Nishi is a middle-school (8th grade) veteran of the Gantz world, having arrived there over a year before the beginning of the Gantz. While running away from police officers after shoplifting, he fled onto an apartment building roof where he fell to his death. Much like how Kurono started out, he is also selfish and has a Social Darwinist approach to life. Nishi is reluctant to reveal anything about the Gantz or himself, but he runs a web site where he posts information about it (carefully avoiding Gantz's rule about informing outsiders, which would in turn prove fatal).Gantz calls him "Mr. Nishi," which is rather interesting given how informally or derisively he refers to most of the other participants.

Overall: 9.75

Insights into the human psyche, lightened up with the occasional naked girl... Gantz is one of the best shows to come out this past year. There's so much there to tease your mind that it'd almost be a waste to let this slide by. The Rules of the Game Gantz forces them to participate in what at first appears to be a reality game show, in which they hunt aliens who are secretly living in Japan. Gantz provides them with skinsuits that enhance their strength and resistance to injury, special guns, and a small electronic device that serves as a radar of sorts, among other functions. Each participant has a miniature explosive implanted in their brains that prevents them from wandering outside the designated playing field, much like the explosive collars in the series Battle Royale. The designated area is roughly one square kilometer; if the participants cross this boundary or tell anyone of the secrets of Gantz and the apartment, the explosive will detonate. It appears that this trigger only works when the player speaks verbally to someone about it, as Nishi developed a website with written reports of his missions and apparently no harm was done to him because of it. If the players manage to survive the mission, they return to the room in perfect health (even if they were nearly dead or missing limbs). When a player is injured in the game and returns to the room afterwards, he/she will have no memory of what happened after his/her injury and will be standing in the pose he/she was last healthy in. This leads to suspect that Gantz "copies" an entire individual and later "pastes" that into the room rather than restoring an injured individual. Also note that it seems that later in the manga, this copy and paste method is replaced with the characters remembering their own injuries. Those who are killed during the mission do not return to the room. Gantz then tallies individual scores based on kills and sets them free, only to have them return to play another time. Points are awarded according to the number of kills achieved by the player, less points are given if the alien is captured, and no extra points are given for suitless kills. Those who manage to accumulate 100 points are presented with the 100 point menu which list three choices: You will be freed along with your memories erased You will be given an extremely powerful weapon You will be able to revive a human being from the memory.