Gantz

The Gantz anime series is an amalgamation of events that occurred in the first few volumes of the manga. It's an introduction to the Gantz universe and its inhabitants--most notably, the aliens and their human hunters. Like the manga, the anime centers around the growth and emergence of Kurono (Chrono) as a hero and his effort to win and survive at all costs. There's a good deal of sex and violence as well as long stretches of philosophical banter and social critique, but it often comes across as being so self-righteous and ultimately defeatist that most messages would only be appealing to audiences that already had the same beliefs.

The artwork is dark and is true to Oru Hiroya's concepts down to the intricately detailed weapons and power suits. The characters range from the sexually eager and aggressive Kurono, to the gallant Katou, to the buxom Kishimoto. The animation is mostly satisfying. Since Hiroya's artwork uses 3d models for scale and proportion, they can seem stiff and often lack fluidity. That same flaw is evident in the anime as well.

The story is intriguing, at the least, and seems to be inspired by movies such as The Cube. The sci-fi aspects are cool and even I would like to run around in a power suit for a day or two.

Altogether, it has some great ingredients that are marred by plodding progression and preachy characters. The fan-service is there, though not to an excess, but this is certainly not for children or those that are easily offended by violence, gore, or opinions diametrically opposed to your own. It's definitely worth watching and depending on who you are, you might just like it a lot.

It has come to my attention that the last reviewer for this Anime series must have been someone between the ages of 12 and 14, still stuck on the "DragonballZ fight, fight fight!" mentality and simply ignored the bigger picture. While this show has it's fair share of action, the show focuses on the inner livings of diverse human types being put through varying dangerous situations. The show presents humanity for what it (in the mind of the creator, that is), a huge group of cowards, glory seekers, murderers and all together selfish people. Among them are thrown a few gems, innocent bystanders (children and the elderly) and people that follow a humane moral code; of course, their only role is to provide hope to the viewer, to show that humanity does have it's good sides, however insignificant.

I am left with the impression that Gantz is in itself, purgatory. Passing judgment on the humans he "saves" from absolute death by forcing them to go through a series of trials. Those worthy, the ones that "survive" the trials, regardless of past crimes, will be rewarded, and those that fail will continue their lifeline by resuming their deaths.

The story revolves around a changing group of people (other than the main characters) who die but find themselves reassembled in an apartment they can't escape with a large black sphere (Gantz) that provides them with weapons, a power suit, and instructions to kill an alien target within a time limit. Those who survive are free to return to their lives until they are summoned again, with increasingly poor odds of survival each time.

The animation is reminiscent of the R-rated anime more common back in the '80s, with uncensored graphic violence, nudity, sex, and generally mature themes, and it's refreshing to watch an adult-oriented story that hasn't been watered down to receive PG rating (though it does have a jarringly out-of-place JPop theme song). The series covers about half of the story from the manga before concluding with an open-to-interpretation ending that, but that's better than ending on a cliffhanger that never gets resolved.

Gonzo Studios has a tendency to use unnecessary flashbacks or simply cut animation quality when they run out of time and/or money, and I can live with that, but they made a lot of choices which may or may not have been in the manga that simply that make no sense. Why is the population of 2004 Tokyo 95% Caucasian and why would they all look forward to seeing someone get run over by train and refuse to help? How can high school bullies, who look like they're in their 30s, get away with pulling teeth out of their victims? Why would a group of people, including a guy who easily beats up the biggest of the aforementioned bullies, stand around and do nothing when a guy carries a teenage girl away into the next room to rape her? Why do people who just died and see other people being reassembled in front of their eyes act like nothing strange is going on and refuse to listen to the main characters who are trying to save their lives?

The thing that will really have you shouting at the screen is all the times (and this happens a lot) when the characters stand around talking about how they should shoot the monster despite the time limit and immediate threat to their lives, yet no-one actually starts shooting. Two or three people will die before even one of them starts shooting while the rest still just stand there. Then, when half of them do finally join in (the rest still standing there watching), they charge towards the monster, guns in hand but still not shooting, until a couple more people are killed.

Overall, I do recommend Gantz, but it's frustrating to watch something that could have been so much better brought down by things that should never have been allowed into the series in the first place.

GANTZ has somewhat interesting start but there are a few annoying things that I couldn't continue past episode 6.

First if all, the atmosphere is jumpy between serious and teenage comedy. There is a lot of talking in wrong places like an action scene is extended to half episode by some blabber. The sexual component is straight up repelling. Closest comparision to this anime I guess would be Elfen Lied but even that show at least had some common atmosphere and feeling, while GANTZ felt just.. flat. Nothing.

When i was thinking that a great part of the animes were looking similar, i watched this one with no great expectations.I got surprised with the realism of the characters' actions. OK the history is NOT the most incredible that i've seen in my life but that's not the point in this anime. Maybe some will think it's shocking,too violent or will not like the strong language etc... However this was the way to show each characters actions and feelings in the worst situations. This anime is great because it is really innovative and explores the characters like no other. There's taboo, so anything can happen anytime, always letting you surprised . If you're bored of the old story of the princess and the magic world and the magic sword and the magic... GANTZ is VERY recommended.