Dark Horse to re-release Gantz manga in Omnibus format starting 2018

A couple of days ago, distributor Dark Horse have announced plans to re-release Hiroya Oku’s sci-fi mature manga series Gantz in omnibus format starting sometime in 2018. The distributor confirmed that more details will soon follow.

Gantz was serialised in Weekly Young Jump magazine since 2000 and received 37 volumes with 383 chapters in total. The story was adapted into both an anime television series, an anime movie and two live-action movies over the past decade. The anime television series was adapted by studio GONZO in 2004 while the recent anime film (GANTZ:O) was adapted by studio Digital Frontier in 2016.

How long will you stay in the game?

The last thing Kei and Masaru remember was being struck dead by a subway train while saving the life of a drunken bum. What a waste! And yet somehow they’re still . . . alive? Or semi-alive? Maybe it’s reanimated . . . by some kind of alien orb with a nasty message . . . “Your lives are over. What you do with your new lives is up to me!” And what this orb called “Gantz” intends to do with their lives is make them play games of death, hunting all kinds of odd aliens, along with a bunch of other ordinary citizens who’ve recently met a tragic semi-end. The missions they embark upon are often dangerous. Many die-and die again.

This dark and action-packed manga deals with the moral conflicts of violence, teenage sexual confusion and angst, and our fascination with death.

Hang on to your gear and keep playing the game, whatever you do; Gantz is unrelenting.

Gantz is known for containing a fair amount of strong bloody violence and sexual themes so it’s not suitable for younger audiences. Dark Horse have released all 37 volumes in single format in both digital and print formats, you can sample some of the pages on their official website. The amount of volumes each omnibus will offer is currently unknown.

MVM originally released the 2004 anime series on DVD but it’s now out of print. You can check out GANTZ:O exclusively on Netflix, and Manga UK have released the live-action Gantz movies on DVD (first film is also available on Blu-ray).

Dark Horse have released a number of manga in omnibus format in the past, recent notable examples include Blade of the Immortal and Oh! My Goddess. Dark Horse also release manga in single format releases including the well-received and highly-praised Berserk, and also Blood Blockade Battlefront and Drifters.

Source: Dark Horse Twitter, Anime News Network