ADV Films // 2004 // 75 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Mitchell Hattaway (Retired) // October 27th, 2005
And the dead shall walk the earth.
This is a little better. We're back down to three episodes per disc.
Anyway, when we last left off, the Gantz warriors were battling alien statues outside a temple. The episodes on this volume continue that story arc; here's a rundown of each:
* Episode 18: "Welcome Back"
Kurono manages to blow both
legs off of one of the statues. The statue falls over and uses it arms to
support itself; Kurono then blows off the statue's arms. The statue collapses to
the ground, narrowly missing Kurono. Kurono then fires a shot into the statue's
head. Three of the new recruits charge the remaining statue; the statue knocks
them on their asses. Kurono rushes in; Kato and the others follow him. The
statue creates a whirlwind. Everyone fires at the statue; they blow off its left
foot, but this fails to affect the statue in any way. Kurono hops onto the
statue and blows off its right arm; the statue grabs Kurono with its left hand
and squeezes him. The others, afraid of accidentally hitting Kurono, refrain
from firing. The statue's head suddenly explodes. Kato and the others notice one
of the new recruits sitting off to the side with a sniper's rifle; Kato asks the
man to act as the group's marksman. A human-sized statue descends from the sky
and attacks two of the new recruits. The rest of the warriors rush in to assist;
several more statues suddenly appear.
* Episode 19: "What the Hell is That?!"
The smaller statues
surround the Gantz warriors. The temple begins to shake; a giant Buddha statue
breaks through the front wall of the temple. The sniper takes out the smaller
statues, but not before one kills the dog. The Buddha picks up Kurono; Kurono
fires into the statue's hand, forcing it to drop him. The Buddha then picks up
one of the new recruits and eats him. Kurono goes nuts, launches himself into
the hair, and makes his way into the Buddha's head (finally getting laid has
apparently made Kurono a badass). The Buddha topples over; a few minutes later
Kurono emerges from its mouth. Sei rushes up to Kurono and hugs him. Realizing
there are still two alien statues on the loose, Kato orders the warriors to
split into two groups. The Gantz continues its countdown.
* Episode 20: "Just Shoot Me!"
Kato's group discovers one of
the remaining statues. Kato grabs the statue, which attempts to fly away; the
sniper shoots the statue out of the sky. The male model and the Ringu
chick (whatever their names are) discover a room full of statues. They begin
attacking the statues, but end up losing their lives after being sliced in half
by a sword-wielding statue of Vishnu. Kato's group breaks into the room. The
Vishnu statue throws acid at Kato; Kei pushes Kato out of the way, is hit by the
acid, and begins to dissolve. Before she dies, Kei tells Kato she loves him.
Kurono attacks the Vishnu statue, which cuts off his left leg and right arm. Sei
grabs Kurono and runs; Kato quickly follows. The three make it to safety and
stop; believing he will not survive, Kurono begs Kato to shoot him.
Oh, how I hate this series. This volume is just more of the same. Three more episodes of unlikable characters bitching, arguing, fighting, and dying; will it never end? Think about it -- this show is so bad it can't even generate sympathy by killing a dog. Hell, that's the easiest trick in the book.
The technical presentation is once again stellar. The anamorphic video is flawless, although the animation is starting to look more than a bit rushed as the series progresses. Both the 5.1 English dub and Japanese stereo tracks do their jobs extremely well (the voice acting in the dub still sucks, though). Extras this time around are pretty scant. You get the standard clean opening/closing animation and previews (Volume 9 looks to be more of the same), as well as a pointless music video (it's nothing more than a grating speed metal riff played over footage from the series).
You see the title of the twentieth episode? I know that feeling.
Review content copyright © 2005 Mitchell Hattaway; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2013 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 50
Perp Profile
Studio: ADV Films
Video Formats:
* 1.85:1 Anamorphic
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (English)
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Japanese)
Subtitles:
* English
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Release Year: 2004
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Clean Opening/Closing Animation
* Music Video
* Volume 9 Preview
* ADV Previews
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0434685/combined
* Official Site
http://www.gantz.tv/
* Volume 1 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol1.php
* Volume 2 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol2.php
* Volume 3 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol3.php
* Volume 4 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol4.php
* Volume 5 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol5.php
* Volume 6 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol6.php
* Volume 7 Review
http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/gantzvol7.php