Gantz
| Gantz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original Manga | Hiroya Oku |
| Director/Artist | Ichiro Itano |
| Format | Anime (TV) |
| Made By | GONZO |
| Episode Length | 24 minutes |
| # of Episodes | 26 |
Contents
Genre
Sum it up in a Sentence
IF YOU WANT TO KILL THAT FUCKING THING YOU NEED TO PULL THE TRIGGER AND SHOOT HIM!
Main Description
Various people who have died are resurrected by a black ball that makes an offer you can't refuse: To use a number of futuristic weapons to fight targeted monsters who are living on the Earth unbeknown to humanity. Kill a target, and you'll score points. Score enough points and you'll be freed to go on your way.
Of course, humans being the creatures they are, it's going to take a lot of hard-earned cooperation if anybody is going to be freed.
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Super-violent action:
Dark, gritty feeling:
High intensity sci-fi action:
Personal Opinions
NeverRamza
The DVD unedited first season consisting of the first 13 episodes was very good. You get to know some of the main characters of the series and become familiar with their personalities. What I really liked about this show was that unlike a lot of the safe anime that’s been popular lately, this show isn’t afraid to occasionally kill some characters off. Sometimes characters that have been around for awhile. The main character is also a bit of a self-absorbed douche and purposely unlikable in many aspects. But he’s still relatable because we all have our wormy selfish side sometimes.
Gantz becomes very dramatic. It has a very good hook that’ll intrigue you quite a bit. While the first mission isn’t the most exciting, the lives of the characters afterwards become very interesting. The second mission is also played out extremely well with tons of “oh shit” moments one after the other, all building up to the exciting conclusion. There’s occasionally a tiny bit of standing around and Katou’s character occasionally gets annoying but otherwise, Gantz was a fantastic show.
Until the second season.
The first half of the second season, consisting of the third mission, follows the manga pretty well with some with an episode or two focused on some useless mostly-filler garbage. But it’s all woven in nicely enough to keep from being too annoying. Sadly though, the budget takes a drop. This is also the most action-packed mission so it becomes very noticeable. Thankfully though, for the few scenes where it really counts, the animation does get the job done.
Then the fourth arc happens. Which doesn’t follow the anime.
I try not to be too much of a purest when following the anime versions of shows and try to take them for what they are but this fourth storyline is obviously a throw-together mish-mash of crap. There’s no lead-up to the characters this time and even the main character Kurono has a complete personality change within the blink of an eye. The entire concept of the arc is pretty much entirely against what’s been leading up to these episodes and the ending is an ambiguous nonsensical copout. It’s really that bad from pretty much all standpoints.
I’ve seen Gantz (at least the anime) get blasted quite a bit on occasion online and sometimes unfairly. The original edited version most of us watched when we downloaded the fansubs as the show came out in Japan cut away about 44 minutes worth of content and most of the high-impact scenes of gore. This was unfortunately how the series was initially represented. Some people can’t stand how much of an asshole Kurono is either (which I suppose is up to the individual). The show does have some very good moments, though. Interestingly enough, I’ve had several real-life friends who are pretty much against anime really turn out to enjoy this show. These are also people whom have hated just about all of the other must-see recommended shows that people all seem to love on the internet. Take that for whatever it’s worth. Oh, and also be sure to read the manga when you’re done with the show (it gets crazy-good and always manages to top itself with plot twists).
Sydnid
The early arcs are great to scratch that sci-fi survivial action itch, but quickly devolves into an unpleasant rash long before the end, the writing and art becoming pretty much trash. If you start reading the manga, force yourself to stop reading after the 'electric' boss fight, it's all downhill from there.
Links
- Official Gantz Homepage (Japanese)
