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After watching the first episode of Gantz I stared blankly at my tv screen and felt... weird? I'm not sure what it is that triggers this, but it would repeat after every episode. Yet, I still continued to watch. It felt a lot like watching a schlocky b-movie. Yes the acting, the cgi, and just about everything else is shit. But there is something somewhat enticing about a giant crocodile battling it out with a giant spider. And of course all the gore is a nice bonus. And that is how I feel about Gantz. Pretty much everything about this anime royally sucks with the ... small exception of an interesting plot. Speaking of which, let's get down to it.



Plot/Story: The only redeeming factor of Gantz is it's concept. Keep in mind too I'm only reviewing the first season. It hints toward a possible escape/redemption scenario in the final episode. Basically the way it works is randomly selected people are transported the moment after death into a room. Their bodies are copies, and the originals just disappear from the scene of their deaths. Inside that room is a giant grey ball, or sphere, as the characters like to call it, that holds strange weapons, armor, and a bald guy with chords going into his head. This bald guy we quickly learn is Gantz. He doesn't speak, and instead makes snarky comments on the front of the sphere which is also a computer apparently. The reason our protagonists have been summoned into this room is to hunt aliens. That's pretty much it. With an hour time limit they are given a certain radius in which the aliens are hiding. Failure to capture, kill, or leaving the perimeter results in certain death. Success guarantees them to be placed back in the room and allowed to leave until they are again summoned. That is all I will say in this review but you start to learn things in the last two episodes.


Characters: This will be brief. Never in my life have I seen an anime with more pathetic characters than Gantz. Even after thirteen episodes I could care less if any of them lived or died. They are painfully dumb, perverted, heartless, and selfish. The three main protagonist Kei, Katou, and Kishimoto change slightly as the story progresses but continue to stay true to their original shitty nature all the same. There is also Nishi, who you will hate more than anybody the anime/manga world has ever spawned. Everybody else is unrelated to the main plot or just a throw in during the alien hunts during the first season. I assume some of them will make a return.

Sound: Honestly, I'm not one to care much about OPs or EDs. I skip them 99% of the time. However for the sake of this review I decided to watch them all the way through. I didn't think they were anything special, but not outright dreadful either. Throughout the show nothing from the sound track really caught my interest too much. But there were a few times in matched up with the atmosphere well.


Art: Gantz has a weird approach to blend CGI with a traditional anime style. This will be very apparent in the opening scene of the first episode. It plays a lot like a weird click and point game from the 90s and to be entirely honest I almost picked a different show after seeing it. Fortunately, they begin to use it less and less as the show goes on. Keeping in mind Gantz was release in '04, I tried not to keep my expectations too high. But even for an anime released over a decade ago it still felt sub par. And I'm not even talking about the CGI parts.


Overall enjoyment: As I stated in the first part of this review most everything about Gantz feels half-assed. Yet it does have a certain charm that kept me watching. Overall I would say it deserves a 4/10 but I went against my better judgement and gave it a 6/10. If you like good anime, and only good anime, don't watch this. But if you can turn you're brain down to 50% and enjoy a lot of head explosions, some pretty creative aliens, or maybe you like survival scenarios, then I'd say give Gantz a watch if you're in need of a quick binge.

Every so often I find myself watching an anime that for whatever reason I can't leave alone. These addictive shows often, if broken down and analyzed, wouldn't compare to some of the dramatic heavyweights that we all praise.

So why is it that a show like Shokugeki no Souma can become so popular and well received? I think that answer lies in the hearts and minds of the viewers. Anime, at it's core, is still a cartoon. It can take many forms. Some can be outrageous with food-driven orgasms, and others will make you cry. I do find myself in the mood at times to ... watch something thought provoking. But mostly, I tend to watch shows that don't require me to think a whole lot while viewing. Shokugeki is perfect for that.

If your having doubts about giving it a shot just know what your getting into. Nothing about this show will blow your mind. Often times it feels repetitive ( especially the fan service ), and the cook-offs do tend to drag a little bit. There is also a lack of character development, however a majority of them are likable and have independent personalities.

Based on what sort of shows you like and knowing your personal taste, I think that if you're still reading this far you should be able to decide if this show is for you. Shokugeki no Souma is fun. If your looking to be impressed, look elsewhere.