Anime Review: Gantz + SpeedGrapher

I've decided to adjust the format of my anime reviews and just write a short paragraph on each of the shows I've watched because I decided that providing ratings are quite subjective. If you wish to take a look at ratings, you may check out the shows on Animenewsnetwork.com. Go to the links bar on the left and click on the anime encyclopedia.

Gantz - Studio Gonzo


This is probably one of my favourite anime because it's a really powerful portrait of human society today; selfish, screwed-up and quite twisted really. This particular anime and the manga that gave rise to it was famous for being extremely twisted, ultra-violent stuff. Having just studied Ted Hughes' poetry I think that I very much appreciate the fact that things are presented as it is, rather than disguising twistedness with beautiful language and poetic verse. There is a certain honesty in the brutal rawness of the anime that I really love and appreciate.

The story revolves around Kei Kurono, a selfish high-school student with perverse thoughts filling his brain most of the time. He stops by a bookstore weekly to purchase pornographic magazines and has constant problems with erections in class, which his female classmates are quick to notice and point out. One day, after buying his usual magazine, he heads home via the subway and notices that a drunk homeless bum has fallen on to the tracks. The thought process of Kurono and the entire subway patronage is fantanstic in showing what society is like in this scene and it remains one of my favourite scenes to date. None of the crowd at the subway wants to help the man, but Kurono suddenly notices a tall high school student jump down onto the tracks to help the man. The tall high school student appears to be none other than his childhood friend Kato, who unbeknownst to Kurono, idolised him when he was young because of his courage and mental strength, which he has since lost to "growing up". Kato looks around for help and suddenly notices Kurono, and instantly calls him over. Kurono curses in his mind but as the crowd of commuters stares at him, he is forced to go over to help Kato. As Kurono gets onto the tracks, they find that they are still unable to lift the homeless man onto the high platform and as the train's approach suddenly becomes imminent they realise that they're in a fix. Kurono's first thought is to escape and leave Kato and the homeless man behind but Kato persuades him to stay. With a final push they get the homeless man onto the platform with seconds to spare. Kato reasons that if they run to the point where the front of the train stops they will be fine. However, as they run, a twist of fate occurs and they hear the announcement blare over the intercomm that this train will be an express train and will not stop at this station. They are both killed instantly as the train smashes into them and as their vision darkens they suddenly find themselves in a room with a group of people and a bizzare, non-descript, black ball. Having vivid memories of dying, all the people in the room think that they're in heaven. However, Tokyo tower can be seen out the window and it seems that something strange is going on. To complicate matters, a nude girl suddenly appears in the room as well. Kurono reacts as expected and some yakuza in the room try to rape her but Kato steps in, saving her and knocking out the yakuza. As if in response to the tension, the black ball suddenly opens and a post-war radio exercise song plays. As they gather round the ball words start to appear on the surface of the ball: "Your lives have ended. What you decide to do with your new lives is up to you" As they examine the ball, they realise that the ball also offers them strange rubber suits and also oddly fashioned guns. The ball also flashes a picture of what seems to be an alien with the word "target". As they examine the weaponry, they are suddenly teleported out into the streets of Tokyo. What will happen next?

The art in this Gonzo series is highly detailed and is reminiscient of Clamp animations. It, together with the soundtrack is gritty and a highly suitable complement to this masterpiece of a series. The only let down is the ending, which is somewhat wishy washy and doesn't really provide a conclusive, satisfactory ending. This is, in general, a feature of Gonzo series, which may possibly be a marketing ploy on Gonzo's part, but it is irritating nonetheless. However, in light of one heart-pumping mission after another, you will quickly forgive the ending. Highly recommended

SpeedGrapher - Gonzo/Tap



What you will notice straight away if you like Gonzo productions is how much the art differs in this animation. There is very little attention to detail and hair often seems like just a sheet of fabric. This, of course, may be the influence of Tap studio, but nonetheless, the story is engaging and very enjoyable. The series, though not as strong as Gantz, also provides another insight into Gonzo's scriptwriters' view of the world today, where money rules the world.

The story revolves around Saiga Tatsumi, a famous war photographer whose images are haunting and emotional. He lives to take photographs but has a morbid fascination with shooting death; he gets turned on by doing so. Nearly dying during a war, he is recalled by his editor, much to his irritation. With a dearth of any "interesting" to photograph, he starts to investigate a secret club which he hears indulges the deepest and darkest fantasies of it's members, for a price. He manages to infiltrate the club by ambushing one of it's members and stealing that member's club pass. What he stumbles upon is a twisted world where mass orgies go on in an underground club. Every fantasy plays itself out in different rooms of the club, pandering to its members desires. Saiga has a field day photographing all of this but he suddenly stumbles upon a ceremony of sorts where a beautiful, ethereal, female descends from the sky to "bless" a recipient with the ability to live his wildest fantasy. Saiga is enthralled by her beauty and cannot resist taking a photo, which instantly draws the attention of the guards. In an abrupt twist of fate, he receives the blessing of the "goddess", Kagura, instead, but is nearly killed by the guards as they attack him with machetes. As he lies there dying, the goddess' blessing suddenly takes effect and he finds himself a being known as an Euphoria, and he has the power to cause "death by photo". Go figure =). He takes Kagura and escapes, as she begs him to. Kagura is however very important to the club because of her powers and the club will stop at nothing to get her back. As Saiga and Kagura go on the run, he investigates the club and turns up horrifying truths, including the fact that the entire government body and almost all the important heads of every corporation in the country are involved in the depraved club. Behind the club is a man known as Suitengu, who was in the same war with Saiga and had apparently nearly been killed in the same incident that wounded Saiga. More than a way to make money, the club's creation was designed for Suitengu to exact his ultimate purposes. As Saiga attempts to uncover the mystery behind Suitengu and the mysterious club, he meets even more Euphorias, all of which are after his life. As a consequence of his power, Saiga's eyes blur gradually and he faces the prospect of becoming blind. To make matters worse, Kagura only has a limited amount of time to live as her power has caused a tumour to grow in the centre of her brain, where it cannot be removed. Saiga must race against time to solve the mystery behind Suitengu, the massive Tennouzu corporation and the club in order to grant Kagura freedom to live out her last days.

As a photographer, I tend to appreciate little intricacies about this series, like when a fellow Euphoria blasts Saiga's cameras with a shock of lightning and thinks they won't work anymore and Saiga smirks saying "Real pros don't use electronic cameras, they use manual ones". The ending is also pretty good, which is unusual for a Gonzo animation. Thank you Tap!