Gantz
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Gantz is a manga and anime series created by Hiroya Oku.
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Gantz manga
Gantz (ガンツ gantsu) is an ongoing manga being serialized in Shueisha's Young Jump. Gantz is about an ordinary high school freshman, Kei Kurono, who dies and finds himself in a surreal game of death run by an entity known only as GANTZ. Gantz is very action-packed and also very detailed. This is partly as a result of the technique used by the production staff. It combines CG backgrounds with pen-drawn characters.
Gantz anime
The Gantz anime is an often unfaithful adaptation of the Gantz manga, with less violence, nudity, sexuality, and details. The DVD version does contain a significantly more faithful version of Gantz, and includes many of the scenes that were omitted or toned down in the broadcast version. The Gantz anime was produced by ADV Films in North America, aired from 2004 to 2005, ran for 26 episodes, and 7 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD.
Plot
The plot involves a high school student and his friend who are both killed by a train as they try to save a homeless man who'd fallen on the tracks. They are both transported to an apartment room where they meet a group of other confused people who have also just died. In the center of the room lies a black sphere simply called GANTZ. GANTZ informs the people that their lives have ended and that they will now do whatever GANTZ wishes. GANTZ forces them to participate in what at first appears to be a "reality" game show, in which they hunt aliens who are secretly living among us. Each participant has a bomb device implanted in their brains that prevents them from wandering outside the designated area, which is about 1 km in radius; once they cross the boundary, or tell anyone of the secrets of GANTZ and the apartment, the bomb will go off. Those who are killed by the aliens die for good. If they manage to survive the fight, GANTZ transports them back to the room, tallies their score and sets them free, but only to have them return to play another time. Those who manage to gain 100 points are set free for good.
The series introduces new characters constantly, since most of them are killed off quickly. Questions arise as to what is GANTZ, and how is it able to provide them with such fantastic weapons and technology. The reader wonders why were they selected to play the game, And just why where they brought back from death in order to fight seemingly harmless aliens. At times it becomes a very interesting character study, of course, this can only be said about the characters that manage to survive long enough.
Characters
Names are in Western order, with the given name before the family name.
- GANTZ (GANTZ) - A large black ball in the apartment that controls the lives of those who get involved with his game. Inside Gantz are weapons and personalized outfits for those "recruited" by Gantz, as well as a bald man who may or may not be Gantz's true form. Gantz is an enigma and while more about Gantz's rules are revealed as the series goes on, Gantz himself (or itself) remains a mystery.
- Kei Kurono (玄野 計 Kurono Kei) - The main character. He is a rather selfish character who often ends up being the reluctant anti-hero. At some points Kei actually enjoys the missions since he has a chance to prove himself a hero and to use his power to beat his foes. In the manga, Kei is eventually regarded as a hero by the other players, who look up to him.
- Masaru Kato (加藤 勝 Katō Masaru) - An old friend of the main character, who calls him "Kei-chan". He is a very heroic and noble person, having been inspired by the Kei-chan he knew as a kid. At school he acts as a guardian to the weaker students who often find themselves bullied. Kato and his little brother live with their uncaring aunt.
- Kei Kishimoto (岸本 恵 Kishimoto Kei) - A girl who Kurono sees nude when he first meets her. Kurono has a deep crush on her but apparently she doesn't feel the same way.
- Joichiro Nishi (西 丈一郎 Nishi Jōichirō)
- Shion Izumi (和泉 紫音 Izumi Shion)
- Tae Kojima (小島 多恵 Kojima Tae)
- Hiroto Sakuragi
- Sakata
- Reika - A popular actress/idol.
External links
- Young Jump Magazine Webpage (Japanese) (http://yj.shueisha.co.jp/)
- Official Site (Japanese) (http://www.gantz.net)
- Anime News Network Gantz Page (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3641)
- Gantz manga (http://www.baka-ost.net/manga/index.php?d=GANTZ+(on+going))
- download gantz manga (http://www.omanga.net/?cid=b_gantz)ja:GANTZ
