Gantz

Rating:
Summary: DEATH DOESN'T COME FOR ALL OF US
Review: As oversexed 10th grader Kei Kuron is waiting on a subway, he makes the reluctant choice to help a childhood friend, Masaru Kato, rescue a drunken bum who has fallen off the platform onto the tracks. The vagrant is saved but Kei and Masaru are killed by an oncoming train. Or are they?

The two boys find themselves in a room with a few others who have been saved from death. Two yakuza, a elementary school teacher, a nihilistic pretty boy, a suicidal girl, and a moody eighth grader who knows more than he's letting on. And, oh yes, a large black sphere who gives them orders them to go kill the "greenonion alien". Weapons of mass destruction are included.

It's too early to tell if this masochistic version of Men in Black is going to live up to its hype. ADV has for some reason only included two episodes on the first volume. I don't really get that. So, of course, we're left at a cliffhanger moment in the second episode. The first alien they are sent to kill seems a little cheesy, I mean, come on, a little green man with a Bart Simpson haircut chewing on green onions, with mucus spraying out of his nose and smoke coming out of his ears? Please. As for the animation, once again Gonzo tries to blend in traditional with digital and 3d aspects with mixed results. When the characters move across the 3d backgrounds they seem blocky and badly animated. I don't understand why cartoon cgi seems just as fake as film cgi. Another thing that I didn't like about this first volume is that most of the characters are cowards or scumbags. For instance, when a female character shows up, one of the yakuza almost instantly sets out to rape her, and only one character stands up for her. Gantz seems to exist in a pretty bleak universe, one bordering on camp. I'll save a more exacting opinion for when I see more episodes.

Features English 5.1, Japanese 2.0. The usual clean opening/closings. Interview with the Japanese director. 16:9 widescreen.

I would also recommend the Battle Royale manga and the novel on which it was based.

Rating:
Summary: Great Anime
Review: I can't belive this anime has already come out in the U.S. It is an awesome horror/suspense I can't say too much about it without spoiling it. But if u can't stand extreme graphic violence I would steer clear of this anime. For anyone who likes the horror suspense genre you will love this anime.
P.S. sorry for the vague review but like I said before I don't want to spoil it.
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Rating:
Summary: Unique...
Review: If there is a positive note about GANTZ, its that its incredibly unique and unlike any anime you've ever seen. The swearing, sexual content and image it provides is something you won't be expecting. Some scenes are so oddly intense that you can't help but giggle to yourself asking what is wrong with you for watching it, but at the same time it makes you want to see more.

The most interesting thing I noticed is that it deals a lot with what people are really thinking in life. You'll notice this quite a bit from the characters as it often narrates what they think to themself before or after what they say outloud... Often exposing whether the person is being truthful or not... Just like someone would in real life.

The show deserves a 3, but I give it one more for originality. However I subtracted a star due to the marketing... Why in the world is ADV releasing this 2 episodes per DVD stretched across 13 DVDS? The DVD costs 10 bucks and a 3 or 4 episode DVD usually runs 20 to 25... So why do it this way? Seems like their losing money with the extra packaging, material and ink.

The extras are good, but somehow I imagine that the creditless opening and closing will be on every DVD... so DVDs to come won't seem as interesting in the extra features.