MovieChat Forums > Gantz (2004) Discussion > What bugged me about this show...

What bugged me about this show...

posted 16 years ago by dex_90
28 replies | jump to latest

Gantz could've been really great, it seemed to have GREAT potential after the first episode... liked the basic concept of it and the look it gave into the action/thoughts of some people and society etc., but no matter how good I thought some of the scenes in the "outside world" were... it somehow always pissed me off when they went hunting for aliens...

The concept started similar to Lost and then they had to be sent hunting "onion guy"... I nearly wanted to stop watching after the second episode, good thing I watched the next few first, then "robot birds" and then “giant statues”... it made no *beep* sense and just WTF did they leave all logic (or rather their brain) they seemed to have in the outside world behind when they went a-hunting?
They were generally just STANDING around looking at each other and talking crap for 3-4 episodes waiting for something bad to happen or one of them to get shot/killed... and when that happened instead of trying to help or do the task at hand fast etc. they just stupidly stared at the one on the ground for 3+ minutes…

It’s not even the concept itself… hey hunting aliens isn’t a that bad idea but if it had to be aliens, then why not something reasonable with an actual GOAL or intellect, not some random animals, vegetables or statues that were just kinda wandering around staring stupid and attack every now and then… and instead of the "pointing gun for 5 minutes at the enemy before anyone GETS THE IDEA to USE IT against the bad guy”-crap they could‘ve had some intense fight-scenes to pass the time instead of that DBZ-crap where they stare at each other about to charge an attack, which takes 4 episodes. It could've been that much better with an improved part in the “hunting” world...

It honestly pissed me off badly… especially because the fights got longer and longer, the first was 2 episodes, the 2nd was 5 episodes and the 3rd already 6 and then the series was already almost over… not to mention they managed to kind of genuinely RUIN the series in the last 2 episodes of that fight and it only went downhill from there (the last 7 episodes) :/
… seriously I would’ve probably been better off not watching them because they stop making ANY sense AT ALL and the stupidity in them seems to increase exponentially…

[–] KnuxTE3000 16 years ago

Some episodes pissed me off because they didn't do sh!t at all! It was ridiculous! Katou-Kun pisses me off! Everytime he enters the apartment, he's heroic and whatnot, but when they get transported to actually playing the game, he chickens out! At least Kei-chan does things to keep this anime alive. He's got some guts but he sort of pisses me off too because he doesn't shut up about Kishimoto and Katou. -_-

They should realize what they have to do and stop talking and get to shootin'! I hate how they don't do anything at all. I mean, they stare at each other and talk a lot! Pull the damn trigger already and kill! But I still like this Anime.

"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life"

[–] movie_nazi 16 years ago

I can't count how many times I wanna to pull out my hair because the characters were just so damn RETARDED! By that I mean that their life was on the line and all they did was stand there like friggin' idiots. Anyways the way the anime ends is such a disappointment. I was not a manga reader before I saw this anime and now I read Gantz and the manga is 1000x's better than the anime.

My vote history link:http://imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=5504773

[–] t0mmyb0y75 16 years ago

i'm new to gantz and just finished episode 12 and i'm still waiting for something to freakin happen...seems like it goes nowhere fast. too much yakety yak yak yak and not nearly enough shooting...i mean come on! their lives are at stake and they still want to scream out each others' names until the situation resolves itself? i am very patient when it comes to seeing if an anime gets any better (e.g. trigun), but i can't stands no more!

[–] miply 16 years ago

You guys come across as a load of trigger-happy yanks.

[–] johnnyrico-1 16 years ago

"You guys come across as a load of trigger-happy yanks."

That's a pretty retarded thing to say. They DO make a good point about the show. The characters do stand around talking when they are faced with alien monsters. They stand by watching as people get killed, they stand by watching when just one of them decides to do something. In a completely unrealistic show, they behave in such an unbelievable way.

By the third time they get sent out on a mission from Gantz, they know what to expect and what they have to do before they can go home, but they still stand around doing nothing.

[–] phoenix_195 16 years ago

I understand where you're coming from. Everyone stands around and talks for about two and a half episodes until someone decides to do something, and then they get killed somehow. But do remember, this isn't real life, or a live action. It's Japanese anime. This *beep* happens all the time. Want a perfect example/ Go and watch Dragon Ball Z, when Freza tryies to destroy Nemek. He/She gives it 5 minutes, but it's three goddamn episodes of screaming and flashing lights before the planet explodes.

[–] t0mmyb0y75 16 years ago

note to self: don't watch dragon ball z.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] phoenix_195 16 years ago

It's alright, and the English dub has some pretty good voice acting....but it also has a hell of a lot of things wrong with it.

[–] Tonnie21 16 years ago

Personally I think it would be very unrealistic if they all just jumped into the fight and knew just what to do. These are people that were just living a normal life then suddenly they are killed and thrown into this game with aliens to kill. So I get the talking and trying to figure out what is going on and how to do it. It takes the mind some time to grasp what is happening around them before some action can take place.

[–] t0mmyb0y75 16 years ago

but they know pretty early on that what they are carrying are weapons that can be used to defend themselves against whatever is threatening them. it's not difficult to figure out if you're life or someone else's life is being threatened.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] ludovico_88 12 years ago

I thought I'd give this show a chance waiting for it pick up, but in end it felt like waiting for buffalo to take a dump on me.

This.

This anime had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, sure kurono gets some balls from ep 20 onward but at that point its too late for anyone care, the damage has been done.

This...

The same *beep* keeps repeating, no good guys survive, no redemption, no effing thought whatsoever. Its as if this show lives to torment us viewers by alienating our imagination.

Definitely this.

Had I known what I was in for, I would've watched the last episode of Berserk 26 times in a row instead of gantz.

So true man... and this.

Your post is epic. I came here to leave my thumbs down stamp so I'll just tumbs up your post instead. I made mysealf watch this till the end with great effort, constantly regreting the fact that I could've been watching a better anime instead. But hey, I wouldn't like to forget this one either cuz once in a while it's good to know your bearings from good and bad.. I'm still finding surprising the score of this show here on the site...

The Past is an illusion. It is indeterminate and probabilistic.

[–] miply 16 years ago

Not quite so retarded.
I quite like that the characters talk- a lot of action movies portray killing as something easy and even 'cool' to some extent.

[–] Dinalfos 16 years ago

The show is trying so hard to make a point about killing and I fully agree with it. It should never be an easy thing. However, these guys were seconds away from being murdered and yet they barely defended themselves. Now, I can imagine them feeling uncertain or even paralyzed with fear, but this show took it too far. There is nothing wrong with defending yourself (using any means necessary) in the face of death. Nothing at all. If you're going to delve into ethics, you have to do it right and be real about it.

I mean, these guys are directly responsible for the deaths of several people, just because they were too busy talking and thinking.

[–] enkephalin07 16 years ago

After the protagonists have reacted to the appearance of aliens for the last five minutes:
"We've got to talk about the need to do something for the next five minutes -- we don't have time to ask intelligent questions!"
"But we do have time to make trivial or irrelevant comments."
"Not me, I'm going to sweat and grimace like I'm PTSD or constipated!"
"Ok, I'm going to start doing something right now! That gives you guys five minutes to talk about what I'm fixing to start getting ready to do!"
Shoots. Misses. Or Hits. After this long a suspense, it doesn't really matter, cause no payoff is ever going to be worth it.
"OMG, that guy did that thing to that other thing that did something/nothing at all! I don't think I'll get over that for the next five minutes!"

And so on, and so forth.

[–] zbyszanna 13 years ago

*** spoilers ahead ***
My thoughts exactly. They were all retarded and behaved extraordinarily stupid. Don't just stay there! Shoot! Run! Defend! Do anything at all! And don't get me started on the Kishimoto and multihanded statues acid! This girl had time to run in front of the Katou, stop, turn around, shield him with her body and recite all the Greek's drama before anything happened to them. Katou would successfully have dodged this attack about five times and make a coffee, but no! He decided to just stand there and watch. There is one great line in this anime - that it is not the Gantz who is the most dangerous and deadly, its the people. I cannot agree more! All the characters were the most dangerous for each other (and themselves) and most of them died because of their own paramount stupidity and indecisiveness. And still I liked it! But the stupidity was almost unbearable.

[–] stronger-than-hate 16 years ago

You guys come across as a load of trigger-happy yanks.

amazing lol

No seriously i have never wanted to crush my own testicles with frustration like i did with gantz. Its easily as annoying to watch as trying to plug a scart into the back of a big TV that you cant quite reach, and all whilst bursting for a crap, and that's frustrating!
Could have been brilliant, ended up being incredibly boring (and yes im aware about the killing of people message throughout)shame shame shame

Just watch berserk, elfen lied and record of lodoss and then try to re-watch gantz without breaking your own fingers off. lol

Horror is art......well it used to be.

[–] t0mmyb0y75 16 years ago

wow, that was truly "stronger than hate"!

[–] enkephalin07 16 years ago

What disturbs me most wasn't the extreme violence and sex, but who the target audience appeared to be. This seemed to be dumbed down and drawn out as much as excruciatingly possible in order to be accessible to people without mature observation skills. The characters aren't particularly bright, in dilemmas that aren't particularly sophisticated. They never notice details important to their survival, never ask the right questions, and the focus is completely on their emotions, which also aren't very sophisticated.

I happen to like the extreme violence, as the show dragged on it was the only redeeming quality, but it bothers me that it seems to have been created for children. It's not like I believe kids should be completely sheltered; I think if they have the will and wit to get their hands on smut, then good job and fair play, but it shouldn't be placed into their hands like this.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] ephemereality 16 years ago

What frustrates me the most with this anime is that it had such a great concept about existence! The ending also hints this when it resumes, but instead all this alien hunting crap TOUCHES NOTHING of the anime's premise! It could have been great, with like "what is Gantz? Are we dead? Is this another plane of existence? Am I really me? Why is there a clone out there like me? If I die, do I really die for real?" etc etc. Instead they plunge into this idiotic mindless action with such annoying characters which just makes no sense. At the same time, the ending was so beautiful! The beginning was great, and the ending is great too, everything inbtween sucked big time.

Last time I checked, the manga the anime is based on isn't finished yet. I cannot say I want to read the manga either after watching this.

[–] ffx2-1 15 years ago

Last time I checked, the manga the anime is based on isn't finished yet.

Believe me...manga is almost completely different from the anime series. You will enjoy reading the manga 100x better.

The manga will give you the real crazed, complex, absurd, and mysterious atmosphere of what Gantz really is; or at least have you begging to know the real identity behind "Gantz."

[–] thomasholding 13 years ago

The Show was alright, nothing special and i didn't really care to much for anyone. i liked that almost everyone dies when you start to like them/become interesting. the uncertainess of gantz is the beauty in a way.

this is only the third manga ive read but it is amazing. so good and basically everything that happens in the arcs after where the anime finishes (Ep22-everything after is irrelevant) is pure gold. the characters are much better alot more tension and tons of *beep* to go WTF no way. and so many question you want to know.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] ExonUroboros 11 years ago

Gantz is an extremely boring and poorly made series. I know this topic is ancient, but I have to say it's the only anime I've ever regretted "toughing out" all the way to the end. It was slower than Dragonball Z and .hack//Sign. The CGI was of terrible quality and more out of place than in Ghost in the Shell 2.0. The characters could be summed up in one or two words. It had no redeeming value. Maybe I would have thought it was cool when I was much younger, but nothing in it stood out. It didn't offend me either, I just couldn't stand it.

This could have all been forgiven if the story ended up being good or even decent, but it failed. The idea itself was interesting, but they take it nowhere. I'm glad I at least watched it in Japanese, since I saw a clip of the English dub a while ago and was a appalled at the quality. I'm not sure why it's so highly rated here, but I'd love to see people try to defend it.

I have heard the manga is actually good.

[–] LSDnSideBurns 11 years ago

I've managed to get through the first 3 episodes. They still haven't killed the first alien, nor have they figured out the basic concept of how a gun works.

Pretty much just standing and talking, then standing and gasping every time something happens.

Then an entire episode of running, followed by more standing.

I should have known when I started to notice a lot of things. It started with the fact that the series is about some teenager who goes through awkward boners every time the wind blows the wrong way, followed by inner monologues about tits... All the typical lame anime tropes are there, really, not to mention the 1-dimensional characters: shy glasses guy, smoking punk kid, teenager with chronic boner syndrome, etc.

Not going to bother watching the rest of this.

I can't believe some people actually recommended Gantz to me.

[–] shalissar 8 years ago

Notice the Otaku guy in the camo knew exactly what to do with the weapons and went completely nuts with them. ;) There was no pussyfooting with that guy. I think it was a jab at some of the itchy audience.