Gantz  Recommended
Publisher
ADV / MVM
Production
GONZO
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes / 25 minutes
Year
2005
Gantz Volume 6: Judge, Jury & Executioner
By otaku_kei
20th Aug 06  After the shocking cliff hanger to the previous volume, I am sure there have been a lot of people anxiously awaiting the conclusion to the latest mission! With Kurono missing an arm and a leg, Kishimoto dead, and most of the other gamers dismembered it falls to Kato and Sei to try and save the day! Can they survive this brutal mission, or has Gantz finally thrown these gamers into a battle that they just cannot win? Well it should take an episode or two to find out if we consider the general pacing of this show. Will Gantz as a series ever be able to overcome its own shortcomings? Or will it still remain a strangely addictive show in spite of its failings? So when we last left Gantz just about everybody was dead or dying. Only Kurono, Sei and Kato remained, and Kurono was left in no shape to fight. Kato is then forced to take up the fight to these statue aliens to try and bring this battle to a close in enough time to save his childhood friend. But this is Gantz and nothing ever works out well for these desperate kids. So expect a few more deaths, brutal gooey endings to the aliens and Gantz to be the only winner in this game! So more of the same really. I know I have mentioned in previous reviews that despite the flaws in this show it remains strangely enjoyable, and that remains true for this latest volume. But Gantz seems incapable of moving the story onwards at all, and much more focussed with the amount of gore it can fit into the running time. Here we are at volume six, of a seven volume release, and we are still no closer to finding out what Gantz is, why does it operate, and if our heroes are any closer to saving themselves from a lifetime of deadly missions. There seems to be no time left to resolve the many questions that Gantz has raised for itself, especially as just about every episode is clogged up with long internal monologues that just regurgitate the exact same personal crisis episode after episode. Well, as has become the standard for each of volume of Gantz, we are left on another cliff hanger that will leave the viewer screaming at the telly in frustration! Just once I'd like this show to answer some damn questions. Or resolve a mission at the end of the volume rather than start a new battle. Expect all the new games victims to meet a bloody end pretty quickly in the next volume if this show is going to move forward at all. I just hope that this show can resolve itself satisfactorily in the time remaining. For those of you who have been following this show so far then certainly this latest volume will be for you. Anyone who has found themselves ambivalent to the fates of these gamers then there is nothing here to recommend this show to you. But I still cannot quite put my finger on just why this show is so strangely addictive...
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; Textless Opening & Closing; Japanese Cast & Crew Interview; MVM Trailers
Release information: Coming Soon - 18th September 2006
Notes: Gantz is once again presented on a great disc that not only has a suprerb A/V transfer but also comes with a wealth of extras. You need to be aware that if you watch the Japanese Cast & Crew Interview that is is spoiler filled, and discusses events still to come in the series. It is always noteworthy when a release offers more than just the standard options of Textless Songs, Art Galleries and Trailers, and Gantz has benefitted from several volumes of worthy extras.
-- otaku_kei 20th Aug 06
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