Gantz & Gantz: Perfect Answer

Kazunari Ninomiya, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Tomorowo Taguchi

Dir. Shinsuke Sato
Scr. Hiroya Oku & Yusuke Watanabe

Based on the manga and anime of the same name, these two movies are quite something. This is action-packed, melodramatic science fiction at its best. The story is convoluted, the deaths are drawn out, the looks are meaningful and the action is awesome. I recommend seeing both these movies close together (they were released in Japan within a couple of months of each other): the second is a superior film to the first, but the first has a naivety and simplicity that is appealing.

After trying to rescue a man from the subway tracks and getting hit by a train, two estranged friends (Kato and Kurono) wake up in a room dominated by a huge black orb. There are others in the room, some as confused and disorientated as they are, some not. It turns out they did die and are now controlled by the black orb, Gantz. The purpose of their new lives is to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth, with the help of the others in the room and some pretty nifty super-suits and weapons. At the end of each “turn”, they are awarded points and get to go back to their old lives, only to be again pulled into the room at anytime at the will of Gantz. If they die in the game, they die completely. There are incentives to Gantz’s crazy game – score 100 points, and you can free yourself from the game or resurrect another player who has died. Needless to say, people die and are brought back. Aliens are killed and their fellow aliens want revenge, trying to hunt Gantz down and put an end to his game. The first film consists of three turns and a whole lot of action. The second film delves more into the alien fight back and the ultimate showdown between Gantz, his players and the aliens.

Our two main protagonists are Kato (Matsuyama) and Kurono (Ninomiya), friends at school whose lives have taken them in very different directions. We learn Kato had spent some time in a youth prison, is devoted to his younger brother and works a menial job to look after him. Kurono is at university and struggles with a lack of confidence and identity. Both react very differently to the game Gantz throws at them. Kato, despite of his obvious criminal past (we later find out he committed his crime to protect his brother), has a high moral standard and doesn’t want to be fighting, trying to protect those around him and becoming a reluctant leader. Kurono, on the other hand, finds what has been lacking from his life in the game. His skills are innate and his physical prowess impressive. Somewhat selfish, everything changes for Kurono at the end of the first movie and, in the second, he becomes the leader and protector of the other players. There is a strong bond between Kato and Kurono – this friendship runs through both movies and is the heart of the story.

The acting here is hammy at times, highly emotional at others, and sometimes just terrible. There is a great cast of likeable young actors, but melodrama most definitely reigns supreme. It reminded me a little of Star Wars – we forgive much for a great, action-packed story we can emotionally connect to. And that is precisely what these two movies, taken together, provide. The action sequences, especially in the second film, are fast-paced and explosive. Brilliant stuff.

If you like a bit of sci-fi and love all things Japanese, definitely see this movie.

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Gantz: Your lives have ended. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me.