This is the second part of the 3 part review of the sci-fi manga series Gantz (ガンツ) by Oku Hiroya. The manga is divided into three parts, Phases, to read the review of Phase 1 go here. Keep in mind that in order to properly review the series there are some plot spoilers.
Phase 2, also known as the Osaka Phase, occurs between chapters 238 and 303. It takes place with the team having failed to keep Kurano alive. To their surprise two of the vampires end up in the room with Gantz, by hanging on to a team member during transfer. Before they can deal with the uninvited guest's they find themselves on the streets of Osaka. The reason they have been summoned as a sort of back up for the Osaka team is due to the alien targets immense power. The local team looks at the new arrivals with disdain and exhibits an air of indifference unparalleled by anyone they have dealt with before.
Un-phased by the mass of enemies and the quickly rising civilian death toll, the seasoned team takes their time with the mission. Smoking joints, shooting heroin/amphetamines and getting on with what ever they can stick their dicks into in the process of eliminating the mass of targets. Their cockiness seems to be earned as their weapons cause unparalleled damage. Yet despite the amount of damage they do, the horde of aliens, who take after various yokai, soon prove to be more than a match for them. The Tokyo team stands by in horror at the lackadaisical actions of the Osaka team, even as some of them begin to fall. Kato particularly impresses one of the women on the Osaka team with his selflessness, something lacking with her compatriots. Through her they learn that many of the Osaka players have reached 100 points many times, always opting for more powerful weapons, continuing to play the game.
Yet even their experience and technical superiority begins to fall flat as the leaders of the horde enter the fray. They begin to cut down the Osaka team one by one, as they foolishly approach them without caution. Enough of the Osaka team die without doing much damage to the boss to convince the other members that they can't approach this battle in the way they normally do. As things become desperate and the boss seems immortal the Tokyo and Osaka teams have to try and work together to survive. The game no longer has a time limit and survival seems to be far from reality.
When the mission finally ends the remaining members of the Tokyo team decide to revive Kurano, who does not remember anything after he chose to leave the game. At this point they learn that everything they have been fighting for is coming to a close. A counter on Gantz informs them that something known as the Katastrophe will take place in a matter of days. Speculations about the timer is that it refers to the end of the human race, possibly through a nuclear war.
Before the team can wait it out they are sent on another mission, this time as a taste for the impossible battle ahead. They find themselves in Italy, fighting along a number of foreign teams against impossibly powerful aliens, who kill easily and can not be defeated. Before the team suffers catastrophic loses Gantz returns them to the room to inform them the mission is over, with out any level of success. The Phase ends with unknown black ships appearing all over the world, beginning with America.
This Phase was interesting in that is expanded the characters and readers knowledge about the black balls. Aside from the Tokyo teams' battle in Osaka, a side character, a reporter, digs into the people responsible for creating the black balls and learns some of their secrets. Another thing that is explicitly shown in this Phase is the extreme personalities and attitudes of some of the people involved in the game. There have always been people that arrive in the room with Gantz that are degenerates. Plenty of times the buxom female team mates have had to protect themselves from inappropriate comments to down right rape attempts. Many of the people chosen seem to be unscrupulous. Yet nothing like the vile nature of many of the Osaka team. In some ways its taken to comically extreme levels, like one who can't control his libido and fucks anything he can, including aliens. The Osaka team makes the actions and motives of the Tokyo team stand out. It makes them seem more honorable than they are. This is especially key for them as attitudes have become slightly nihilistic following Kurano's death.
The Osaka portion of the Phase occupies almost all of the story and drags on for longer than it should have. The battle in Italy is over before you even know what is going on, but adds in interesting dichotomy. For the first time they are pulled out of a mission before anything can really happen. You get the feeling that Gantz is concerned for the teams safety. But nothing can prepare them or the reader for whats about to happen in Phase 3.
Phase 2, also known as the Osaka Phase, occurs between chapters 238 and 303. It takes place with the team having failed to keep Kurano alive. To their surprise two of the vampires end up in the room with Gantz, by hanging on to a team member during transfer. Before they can deal with the uninvited guest's they find themselves on the streets of Osaka. The reason they have been summoned as a sort of back up for the Osaka team is due to the alien targets immense power. The local team looks at the new arrivals with disdain and exhibits an air of indifference unparalleled by anyone they have dealt with before.
Un-phased by the mass of enemies and the quickly rising civilian death toll, the seasoned team takes their time with the mission. Smoking joints, shooting heroin/amphetamines and getting on with what ever they can stick their dicks into in the process of eliminating the mass of targets. Their cockiness seems to be earned as their weapons cause unparalleled damage. Yet despite the amount of damage they do, the horde of aliens, who take after various yokai, soon prove to be more than a match for them. The Tokyo team stands by in horror at the lackadaisical actions of the Osaka team, even as some of them begin to fall. Kato particularly impresses one of the women on the Osaka team with his selflessness, something lacking with her compatriots. Through her they learn that many of the Osaka players have reached 100 points many times, always opting for more powerful weapons, continuing to play the game.
Yet even their experience and technical superiority begins to fall flat as the leaders of the horde enter the fray. They begin to cut down the Osaka team one by one, as they foolishly approach them without caution. Enough of the Osaka team die without doing much damage to the boss to convince the other members that they can't approach this battle in the way they normally do. As things become desperate and the boss seems immortal the Tokyo and Osaka teams have to try and work together to survive. The game no longer has a time limit and survival seems to be far from reality.
When the mission finally ends the remaining members of the Tokyo team decide to revive Kurano, who does not remember anything after he chose to leave the game. At this point they learn that everything they have been fighting for is coming to a close. A counter on Gantz informs them that something known as the Katastrophe will take place in a matter of days. Speculations about the timer is that it refers to the end of the human race, possibly through a nuclear war.
Before the team can wait it out they are sent on another mission, this time as a taste for the impossible battle ahead. They find themselves in Italy, fighting along a number of foreign teams against impossibly powerful aliens, who kill easily and can not be defeated. Before the team suffers catastrophic loses Gantz returns them to the room to inform them the mission is over, with out any level of success. The Phase ends with unknown black ships appearing all over the world, beginning with America.
This Phase was interesting in that is expanded the characters and readers knowledge about the black balls. Aside from the Tokyo teams' battle in Osaka, a side character, a reporter, digs into the people responsible for creating the black balls and learns some of their secrets. Another thing that is explicitly shown in this Phase is the extreme personalities and attitudes of some of the people involved in the game. There have always been people that arrive in the room with Gantz that are degenerates. Plenty of times the buxom female team mates have had to protect themselves from inappropriate comments to down right rape attempts. Many of the people chosen seem to be unscrupulous. Yet nothing like the vile nature of many of the Osaka team. In some ways its taken to comically extreme levels, like one who can't control his libido and fucks anything he can, including aliens. The Osaka team makes the actions and motives of the Tokyo team stand out. It makes them seem more honorable than they are. This is especially key for them as attitudes have become slightly nihilistic following Kurano's death.
The Osaka portion of the Phase occupies almost all of the story and drags on for longer than it should have. The battle in Italy is over before you even know what is going on, but adds in interesting dichotomy. For the first time they are pulled out of a mission before anything can really happen. You get the feeling that Gantz is concerned for the teams safety. But nothing can prepare them or the reader for whats about to happen in Phase 3.
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