Gantz

I like the reviews as Hiroya loves to put porn in any situation no matter how stupid it is. Gantz is a manga that I read a long time ago during my edgy phase, so I had it in better esteem. But I reread it about 3 months ago, and here's what I think: it’s not so good—in fact, it has more bad things than good. The first volumes of the manga barely advance the plot, and the characters' experiences have inconsistencies in continuity. For example, in mission 7, you have to kill Tae Kojima, Kurono’s girlfriend, for taking a picture of someone from the Gantz team. Mission 7 was good—it had drama and the characters didn’t get out of their characterization. So, what's the problem? The problem is mission 8—nothing happened. It seems like mission 7 never took place; there’s no reaction, everything is the same. Really?

Another issue with Gantz is the introduction of elements without justification, such as the famous and almost meme "VAMPIRES." Technically, they’re parasitic aliens, but that’s not the issue. The problem is that they introduce this species hunting the Gantzers out of nowhere, along with enough information about the organization, and one member turns out to be Kurono’s brother? What? Then, they just say they don’t want to fight anymore and become irrelevant to the plot.

And let’s not forget the ridiculous stuff, like in the statue mission where survivors were supposed to be free from Gantz and had the explosive removed. So why do they later put bombs back in their brains during a catastrophe? Why remove them in the first place if the sphere already predicted the invasion timeline?

Let’s talk about Catastrophe. If you like it, that’s fine—we all have different tastes. But what I’ll say might make you angry. Catastrophe is a piece of shit and one of the worst arcs I’ve seen. It has a weak and contradictory argument, a slow narrative pace, and lots of filler. This arc spans 10 volumes, each with 8 chapters—that’s 80 chapters. Even the drawing quality falls due to excessive CGI (referring only to computer-generated images, not animation). Look at several panels and tell me what’s fighting and who’s winning—it’s unbelievable. The filler is absurd and makes no sense—a bunch of sexual scenes when it’s supposed to be the end of the world, and they’re humanity’s only hope.

The approach is wrong because there isn't one. Despite the premise being the end of the world, it happens in the background. What we see is Kurono rescuing Kojima, civilian rescues, Sakurai’s revenge—all irrelevant to the main premise. Supposedly, it’s a final battle at the end of the world, but none of this matters. If you justify it with civilian rescues, what was the plan? Wait for the aliens to stop attacking civilians? And the worst part is that even though we're told humanity has no chance, and we’re never shown otherwise, humanity somehow wins. This is pure scripting. The final chapter is mega-forced—the previous chapter said there were no ships to return, but in the final chapter, thanks to divine intervention, an American sphere works while others don’t. After that, they’re shipwrecked, found three days later, and everyone lives happily ever after.

The final panel is nice, but the plot is so stupid I couldn’t care less. I don’t care if it’s a happy or dark ending—the joke is that it needs to be well-argued. This ending is worse than SNK’s by far.

Okay, I’ve trashed this manga, but if there’s something good, it would be some characters like Kato or Kurono whose character arcs make sense (more or less) and are somewhat charismatic. Also, despite Catastrophe, Gantz has beautiful panels even in its final arc, and the battles are very entertaining and not heavy to read.

A sci-fi manga that fails to adequately develop its concept, leaving much potential untapped. Despite this, it remains entertaining, and if you delve a bit deeper into the romance aspects, it becomes rather intriguing. The central themes revolve around survival and nihilism; men must survive by following the strongest leader they perceive. Strength isn't merely about conquering through violence but also about uniting people under one's banner. Women are portrayed as gravitating towards reliable men, while individuals use defense mechanisms to deny harsh realities. This is all exaggerated to emphasize humanity's need to survive, yet it doesn't connect these ideas cohesively, causing compelling concepts to get buried under layers of violence and nudity.

It seems at times that the author was improvising as he went along, though there are explanations for certain elements, like the appearance of the ball. Had these been more thoroughly developed, the story could have been exceptional. If you enjoy violence, nudity, and sci-fi, and are willing to explore the underlying themes, you might appreciate this manga. Additionally, the protagonist starts off as somewhat of an asshole, which I find interesting, but if that's not your cup of tea, you may want to steer clear.

Two teenagers die in a "subway attack" and find themselves in a room somewhere in Tokyo with other people. They are then sent on missions to kill aliens by a strange black ball. I read this manga because I enjoyed the anime adaptation and wanted more of it. To my astonishment, these 383 chapters deliver the most intense and fascinating science fiction I have ever encountered.

Story:
10/10 Every major story arc is unique and excellent in its own way. Each arc presents different challenges and rules that our protagonists must face or circumvent. The setting almost never stays the same, and the intensity of each battle only increases. The sci-fi elements of the story question many societal norms, our humanity, purpose, and future. It also touches on various subjects like crime, education, and social issues, leaving you pondering what it all really means.

Art:
9/10 Initially, the art seems fairly average. However, as the manga progresses, the artwork becomes incredible in every aspect. Characters are uniquely drawn, and while they differ, each group shares its own style. The settings (including the plot's location, atmosphere, and other artistic elements) are simply astonishing. This cannot be explained without spoilers, so check it out for yourself (I'm an art major if you need credentials).

Character:
10/10 The main characters take the "hero's journey" to a whole new level. All side characters add significant value to the story. Even comic relief characters are important! (Okay, maybe the panda is pushing it). The author ensures these characters contribute exactly what's needed to enhance the plot. These characters come from diverse backgrounds, including students, politicians, criminals, and even infants.
(Oh god, Kei got so badass during the last half; I'm starting to question my sexuality)

Enjoyment:
10/10 Knees weak, arms heavy. There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti. Too intense for me. Jokes aside, this series can evoke a full range of emotions such as anger, sadness, joy, and spaghetti.

Overall:
10/10 So far, I've read the entire thing twice and interpreted its ending twice. The plot follows a typical science fiction writing style, blending perfectly with amazing shonen-like battles and adult action movies. Neither the anime nor movie adaptations did this series justice, so I strongly recommend reading it.

P.S. Very violent and sexual in some parts, not for the faint-hearted

Honestly, this manga perfectly encapsulated heroism, horror, awesomeness, nudity, comedy, and sheer madness. My only disappointment was the author's lack of depth in character backgrounds and development. The protagonist and his team were well-developed, but occasionally characters would appear with no clear relevance or background, leaving you clueless about their roles. The backstory sometimes grew vague, like with the vampires who vanished entirely after a certain arc. I'm not overly critical, but it felt like the mangaka took on too much and had to cut corners due to financial constraints or other reasons. Despite that, the story was cohesive, and the artwork was truly inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed the manga and would recommend it to anyone!

This manga is quite the rollercoaster, but unfortunately in all the wrong ways.

It begins intriguing and chaotic. You continue reading, sensing a thematic thread and purpose, but as the story unfolds, the meaning becomes hopelessly confused. The escalation intensifies, though not for the better. Piling on more "themes" without genuine significance eventually renders the narrative meaningless.

The pacing utterly collapses around the halfway mark. The story starts to drag, becoming increasingly tedious until the final stretch feels interminable, abruptly concluding in a deeply unsatisfying manner.

I've never been this frustrated by something purely due to the narrative whiplash, which is a shame because, as I mentioned, it starts off captivatingly, and the artwork remains excellent throughout. However, none of that matters if everything ultimately falls apart, which sadly happens here. By the end, I felt only anger and disappointment.

In conclusion, I absolutely cannot recommend this to anyone. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it when I was younger, overlooking its flaws and focusing on the positives, but I can't do that anymore.

So, Oku-sensei genuinely enjoys drawing a few specific things: stuff getting wrecked, large breasts, and somewhat oddly, elderly people and "ugly" crying. Unfortunately, there isn't much of a market for random images of destruction combined with ample bosoms (let alone the elderly and "ugly" crying). It's quite challenging to make a steady income from drawing such themes. However, if you become a serialized manga artist, you can include all those elements weekly. The only catch is that you need to link these visuals with something called "narrative".

Gantz is the outcome of Oku-sensei attempting to fulfill his desires using the bare minimum amount of narrative necessary. The series is "masturbatory," and Oku-sensei openly admits this (he mentions it in the extra pages of tankoubon). Despite this, the manga was surprisingly enjoyable. Yes, it was incredibly foolish and absurd, but I never found it boring, which is impressive given its length.

The plot is awful. Nothing gets explained until the very end, and most of it is "handwaved." Some aspects remain unexplained entirely. The manga can essentially be seen as a collection of mostly unrelated events involving complete mayhem. The art is fantastic. Oku-sensei has developed his unique style, and personally, I think it looks great. He's also a master of "big anime boobs." Seriously, I used to prefer "delicious flat chests," but now I'm increasingly interested in larger breasts. To Oku-sensei's credit, the main love interest has a "delicious flat chest"—but she is the only one. In Oku-sensei's world, women are either an "A"-cup or they're a "G"-cup or larger. There are no other breast sizes in between.

Gantz is genuinely stupid: the plot is nonsensical, and the characters are too. Its stupidity is tolerable because it's so shamelessly presented. Gantz doesn't pretend to be deep or intellectual. It's merely an excuse for Oku-sensei to draw violence, destruction, and breasts. And you know what? I think I am okay with that. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it is fairly readable. So despite the terrible plot and characters, I am going to give it a 7/10.

Gantz will always be one of my favorite manga ever created.
I'll try to touch on different subjects for this review - hope you enjoy it.
Minor spoilers in the first half of the review.

This manga explores human nature under extreme conditions.
The story begins as a survival game featuring the obnoxious protagonist Kei Kurono and his friend Kato. Instead of dying like complete idiots by getting hit by a train, they are "teleported" to a room with a black ball and many confused people. After a few minutes of vague explanations by the black ball they call "Gantz," they are sent to a random location filled with aliens that they must kill.
If they kill enough, they can earn points. With 100 points, they can either be set free from this murderous game, revive someone, or gain a new weapon.
After each successful mission, they are allowed to go home and will be teleported again in about a week for a new mission until death or they reach 100 points.

The premise is great, featuring an interesting concept with fantastic sci-fi designs such as Gantz's suits, the hard suit, the huge mech, and the cool guns - you won't be disappointed.

The gore is extreme in this manga, and there is nudity everywhere - so yeah, NSFW.

I won't spoil the story, but it's a huge roller-coaster of emotions - you're in for a ride!

Now, for what I didn't like about Gantz, because every story has flaws.

Firstly, this manga is racist and homophobic.
Black people in this manga are usually villains. Izumi paints his face black and goes on a killing spree. The gay black guy at the start of the manga who wants to beat up and... have sex with Kato is another example. I'm sure I could find more examples, but yeah, it's a racist manga. Hopefully, you can overlook it.

It's also homophobic. If someone is gay, everyone immediately distances themselves. At one point, a character screams at a gay person to stay away.

Secondly - and this is a real shame:
Women are objects in this anime. The author is misogynistic. Every girl in this anime is portrayed as a boneless pair of breasts chasing after guys.
There are no strong female leads or well-developed female characters in this manga.

But hey, it's the same guy who wrote Angel Cop - a manga about American-Jewish bankers wanting to destroy Japan. So, I'm not surprised.

Third and finally - though the manga has more flaws than just these -
The characters: Gantz has a lot of characters, some good, some not. The bad ones are usually typical and boring, just waiting to die.
(Though it does have a lot of good characters too). It would be more interesting to have more character development beyond our main character and a select few. (Also, I'd like to see more well-rounded characters).

Gantz is a great manga, a significant contribution to the seinen genre - I didn't read it three times because it was boring!

I finished reading this manga from start to finish in roughly 25 hours. In an era dominated by endless Isekai anime and formulaic cash grabs, returning to something more vintage was a refreshing change. Did it completely break free from traditional manga tropes or revolutionize the genre when I read it in 2019? Not really, but it felt more invigorating than most contemporary reads. The art style was surprisingly gritty, which I genuinely appreciated. While the story wasn't groundbreaking, it did have some unexpected twists that caught me off guard. However, there were moments where the plot took abrupt turns that seemed random and out of place.

The main character's development flowed smoothly, making him easy to root for as the manga progressed. But occasionally, you'd find yourself questioning his actions, like why he didn't wear his suit to school. Overall, I enjoyed this manga quite a bit, though the amount of rape and nudity scenes felt excessive, even considering the dark storyline. If you're looking for something different and don't have a current manga on your reading list, give this one a shot. You'll likely know by chapter 50 whether it's your cup of tea.

Peace

Gantz is a fascinating piece of work, showcasing significant evolution in its characters and storyline. The artwork is meticulously crafted with plenty of details, although the portrayal of human beings sometimes feels a bit constrained, but it's not overly problematic.

The predominant emotion I felt was hatred—hatred towards humanity in a broad sense, for the often superficial personalities of many people, even if these portrayals can be somewhat forced (such as gangsters or the Osaka crowd). However, the chapters also reveal the multifaceted nature of characters like Kurono, mirroring the complexities of real human beings. It presents a dual perspective: we are mere insects, yet we are also sentient beings with emotions and self-awareness, sometimes selfishly so. All characters are grounded in some form of existence or reason beyond themselves, primarily focusing on avoiding trouble, which reflects the author’s view of our societal dependencies.

The manga excels in its exploration of humanity, society, and the universe, which elevates its overall quality for me. However, it doesn't achieve a higher score due to certain shortcomings, such as the lack of depth in some situations and the almost absurd depiction of a man with unimaginable power. It would have been better without those elements.

Kurono deserves special mention here. During the first quarter of the series, I found him incredibly frustrating, thinking, "My god, this guy is terrible." With the help of Katou and Tae, and through various battles involving people, death, and protection, he undergoes a transformation. He rediscovers his self-confidence, realizing that despite his weaknesses and deplorable state, he still has the potential to make a difference. This realization comes after witnessing horrific events during war. His relationship with Tae, who always believed in him and loved him, plays a crucial role. From then on, his selfish thoughts return, reestablishing much of his original essence, making him less of an annoyance. He now has reasons to live, things to fight for, and a life worth living.

In summary, Gantz is an intriguing work. While it might not need 383 chapters, the ideas presented and developed throughout are done so in an impressive manner, particularly in certain parts.

Games are always fun, especially when they involve chaos and aliens. Released around the same time as Battle Royale, Gantz is one of those stories we've all become familiar with today, where our protagonist finds themselves trapped in a twisted survival game along with other unfortunate souls, their lives constantly on the line. They must develop survival skills to stay alive, just to play some more later.

Let's start with the positives. The action is extraordinary, among the best I've ever seen. Not because it's extremely frenetic (although it does turn out that way later), but because we can feel the stakes for the players. Gantz is infamous for its explicit portrayal of violence, but I have to admit it works really well here. Witnessing such horrific ways to die (twice if you read the synopsis) makes the characters realize how fragile they truly are and how that affects their psychological states. No one is safe in Gantz, and although the players have ways to defend themselves, you can always sense danger lurking around the corners. It's extremely uncomfortable but feels realistic. It's easy to be put off by the extremely violent, nihilistic approach towards human nature that Oku presents and the gratuitous nudity, but once you get used to it, it becomes immensely addictive, making you even feel guilty by the numbness to gore that comes after a few chapters.

The art is also a highlight. While some readers may be dissatisfied with the computer-generated backgrounds, you cannot deny Oku's tremendous talent for action sequences, human anatomy, and facial expressions.

But I still have to say, Gantz is far from perfect. The characters are extremely unlikable, and it's hard to root for any of them, especially in a case where caring about them is very necessary (it's a game, after all; you need to want the character to survive). Even though some of them are somewhat well-developed, this doesn't change much. The story quality also suffers considerably when we reach the final arc. All the "realism" established at the beginning simply vanishes, and you start to get the "shonen tropes" feeling lingering in your mouth. Add this up with some half-baked contradictory philosophy, and you start to wonder why the author didn't quit while he was ahead.

Gantz is a sci-fi/action manga. Not a very "scientific" one, but fun and well done (at least artistically) nonetheless.

When I completed this manga, I was uncertain whether I enjoyed it or not. The protagonist stood out from typical manga heroes due to his realistic inner thoughts reflecting the world he inhabited. He didn't always feel compelled to assist those in need. I appreciated the unique approach of using 3D models, which made the action sequences more vivid and engaging. This was a highlight for me. However, there were aspects I found less appealing. The conclusion felt somewhat disappointing as the final battle, despite feeling conclusive, lacked the satisfaction I had hoped for. Overall, if you're seeking an action-packed story with plenty of gore, this manga fits the bill.