Gantz: Episode 01

For someone who rarely reads manga like myself, I usually have to wait for the anime to come out before learning anything about it. Basically, I downloaded this episode without any prior knowledge of the said series so I wasn’t expecting too much out of it. After watching the first episode, I was floored.

Kurono Kei is a typical jaded high school student who does not seem to care about anyone but his own comfort. At a crowded train station, he saw a childhood friend, Katou Masaru, whom he haven’t seen in years. Instead of greeting one another, the two pretended as if they weren’t old playmates. While waiting for the train to arrive, a drunkard slipped and fell off the tracks. The crowd was surprise by the accident but the no one dared to take action until Katou finally decided to give a hand. However, the unconscious man was too heavy for him to carry. When he could not find anyone willing to assist him, he opted to call out to Kei. Ever so reluctantly, Kei lent a hand to Katou and was successful in helping the man. The train was fast arriving at the station. Kei and Katou decided to run for it, thinking it would stop past a certain point when it lets the passengers inside the carriages. Unfortunately for them, it was an express. In an instant, they were hit by the speeding train and was sent to an unknown room filled with a few individuals.

It took a while before Kei and Katou realized the predicament they are in. They’ve crossed the line between life and death. And death wasn’t exactly the way they imagined. Amongst them were a mismatch of people, the teacher who had an accident with his scooter, a creepy eight grader who died from a fall, a couple of yakuzas, a politician who died from cancer, a yellow-haired brat, Kei, Katou, and a dog. Trapped with a bunch of strangers, they were certain on one thing. The only common denominator in all of them was death.

Kei and Katou finally communicated with each other. Katou revealed his admiration for his old pal’s recklessness and aggressive nature when they were younger. He went on to point out how different Kei has become. The sudden appearance of a young naked woman interrupted their conversation. Before anyone was able to collect their wits, one of the former yakuza member dragged the unconscious woman in another room. A moment later, they heard a woman’s cry for help. Katou was the only one who tried to help the lady. The others followed him to the hallway and saw Katou choking the thug who he eventually let go. While the embarrassed man trudged back to the main room, they heard a strange music coming from this big black glass ball. And words appeared inside saying, “Your lives have ended. How your new life will be used is up to me.”

Having no expectations for this series was such a blessing. The first episode indeed packed a few good surprises. In the first half of the episode, we see ordinary people who are trapped in their own thoughts. Even when they see a person who was about to be hit by a train, the common response was to back off and let someone do the dirty work. A morbid fascination for the incident where they seem to treat the situation as a form of grim entertainment becomes apparent. A student even took pictures as the bodies of Kei and Katou were slammed into the train. Come to think of it, reality can be as harsh as this scenario. No one wants to be bothered by anyone anymore.

The movement from realism to a supernatural situation was a delightful surprise yet I cannot even speculate on the direction of this series. It could be anything. True, the nature of the program is a little trippy for my taste but it’s darn intriguing and I want more. Can’t wait for the next episode.