Originally authored by Hiroya Oku, ‘Gantz’ is controversial for its twisted surreal story line. Main characters Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato are killed by an accident and dispatched to an isolated room, with a group of recently deceased. The start of a never-ending killing game, each of them has to follow Gantz’s (a gigantic black ball) order and disembark to another planet — to complete all kinds of tasks within a time frame and battle with aliens. With one hundred marks, one could choose to return to reality or dedicate the privilege to a peer.
The comic is recently adopted into a feature film, featuring Matsuyama Kenichi (Masaru Kato) and Kazunari Ninomiya (Kei Kurono); the script focuses on the story line of the first nine issues. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ is not the point here, but how each character faces the on-going killing which is beyond any human moral and reasons; as audience, how we observe and accept what is presented in front of our eyes. It is much anticipated how the director will bring ‘Gantz’ team battle uniform, spectacular weapons and alien enemies — Greenonion Alien, Tanaka Alien, and Kannon — to life with CG technology. Its sequel ‘Gantz: Perfect Answer’ is coming to the cinema in May 2011.
Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: dilettante
Edit: Carmen Lee
Update: 19 Apr 2011
