Gantz Volume 1 + Box: Game of Death - Hero Realm
- Hero Realm
- Steve Fritz
- 08/01/05
- click here
"...Gantz is like seeing highway wreck. You can't take your eyes off of it ..."
"...blastingly original.
"
It doesn't take long to see why Gantz upset the Japanese censors when it first aired. The opening images, where the two heroes are run over by a subway car, doesn't spare the viewer in the slightest. The humor, such as the 'butter dog,' is dark and twisted. If it aired in the U.S. the right would pounce on it like a pack of rabid jackals.
The dark truth is Gantz is like seeing highway wreck. You can't take your eyes off of it when it happens, and the afterimages will lurk in your head for years to come. Like the new breed of Japanese horror movies, it's also blastingly original.
But what truly gives Gantz its edge is the humans forced to play the sinister game that's the center of the plot. The 'players' range from apathetic yakuza, unredeemed bikers, screaming brats and their doting grandmothers to just plain good old fashioned sociopaths. It doesn't take long to realize who the real monsters. I say this while also saying Gantz's creators went the extra distance in coming up with some of the most freakish and original aliens seen in ages.
Does the series have problems? Yes. The lead character is way too self-conscious and neurotic to carry the show. There is more than one occasion where you wish the monsters would shut him up permanently. His best friend is equally as annoying with his overplayed sense of nobility. These take away from the overall short, sharp shocks of the series to no end. Another issue is the general shortness of each disk. There are only two 24-minute episodes per volume, way short of the usual three or four. One has to make a serious financial investment before this series go anywhere. There's also too much time spent on the hero?s' human problems.
On the other hand, the quality of the animation and the originality of the concept goes a long way in compensating for these deficits. Now that ADV has put out the first season of 13 episodes over six DVDs, one can sit back and be simultaneously amazed and stunned at this series audacity.
My suggestion? Get this series as a complete set. From what I've been informed, season two will start shipping in a couple of months. Sit back and wait until that season is completed, and then get that set as well. From the way things have been set up, season two sounds like it's going to be well worth the wait.
Posted on Monday, August 01, 2005 (Archive on Thursday, September 01, 2005)