Review will be broken down like so : Story Art Characters Overall Enjoyment spoilers are contained within spoiler texts : 80https://booklecticreviewshome.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/169gantzomnibus.jpg Story 9/10 The story starts with Kurono a high school teenager on the way back home from school. Only to witness a homeless man falling into the train tracks. Kurono does not care whatsoever however his longlost childhood friend convinces him to. They get on the tracks and save the old man. However the train is approaching and they have no time to get out. Kurono and Katou run to reach the end of the train station assuming itll stop however it doesnt and it kills them. They get transported into a room with a black ball called Gantz and the hunt for aliens begins. The main objective is to get 100 points and youre free from the game of Gantz. However these missions have a high mortality rate. I tried my best to summarize the opening of the series. Its a pretty intriguing start a revival then and aliens. Throughout the Gantz series the plot and rules remain mostly the same. What we see more is the growth of the characters involved with Gantz. We see a variety of really strong aliens and how the participants react to the situation around them. It might seem repetitive however I feel like the first 100 chapters are just a prologue to something much greater in the world of Gantz. What makes Gantzs story feel so real despite the crazy crap going on is how realistic the characters are. I often see myself despising Kurono but finding myself in him as well. You might deny it but a lot of times they feel grounded and are very relatable. It also does not hold back on sexual violence childabuse racism and most importantly gore. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Its relatable in a way that we see these problems in reality right now2020. This was completed 7 years ago and we still have those societal problems. Albeit more extreme but the point still stands. The story contains a lot of smaller stories revolving around several characters. This is exceptionally well done. We learn so much more about all the characters and how they deal with this situation. It adds depth and we learn why they do things the way they do. The character of Gantz is one of the best Ive seen. Realistic diverse and relatable. The weak point of this manga is how random the later part of the story can be. For some it may seem like just adding a story for the sake of it. However the genius of it comes after youve completed it. Everything kind of comes full circle and the initial reasoning to why Gantz exists comes into light. But like I mentioned earlier it may seem like a big deus ex machina. I find myself feeling really anxious throughout the manga. I felt dread knowing what might happen to the characters because Oku can be so unpredictable. I grew attached to a lot of the characters and on more than one occasion went please dont die please dont die. Thats when you know youve created an unpredictable plot and characters that grow on the viewers. Art 10/10 Masterful. The detail in the world and characters in this manga is insane. Just look at this: 49https://i.ur.com/2mAZaKv.jpg 49https://i.ur.com/soDK9Lu.jpg The art is so detailed and really really beautiful. This is one of the best art Ive seen in a manga. Okus work on cities and largescale scenery reminds me of Katsuhiro Ootomos work on Akira. They are masters at drawing massive scenery with detail no one else is capable of. However it is extremely gory and filled to the brim with NSFW art. Oku in one of his interviews stated how much he loves boobs so he loves to draw a lot of bare chested women. Oftentimes during chapter intervals a lot of art is around women barely wearing the gantz attire and posing in very lewd poses. The gore and the oversexualization of women may be a turn off for some. However the art is still amazing and deserves a lot of respect. Okus art also really shows how much he excels as a visual storyteller. There are pages in each chapter where there is barely any dialogue. Hes a master at showing not telling. Gantz becomes a joy to read because of how you really get to appreciate the art in it and not be bombarded with copious amounts of exposition. Thats my one gripe with certain mangas. That each page contains endless amounts of exposition and the art is covered by this sea of dialogue texts. I just like being able to appreciate the art and understand what Okus trying to convey through the actions and movement of his characters. Okus paneling is also topnotch. From what Ive read I feel like he takes a Less is More approach in his paneling. Just look at this: 49https://i.ur.com/BlD0zvI.jpg 49https://i.ur.com/RBfSXDg.jpg These panels demonstrate his minimal use of panels but can carry a lot of information without confusing the viewers. What grinds my gears in other manga is the fact that some of them really go crazy on the paneling it becomes so convoluted and confusing when I read it. However for Gantz its a very clear cut and gets the points across. Another simple thing that I like is how he distinguishes a flashback/memory from current events as demonstrated here: 49https://i.ur.com/8W5RpqA.jpg I like how the gutters around the memory/flashback section is coloured in black. This simple change in color unconsciously switches our minds from happening now to flashback. Its a simple technique but I like the use of this technique because of how subtle it is. Definitely a big selling point for the manga. Characters 10/10 Hiroya Okus a master at creating very realistic characters not just the main or supporting characters but the random bystanders/internet conversations. Oku paints the world as a very negative place which in reality is. What Ive seen through Okus writing shows the fact that humans are cynical selfish apathetic beings. People would curse anyone that does what they deem is immoral but when they commit immoral acts they expect to be sympathised. They also have a strong mob mentality especially when a small group of people to tell them something they dont believe. They do things that benefit themselves and not others they are inherently selfish creatures. Although it may seem overly cynical the fact is that people like these exist. Theres no one better than Kurono Kei at demonstrating this. When Kurono gets introduced most if not all readers already have a strong resentment for him. Hes a selfish perverted and immoral person. He doesnt act on his own will he either gets pressured or Katou unintentionally force him to. Whenever hes in a crappy situation you dont actually root for him to survive. But during the entire course of the story he grows as a person and becomes more selfless. His development as a character is absolutely masterful. Throughout his experience with Gantz you see how he grows to appreciate relationships he forges with people and starts to appreciate and genuinely care for them. He becomes a beacon of light for the members of Gantz and helps them get better in fighting the aliens. I absolutely love how he transforms as a character and becomes so much more endearing and by the end of Gantz I find myself rooting for him to succeed. Therere so many characters Ill be only focusing on the 2 main characters Kurono Kei and Katou Masaru and summarize the rest. Katou Masaru is Kuronos childhood friend and looks up to Kurono as the coolest person hes known. Katous who you root for at the beginning instead of Kurono. Hes your stereotypical optimistic protagonist. Unlike Kurono he doesnt really change rather his motivation just gets stronger. I adore how he tries his best to help others and this is driven by his inspiration from Kurono which is quite ironic because Kurono actually learns to be more selfless because of him. Throughout the entirety of Gantz I adore how many of the characters are able to find new ties. I love how Gantz is able to bring people together in a weird twisted way. Oku goes nuts on the diversity of characters I mean nuts he has such an indepth understanding of how different people behave and react to situations. We see people from all walks of life a shutin an idol a brawler students an old man a kid. You see how people are still able to find relationships despite being in a really messed up situation. Spoiler: The characters in Gantz are rooted in reality and I adore how these characters grow throughout the entirety of Gantz. Overall Thoughts 10/10 and Miscellaneous Things I thoroughly enjoyed the manga that is Gantz. Absolute masterclass by Hiroya Oku. I enjoyed how realistic it was how the characters all had traits that I could relate to. It felt so weirdly realistic. There are some moments that felt kinda random but thats life. Nothing in life is certain and the randomness is what makes life both a joy and hell to live through. You never know what could happen next and Gantz thrives in this. You never know which character might die next or what kind of alien might appear next. It feels so surreal yet grounded. The manga contains a lot of sexual violence against women so be warned. At the beginning there was this dog that always smelled kishimotos crotch area which really disturbed me. There was a lot of rape both between humans and aliens. Oku to say the least is a messedup guy. But you know what this kind of stuff happens all the time its just swept under the rug and forgotten. Gantz will definitely go down as one of my personal favourite mangas of all time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and didnt feel like I wasted a single second on it. note: the anime adaptation was really disappointing do yourself a favour and just read it Story: 9/10 Art: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 Overall Enjoyment: 10/10