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Rating: 3 out of 5
Gantz is the anime series I’ve wanted to watch. It has eluded me for quite a while. Every time I watch one of the series I own, there is a commercial that reminds me that I need to watch it. A few years ago, I read Gantz’s manga. The manga was crazy, with people dying and coming back to life by a black orb that gives them missions and points. People banging on the streets or in rooms, and the violence gets crazier and bloodier as the manga progresses. I might have to find the manga and read it again because it was wild.
This is about Gantz: O, which is a CGI anime film. Gantz: O is around chapters 237-280 in the manga and deals with the Nurarihyon Alien Mission. Once again, my memory is a little fuzzy on this mission from the manga, but I know it is wild. It was the mission where my mouth was open the entire time because things get real, and the shit hits the fan for everyone. This film is a little different from the manga, but for the most part, 90% of it is similar.
Here we go! The film starts with a bang and throws you into a mission with Kei Kurono rescuing his friend, Reika. Kei dies in the process while the others are teleported back. At the same time, Masaru Kato dies attempting to save someone from a knife attack in a subway. He wakes up in the room with Reika and her teammates: Yoshikazu Suzuki, Joichiro Nishi, and an unidentified man. Masaru starts asking questions until Suzuki explains that he has died like everyone else and is brought to the room where they must participate against monsters. Suddenly, a black orb called “Gantz” displays their next mission. They must defeat three strange-looking monsters: One that looks like a fox, another that looks like an owl, and an old man.
While putting on skintight, black suits that contain advanced technology, the group is transported to Osaka. Suzuki explains that the game is to complete the mission in two hours. If they fail, all will die. Suzuki also explains that they get points for killing monsters, and whoever scores 100 points can choose from three prizes: upgraded weaponry, the resurrection of a fallen teammate, or freedom from the “game.” As the team meets the Osaka team, they see that the group has super-advanced weaponry for winning over 100 points numerous times.
Now, the fighting monsters come in two waves. The first wave is with lesser monsters, and the Osaka team goes wild with them, slaughtering the monsters and having sex. They are a wild group and overconfident. They are extremely overconfident and cocky. They have a giant mecha that is piloted by a seven-time 100-point scorer. Hachiro Oka.
Shit gets real when the second wave comes, aka the three bosses or the first two bosses. They quickly kill several of the top Osaka team members. You will see blood flow, limbs fly, and screams. It is wild to see. Now the group manages to take down the two bosses, but shit gets really, really real when Nurarihyon joins the battle. At first, he is a little dude that is skipping around. When the group manages to hit and cut him, he splits apart and transforms into his true form, a skeleton-like demon. Dude is freakin terrifying and I would be pissing my pants. You wonder if anyone would survive.
The problem with this film is that you might need to watch the anime or read the manga to understand it if you are coming in blind. It is one of those films in which you need to know what is going on with the characters and storyline. Another detail is that this film is not like other anime films, where it happens before or after a particular storyline. This one deals with what is the best storyline in the entire series.
Normally, I don’t like CGI in anime. I actually hate it, but with this film, it works because the whole movie is CGI, and it is needed to show how insane shit will get. The CGI brought this film to life with the scale of the fights and the characters. For example, the CGI was needed for showing the mecha and when the Nurarihyon transformed. The CGI showed its destructive power when that dude transformed and started fighting. Could it have been done in an animated way? Of course, but the CGI was awesome to watch, also.
The fight scenes in this anime film are crazy to watch. At the start of the mission, you think everything is going as planned because the Osaka team is having fun and doesn’t seem to care about the entire world. It wasn’t until the first two bosses rolled up, and shit got real. Watching the teams scramble and try to survive and counter was a sight to see and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Now that I think about it, this film is all action and nothing else.
Gantz: O is a visually stunning anime film that uses CGI to full effect. It is an anime film, and you are better off reading some of the manga or watching the anime to understand what is going on. Gantz: O does take the best arc in the entire series and makes it into a condensed movie. Give this film a chance, and don’t die anytime soon.
