Gantz

I actually watched the live action films of Gantz before the anime and whereas I enjoyed it there were some differences between the two. Most notably the main character- Kei Kurono. In the film he appeared a bit innocent. In the anime at times he was an obnoxious brat with a foul mouth. However you do see his character develop as the series progresses.

I really enjoyed this anime written by Hiroya Oku and produced by Gonzo. It was different and not drawn out. The series contains 26 episodes which was long enough for me as I find it hard to keep up with anime's made up of hundreds of episodes these days such as Naruto and Bleach and I haven't even started One Piece yet!

There's a twist almost right away in the first episode that sees the hero Kei die along with an old friend while attempting (reluctantly) to save a homeless man from certain death on the train tracks. However they don't end up in heaven, no. They end up in an empty apartment room with nothing but a giant black orb in the middle. This is called Gantz and it gives them instructions on what they must do to survive. Soon they are joined by other people who have died that night.

Given rubber suits that gives them strength and provided with guns they are tasked with hunting down aliens that have infiltrated the city. Kill these aliens and they can spend another day on Earth. If they are killed though they are dead for good. Simple right?

So at first they think it's a video game simulation but it turns out to be very real indeed. At the end of the round Gantz awards the victors with points while complimenting or insulting their actions. Then they are transported back to their normal lives until the next night and so on.

The points are very important. For once a character reaches 100 they can then choose freedom or to resurrect a fallen team mate. What would you do with your life on the line every night?

Meet Green Onion

There are some quite interesting characters in this anime and for the ones who survive they have to explain what's happening to the newcomers every night. Annoying eh?

It made me ponder in the end if Gantz was trying to save the world by eliminating aliens or just toying with his chosen for his own amusement.

Did I mention that there's actually a guy in the black orb? 

There's quite a bit of violence, nudity and swearing in this but on the whole I thought it was great.

Does Kei return to his normal life? Watch it and find out!