|
|
 |
|
Gantz Vol.
4: Terminal Dispatch
|
Well, shall we get down to business?
You want cutting edge? You want anime that definitely is NOT for
children? Gantz is the answer to that, and I have to say that
ADV did the right thing by grabbing the rights on this one for US
distribution. Thus far, the series has been gripping, it's been
graphic, and it's been addictive. More importantly, it's not even
half way through the series yet, the latest volume, "Terminal
Dispatch," stirs things up quite a bit and brings the series back to
where we started in some ways.
Gantz from the beginning however has been released only in
the form of two episodes per volume, something that I have mixed
feelings about. On the bad side of things, this means that the
series is going to be running for quite a few volumes, but on the
positive side, I really do enjoy the fact that after two episodes,
Gantz leaves you wanting more, so much more.
In this volume, things gear up for another group of the recently
deceased to be pulled into the world of Gantz. Through these two
episodes, we are introduced to the new cast of characters, but this
isn't to say that Kurono, Kishimoto, and Kato are going anywhere.
They will always be a part of the story, and they have the advantage
of previously being through routine. Now however, we find a group of
bikers who had a run in with a rival gang, an elderly woman and her
grandson (an this gives us an interesting look at what a child
experiences in this kind of situation), a former male model as well
as his female stalker are all now in the proverbial hands of Gantz
with a new alien menace to eliminate.
Kato however is having problems of his own in the real world. Due to
his recent actions and fights with bullies, they want revenge, and
another classmate has another idea to get back at him. When Kato
finds out the plan though, he puts an end to it, and it seems as
though he is developing more and more of a love of violence.
Kishimoto is still living with Kurono meanwhile, and the poor guy is
constantly drooling over her rather enormous breasts . . . . but
it's too bad that she's made it clear that she is in love with Kato.
The other issue however is that there are two Kishimoto's out there
now, and we get a little more background on why she committed
suicide, or attempted to at least. It seems that her sister is the
favorite now, and her mother sees Kei as being somewhat slow. In
despair, she decided that killing herself was the only way to remove
the mental torment, but now it has some rather odd results.
There are a few references in Gantz to some other Japanese
films and series that most should catch, but perhaps not everyone.
The stalker is mentioned as looking like Sadako by a high school
girl, and this of course can only be a reference to one thing;
Ringu. Kato's little brother also mentions Kenshiro, a reference
that most should recognize as Fist of the North Star and even
Kato himself quotes Ken's familiar line, "You're already dead."
Hopefully, most people will pick up on these, but I know there are
some that may not.
ADV has been kind enough with the extra material to give fans some
bonuses that were found on the Japanese DVD release. Besides the
fact that there are clean open and closing animations, you will find
that this volume contains the second portion of Cast Talk, a segment
that features Daisuke Namikawa (Kurono), Hitomi Nabatame (Kishimoto)
as well as Masashi Osato (Kato) all talking about their experience
working on Gantz. Joining them this time is Rakkyo Ide, the voice of
the Suzuki Alien whom we will all be meeting in the next volume.
The more I watch Gantz, the more I have started coming to a
conclusion. Gantz is the Serial Experiments Lain of
the new millennium. It's odd at times, it definitely has situations
from time to time that make you wonder exactly what direction its
going to head next, and compared to many other anime series,
Gantz is very bleak, devoid to humor for the most part, and
deliciously violent. If you think that you've seen anime, you'd
better think again because you've never seen anything like Gantz
in your life.
Episode 7 - We're After You
Kurono believes that he and his friends will be called by Gantz
again very soon and is trying to prepare Kishimoto for their next
battle. Kato has a group of student who want to take revenge on him
as well as a boxer looking for a little something more, but not if
Kato gets to him first.
Episode 8 - Uh-oh!
The dice have been cast and the next group is nearly ready to make a
journey into Gantz twisted world. But, will the newcomers accept
their fate and listen to those that have been through the trials and
tribulations, or will they simply go things their own way?
-mike-
|
Genre:
Psychological / drama
Series Director:
Ichiro Itano
Directed by:
Episode 7 - Atsushi Nigorikawa
Episode 8 - Masahiro Sekino
Written
by:
Episode 7 & 8 - Masashi Sogo
Voice
Cast:
Daisuke Namikawa (Kei Kurono)
Masashi Oosato (Masaru Kato)
Hitomi Nabatame (Kei Kishimoto)
Masahito Yabe (Joichiro Nishi)
|
DVD
Features:
Dual Language
Japanese/English
English
subtitles
Clean Open and Closing Animation
Interview with Daisuke Namikawa,
Hitomi Nabatame & Rakkyo Ide
Contains Episodes 7 & 8
|
|
|
