Review: “GANTZ” (Blu-Ray/DVD)



by Salvador M., staff writer, Inside AX- Anime Expo

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The live-action movie adaptation of the manga GANTZ by Hiroya Oku was directed by Shinsuke Sato (director of The Princess Blade) and the producers of the cult-hit Death Note. Released as a 3-Disc set (Blu-Ray, DVD, and Bonus Disc) by North American film distributor New People Entertainment, the movie features an English dub as well as the original Japanese audio track with English subtitles for purists.

The Bonus DVD shows the making of GANTZ along with an interview with director Shinsuke Sato, along with many versions of the trailers of both GANTZ and GANTZ: Perfect Answer. The movie stars Kenichi Matsuyama (“L” from Death Note live action movies) as Kato, Kazunari Ninomiya (Saigo from Letters from Iwo Jima) as Kurono, Kanata Hongo (Ryoma Echizen from The Prince Of Tennis live action movie) as Joichiro Nishi and newcomer Natsuna Watanabe as Kishimoto, who will be starring in the upcoming live-action Ranma ½ special as Ranma Saotome-female version.

The film starts off with the two protagonists Kurono and Kato meeting in the subway when they are hit by a train while attempting to save a passenger who fell onto the rails. Afterwards, they find themselves in a room with a group of other people and a mysterious black sphere known as GANTZ. GANTZ grants them a second chance at life, but there’s a catch. It decides for them how they will use this second life. They are sent out on missions to kill aliens that are invading earth and once the mission is complete, they are awarded points. If they survive they live to play another day, but are required to be called upon by GANTZ whenever there is another mission.

Similar to any other manga/anime adaptation, GANTZ has its limitations. There are some things that are not included or are left rather vague since the time the filmmakers didn’t have to explain everything. This is why it was split into two movies GANTZ and GANTZ: Perfect Answer. I found GANTZ to be rather slow and lacking the same gory violence that the anime had, which may put off fans of the anime who might be expecting similar elements from the series.

I watched the movie in both dubbed and original Japanese audio, although I felt that the dubbed version left a lot to be desired and pulled me away from the film. Once I had changed to the Japanese audio however, it just flowed better and I became engrossed with the story. I also felt that the CGI was just right and not overdone like in other films.

The movie itself had parts in which the characters personal stories are revealed, but they took the approach of the manga which was hampered by the film’s limited scope. This led to parts of the movie that came to an abrupt stop in order to have a character reveal their past to us. In my opinion, this simply could have been accomplished by some flashbacks just like in other movies. However, in the end I was captivated by the action and story to the point in which I was screaming for the film’s sequel. I am definitely looking forward to the second movie now that I saw this one and seeing how it is handled.

Pros:

  • Storyline keeps true to the Manga/Anime
  • Famous cast
  • 3-Disc set (Blu-Ray and DVD)
  • Just the right amount CGI

Cons:

  • Not as gory as the anime
  • Bad English dubbing
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