Gantz

Having watched the anime, I felt that the Gantz story had so much potential, and of course, I had to read the manga.

What I discovered about Gantz was...

A narrative filled with people, violence, sex, war, death, abundant blood, existence, and god. An overwhelming story about the struggle for survival. Most importantly, a tale reminding us that our best actions stem from and are driven by love. The only critique I have is the occasional jump between arcs and events, along with some minor plot holes.

Gantz presents aesthetically beautiful depictions of Tokyo and other places around and beyond our world. Its unique, realistic drawing style is unlike anything I've seen in any other manga. The expressions of characters, realistic scenarios; even the aliens and monsters are exceptionally well-crafted. Each page conveys motion and impact. Over 6,500 pages show almost no flaws, making it perfect for immersing readers in the characters' emotions, feeling the death of any Gantz member, and witnessing their growth as individuals and team members.

The Gantz team constantly changes as members die frequently. Some minor mistakes, like exaggerated feelings or unjustified cruelty from characters, can be overlooked when we see each member's distinct charisma and feel the impact of anyone's death at any moment. A few other flaws (very few) cannot be explained without revealing spoilers.

The manga never loses its appeal. Something is always happening in the world of Gantz, keeping us hooked. Having read the manga in three days, I can confidently say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'll forget about the anime, which does no justice to the manga. The initial arcs share the same story, characters, and nearly identical dialogues but are entirely different. It feels like the anime studio said, "Hey, this manga is great, let's mess it up because lol."

I'd love to explain more reasons why you should read Gantz, but instead, I'll simply say: Just read it.

A post on what I believe makes Gantz appealing, shared from my Instagram:

Gantz is a manga that masterfully blends every conceivable genre into one cohesive narrative. It incorporates elements of sci-fi, horror, romance, drama, gore, and mystery, all woven together seamlessly. This blend ensures there's something enjoyable for everyone in Gantz. The mangaka excels at dissecting popular fictional works and integrating those elements into his own creation, adding unique twists that elevate the material.

Gantz boasts a large and diverse cast of characters. For the most part, these characters are well-developed and give readers reasons to care about them, even mourn them when necessary. Death is frequent in Gantz, which can make it challenging to become attached to any particular character. However, this is mitigated by the continuous introduction of new characters with rich backstories. The ever-changing cast aligns perfectly with Gantz’s plot, offering a variety of backgrounds that lead to intriguing conflicts between characters due to their differing ideologies.

The artwork in Gantz is exceptional, perhaps the finest I've seen in any manga, surpassing even Berserk and Vagabond. The digital art uses 3D models as a basis, resulting in the most realistic visuals I've encountered in manga. This realism significantly enhances the storytelling, making the horrific events depicted in Gantz far more impactful than they would be in a less realistic style.

Gantz also delves into numerous philosophical ideas, though this isn't its strongest aspect. Nonetheless, it underscores the sheer depth and breadth of content present in Gantz.

You may have heard that Gantz has a somewhat disappointing ending. Don’t be misled. While the ending is the weakest part of the manga, transitioning from a 10/10 to a 9/10 still leaves me quite satisfied.

I highly recommend Gantz to everyone. Score: 10/10.

It's finally over. At some point, reading Gantz felt like a chore. I know you're considering diving into it because you watched the anime and are curious about questions like "Who is Gantz?", "Will Kurono ever catch a break with the ladies?", or "Why are they being forced to fight?"

Trust me, it's mostly not worth the effort. The author of this manga must be a wizard or something because he managed to create an interesting manga without having interesting characters or an engaging story. And the artwork? It's just terrible, especially towards the end when it feels like you're looking at close-up shots of Transformers battling each other. The anime was beautiful; the manga, unfortunately, is not.

Unless you really, really, really want to find out who Gantz is and why they are being forced to fight, skip this one. The answers aren't very satisfying anyway, and they don't come until the very end. But to be fair, the answers do exist.

P.S. The story gets incredibly silly, very quickly. At some point, the author introduces vampires and a couple of characters with superpowers to spice things up... which is really bizarre for a manga like Gantz. Honestly, I have no idea what he was thinking.

*sigh* Wasted my time again, didn't I?

Story 5:

Honestly, from the beginning, I was intrigued and had such high hopes because it's an interesting concept. You almost die and you get sent to this room where you then have to battle aliens? Like wow, really cool, fun times ahead. This is going to include a lot of critical analysis and battle strategies with powerful characters who become more powerful. Wrong. The concept is amazing and really interesting but just not at all well executed. It seems similar to the Liar Game or that K-drama called Alice in Borderland, but unfortunately didn't live up to the same potential as the other two did. It's just filled with plot holes which you can forgive once in a while; I mean, it's hard to keep track of what you're writing because you gotta make sure sex, boobs, and overall nudity are involved because those are so important to the plot, right? Like oh my god, the amount of nudity specifically from the female characters only made me incredibly uncomfortable, especially all the panels where they had sex. Isn't Kurono supposed to be 16? I'm sorry, but I'm just not into seeing so much unnecessary nudity randomly when I'm reading an alien/horror/action manga. If you can get past that, it doesn't change the fact of the misogynistic undertones throughout the whole novel. The whole purpose of the female characters was for fan service and to be damsels in distress who have no thoughts except, "Wow, this guy I just met five seconds ago saved me, and now I'm in love with him and will die for him even though I have so much in the real world at stake." Don't get me wrong, not everyone can be a superhero and be able to fight aliens BUT AN OLD MAN CAN SURVIVE BUT A CHICK WHO STUDIES MARTIAL ARTS CAN'T???? Honestly, it had so much potential and actually interesting plot arcs that just went nowhere and honestly is comical when you think about it. Like you introduce vampires and they get no backstory, nothing except for kill this one kid? Alright, alright, don't bring them back up ever again.

Art 7

Honestly, the art and the gore are amazing. As much as I hate some parts, I will give credit where credit is due.

Character 4

There is one good character, and that is MUSCLE MAN. That's all.

This was the first manga I've read. Overall, I enjoyed it. I thought the length of each chapter was perfect, although I'm not sure if that's something that changes from manga to manga. Guess I'll find out!

I do have some gripes about the series. I can't totally discern if these stem from cultural differences, mistranslations, or just bad writing, but I guess that's the fun in expanding to a medium beyond your comfort zone. More below!

WHAT I LIKED:

• Futuristic elements: The Gantz technology, weapons, alien spaceships, fancy suits, mechs... all great and very imaginative.
• The art: Beautifully drawn throughout. I enjoyed the artist's background information that surfaced every now and then during the early chapters.
• Overall story: Despite some plot holes and aspects that were never explained, I was totally into the mythology behind the Gantz balls and how its meaning/origin was (eventually) shared with the reader.

WHAT I DISLIKED:

• Vampires. What the hell? I didn't think they belonged in the series as I was reading it, and even after I've read all the chapters it still doesn't make any sense. They were never explained.
• Holes in the plot around how/why Gantz did things, and how the technology in the series operated.
• How all of the school bullies were violence-loving heathens; multiple times they cheered on death and made comments that indicated they had no humanity. Quite unrealistic for a bunch of high schoolers.
• How all of the civilians/bystanders were ignorant and useless.
• The ongoing theme of ultimate romantic devotion. The whole deal with the main character and his girl was a groaner. I'm fine with romance, but the relationships lacked substance.
• The ending. It was quite abrupt and I felt as though more needed to be explained.

I'm just going to do this thing.

I remember this manga. When I put it on hold, I was at chapter 380. Just three more chapters and it would be finished.

If I had to summarize it all, I'd say... nope. Can't really summarize it because there's a lot going on here.

One thing I want to point out is that this series highlights the darker side of human nature. It's dark, bloody, and probably made for demons (hehe).

A lot of characters reveal their flaws, and the main characters have one or two themselves. Sometimes they overcome these flaws, sometimes they don't, or they get tested, or they don't. One strong point of this series is its unpredictability.

Story

The story isn't solely about one character but revolves around him being a flawed human with typical teenage problems. He'll be tested, and he will change. Alongside his teammates, or those who died and were transferred into a round black ball where they're ordered to kill aliens.

There's romance in this, and a lot of perversion too. The hero seems cured of that as well. He gets cured of many things.

But there's little exposure to the lives of the aliens. Aside from being attacked by "Gantz's Team," their lives aren't focused on, likely to avoid accidentally gaining sympathy from readers.

Art

What can I say? It's as real as it can be. Buildings, flowers, even a pebble with dust around it—nothing was left behind. Detailed pictures and all. And the expressions of the characters as guts fly out from their stomachs when a huge alien swings its enormous fists. People scrambling for their lives, debris falling—some big enough to be avoided.

Sound

The sounds, what can I say? Probably nothing (hehe). But in my imagination, I usually hear people screaming and crying.

Character

The hero is a teenage dude with hormones. As a kid, he was adventurous, active, and alive. This was all witnessed by his childhood friend, the long-haired guy. But now? He's changed. He caught a sickness that's common among troubled kids today. He caught problems (hehe).

Anyway, the leading lady. She was great. Simple, honest, and true. She won't betray, and her partner is as loyal as a dog. They are sweet together and fun to read.

There are many interesting characters here. Many had flaws that were eventually resolved. I once heard (read) that interesting dudes/duddettes have flaws, or something like that.

Enjoyment

People die here—a lot—just to make it clear if you haven't guessed from my previous comments. Lots of guts, blood, death-defying stunts, fatal wounds, and all.

This manga is sad. That's the major emotion I got from this series. The characters I liked suffered and died. A lot of them.

But you can settle for "at least." At least he/she survived. At least he completed his objective and was satisfied.

But still, it's sad.

The idea here—that humans are dust, that characters I liked were treated like toys—made me sad. Sadly, a sudden end to my writing of this sad review. Are you sad? (hehe, probably glad. This review seems weird, even to me).

Oh, GANTZ was the first time I learned about this manga from its anime, which I loved so much and ended with a lot of mystery and questions. My curiosity led me to these manga, and what I found here was a fantastic story beyond what I or even you could ever imagine.

The character design in these manga is closer to realistic people in real life. You won’t find characters with big eyes, big heads, colorful hair, or moe characters here. Instead, there are violent and graphic pictures everywhere because these manga are all about "murdering aliens." So, you’ll see many scenes of people "butchering aliens" and, of course, lots of "aliens butchering people." If you don’t like seeing some "gore" things like "human beings dismembered into pieces," I recommend you not even dare to open this manga because it might leave you traumatized. But, it’s your choice...

The story begins with a high school student named Kurono, who only thinks about breasts and sex even during school lectures. He has a really bad personality and always insults people in his mind until he meets his childhood friend Katou, who asks Kurono to save drunk people who have fallen onto the railroad. Unfortunately, a train hits and kills them. After that, they wake up in a locked room with a Big Black Ball called "Gantz" and other people who have had similar death experiences from around Tokyo. They try everything to get out of the room, but nothing succeeds. Then, minutes later, the black ball plays a weird song and gives the people weapons and suits to kill some weird aliens. They have no choice but to kill the aliens because there’s a bomb planted inside their heads that will blow if they don’t kill the aliens. After the hunt ends, they can return home, but with the bomb still planted in their heads, it will detonate if they talk to others about Gantz and the aliens.

The bloody hunt continues until they reach 100 points, a score given by Gantz after one hunt ends. The hunt repeats again and again and again... This is what the story is all about—seeing a lot of aliens killed and a lot of people killed repeatedly. But that’s what makes Gantz interesting because each hunt gathers new people with different characteristics and encounters new unique aliens, ranging from weak to monstrously strong.

These manga will leave you with many mysteries and make you question humanity and moral dilemmas. For example, why should they kill the aliens? Are the aliens bad creatures? Should they save other people? What kind of people should they save? And, of course, questions like "does God really exist?" You’ll encounter many questions like that when reading these manga. Well, what did you expect? It’s from Japan, a country full of atheists. Forget about religious stuff; after all, these manga are "gory fun" well-drawn and well-structured. You’ll understand all the mysteries if you manage to read all the chapters of the manga.

Oh yes, I forgot about Kurono, the main character. After surviving many hunts, he gradually changes from a perverted jerk to a better person little by little. Or maybe it takes too long, almost making me hate him for always being an asshole. But it doesn’t mean Kurono’s survival rate in the hunts is 100%. Well, I won’t spoil it here...

Story: 9
Animation: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 9

Overall Grade: 9

For the record, this is a slightly altered version of my anime review.

The French may have said "Make love, not war," but then Gantz appeared and said, "Why not do both"…

Gantz is one of my favorite dark sci-fi series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. The characters are all immoral and carnal, violent and devoid of sympathy—miserable cowards and horny creeps rather than idealistic super-powered kids. This can be both a plus and a minus, depending on what kind of main cast you prefer. Personally, I've grown tired of the idealistic, good-hearted heroes, so I really appreciate the bastards they all are. It doesn't mean they're meant to be hated; at various moments, they show signs of heroism and ideals. But for the most part, they act selfishly like any average person would, making them more believable. Much of the story's magic lies in how these bastards need to find the courage to get active and cooperate against their deadly adversaries instead of being apathetic idiots waiting to be slaughtered like sheep. It was a social commentary on modern life, and I must say it was brilliant.

The series also features a very violent and mysterious plot that can easily keep you hooked, eager to see what happens next. It has a very slow build-up that often confuses viewers since it's never clear what the fuss is all about. Why are all these things happening? For what purpose? This unconventional approach to storytelling frustrates many because most people want a clear goal early on, yet all they see here is a bunch of unsympathetic people ordered to kill stuff. What for? The penalty for not obeying is death. The penalty for not playing right is death again. Aren't they all dead already? So what's the point of fighting? Yet the series plays along without offering anything clear. Even the rules of this game aren't explained to the unwilling players. Many need to be randomly killed just so the rest can figure it out on their own. Some who have played before refuse to reveal everything and use the rookies as cannon fodder or distractions while they flank the enemy themselves. All this creates an aimless and seemingly pointless premise that leaves the average viewer utterly confused. And that's the beauty of it.

Imagine your average moe show lacking an objective other than making you feel fuzzy inside with its easy-going, plotless stories. Gantz tries to do the exact opposite. You don't understand the ulterior motives behind this continual bloodshed, yet you need to endure it. That actually works as a means to think for yourself and give your own interpretation of what's going on. So besides mindless action, it's also a mystery asking the viewer to solve it himself, without anything being spelled out. Of course, some might argue the scriptwriter is too lazy to think of a story and just makes everything cryptic to look cool. Sure, you can say that. But it works well because it kept me constantly thinking about possible reasons for all this mess.

An experienced eye can quickly realize that everything is basically a social criticism of modern life. The aliens in the story represent various negative aspects of life—immigrants, NEETs, religious fanatics—all extensions of human folly that the average Joe needs to fight even if he doesn't want to. Why? Because he's forced to do it, just as we're forced to spend decades in schools and workplaces. What's the ulterior motive of all that? To survive in an industrialized world that cynically treats you as an expendable peon. There is no ulterior motive beyond that. That's also what the show is about, dressed up with extreme doses of violence and sex. Because ultimately, our most basic desires drive us, no matter how idealistic we think we are, and most hobbies, wars, studies, work hours end up being pointless time, existing just to keep us occupied. Even the dead can't rest and are thrown into surviving a second time in a perpetual struggle for the most basic of all needs: survival. The purpose is not to win but to stay alive. Indefinitely!

Even if you don't think that deeply, the show is still violent and sexual enough for you to mindlessly stare at it. It exaggerates a lot in terms of gore and depicts everyone as idiots and bastards to make you angry or disgusted. They do have some cool suits and weapons to wreak havoc if they ever manage to figure out how to use them properly. All this creates potential for numerous possible outcomes, making it hardly predictable. In an average show, you know early on how everything will end—the heroes will survive, beat the monsters, and get married or something. Gantz isn't like that because you don't know who the main villains are. Plus, anyone can be killed at any given moment. Its unexpected, violent, sexual formula makes this anime extremely special. Highly recommended.

Story: 10

Human lives hold no significance. In this manga, however, people's deaths do carry weight. This work challenges human nature, selfishness, and greed. Those who have died are given a second chance in exchange for eliminating potential alien threats to Earth. Gantz is like a Jack-of-All-Trades, incorporating numerous elements that almost make it a masterpiece. Action, romance, sci-fi, sex, death, gore, ecchi, horror, drama, and psychological themes are all present. Such a story is rare and unique.

Art: 9

Fan-Service: There is plenty of fan service in this work. Breasts and butts are drawn so well that they draw the eyes of nearly any viewer.

Realism: The muscles of muscular characters are depicted with such detail that you can see every cut and form on their bodies. When something is sliced in half, you can clearly see the organs spilling out. During character transfers, every body part appears as its own distinct entity.

The art has a significant impact due to the horror theme of the story. Realistic gore is what horror manga should be about. If a horror manga isn't realistic, it loses its horror element. Additionally, the realism makes everything in the manga seem almost possible in the real world.

Character: 8

The protagonist is an average high school student known as a "day-time lantern." He represents us, the readers—ordinary individuals without special traits. This so-called "average high school student" kills aliens to survive. Everyone fantasizes about battling aliens with fictional weapons. This character serves as an outlet to a fantasy world many dream about. Readers are drawn to this manga because they want to be the main character. The author crafted the protagonist so relatable that you can almost believe you are him.

Enjoyment: 10

You kill aliens after dying, and if you lose a limb or two, you're good as new once your teammates finish the mission. The girls in the work are beautiful beyond belief. People die gruesomely on nearly every page. I enjoy reading such content because my life lacks these thrilling elements. It’s exhilarating to read about things that don’t exist in my everyday reality.

Weird, awesome, and a must-read.

It took me quite some time to finish, but it was absolutely worth the effort. The pacing slows down occasionally, yet the narrative remains captivating throughout. The final chapters were arguably the strongest part of the story. It's amusing to ponder how people come up with such fascinating concepts.
The art style is nothing short of spectacular. However, the amount of nudity felt somewhat excessive.
The protagonist follows the classic arc of starting as an ordinary person and transforming into a hero, almost unrecognizable by the end.

I'll likely revisit this in the future.

Gantz isn't for everyone.
I could spend hours discussing manga, particularly Gantz, but I'll keep it brief. Initially, the female characters come off as somewhat lacking in personality, but the author makes significant improvements across the board. If you think it's all about violence and sex, check out the YouTube video "The Insanity of Gantz and Why You Should Care" by Super Eyepatch Wolf (it's truly fantastic).
You need to give Gantz a fair shot, or you might not appreciate it. For me, it's an imperfect masterpiece that had a profound impact on me.
I love it and also highly recommend "Inuyashiki: Last Hero," which is by the same author.

There are manga that, when bold, often fail and are harshly criticized even before the edition is closed, leading to their premature end with evident errors. Gantz stands in stark contrast to this norm, defying the conventions of any existing manga that tackles themes such as action, adventure, friendship, dedication, courage, and wisdom. Every part of Gantz is daring; some parts are excellent, others are average, but never does it become tedious to read. For me, Gantz is unique in its genre, and its success in the manga world is attributed to the blend of reading-emotion-curiosity. I highly recommend Gantz. It is a reading experience that will astonish you.