Gantz
(MVM Region 2 PAL DVD)
(2004)
review by Blackgloves

The four episodes on this second volume of "GANTZ" confirm this outrageous anime series as one of the most wildly inventive and enjoyably provocative of the recent crop of new anime imports. Taking a Matrix-style science fiction scenario as its starting point, the show quickly broadens its perspective to reveal a tangled, surrealistic web of seemingly unconnected characters -- all their tortured fates threaded together by absurd, unfathomable forces. The closest modern anime reference point is probably the recently acclaimed "Paranoia Agent", and like that series, "GANTZ" soon branches out in all sorts of unpredictable directions. The breadth of complexity, intelligence and daring in plot structure is noteworthy enough, but even by the relaxed standards of mainstream anime, "GANTZ" is unusually full-on in its dealings with violence, nudity and bad language. The version originally screened on Japanese tv aired in a severely abridged format, but DVD viewers get the full, uncensored episodes here, with their perturbing blend of poignant lyricism and shocking crudity fully intact!

Modern Tokyo is a harsh and unforgiving place. An unspoken of cavalcade of social problems lurk beneath its polite faced and people survive by disconnecting from the hopes and fears of those around them, retreating into a bubble of selfish desire and comforting behavioural routines instead. Young high school student Kei Kurono is no different in that regard; certainly not a person who stands out from the crowd in any way. But after being compelled to help his friend, Katou Masaru, attempt to rescue a drunkard who had fallen on to the subway tracks while others simply walked by without concern, both boys appear to meet an unfortunate and rather bloody end when they are run down by a train!

It is more than a little surprising for the two boys then, when they both wake-up in an anonymous apartment with a bunch of strangers, all of whom seem as confused and disoriented as they are. Even stranger is the giant, smooth black sphere that sits incongruously on the bare boards of the largest room in the apartment -- tootling uplifting fanfares to the dazed group. Eventually, they learn that they are all "faxed" copies of their original selves, transported at the moment of death to take part in a bizarre battle to the death with a variety of alien creatures who have apparently infiltrated the city! The black sphere, GANTZ, conveys information on the nature of their target and opens up to provide futuristic weapons and fetishistic black costumes with special "pressure point" pads that seem to lend their wearers great strength. Now living as disposable characters in a video-game-like battle, the "survivors have to fight to retain the weird new life "GANTZ" has provided; but the few who survive the first mission still have the old burdens and problems of their original lives to overcome as well as a whole new set of problems! The series focuses on three of the survivors of the first game: Kei Kurono, his friend Masoru Kato, and a beautiful, pink-haired girl called Kei Kishimoto. After destroying their target in the first mission given them, the trio attempt to resume their old lives ... until GANTZ calls on them once more.

Despite these outré sci fi trappings, this intriguing series actually manages to provide an incisive snapshot of the psyche of modern Japan: from its pop culture to its latent social concerns. The four episodes included on this second volume feature stories that run the gauntlet of social issues from school bullying, teenage suicide & self harm, child abuse, stalking, peer pressure and delinquency! A heady brew indeed, and often confronted head on with little subtlety! The violence is brutal and sadistic: a bully who yanks out and collects the teeth of his victims and a homosexual rapist who gets his face beaten to a pulp in a toilet cubicle are just two of the scenes of bloody mayhem unflinchingly depicted. Sex is dealt with in that familiarly frank but curiously infantile way that is the hallmark of modern anime, mainly centring on the unfeasiblely large bust of main female protagonist Kei Kishimoto! After discovering that her original self actually survived a suicide attempt and so continues to exist alongside her "copy", Kishimoto moves in with Kei Kurono to avoid meeting her double. Unfortunately, Kei has a breast-fetish of Russ Meyer proportions and spends much of his time fantasising or thinking up ways to sexually molest the placid young woman! Studio GONZO never miss an opportunity to perv over Kishimoto's bouncy chest, which is drawn way out of proportion to the rest of her petite body; and the embarrassing and rather unpleasant antics of nominal hero of the show, Kei, underline the obsessive, deranged nature of many of the characters and their desperate lives. As the show skips between chronicling the day-to-day experiences of the ever-expanding cast of characters who become embroiled in the surreal GANTZ game of death, a disjointed and eclectic concoction of elements somehow coheres beneath the show's ambient soundtrack to produce an exhilarating, endlessly fascinating feast of anime strangeness and Sci Fi tinged exotica.

The disc features the four episodes in anamorphic widescreen with dynamic 5.1 English audio and a strong 2.0 Japanese track. Extras include two ten minute interviews with the Japanese cast who are talkative and excitable and provide a great degree of background and colour to this inventive and, now, unmissable series. "GANTZ" is definetly one to add to the growing list of essential anime in 2006!