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REVIEW: Gantz [2011-01-21]


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gingi789



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 56
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:16 am Reply with quote
Yeah, the dub was cringe worthy. There were literally certain points in the movie (such as where Tae is confessing) where i had to try to keep from laughing.

I was not suprised that they toned down the sex (not the violence as much, as evidenced by the nice, gooey explosions Smile) and they did leave out some characters (though i kind of understood leaving Sakuraoka out since Kurono was never really established as the horndog he is in the series). Aside from that, i didn't have too many complaints. The Q&A at the end with the actors was pretty funny, too.

I can't wait to see the second one, though. I just hope it's not dubbed. Smile
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jrnemanich



Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Denver
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:25 am Reply with quote
I just saw this tonight and I can completely agree with you Zac. Almost everybody in the theater was expecting blood, violence, nudity and sex, and we only got half.

I knew the film would be off once the started it with a drunk business man falling down onto the tracks instead of a homeless drunk. And that was only the beginning.

The complete absence of other characters in the the multiple alien hunting scenes was too distracting for me and took me out of the film. I wish they gave more time durring the hunting scenes because they felt rushed and we didn't get see the all the reactions when the characters were told that they had to kill aliens.

On a plus, it seemed to be (at lest to me) one of the better live action adaptations out there. If they had shown this subbed, as a foreign Sci-Fi/Action movie and people had no prior knowledge on the source or what they changed and cut out, they most likely would have had a good time.

But if you know anything about Gantz, you would have noticed the changes right away and would say, "What happened?"

gingi789 wrote:
Yeah, the dub was cringe worthy. There were literally certain points in the movie (such as where Tae is confessing) where i had to try to keep from laughing.


Yea, there were time during the film when the entire theater erupted in laughter, during serious parts of the film.
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TheGameNinja



Joined: 07 Nov 2010
Posts: 92
Location: Alabama
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:31 am Reply with quote
I have never read or watched Gantz, but I liked the movie. It wasn't spectacular, but it was alright. As for the dub, yeah it wasn't very good, but I'm one of the people that rarely-if ever-watches anything subtitled. I probably wouldn't have seen it had it been subtitled. I understand that the original actors probably give their lines much better than their dub actors, but 1) I'll never know since I don't speak the language and 2) I can't keep up with subs well.

I don't argue either side in the sub/dub debate, but giving both as an option always seems the best route to me. I know that when they showed the Death Note films, they screened the dub one night and the sub the next night. Perhaps that should be the standard?
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poonk



Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 1490
Location: In the Library with Philip
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:44 am Reply with quote
I was pretty sure the sex at least would be removed when I heard they had recognizable names in the cast. The anime turned me off around ep.02/03 but this might be a little more to my taste, even if it's not true to the source material (which obviously wouldn't matter to me). Despite the review I think I'll still give it a look but on DVD instead, where I can hear the original dialogue.
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silver_deeds



Joined: 08 Jan 2010
Posts: 61
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:08 am Reply with quote
I never held any expectations for the dubbing. I could only hope we'd (finally) get a successful live action adaptation that will draw in new fans. While the movie wasn't true to the original, I think it did a good job at being entertaining. Good enough to get people digging around for more. I'm sure a lot of them will be more than pleased to discover what the manga has to offer.

I do agree with Zac about there being a lot of waisted potential. But if they're making a sequel, hopefully they can take a few more liberties now that they've reached a bigger willing audience? Not gunna hold my breath, though...
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Diedrupo



Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 58
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:14 am Reply with quote
live action versions of anime/manga are always toned down so that did not surprise me at all. As a longtime Gantz fan I personally enjoyed the movie. Someone in the audience called it a "cliffs notes of the cliff notes" version and I can agree with that, however it did not detract from my enjoyment.

You really can't keep everything from the manga, there are simply too many characters. Sure I would have loved to see the bozouku in the 2nd arc (or more tanaka aliens for that matter) and I would have liked to see duke togo and JJ in the shrine arc, but there is simply not enough screen time to cover them.

I like the ones that they did manage to retain, and I like the subtle changes (having the old man from the start and Sakurai in the shrine arc). And I really don't think Sakuraoka was a very important character at all - cutting her made a ton of sense since we were introduced to Kei's true love interest from the getgo (Tae Kojima).

I am interested in what they have in store for the 2nd movie. Judging from the preview, the tae arc is in-tact, and the vampires play a role. And Reika is obviously there. But you have to wonder what else they will do.
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Rathorial



Joined: 21 Jan 2011
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:22 am Reply with quote
Just created an account because I went to the movie with a friend tonight, and well I didn't like it much at all.

I'm speaking as someone who has never read the Gantz manga or watched the anime, this was first live-action adaptation of an anime, but all I saw out of this movie was a good idea executed badly.

Even more so reading the review to see what the original characters were supposed to be. The one part I disagree with is the action scenes, they weren't well shot or directed at all. Over half of the footage of the action scenes were people running for their lives scarred, tripping, badly emoting being scared....and why? Gantz essentially gave them guns that can shatter ANYTHING, yet only 3 people even bother to use them. The actions scenes dragged on forever with most everyone being useless until someone figures out that if you aim a gun while the aliens aren't looking at you, and actually pull the trigger you might be effective.

The dub was pretty bad, and probably hurt the acting, but most of the characters emoted as much as Keanu Reeves could. The girl that liked Kei barely has any screen time to develop a relationship, and her juvenile I'm in love with you Kei based on talking to him once in class, and once in a cafe to show him her manga.

I'll give the movie props for some of the CG, like the transportation for the characters, and the suits look well made. The guns though look standard Sci-fi, and they had no real bang to me because they essentially light up, and then 4-6 seconds later something shatters. The blood explosions just looked dumb, but that's something that's done better through animation.

I came away with two thoughts:

1. This made me actually appreciate Michael Bay more, his storytelling maybe garbage, but he even does better action scenes.

2. The idea of the series seems nice, so I'll check out the Anime sometime.

Probably won't go see the second one since this movie cost me $12.50, it was again a good idea adapted horribly. Subtitles wouldn't have saved this film, wasted potential though.
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mantaray3001



Joined: 27 Aug 2010
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:11 am Reply with quote
As another individual who has never seen or read the series, I too felt like it was a good concept that was executed poorly.

However I feel neutral about this film. I was aware that Gantz was very controversal show but I've already known that live action anime adaptations tend to always be toned down so I actually expected that to begin with.

The dub was indeed bad but honestly no one was ever expecting a dub since this was afterall a premiere. But I do agree that it did brought the acting down to be laughable especially the confession part.

As for the action... I was told by a friend that Gantz was never supposed to be a pure action series to begin with. Yes the plot makes it sound like that but those who were expecting private citizens (who never been trained in combat) to be doing well coreographed fights while at the same time not being scared and thinking straight is just pushing it too far. It makes sense why they behaved and acted like they did in the movie.

Overall I found the first film to be time killing entertaining as what movie should be. Its wasn't bad that it made me want to walk out but I do agree it could've been better. The only other complaints I have with the movie beside the dub was how slow the pacing was. Although to be fair I was also told that was that pacing in the anime is also slow so I guess they were trying to set the foundation the same way the anime did. However this a movie where you have to condense so many things and leave out the unimportant parts.

The script also needed work which to me along with the dub is what made the acting so bland and I've seen those actors in other films and I know they can act a lot better than that. But who knows maybe the second movie will be an improvement.
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glitteringloke



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:57 am Reply with quote
i haven't read gantz or seen the anime, but the movie did accomplish me wanting to read it. I've heard about it's graphicness and probably would have expected all of it to be toned down a bit. not to mention, with anything that's 30+ volumes long, how can you expect it to all be there?

Knowing nearly nothing of it, I got that Kei was a bit of an ass, and his inner monologues, IMO, showed enough ego for me to get it. It was a pretty long movie with a lot to accomplish, and I'm not surprised at all that some of the character development got lost. Maybe I just expect different things of manga/anime live action adaptations? I mean, it could have been Astro Boy... (I didn't waste my time with dragonball)

Overall, it was rather entertaining, though I'd rather had the subs. Especially since they had the actors there for the premiere, it almost seemed disgraceful to show it dubbed. Even the one actor said he would have liked it with his own voice. (I'm just glad the one guy died early on, because I had this nagging urge to "go team venture!" every time he spoke...)
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Raikuro



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 347
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:48 am Reply with quote
I haven't seen it, but is it really big-budget? Would it have been cheaper to make an animated version that is more faithful and continues where the series left off? I know a lot more people would be clamoring to see that instead of this neutered version.
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TheGameNinja



Joined: 07 Nov 2010
Posts: 92
Location: Alabama
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:28 am Reply with quote
Raikuro wrote:
I haven't seen it, but is it really big-budget? Would it have been cheaper to make an animated version that is more faithful and continues where the series left off? I know a lot more people would be clamoring to see that instead of this neutered version.

There was already an anime. Why make an animated movie that tells the same exact story a THIRD time?
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Dimlos



Joined: 02 Mar 2008
Posts: 226
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:33 am Reply with quote
TheGameNinja wrote:
Why make an animated movie that tells the same exact story a THIRD time?
It's worked for several other titles, including Fullmetal Alchemist, hasn't it?
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TheGameNinja



Joined: 07 Nov 2010
Posts: 92
Location: Alabama
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:42 am Reply with quote
Dimlos wrote:
TheGameNinja wrote:
Why make an animated movie that tells the same exact story a THIRD time?
It's worked for several other titles, including Fullmetal Alchemist, hasn't it?

The original FMA anime diverted from the manga. And, as far as I know (haven't read it), the movie has nothing to do with it either, and the movie doesn't retell the anime. It continues it. Only Brotherhood sticks to the manga.
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Sanosuke_Inara



Joined: 23 Nov 2009
Posts: 1662
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:11 am Reply with quote
Aw, damn. FUNi is re-releasing the Gantz series on DVD as their first title in their Classic Line in a few days. Since I didn’t own the series already, I pre-ordered it from Rightstuf and got it the other day(I had already seen the 1st 13 eps and knew some, but not all, of what went on in the last 13. Got 5 more eps left, no idea what to expect in this last mission—gonna finish it today). This is one of my top 10 favorite anime series of all time AND the only series ever that I plan on actually buying all the manga for(and that’s saying a lot, since I don’t even read manga), so with the new DVD and the premiere of this movie, my whole anime month was gonna be revolved around Gantz. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go see the movie last night.

Of course, I still wish I could’ve seen it, but after reading this review, I feel like I would’ve had a lot of problems with the movie(though I probably would’ve still liked it to some extent). Having just rewatched what I had seen of the series(and watched for the 1st time eps I hadn’t seen before in the series) on my new DVD, I realized that a lot of the things that make me love the series so much are some the shit the review says the movie takes out. Over the top violence/sex/crassness, Kurono’s constant thoughts, Kurono’s douchebaggy, horndoggy, assholiness itself(and his growing away from this persona), delving deeper into the main character’s lives(for me, especially the deal between Kato and his younger brother), and Sei Sakuraoka(my favorite chick in the show), just to name a few things. I hope that the intensity and the dramatic degree of the story is still intact, because that's what keeps me on the edge of my seat. Did they take out all of the cursing too? Can anybody answer that? And just by the description of this new chick I know I’m gonna want to punch her in the teeth.

But anyway, I’m disappointed to hear about all of these changes. Since I love the series so much, though, I probably will get it if it comes to DVD, and will make an effort to go see the 2nd one if it comes to American theatres as well. Don’t think I’ll enjoy it much as I wish I could, though. Wish the series could’ve gotten a better adaptation—it deserves one. :/


Last edited by Sanosuke_Inara on Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:01 pm; edited 2 times in total
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gwdone



Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 272
PostPosted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:35 am Reply with quote
It was a good movie to me. And I know the Gantz anime really well and had to fill in some gaps, but come on folks... disappointed because of no boobs??? per ANN review. Like boobs aren't crawling around all over the place on internet and TV.

Why be so anal about it? In the show not only did we have to deal with the constant commentary of the "anime experts" in the crowd.. for example: "awww, I wish they would have showed their heads flying in the air!" I knew what happened in the anime and filled in my own gaps. Why so filler of a review? Even anime's can't reproduce the Manga to perfection, so why would you expect a condensed movie to do better? Didn't anyone have to adjust big time to the Lord of the Rings movies??

Gantz sure beats all the lame template movies that are coming out of hollywood... I give it a thumbs up, and can't wait for part 2!!!

I used to go by ANN's reviews and trailers to buy,, yes buy my anime, but now I'm starting to wonder with this latest Gantz review about some of the other anime reviews here. I'm not happy at all about the review of Gantz.. period.
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