The Show:
The seventh volume of Gantz kicks off the second half of the
show. To commemorate this event, ADV has increased the episode count
to four shows, which it how the discs should be from here on out.
This was a good move on ADV's part, and I'm glad they abandoned the two-shows-per-disc
concept. As for the show itself, it really kicks into high gear as
the third game starts. This time there are more enemies and they
are much more dangerous.
Series recap:
For those of you who haven't seen the previous volumes, Kei Kurono is
a high school student who gets into some serious trouble on his way home
from school one day. He and an old friend , Kato, get killed.
Or do they? They get hit by a train and their bodies are scattered
over the station, but moments later they both wake up in an apartment with
several other people and a large black sphere: the 'Gantz".
The other people have recently 'died' too, and no one knows why they are
there. The sphere, communicating through poorly spelled messages
that appear on its surface instructs them to kill an alien hiding in the
city. It opens up to reveal weapons and uniforms, and then the recently
dead disappear one by one to confront their adversary. It's a deadly
game and most of the people who play it don't make it out alive.
While playing the game they discover that the suits they wear give them
super-strength and offer them some protection from harm, but not enough.
Just who or what the Gantz is, why they have to play this game, or what
the points that they are given at the end of every game mean are still
a mystery.
Along with Kurono and Kato, a young, attractive and very insecure girl
named Kishimoto lives through the first game. She turns up on Kurono's
door soon after the first hunt and asks to move in with him. He naturally
says yes, but is dismayed to learn that she's not interested in my physically.
She just needs a place to stay.
Volume Seven:
There are some interesting developments in this volume of the show.
Kurono is under a lot of pressure, and not all because of the game.
His living arrangement with Kishimoto is driving him crazy. He's
paying for her food and rent, and all she seems to do is talk about how
cool Kato is. Kurono is sexually frustrated in the extreme, and things
finally come to a head. One night he yells at her and she leaves
after confessing that she like both he and Kato.
It's soon after this that the third game gets underway. In the
room, aside from the survivors from the last game, are a Buddist televangelist,
an overweight gun nut, and an attractive lady named Sei. When Kishimoto
is transported to the room, she falls into Kato's arms and tells him that
she's "been with Kurono." This has two meanings of course, and the
fact that Kato now thinks that they've had sex, when they haven't, makes
something snap inside Kurono. He goes into the hall, and is soon
joined by Sei. They talk for a minute and she finally says that she'd
like to help him with whatever problem he seems to have. He honestly
tells her that he needs to get laid, and she obliges.
Meanwhile the Gantz opens up and reveals their target. This time
it's not a single alien, but two. Not only that, but they have an
extra thirty minutes on the timer, something that Kato thinks means that
this assignment is going to be even more difficult. He's right.
It turns out that the aliens they are fighting are giant metal statues
outside a temple. These come to life and attack the group.
Though they are large and very heavy, the aliens are exceedingly nimble
and can dodge the "X-gun" bolts with ease. This is going to be another
tough fight.
The pace of the show has picked up again with this disc. It seems
like a lot happens in a short amount of time, which I really like.
I'm very pleased with the way the characterization is working out in
this show. People are growing and changing, but not in the ways that
I imagined. Kato is reacting to the death and violence that he sees
by becoming more of a pacifist. He is determined that everyone will
come back alive, and does his best to save everyone. Kurono has the
opposite reaction. He doesn't seem to care about the other people,
and just wants to kill the aliens as fast as he can. He's becoming
more aggressive and violent as the series goes on.
The great thing about this show it that you can see why each of these
characters reacts that way. Given their family background and history
the way the react to the games seems natural, even if they are opposite
reactions.
The violence is ramped up a tad in this show, but they've also added
sex in the second half. Not fan service peeking at girl's underwear
sex but actual intercourse. Given the level of violence that the
series has, this seems like a natural move, and it works very well in the
context of the series. The sex isn't gratuitous, but fits in very
well.
The DVD:
With this volume, Gantz moves to a four episode per volume format, discarding
the two per volume format. This is a great move on ADV's part.
The series seems to be faster paced now, and it's easier to get into the
story when you are given four episode chunks. Good going guys!
Audio:
Gantz comes with an English dub in 5.1 and the original Japanese soundtrack
in stereo. The original track sounded very good, but the English
dub was a little easier to watch. There are several scenes where
people's thoughts are audible, and it was a little easier to understand
who's thoughts you are hearing in the English dub.
I preferred the Japanese soundtrack overall. Though the English
dub was in 5.1, it wasn't as dynamic as I was expecting. The explosions
didn't have a lot of impact, and didn't sound much different from the stereo
mix. There were several scenes where the English voices were mixed
too low and a little hard to hear. Besides that, they did make good
use of the surround channels, throwing some of the effects and occasionally
the voices to the rears. The Japanese track also did a good job with
the front soundstage, using it to full advantage.
There were not any audio defects worth noting.
Video:
Generally the anamorphic widescreen image was very clean, though there
was some aliasing. This was minor though, mainly occurring in the
backgrounds. The colors were a little on the muted side, but that
was probably the creator's intention. A very nice transfer.
Extras:
Not only does this disc come with more episodes, they've also added
more extras. In addition to the standard clean opening and closing
animation, there is a series of videogame commercials and two interviews.
The first is a 16-minute talk with director Ichiro Itano and the CG director
Yashuhiro Kato on the CGI work done on the series. The second interview
is with creator Hiroya Oka and actress Chiaki Kuriyama. Be forewarned
that both of these interviews contain spoilers for the series, and it might
be best to wait until you've seen the whole thing to watch them.
Final Thoughts:
The more I watch Gantz, the more I'm pulled into the show.
In the beginning it seemed to be a Go Nagi type of splatter-fest, but as
the show develops it becomes apparent that it's really examining how various
people react under tremendous pressure. I like the way the characters
are developing and how the game is effecting them. The fact that
it is being released in four episode chinks now is a great plus too.
Highly recommended.
Buy: