Gantz  Recommended
Publisher
ADV / MVM
Production
GONZO
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes / 25 minutes
Year
2005
Gantz Volume 1: Game Of Death
By otaku_kei
31st Oct 05  Controversy has always been a good selling point! If it’s not the tabloid press with its constant insistence on the intimate details of celebrity lifestyles, then it is popular morbid interest in the most gruesome facts about any murder or crime spree. Almost every walk of life has now become tarred by controversy as a way of generating press space. As the old adage goes: ‘There is no such thing as bad press’. Gantz has courted controversy wherever it has gone. Its risqué content has raised questions wherever it has been released, as well as having certain marketing issues for its U.S. release bring with it a storm of anger and fan derision. But what could possibly make this show such a shocker? Well aside from the wanton violence and cruelty, bad language and bizarre sexual content (anyone interested in bestiality?). Now I’m sure that this will have made some people’s ears prick up! Sex and violence have been some of the biggest selling points of anything in the history of mankind, but the main problem I found with this show was that it was just so… boring. For a show that seems to revel in its shocking nature, the whole effort seems so tired. Perhaps the bizarre nature of the story just meant that the violence and sex looked as if they had been crowbarred into the show to keep the viewers attention. And in all honesty, this show needed the shock tactics to try to generate any interest in this show. But with all that you must have heard about this show, how can I say it is boring? Well here is the lowdown, kids: Gantz is a game! People are chosen at random, to be reincarnated shortly after their death to be drafted into an ongoing battle against aliens and monsters that no-one else in the world can see. If you survive this mission then you will be released back into the world to continue your life, but will be constantly on call to fight this battle any time the game decides. Drafted for this round of battles are Kei Kurono and Katou Masaru, childhood friends who have drifted apart. But this reunion will be anything but sweet as Gantz has other plans for these young warriors! But I am sure that so many of you out there already have this release on your must purchase list, as so much press has come out for this show, almost exclusively promoting the edgier side to this show. So much has been discussed about whether the UK release would suffer from the region 1 decision to go with 2 episodes a disc that there has been very little discussion as to whether this show was any good, and I am sorry to say but I cannot find it in myself to recommend this show to anybody. Perhaps if you are looking for a show that is saturated with pointless violence and sexual exploitation, and fully devoid of plot then this show is for you. But really, we all love anime for the storytelling and that’s what we should be promoting and supporting in the UK, if you are after sex and violence, that can be seen anywhere!
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 2.0; Japanese Language 2.0; English Subtitles; Interviews with director Ichiroh Itano and voice actor Daisuke Namikawa (voice of Kei Kurono); Textless Opening & Closing; MVM Trailers
Release information: OUT NOW
Notes: MVM have delivered this title to us in top-notch quality, audio and visuals as good as they can be. The interviews are nice giving a bit of insight into the VA motivations with the character, and what the director was trying to achieve. The rest of the extras on this disc are nothing more than filler.
-- otaku_kei 31st Oct 05
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