GANTZ Volume 2

“Am I alive or dead?” Kurono wonders as he and his new friends stumble through the streets of late night Tokyo, confused and upset by the previous hours of violent onslaught. Having just hours before been hit (and swiftly decapitated!) by a train, attacked by aliens with sharp teeth and most importantly; meeting a girl with the biggest breasts ever, Kurono’s life -if that is what this is- has never been as eventful as it now.

But then perhaps it was all just a flash in the pan? Kurono wakes up the following morning and goes to same school as ever, sees the same boring old people and gradually rediscovers his pent up disdain for all mankind. He’s no hero, just another average kid. He still has his GANTZ suit though; his gateway to being one of the cool kids again and if an annoying meat head bully wants to pound the shit out of him someday, well, who can blame him for standing up for himself?

If you had figured that GANTZ was all about alien hunting, these latest four episodes are bound to leave you disappointed; dealing almost exclusively with the aftermath of the first hunt as well as introducing a varied cast of new characters (from a bumbling old lady to a bunch of rowdy bike punks), these episodes prove that GANTZ is more steamy character drama than sci-fi gore fest.

What is GANTZ (the intelligent big black ball) anyway? Judging from these episodes, it’s more or less apparent that it’s taking the responsibility to show the likes of bratty old Kurono their indelible faults as human beings. By giving these characters another chance at life, GANTZ (in its own perverted way) demands that they earn it and only those willing to accept their weaknesses and adapt can survive.

Of course this show would be pretty vacant without its attention to sexual tension and during this volume there are more than a few times when Kurono crosses the line between horny teenager and outright pervert!
In a turn of events that he succinctly describes as “lucky!” his dream girl Kei turns up on his door step- homeless, hungry and in need of friend. Suffice to say that our privileged insight into Kurono’s “romantic” thoughts leaves him without any shred of dignity. But still, there is something quite compelling about these characters; they come across as average people who react in realistic ways and it’s this common touch that gives us something to latch onto. They are not perfect, but that’s cool, because we aren’t either.

In Summary

GANTZ is all about sex and violence, so give up now if you are offended by the animated sight of squished brains and unfettered breasts. There is a vague social commentary in here somewhere, and characters like Kurono seem almost too realistic for comforts sake, but don’t kid yourself that GANTZ is anything but an (albeit inventive) colourful “alien shoot ’em up!”, and that’s the way we like it!