Review will be broken down like so :
spoilers are contained within spoiler texts :
The story starts with Kurono, a high school teenager on the way back home from school. Only to witness a homeless man falling into the train tracks. Kurono does not care whatsoever, however his long-lost childhood friend convinces him to. They get on the tracks and save the old man. However, the train is approaching and they have no time to get out. Kurono and Katou run to reach the end of the train station assuming it’ll stop, however it doesn’t and it kills them. They get transported into a room with a black ball called Gantz and the hunt for aliens begins. The main objective is to get 100 points and you’re free from the “game” of Gantz. However, these missions have a high mortality rate.
I tried my best to summarize the opening of the series. It’s a pretty intriguing start, a revival then and aliens. Throughout the Gantz series, the plot and rules remain mostly the same. What we see more, is the growth of the characters involved with Gantz. We see a variety of really strong aliens and how the participants react to the situation around them. It might seem repetitive however, I feel like the first 100 chapters are just a prologue to something much greater in the world of Gantz.
What makes Gantz’s story feel so real despite the crazy crap going on is how realistic the characters are. I often see myself despising Kurono but finding myself in him as well. You might deny it but a lot of times they feel grounded and are very relatable. It also does not hold back on sexual violence, child-abuse, racism, and most importantly gore. Definitely, not for the faint of heart. It’s relatable in a way that we see these problems in reality right now(2020). This was completed 7 years ago and we still have those societal problems. Albeit more extreme but the point still stands.
The story contains a lot of smaller stories revolving around several characters. This is exceptionally well done. We learn so much more about all the characters and how they deal with this situation. It adds depth and we learn why they do things the way they do. The character of Gantz is one of the best I've seen. Realistic, diverse, and relatable.
The weak point of this manga is how random the later part of the story can be. For some it may seem like just adding a story for the sake of it. However, the genius of it comes after you’ve completed it. Everything kind of comes full circle and the initial reasoning to why Gantz exists comes into light. But like I mentioned earlier it may seem like a big deus ex machina.
I find myself feeling really anxious throughout the manga. I felt dread knowing what might happen to the characters because Oku can be so unpredictable. I grew attached to a lot of the characters and on more than one occasion went, “please don’t die please don’t die”. That’s when you know you’ve created an unpredictable plot and characters that grow on the viewers.
The detail in the world and characters in this manga is insane. Just look at this:
The art is so detailed and really really beautiful. This is one of the best art I've seen in a manga. Oku’s work on cities and large-scale scenery reminds me of Katsuhiro Ootomo’s work on Akira. They are masters at drawing massive scenery with detail no one else is capable of. However, it is extremely gory and filled to the brim with NSFW art. Oku in one of his interviews stated how much he loves boobs so he loves to draw a lot of bare chested women. Oftentimes, during chapter intervals, a lot of art is around women barely wearing the gantz attire and posing in very lewd poses. The gore and the over-sexualization of women may be a turn off for some. However, the art is still amazing and deserves a lot of respect.
Oku’s art also really shows how much he excels as a visual storyteller. There are pages in each chapter where there is barely any dialogue. He’s a master at showing not telling. Gantz becomes a joy to read because of how you really get to appreciate the art in it and not be bombarded with copious amounts of exposition. That’s my one gripe with certain mangas. That each page contains endless amounts of exposition and the art is covered by this sea of dialogue texts. I just like being able to appreciate the art and understand what Oku’s trying to convey through the actions and movement of his characters.
Oku’s paneling is also top-notch. From what I've read I feel like he takes a “Less is More” approach in his paneling. Just look at this:
Definitely a big selling point for the manga.
When Kurono gets introduced, most, if not all, readers already have a strong resentment for him. He’s a selfish, perverted, and immoral person. He doesn’t act on his own will, he either gets pressured or Katou unintentionally force him to. Whenever he’s in a crappy situation, you don’t actually root for him to survive. But, during the entire course of the story he grows as a person and becomes more selfless. His development as a character is absolutely masterful. Throughout his experience with Gantz, you see how he grows to appreciate relationships he forges with people and starts to appreciate and genuinely care for them. He becomes a beacon of light for the members of Gantz and helps them get better in fighting the aliens. I absolutely love how he transforms as a character and becomes so much more endearing and by the end of Gantz, I find myself rooting for him to succeed.
There're so many characters, I'll be only focusing on the 2 main characters, Kurono Kei and Katou Masaru and summarize the rest.
Katou Masaru is Kurono’s childhood friend and looks up to Kurono as the coolest person he’s known. Katou’s who you root for at the beginning instead of Kurono. He’s your stereotypical optimistic protagonist. Unlike Kurono, he doesn’t really change, rather his motivation just gets stronger. I adore how he tries his best to help others and this is driven by his inspiration from Kurono, which is quite ironic, because Kurono actually learns to be more selfless because of him.
Throughout the entirety of Gantz I adore how many of the characters are able to find new ties. I love how Gantz is able to bring people together in a weird, twisted way. Oku goes nuts on the diversity of characters, I mean nuts, he has such an in-depth understanding of how different people behave and react to situations. We see people from all walks of life, a shut-in, an idol, a brawler, students, an old man, a kid. You see how people are still able to find relationships despite being in a really messed up situation. Spoiler:
The characters in Gantz are rooted in reality and I adore how these characters grow throughout the entirety of Gantz.
The manga contains a lot of sexual violence against women so be warned. At the beginning there was this dog that always smelled kishimoto’s crotch area which really disturbed me. There was a lot of rape both between humans and aliens. Oku, to say the least, is a messed-up guy. But you know what, this kind of stuff happens all the time, it’s just swept under the rug and forgotten.
Gantz will definitely go down as one of my personal favourite mangas of all time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t feel like I wasted a single second on it.
note: the anime adaptation was really disappointing, do yourself a favour and just read it
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