Search - Gantz Season 2 Box Set on DVD

Forever Disturbing but Slow

Antonio D. Paolucci | Beaver Falls, PA | 06/04/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the first season of GANTZ, we get a kind of introductory package that shows us all of the characters in their everyday roles as well as their GANTZ roles. It also presents us with the stark setting and ultra-bloody, unflinching look at violence. This season decides to step up the ol' ultra-violence and puts a whole lot of emotional impact behind the blood and guts, making this a breathtaking and somewhat difficult series to watch. Yet it's so addictive, it's almost impossible not to watch...



Season two presents two of the final battles. I say two because, for a lot of the GANTZ gamers, the final battle just so happens to be the first battle. Kei, Kishimoto, and Kato face a duo of giant statues that appear, at first, to be impossible opponents to defeat. Yet when things seem to start moving in their direction, new opponents present themselves and make the task that much more difficult to complete. This battle also introduces a few more key characters to the story, as well as bringing back some more of the survivors from the previous battle with the bird alien. And finally comes the actual final battle, one in which I will not describe here so as not to ruin any of the surprises that come along the way.



What I will say, however, is the final outcome is too ambiguous to be satisfying, which is why this box set gets a 4 instead of a 5. To add, the story in this season slows down a lot from what it did in the first season.



This box set contains volumes seven through ten, representing the time when ADV decided to release GANTZ in a more consumer friendly format:



Vol. 7 Fatal Attractions

Vol. 8 Deathwatch

Vol. 9 Judge, Jury, and Executioner

Vol. 10 Endgame



No anime series I've seen has been as disturbingly violent and mature as this, especially in this season, as it kind of takes a step in the direction of soft-core porn. Still, that is a brief moment in the story, and also kind of an important part of the storyline, so the not-so-graphic sex scene doesn't feel forced. As a series, though, this is definitely one of the better ones to have been released in the past couple years, and as long as your of age, I highly recommend this box set along with its first season companion."

"No labyrinth is inescapable."

Scott Promish | 10/31/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Their first two missions complete but having suffered the loss of arguably their most valuable teammate, the Gantz players (with several new replacements) are sent on their deadliest mission yet.



As with the first half of the series, the concluding half suffers from a maddening amount of useless time-wasting where characters stand around and either verbally spar for an inordinate amount of time, or philosophize in the midst of battle on the ethics of destroying something that is trying to kill you.



On the positive side, the third mission is fairly exciting due to the fact that it looks like they couldn't defeat the enemy even if they were at their best. As it is, it results in a shocking number of casualties.



The final mission takes a sharp left turn as the opponent is the last any would expect. Also, many of the players chosen bear some kind of connection to each other this time around.



This was a frustrating show and if I hadn't been so curious to find out what Gantz was and why it was doing all this, I likely would have quit after the first couple volumes. As it turns out, neither we nor the players ever learn any more about their situation than they knew in the beginning (despite some red herrings thrown out towards the end of the series.) To let the series end this way is unacceptable. If you're going to commit to watching this, expect to be disappointed when it's over."