Apr 21, 2021
If you hate Gantz, you're wrong.
As I watch the mainstream popularity of Junji Ito continue to grow (and it's deserved - he's amazing), I can't help but think of Hiroya Oku, and in particular his Gantz, and just think... how strange it is that society is so much more accepting of extreme violence, horror, disfiguration - to the point of mainstream acceptance and praise - yet still quite queasy when it comes to sexuality.
It's one of the two points people use to attack the Gantz series - and truthfully - if you aren't interested in 'fan service', you probably should steer clear of this series,
...
as Hiroya ramps it up pretty high. NOT as highly as his graphic extreme violence (to the nth degree), but that's the point. Limbs being ripped off is A-ok with the masses - boobies, not so much I guess.
But it's that unflinching grittiness of how in your face this manga is, in all aspects, that gives it power. The ART is a 10. Can't we forgive some fan service for that? The SCI-FI elements are as cool as it gets. Is Hiroya's fascination with breasts that distracting? The CHARACTERS come at you fast and furious. Is it really so bad that sometimes they're naked? Ultimately aren't we all?
I guess you could make a point that the fan service is all aimed at entertaining men, and you'd have a point - hey, I'm all for fair and balanced - but the Japanese (and Americans as well) seem even more upset about exposed weiners in their manga than they do vaginas, and in this case we don't see either. Maybe more exposed male pecs or buttocks would've helped pull in some of that 42% of female manga readers. Then again, maybe not.
Of course then you would've had a large portion of the male readership losing their minds.
Regardless, the sexuality of this series has the same unflinching forward moving strut as everything else and its just a part of Hiroya's style. It is what it is. If you don't like it, you're wrong. It's as a part of the story as anything else here and without it, it would not be the same. That may sound strange in talking about 'fan service' - and I'm not talking about the pin-ups (I'll concede that they tend to be overkill) - but the stories' use of sexuality is in line with human desire, need, etc. and the darkness, ugliness and beauty of it that's a part of an in your face story like this.
And the other point people like to harp on IS the story, and in this instance they're wrong about that as well.
We are tremendously spoiled by the idea that all stories are explained, usually in very specific Wikipedia-like detail - all points and plot and reasons for WHY things happen. In particular, Hollywood movies have really made it difficult to digest something less specific.
Gantz isn't that kind of story. (I recommend watching a lot more French Cinema.)
It tells us what we need to know to advance the action. It is specifically vague about some points because - that's how gritty life is - you DON'T always know. You DON'T always get all the answers. Still you move on. Imagine a war movie. Suddenly your troop is ambushed. Are you? How do you know? Maybe they were there already and YOU surprised THEM. What is their purpose for doing it? For being there? Somehow in Hollywood movies, we get all of these answers, when the truth is - in real war - we mostly have no clue what's going on.
Heck, the Vietnam War was all but over before we started to really begin to digest what was actually occurring.
These two elements - the focal point of most people's criticism of the series, are misunderstood. They ARE what they are specifically because its necessary. Sexuality makes us uncomfortable. Not having all of the answers disorients us. And ultimately that is what great creative art is all about. And the mainstream masses are never going to understand that.
This manga is a rollercoaster ride through a bizarre series of events and it exceeds like very few ever have.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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