Gantz

Pretty awesome when I saw it for the first time. A decade later it was fresh again when I saw it with a new girlfriend. It sticks with me and I'm troubled by the hints of lunar occultism. Another case of an anime teasing you with something beyond the veil and doing it with the style you can't get anywhere else.

I don't like to use the word 'masterpiece'...but it wouldn't be an insane adjective to use to describe Gantz. This is one of the best all around anime I've ever seen.

It has an extremely interesting and rather unique concept that is thoroughly explored and discussed through the characters. It has the surface level 'low brow' entertainment like extreme amounts of violence and a pretty hefty amount of nudity. It does an excellent job of going against the typical story clichés. Moments of character empowerment are shot down in the flash, people who seem like throwaway characters come back later, and none of the characters are safe from harm.

Speaking of the characters, they are very dynamic and what makes this show last. Good guy heroes often come off as cowardly, douchebags save the day, etc etc. The characters also come across plenty of moral dilemmas and have plenty of discussions about the nature of society.

Some say they hate the ending, or that it is confusing. I don't see why, if you just pay attention a little bit to the visuals and how the fundamentals of the whole thing works...it's quite clear. Yes, there are some things that aren't fully explained...but the end result, what happens to our hero(and/or heroes) is quite clear.

In conclusion, it's an anime with a great concept, great characters to explore it, great animation, a ton of violence, plenty of nudity, a decent amount of action and some good social commentary. Regardless of the manga, if you've read it or what you think of it, Gantz is a fantastic stand alone anime...and I think I'd prefer THAT to a seemingly endless story.

Gantz actually got my adrenaline pumping throughout the series and in effect almost made me feel like breaking in the television screen at some points. It kind of gave me that same feeling that GunGrave did. You feel for the characters that you do not even know just for the sake of wanting him/her to survive Gantz evil game. The series is quirky in the beginning and later on turns disdainful on the viewer. I started to feel hopeless towards the end and although I wanted the best to happen for everyone that's not what necessarily happened. If you plan on watching this then plan on watching cool action scenes that feel like they came straight out of a video game and non-stop violence. Yes, there is much graphic violence and sexual content on this one, but if you are old enough then try to endure it for the sake of enjoying an action packed anime. The only thing that got me kind of mad ws how the characters took forever to actually shoot a villain/alien/evil human. Inside my mind I was like, "Come on already!!!! Don't get yourself killed!" Check this out. I dug it.

This is an awesome series unlike some people think. Yeah i think they could have taken it farther since the Manga goes on Forever, but i think it was a great series altogether. The voice actors a well done and the animation is great. Nothing is forgotten by these animators and i think that is great. I would recommend this DVD series to the most die hard Anime fans (meaning the like more then Naruto and Inyuasha great but not the best anime's.) So if you like blood, death, and maybe a little sex in an anime this is the perfect one for you. just know you have to watch the last episodes a few time before you completely get what happens unless your some1 who catches on fast.

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.