Gantz Complete Collection [DVD]

Gantz has gained a notoriety because of its violence, nudity and foul language; all of which are true. So this is not an anime for the fainthearted or those of a nervous disposition. Plot-wise it also deviates from the manga on which it is based, so those expecting a faithful adaptation will be disappointed, if not angered. However, if, like me, you haven't read the manga then you can sit back and enjoy the rich experience of Gantz the anime. This complete series boxset is the uncut version, including scenes deemed too explicit to be broadcast on Japanese TV. At the thematic level, this anime is about the trials and tribulations of life and how we as individuals and groups of individuals deal with these situations; how we develop as individuals or how we fail to develop as individuals; how we integrate with others or fail to integrate with others. The situations in which the characters find themselves are extreme and test them to the limit; arising from these situations are issues to do with self-interest vs altruism, commitment, leadership, taking responsibility for one's actions vs blaming others for what happens to you, always looking for the negative in people vs looking for the positive, gratuitous violence vs justifiable violence. So, yes, Gantz is a moral anime but explores these moral issues in a savage environment which brings out the best and worst of its characters. It also refuses to make easy moral judgments and leaves it to the viewer to make sense of this moral maze; therefore the extreme level of violence and verbal abuse are completely in keeping with the themes being explored. The amount of female nudity is possibly a bit more questionable, but having a teenage boy as the central character with raging hormones justifies the sexual content, and the sex scenes are rather well done - erotic and even slightly humorous. The 3D design is impressive, too, and all that violent grotesquerie is realised with much attention to detail. The aspect ratio is anamorphic widescreen. The extras are sadly lightweight which is why I have highlighted the thematic content in this review. Gantz is a great anime - adventurous and challenging.

Several apparently random individuals find themselves abducted by a strange (alien?) entity known as "Gantz", which forces them to partake in computer-game-style deathmatches against various alien foes. The participants are provided with special suits and technology with which to fight the extraterrestrial adversaries. Lots of violence, nastiness and pretentious posturing ensue.

I can't remember the last time I've felt so ambivalent about a series. "Gantz" is a show which seems determined to split audiences, with its ultra-violent subject matter and misanthropic protagonists. Some will love it for its grittiness, whilst others will declare it to be exploitative trash. Speaking just for myself though, it isn't the shock-value or the less than endearing characters that leave me feeling confused.

What leaves me so mixed up is the unbelievably high level of stupidity in the series. Now, before I can continue, I should perhaps mention that I'm not usually prone to thinking too practically when watching movies or whatever; questions like "what would I do in this situation?" or "what should the characters do in this situation?" rarely cross my mind. I tend to focus on subtexts and suchlike; as a result, I'm usually willing to let a heck of a lot of foolishness go by, uncontested. In the case of "Gantz" though, the extremely high levels of stupidity, and the jaw-dropping incompetence of the characters, forced me to start thinking in such terms.

An example: you've heard the saying "you couldn't hit the broad side of a truck", right? Well, in this series our protagonists (I don't think it would be accurate to call them "heroes") come up against enemies much, much larger than the broad side of a truck, and yet, at extremely close range, still find themselves incapable of hitting the damn things. They continually moan that the gigantic enemies are "too quick", but nobody in their right mind is going to buy that excuse. This isn't even an isolated incident either. This sort of thing keeps happening; the show is full of battles that should last 5-10 minutes, but are instead stretched to an hour. This pretty much sums up the worst of what you can expect from the series: a LOT of prevarication and idiocy. Remember that bit in "They Live" where the two guys fight, like, forever because one of them wants the other one to put on some sunglasses? That's this series.

So, "Gantz" will test your patience like no other series before, and will viciously insult your intelligence at every opportunity. What else? Well, it's hard to disagree with the critics of the series who have claimed that its moral posturing is a load of sanctimonious guff, which is used to cynically excuse its exploitative imagery and subject matter (there's a running gag about a girl getting licked out by a dog. Need I say any more?) I agree with this criticism, though that doesn't especially bother me. If I wanted a lecture on the nuances of practical ethics then I'd read something by Alasdair MacIntyre or Peter Singer.

Enough with the bad. What about the good? Well, the show is actually very compelling, and has quite a few intriguing ideas up its sleeve (which is where they shall mostly remain, unfortunately). Moreover, the characters are unusually well fleshed out, and are in their own way kind of refreshing. I liked that the protagonist is more interested in getting laid than in heroism. Indeed, he seems especially bothered by the prospect of dying before he gets to loose his virginity - an attitude which is at once incredibly immature, yet does sort of ring true for many teenagers. If this character doesn't sound appealing to the reader then rest assured - there are more well-balanced individuals to root for as well.

Also, the price for the box set is very reasonable at the moment.

So, if you're feeling extremely forgiving and have a taste for ultra-violence and controversial subject matter, then this might just be the series for you. It's definitely worth a look.

Kurono Kei is and ordinary high school student who is roped into saving a drunken bum who has fallen on some railway tracks by his childhood friend Masaru Katou only for the two of them to be hit by a train and killed. After this Kurono is surprised to find that he and Katou in a plain room with a number of other recently deceased people and a mysterious black orb who orders the group to hunt down aliens living on Earth.

This set includes all twenty-six episodes of the `Gantz' anime across seven discs and I must say that I found the series quite enjoyable. I have only read the first four volumes of the manga so I cannot say how closely the series follows the source material but from what I have seen the anime seems to flesh out some of the minor characters more than the manga and I am guessing the final storyline of the series is unique to the anime.

The series can get very gory in places and definitely earns its 18 certificate with this and the sex and swearing. I wouldn't say that all of this is all that gratuitous though as the series also has an interesting plot and some very nice character moments here and there as well.

The main problem I have with this series is that the mixture of CGI and traditional animation, while quite beautiful in places, can be quite jarring especially during the fight at the Buddhist temple. Other than this and a slightly annoying English dub, this series was enjoyable enough for me to give it four stars.