GANTZ
I see not-dead people!
Review by: M.H. "Man in Black" Torringjan
Length: 26 episodes
Genre: Action
Watched: 26 episodes, subbed
We all know that the anime industry is a bunch of money-grubbing bastards. They release single volume DVD's with four or five episodes on them at 25 bucks a pop (thank god for free fansubs!). Gantz had high expectations of greatness because of the manga it's based off of, which is over 17 volumes long, and the buzz in the fan community about the quality of the story. So, what would any self-respecting company that's releasing it do? Release it over about 11 DVD's with 2 episodes on each for 20 bucks a pop, because they're not imaginative enough to come up with a different price! (Note, they've finally released the 13-episode box-set of the first season, which is more reasonable, while still being fairly highly-priced for a 13-episode season) Thankfully, I ended up obtaining this series and watching it, since it's a pretty darned good watch (just not worth 300 dollars).
Plot summary: Kurono Kei is a pessimistic high-schooler who lives by himself and is glad to leave it that way (although he wouldn't turn down the chance to get laid if it was presented to him). However, one day while coming home from school, he and a childhood friend see a homeless man fall on the subway tracks, and try to save him. While they save the man, they themselves are unable to avoid the train and are killed. They wake up some time later in a non-descript apartment surrounded by other people who say that they've died, as well, and a large black ball who promptly dispenses weapons and tells them to go forth and kick alien ass. Are they all really dead? And can they survive to escape the clutches of the black ball, Gantz?
Artwork: I may have had my expectations of this series built up a little bit high based on the hype it was getting, but I kind of expected something smoother than Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. In reality, this department falls short of my expectations (which shows yet again why I should never expect anything good from anyone). While the artwork itself is pretty and well-done, it's sometimes not all that smooth, and numerous short-cuts are made (cut-aways, motionless shots, et cetera). The backgrounds are well-made, especially the temple arc near the end of the series, and the character designs are very realistic and well-drawn (including the female form, to which abundant attention is paid in the series; and for that, I thank them from the bottom of my... er... heart). I have a problem similar to Elfen Lied in that this series used a lot of bloodshed for shock value, which died down after about the third or fourth episode. They probably expected this, however, in that the amounts and manners of bloodshed increased steadily throughout the series. It may not be Ninja Resurrection bloodshed, but it's more than Elfen Lied on average.
Music: This is one area where I thought they could really use improvement in the series. Some of the tracks are very nice and set the mood well. Some of them are misplaced, and all of them are overused. This is one thing that I've said over and over again, if you want an excellent series, you need an excellent soundtrack (although the question remains that considering the subject material and amount of editing required to get the series on TV, how hard would it be to find an excellent composer to work on it?). The opening track is a techno-hip-hop beat with with a Japanese-Engrish lyrics mix that grew on me after a while, and the closing track is a slower beat set to a scene of the three main characters walking down a street that I wasn't all that motivated to obtain. Overall, not too much interesting going on here besides the opening and closing tracks.
Characters: The three main characters are an interesting, if not original, bunch that fit well to the series and its theme. Kurono Kei is a pessimistic high-schooler who loves staring at women and reading porn (read: very much like Craig and myself). His opinion of humanity is low, and he has very little notivation or a definite sense of morality. However, he often puts forth a visage of civility, much like the rest of the people in the world, which quickly shatters under the pressure of Gantz's game. Masaru Kato is Kei's childhood friend who dies with Kurono in the subway accident. He lives with his evil stepmoth - er... aunt with his younger brother and goes to the low-end school. He always looked up to Kei for his strength and bravery when they were children, and tried to model himself after that when he got to the school. He has a high value on human life and believes that everyone should survive (read: he's a wussy bitch), but this belief also leads him to be unable to pull the trigger on anything. Kishimoto Kei is a young girl who was brought to the apartment by a bathtub suicide attempt. She falls instantly for Kato upon arrival for his soft demeanor and his wish for everyone to survive, but she slowly begins to understand that in order for everyone to survive, they must kill. Very little is explained about Gantz (which I suspect is rectified in the manga), although it is known that he's one sadistic bastard. As for the supporting cast of characters, you really shouldn't get too attached to them, since they either get their heads a-sploded by Gantz or have various body parts forcibly removed by the aliens.
Plot: The plot of this series is a pretty original one, and it's well-written. The characterization is nice, and it evolves during the series very well. The themes aren't the most original (the value of life, the necessity of killing to survive, remaining human in the face of adversity), but the gratuitous killing will almost certainly distract you from that. The only problem with the plot is that it's far too short. While the manga is on hiatus after 23 volumes before starting the second half, the plot of the series only covers up to halfway through volume 10 (with the final five or six episodes not included in the manga), and I certainly wouldn't mind seeing the entirety of this plot on screen (although the series did leave it a bit difficult to continue).
CHICKS!! As mentioned earlier in the review, great attention was paid to the females in this series, and they ended up with two real winners! The first is the main chick of the series, Kishimoto. Her first appearance in the series is stark naked, which gains her points right there. She has a sweet, shy demeanor, but when it comes to fighting, she's willing to do what it takes. She sometimes has self-esteem problems, but she knows what she wants in a man, and is willing to give anything for him. She was drawn with the ideal female form in mind, and her curvy figure is shown off nicely, as well as her abundant rack, both of which are shown off nicely in her spandex suit (mmmm... rubber...). The second chick is Sei Sakuraoka, who shows up later on and is enamored of Kurono. She is decisive and protective, and apparently pretty easy (I mean, really! She wants Kei's sex! The bar has been set very, very low!) She's a bit more mature than Kishimoto and has a figure to prove it. Plus, she rides a motorcycle, and we all know from Golden Boy what a girl can do with a motorcycle!
Overall: Although this series has its down points, many of which are due to my expectations being set high (perhaps unreasonably so), it still makes a very strong presentation. The action sequences are tops, the writing is decent at the worst, and the animation is pretty (although the manga has much better artwork), all of which make this a series worth picking up. Just not at $10.00 per episode. I'd also recommend the manga if you're extremely motivated, since it's an enjoyable read and almost exactly like the anime through its first half.
In a Nutshell:
+ Great action sequences
+ Nicely written
+ Nice artwork
+ My god, the breasts!!
- Music could use some work
- Plot is *much* longer
Final score: 8.5/10
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