Gantz
Gantz is a Japanese manga and anime series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of a teenager named Kei Kurono who dies in a train accident and becomes part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which he and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens. The missions they embark upon are often dangerous. Many die on each mission, but others replace them in the same manner as Kei Kurono's appearance.
The Gantz anime, directed by Ichiro Itano and animated by Gonzo, ran for 13 episodes and had a direct sequel called Gantz: Second Stage, which continued the series for another 13 episodes. Both seasons make up the 26 episode series. It was licensed in North America by ADV Films. The anime series is distributed in the United Kingdom by MVM Films, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. Dark Horse Comics started releasing the manga in English in June 2008.
Plot[edit]
A pair of high school students, Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, are run over by a subway train, after saving the life of a homeless drunk who had fallen onto the tracks. Following their deaths, Kurono and Kato find themselves transported —alive and well— along with a number of people who have also just died, to the interior of an unfurnished Tokyo condominium. They are unable to leave, as the outside door and all the windows can not be opened. At one end of the room is a featureless black sphere known as "Gantz".
The series regularly introduces new characters. Most of them are killed off almost as quickly as they appear, though at times a stable cast of veterans forms.
After some time in the room, music is played, and the Gantz sphere opens up, revealing a bald naked man with a breathing mask and wires attached to his head, and three racks protruding from it, that offer various items for them to use. These include the custom fitting black suits Gantz makes for each of them, giving them great strength, speed, jumping ability, and some level of protection from harm, a controller which act as a radar and stealth unit, and three types of guns.
When the Gantz sphere opens, green text appears on the surface of the sphere, informing those present that their lives have ended. The following words appear on the black sphere's surface: "Your lives have ended. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. That's the theory, anyway." (The ADV translations have it as "Your lives are over, you bastards. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. So there you have it.")
A picture and brief information is shown of some of the Gantz Targets, Gantz ordering them to go and kill them. All but one target shown thus far, have been aliens living on Earth, which take on a wide variety of forms(dinosaurs, robots, statues, etc.) After a period of time which varies between missions, everyone except Gantz are transported to the location of the mission.
Those sent cannot return from the mission until all enemies have been killed, or the time limit has run out. If they survive a successful mission, each individual is awarded points for the aliens they have killed. They are then allowed to leave, and live their lives as they see fit until Gantz summons them back again for the next mission. The only way to stop having to participate in the missions is to earn one hundred points, and choose the option to be freed. Several participants, including Kato, are killed through the third mission they are given, leaving Kurono as the only survivor and the new leader from the "Gantz Team". However, as the series continues, Kurono participates with the objective to revive his deceased friends with the 100 points he can obtain throughout the missions. After several missions, Gantz's sphere indicates that the human race will be in over a week for an unknown reason, but it also frees all the participants from the game.
Equipment[edit]
Gantz gives out individual suits for each person there, giving them great strength, speed, jumping ability, and protection from harm. There are also three types of guns at the start, the controller, and a room with swords and two vehicles. Additional weapons and items are gained from the hundred point menu.
Characters[edit]
The characters in Gantz change fairly quickly at first, as many die on the missions, only to be replaced by others, but eventually a regular cast seems to have formed. Five characters have been revived after death, when someone used a 100 points to bring them back.
Additional character information can be found at:
A list of every mission, and every hunter that was there at the start.
A list of every enemy Gantz selected as their target thus far.
A list of the known Osaka team members during the mission the Tokyo team was with them.
A detailed list of every single character ever featured, no matter how insignificant
Aspects of the missions[edit]
The entire Gantz game has its own tricks and secrets. Those who survive will find out more to the game than what they originally expected.
Gantz Trivia[edit]
Many characters in Gantz are based on people; for example, the unnamed vampire which Gantz has nicknamed Kill Bill looks like the character Gogo from the movie Kill Bill.
Media[edit]
Manga[edit]
Written by Hiroya Oku, the manga chapters have been published in the Japanese language magazine Weekly Young Jump since July of 2000 and is still ongoing. Gantz is divided into two main story arcs referred to as phases. After the completion of Phase 1 the author put the series on hiatus for a short time to work on the second Phase. Phase 1 consists of the first 237 chapters. On November 22, 2006, the first chapter of Phase 2, chapter 238, was released.[1][2] The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in volumes; the first volume was released on December 11, 2000. To date twenty-seven volumes have been released in all, selling over 10 million copies.[3]
Publishing company Dark Horse Comics currently has licensing rights for the release of English translations of Gantz.[4] The first volume was released on June 25, 2008. The series is also published in Spain by Glénat and Germany, Italy and Brazil by Planet Manga. In the Dark Horse English translation, the artwork is the same, but the dialog has been changed somewhat: "That's the theory anyway" becoming "That's the way the cookie crumbles."
Anime[edit]
The Gantz anime is divided into two seasons: The first season is known as "The First Stage", while the second season is known as "The Second Stage", which is a direct continuation of the first season. The anime has been licensed in the United States of America by ADV Films.
Video game[edit]
On March 17, 2005, Konami published a game for the PlayStation 2 based on the Gantz series. It was named simply as Gantz: The Game. It features the characters and plot up to the Buddha Alien mission (though the vampires and the Shorty Aliens are present). The game may be classified as a third-person shooter, although it does have a few Role-playing game elements put together. More information can be found on the game's website. The game also includes extras including Free Play mode, a Mini Mode, Magazine Browser mode, Gantz Rankings, a special preview movie and the scenario completion statistic.
Gantz/Manual[edit]
In December 2004, Gantz/Manual was published by Shueisha as a companion volume to the series featuring episode summaries, character overviews, and additional background details on the Gantz universe.[5]
Gantz/Minus[edit]
In July 2009, Young Jump began publishing Gantz/Minus. This series is almost entirely text, with a few pictures mixed in. The stories take place before the start of the Gantz series. It describes itself as a "hyper solid action novel".
Live action movie[edit]
Anime News Network announced that two Gantz films will be produced.
Reception[edit]
The first season, known as the "First Stage", was heavily edited on Japanese TV, but the second season ("Second Stage") remained uncut. The Gantz anime is often criticized for its ending and pacing problems. The anime was made while the manga was still in early production, and thus Gonzo had to produce episodes at an irregular pace, and end the series in a manner a number of fans found unsatisfying—a common occurrence when an anime is made from a manga that has not finished its run.
How Gantz is made[edit]
Hiroya Oku revealed in an early issue how he created Gantz using various programs, and assistants. In the official Gantz manga, and various interviews done, including one of the Japanese version of the Poser website, information about the software and techniques used is revealed.
Merchandise[edit]
In addition to the manga, anime, and Gantz video game, there are also Gantz action figures.
Current Storyline and summary of events[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Gantz Returns! Gantz: 2nd Phase". comipress.com. 2006-11-22. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- ↑ "Gantz 2nd Phase to Begin Serialization This November". comipress.com. 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-10-07/gantz-manga-being-adapted-into-live-action-film
- ↑ "Dark Horse Licenses Gantz, Blood+, More". Anime News Network. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ↑ "GANTZ/MANUAL" (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-01-19.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
Gantz , Vol #1, Graphic Novel ISBN-1593079499
Gantz , Vol #2, Graphic Novel ISBN-1595821881
Gantz , Vol #3, Graphic Novel ISBN-1595822321
Gantz , Vol #4, Graphic Novel ISBN-1595822505