| Gantz | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover, featuringKei Kurono, Masaru Kato, and the rest of the group | |
| Genre | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hiroya Oku |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Young Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Young Jump |
| Original run | June 29, 2000 –June 20, 2013 |
| Volumes | 37(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Ichiro Itano |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Masashi Sogo |
| Music by |
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| Studio | Gonzo |
| Licensed by | |
| Original network | |
| English network | |
| Original run | April 13, 2004 – November 18, 2004 |
| Episodes | 26(List of episodes) |
| Films | |
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| Spin-offs | |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Gantz (stylized inall caps) is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byHiroya Oku. It was serialized inShueisha'sseinen manga magazineWeekly Young Jump from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected in 37tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and killaliens armed with a handful of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry.
Ananime television series adaptation, directed byIchiro Itano and animated byGonzo, was broadcast for 26 episodes, divided into two seasons, in 2004. Aseries of twolive-action films based on the manga were produced and released in January and April 2011. A CGI anime film,Gantz: O, was released in 2016.
High school studentsKei Kurono andMasaru Kato die after being struck by a subway train while attempting to save a drunk homeless man who had fallen onto the tracks. Upon their deaths, they awaken inside a barren Tokyo apartment alongside other confused participants. Trapped within the room, they encounter a large black sphere known as "Gantz". The sphere assigns missions where participants must hunt and kill alien targets hidden on Earth, providing them with advanced weaponry—including powered suits andenergy weapons.
During missions, the participants are transported to the target location and confined there until all enemies are killed or the time limit expires. Normal humans cannot perceive the players or the aliens. Those who survive are awarded points based on their kills. Upon accumulating 100 points, a participant gains access to a menu offering three choices: returning to normal life with erased memories; obtaining a powerful weapon; or reviving a deceased teammate. After their initial missions, Kurono and Kato face brutal battles that result in heavy casualties. During their third mission, Kato sacrifices himself to defeat the final target, allowing Kurono to survive despite severe injuries. This experience profoundly changes Kurono, who adopts a more heroic mindset and resolves to revive his fallen comrades. He later leads a new team of Gantz players, demonstrating exceptional combat prowess and leadership. Eventually, Kurono revives Kato, only to perish himself in a subsequent battle against a group of vampires.
As the story progresses, the rules of the missions evolve. Ordinary humans become able to witness the battles, and the aliens grow increasingly formidable. The participants eventually engage in a joint mission with a rival Gantz team from Osaka. Kato, now the central figure, fights desperately to revive Kurono, culminating in a battle against the powerful alien Nurarihyon. Though Kato succeeds in defeating the creature, he is left critically wounded.
An experienced participant named Joichiro Nishi later reveals a hidden "catastrophe countdown" on the Gantz sphere, indicating an impending global threat. One week later, Earth is invaded by a massive alien force intent on exterminating humanity. Kurono and his allies utilize Gantz technology to mount a defense. It is eventually revealed that an advanced alien species provided humanity with Gantz as a means of survival, though their motives for doing so remain a mystery.
In the final confrontation, the alien leader Eeva challenges humanity, threatening to destroy the planet unless Kurono faces him in battle. With the world watching, Kurono, aided by Kato, defeats Eeva and prevents Earth's annihilation. The series concludes with Kurono and Kato returning as heroes.
Hiroya Oku first conceived the story ofGantz during his high school years, drawing inspiration from thejidaigeki television seriesHissatsu andRobert Sheckley's novelTime Killer. However, he did not commit to developingGantz until after completing the mangaZero One, which featured a similar setting. Oku concludedZero One because he found it insufficiently entertaining and too costly to produce.[4]
For the manga's production, Oku began by drafting thumbnails of the pages. He then constructed 3D models of the characters and backgrounds on his computer. After printing these elements, he applied tone and color manually, finishing with sound effects and dialogue.[5] Although he had employed a similar method inZero One, that series involved less hand-drawing; forGantz, Oku increased the amount of manual illustration to achieve a more realistic aesthetic and to reduce costs. He noted, however, that the process remained time-consuming, requiring rapid work to meet publication deadlines.[4]
Oku sought to incorporate realism intoGantz and indicated that certain events in the story reflected his personal views on world issues. During violent or erotic scenes, he avoided prolonging them excessively to maintain the series' realistic tone. He stated that he did not engage in self-censorship and that all illustrated content was published as originally drawn.[6] Severalplot twists were designed to subvert common manga tropes, such as the deaths of major characters like Kei Kishimoto and Masaru Kato. Prior to serialization, Oku informed his assistants that—with the exception of protagonist Kei Kurono—all main characters would eventually die.[4]
Written and illustrated byHiroya Oku,Gantz started inShueisha'sseinen manga magazineWeekly Young Jump on June 29, 2000.[b]Gantz is divided into three main story arcs, referred to as "phases". After the completion of phase one (first 237 chapters) on July 20, 2006,[9] the author put the series on hiatus for a short time to work on phase two (chapters 238–303), which was serialized from November 22, 2006,[10] to July 2, 2009.[11] The third and final phase (chapters 303–383) started on October 1, 2009,[11] and the series finished after about 13 years of publication on June 20, 2013.[12] Shueisha collected its chapters in thirty-seventankōbon volumes, released from December 11, 2000,[13] to August 19, 2013.[14] A vertical-scrolling full-color edition of the series, released under the titleGantz: T, started on Shueisha'sJump Toon vertical-scrolling manga service on July 7, 2024. Shine Partners is in charge of the coloring.[15]
In North America, publishing companyDark Horse Comics acquired the licensing rights for the release of English translations ofGantz on July 1, 2007, during theAnime Expo.[16][17] The thirty-seven volumes were published between June 25, 2008,[18] and October 28, 2015.[19] Dark Horse Comics republished the series in a 3-in-1 twelve-volumeomnibus edition from August 22, 2018,[20] to July 5, 2023.[21]
Gantz/Osaka, showing the stories of the GantzOsaka team, has been published in Japan in 2010 and compiled in 3 volumes released by Shueisha between October 20 and December 17, 2010.[22][23] A special chapterGantz no Moto that has Hiroya Oku telling the story on how he got into the manga business and what films influenced him was published inMiracle Jump on January 13, 2011.[24] A one-shot chapterGantz/Nishi, showing the life of Nishi, was published inWeekly Young Jump on May 12, 2011.[25][26]
A spin-off, titledGantz G, was published from November 2015 to March 2017.[27][28] The manga was written by Oku and illustrated by Keita Iizuka.[29][30]
A historical spin-off ofGantz titledGantz: E, written by Oku and illustrated by Jin Kagetsu started in January 2020.[31]
Gantz was adapted into a 26-episodeanime television series byGonzo, with series composition and scripts written byMasashi Sogo [ja], characters designs byNaoyuki Onda [ja], and music composed by Natsuki Sogawa;[32]Yasuharu Takanashi also composed the music from episode 6 onwards.[33] The series aired for two seasons, labeled as "stages". The first stage was broadcast for 11 episodes (out of 13 originally produced) onFuji TV from April 13 to June 22, 2004.[34][35][c] The first stage aired on Fuji TV with several scenes censored, due to content that were deemed inappropriate, such as violence or nudity. However, the DVD releases contained the scenes uncensored.[37] The second stage was broadcast for 13 episodes onAT-X from August 26 to November 18, 2004.[38][39][40] The episodes were collected on 12 DVDs, released byShochiku, from August 25, 2004,[41] to June 29, 2005.[42]
In North America,ADV Films announced that they had licensed the series in 2004. It was released in uncut form, retaining the violence and nudity previously censored in Japan for broadcast.[43] Ten DVDs were released from February 8, 2005,[44] to January 17, 2006.[45] The series began broadcast inAnime Network in 2005.[46] In June 2010,Funimation announced that they had acquired the rights to the series;[47] they released a complete DVD set on January 25, 2011.[48]
Gantz: O, a 3D CGI animated film adaptation, was released in 2016.[30]
On March 17, 2005,Konami published a game for thePlayStation 2 in Japan named simply asGantz: The Game. It features the characters and plot up to the Chibi Alien mission. The game mixesthird-person shooter androle-playing game (RPG) elements together. The game also includes extras including Free Play mode, a Mini Mode, Magazine Browser mode, Gantz Rankings, a special preview movie and the scenario completion statistic.[49]
A novel, titledGantz/Minus, written by Masatoshi Kusakabe and illustrated byYusuke Kozaki, started serialization inWeekly Young Jump on July 23, 2009, being the first time that a novel was serialized in the magazine.[50] It takes place before the events of the manga, with the focus being on the characters Shion Izumi and Joichiro Nishi, who participate in Gantz's missions. It was later released as a collected volume on May 19, 2010.[51]
Another novel, titledGantz/EXA, planned by Yumeaki Hirayama, written by Junjo Shindo and illustrated by Koji Ogata, began serialization inWeekly Young Jump on September 16, 2010.[52] It was later released as a collected volume on January 19, 2011.[53]
On November 24, 2009, it was announced that two live-actionGantz films were in production. The films starKazunari Ninomiya andKenichi Matsuyama in the roles of Kurono and Kato respectively, and were directed byShinsuke Sato. The films were released in January and April 2011.[54]
The first film, titled simply asGantz, was released in Japan on January 29, 2011. A special North American screening took place on January 20, 2011, during which the film wassimulcast in theaters across 46 states.[55] At the end of this special Los Angeles showing, which took place at the Mann's Chinese 6 theatre, there was a discussion and live interview with both the male leads,[56] as well as a teaser trailer for the second installment,Gantz: Perfect Answer, which was released in Japan on April 23, 2011.Gantz andGantz: Perfect Answer were screened in San Diego as part ofSan Diego Comic-Con at the Gaslamp 15 Theater on July 22 and 23.[57]
In May 2020, it was reported thatSony Pictures is adaptingGantz with writerMarc Guggenheim.[58][59] In November 2021, it was announced thatJulius Avery was hired to direct the film.[60]
A companion book titledGantz/Manual was published by Shueisha on December 17, 2004. The book features episode summaries, character overviews, and additional background details on the Gantz universe.[61] A revised edition,Gantz/Manual Remix, was published in 2011 as a supplement for Gantz manga and live-action film featuring story act summaries, manga story arc summaries, character overviews, and additional background details on the Gantz universe.
Japanese sales from theGantz manga have led several of the volumes to be featured in lists of best seller volumes from Japan.[62][63] By November 2010, theGantz manga had sold over 10 million units in Japan,[64] while during January 2011 the sales increased to over 15 million volumes.[65] By June 2013, the manga had reportedly sold 20 million copies.[66] By April 2021, the manga had over 24 million copies in circulation.[67]
During 2008,Dark Horse Comics announced that theGantz series had sold 175,000 copies in America.[18] Volume 4 of the manga reached eighth place onThe New York Times "Manga Best Seller List".[68]About.com's Deb Aoki listedGantz as the best newseinen manga of 2008 along withBlack Lagoon.[69]
DVD sales ofGantz have been particularly strong. The third DVD volume significantly outsold the first, according toADV Films. Strong sales ensured the continued release of subsequent volumes, making the series one of 2005's most successful anime franchises.[70] Christopher MacDonald ofAnime News Network called it one of Japan's favorite TV anime in October 2006.[71]
TheGantz anime has been described as being extremely "violent", "gory" and "sadistic" and yet is also very "addictive", even when it was censored during broadcast.[70]
This show stakes out a position as close to psychological horror and thriller territory as it does science fiction.
