Have you ever been weirded out by something, like “Ew what is that?” Then tried that exact weird thing and it turned out to be quite pleasant? That is Gantz. It is a never-ending rollercoaster of pleasant weirdness. Gantz’s premise seems like a played-out cliché. However, it is anything but that. Gantz does not treat you like a kid and it does not hold your hand. Gantz delivers a gritty story to the reader and is not afraid to add more and more dark tones as the manga progresses. The art matches the messed-up undertones of the story as well and that extends to the characters as well. You get a manga that is bursting with potential that digs deep into the depths of human existence.
In Gantz some people who die in the real world do not go to heaven or hell, they are transported into Gantz. A room with a black ball where the people transported will have to fight for their lives, people like the main character Kurono. So what makes Gantz interesting despite having a common plot idea? The world and how the story handles various different elements that are introduced throughout the manga. Even though the story takes place in 2000’s Japan, it is the creatures and how the world is changed from the existence of these creatures that make it such a unique world. Because the story does not hold your hand, you’ll be sitting there not knowing what’s going to happen around the next corner, it’ll keep you attentive, and most importantly, it’ll make you ask questions.
Gantz is a 70-mph rollercoaster. It throws you into the action after just a few chapters. You know very little about everything and everyone. Yet, it feels natural. It shares very little information about everything on purpose. It organically leads you to ask all kinds of questions. Like, who is this? What is the purpose of that? What is happening? It keeps you engaged, and you’ll find yourself reading 100 chapters in no time. It’s incredibly paced, it keeps your attention and it never lets it go. It leads you down one path and as soon as you think you are familiar with it, it pulls the lever dropping you onto a brand-new path that you know nothing about.
The characters in Gantz aren’t flashy, they don’t jump out at you, they’re just simply normal people. And that is exactly what makes them special. The normalcy and plainness of the characters serve as a grounding mechanism to aide the world in its realism. Gantz isn’t a story about superpowers, it’s a story about humans. You’ll meet tons of characters that you’d see everywhere. Shy schoolgirls, gangsters, athletes, etc. It’s hard to notice, but the realism the characters bring only help in immersing you further into the world.
The art in Gantz is something that I’ve never really seen before. I bet there are other mangas out there that do the same thing as Gantz but I just happened to read Gantz before any of the others. The author does the art in pen and moves it into computer software to render it to make it look hyper realistic. Don’t believe me? Take one good look at the background and you’ll see detail like you won’t believe. It looks like the author just drew on a real photo of a place in Japan. Yet, the art feels seamless. The realistic look of the background just cements a natural look to the environment and plays really well into the world of Gantz. The art alone can carry one’s immersion in the world, but there are many moments where the art is simply too dark. During these moments, it’s hard to pick out what exactly is happening, and it just makes the page a blur or darkness. Now, you can’t have an action manga with fights, right? Well, the fights in Gantz look great, the author takes his time to draw out motions in a way that feels familiar. Instead of simple lines showing the movement, in its place are these smooth scores that resemble vibrations.
I can’t remember the last time a manga had me reading 100+ chapters in a day. It was amazing from the first chapter to the last chapter. The world is interesting and filled will all kind of weird goodies to feast your brain on, the art and the characters complement the world building so well that it feels organic. Give Gantz 10 chapters. That’s when things start to unravel, and the story lifts off. If you’re not hooked by then, Gantz just isn’t for you.
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