GANTZ Volume 2 DVD Review

By sothis Published: February 22, 2005

PACKAGING AND MENU

7.5 / 10

Following the footsteps of volume 1, volume 2's packaging was pleasing to the eye. I especially enjoyed the cover, with its dark look and crisp clean looking character on the front. This time, it's Kota (last time, it was Kei). Colors used are dark reds and a lot of black, both of which are extremely appropriate for not only the mood and feel, but of the series content itself. The logo, yet again, is an almost neon looking white font, very nice looking. The back of the DVD is slightly not as good as the previous volume, because of the busy-ness of the images around the black sphere in the center. They are all colored differently (due to them being screenshots and all) but have no seperation between them, giving the entire back a very busy look. Colors are still dark and wonderful though, with an overall grungy look that works very well. The insert has the cover image on one side and a grungy look on the other.

Menu-wise, it fares the same as the other volume. Each screen is the black sphere up close, with a red pattern in the background that moves slightly. Blood flowing occurs between some menu transitions, which is highly appropriate and humorous. I noticed ADV did fix the "Episod3 1" type issue, definitely appreciated from a viewer's point of view. Some of the letters are still backwards but this makes sense, since Gantz messes up his "speech" in the series itself. Music is pleasing and mellow for the menus as well.

FEATURES

6 / 10

There is little to be found in the way of extras. DVD credits and previews can be found, of course, along with a clean opening and closing sequence. The best part (and only other part) is an interview with Kei's Japanese voice actor. I found it interesting to watch and was glad it was on the DVD. The previous volume had an interview with the director, so I can't wait to see what's on the next disk.

VIDEO

9.5 / 10

Once again, the video was transferred very cleanly. The colors were picked up very well. Again, the detail level comes across very sharp. There were a couple of scenes where some of the backgrounds seemed blurrier than the rest, notably the scenes where dead bodies were laying on the ground. There was no noticable aliasing or granulation of the picture.

AUDIO

8 / 10

The Japanese stereo seemed to make better use of the sound stage in this volume, but only in a few specific scenes. The speech still came from the center channel for most of the episodes, however gunfire and other sound effects made use of the right and left channels. There was no noticable distortion and overall gain was well done.

CONTENT

8 / 10

Following hot on the footsteps of the previous two episodes, Gantz volume 2 drops us right in the middle of the action with the Greenonion battle. Many of the team members have died, leaving Kei, Kato and the buxom beauty to fend for themselves against the alien. In the two episodes that follow, the saga comes to an end and we see what happens with the gang. I must admit I felt sorry for the poor Greenonion aliens, though I tried to keep my sadness at bay and focus on the sheer entertainment of the episodes. Truly, this has some hilariously gorey moments (reminiscent of Elfen Lied) and is full of enough violence to shake a stick at. Though filled with action and fast paced, this volume revealed more about what's actually going on with the characters, which was really refreshing. We learn a little more about the roles of the people that get zapped in to fight for Gantz, and even see some humor from Gantz itself. a bit more ecchi is thrown in as well, but not a lot. One highlight of these episodes is that Kei's character becomes slightly less annoying with his inner bitchy monologues, so that was a plus.

As with the first few episodes, the animation was a treat and color-wise was very dark and moody. There is a heavy mix of CG (running through the town, for example) and regular animation. This definitely wasn't fluid, but still looked ok. The blood was a bit fake looking. Character designs are crisp and clean, and very new looking as far as the animation style. I was very pleased overall with the animation, again.

The music was also good, just like before. Moody electronic and guitar riffs echoed throughout the two episodes, setting the mood perfectly for not only the violence, but the sheer delerious nature the series portrays.

All in all, another great two episodes. Gantz is a high paced action filled ride that's definitely worth a viewing. If you like violent and entertaining series with a moody unique soundtrack to boot, definitely don't let this one pass you by.