Country: Japan
Genre: Drama
Year released: 2004
Running time: 26 Episodes
Director: Ichiro Itano
Cast: Chris Ayres / Daisuke Namikawa / Illich Guardiola / Shannon Emerick / Hitomi Nabatame
Review by: M. Douglas
Date of review: 02/07/07

“Gantz” is hard anime to describe. Based on the manga series, “GANTZ” is an ode back to the 80’s anime. You know the type of shows that consisted mainly of excessive violence to win over fans? At first, this seems like the case, but further viewing proves that “GANTZ” is different. Really different. On one hand, you have a show that seems to bask in its abundance of violence and harsh language. While on the other hand, you have a show that raises such extensive topics for the viewer to ponder; peer pressure, moral relativism, and issues of predominance all come to display here. All these factors combine to provide the viewer with a rather unique experience. This is what has lead “GANTZ” to develop a cult following of sorts.

Like I stated above, Gantz is one very original anime. I knew right from the start of the series that I was in store for something very uniquely different. For starters, the main character of the series, Kei, is a jerk; he is a rather selfish, egotistical teenager who cares about nothing but himself. Sounds like a lot of the teenagers today, right? Well, while waiting in the subway to take the train to school, he runs into an old friend of his, Kato. Let’s just say that Kato persuades Kei to help him rescue a stranger in a rather dangerous situation…which results in both their untimely deaths. The strangeness factor comes into play when they suddenly materialize (yes, materialize) in what seems to be an ordinary room, with the exception of a “black sphere” in the middle of it. They soon notice that other strangers are beginning to appear in the room as well, which they find out later shared the same devastating fate as them. Suddenly playful music begins to arise from the sphere, in which it proclaims its name is “GANTZ” and that the strangers assemble in the room are about to participate in a “game”. But this is no ordinary game…the rules are these; if you win, you get a second chance at life but if you lose, you’re apparent “death” remains permanent. Harsh rules indeed, but if I had to describe “GANTZ” in one word, it would “harsh”.

“Gantz” is definitely a hard series swallow at times, but the conclusion I arrived at after finishing the series was this; the reason it’s this way is because the creators were trying to accurately reflect the social structure of our present day society. The characters introduced throughout the series each could easily be represented by someone we interact with everyday. The social class system is alive and well within the confines of “Gantz” and it is this, in particular, which makes “Gantz” an enjoyable and interesting series. Most societies tend to separate themselves into classes that that define the way a person should think, feel, and participate. “Gantz” explores the possibility if these classes were some how intermingle (unwillingly, I might add) with one another and forced to work together for a common goal, which in this case is survival. As one could perhaps guess, this leads to conflict within the group. This charismatic character interaction is “GANTZ” strongest attribute but is also one of its cons. Some characters make completely irrational decisions, specifically the choices that have to do with killing in order to survive, which made me a little irritated at times. Couple this with the fact that the pacing of the show is absolutely horrible at times, and you should have a stinker of show, right? Not exactly; what fails in “GANTZ” is its execution, not its story or characters.

As for the technical side of things, I have watched the series in Japanese and English. As always, the Japanese cast is great, but I tend to side with the English version. Mind you, “GANTZ” is an extremely foul-mouthed series. Taking into consideration the incredible amount of stressful life-or-death situations these characters are in and it becomes pretty apparent why they would say some of the things they say. What it amounts to is this; the English dub was able to communicate the effectiveness of the characters better than the Japanese cast could.

Overall, “GANTZ” was an extremely fresh series, and while some might say it was a little over-the-top in certain aspects (I’m in this crowd), I found it to be quite an experience. If you’re looking for a mature themed anime series, take a chance at watching “GANTZ”, just be prepared for a little blood with your social criticism.

——————————————————–

Final Score

B

——————————————————–

Trailer

Popularity: 22% [?]