ANI-MOVIES, *Gantz: O

Gantz was a popular manga that got adapted into an anime TV series that didn't complete the original story, plus a 2-part live-action movie franchise along with a TV tie-in special. The appeal of the manga was reimagined into a full-length CGI animated film that takes the basic premise of one of it's story arcs and opens the world up to view it as one long video game. Alot of the manga's backstory is put on hold to set the stage for a more action centered production.

Well meaning teenager Kato gets killed trying try to stop a subway slasher which has him waking up in a room with several people in skintight black outfits. A large black ball in the room referred to as Gantz grabs people moments from their deaths to take part in monster slaying missions as bizarre yokai are attacking Osaka. Given his own power suit and laser guns, Kato is sent with three others from Tokyo to help the Osaka division of Gantz during a demonic invasion. Monsters of all kinds like cyclopses, tengu, giant feiry wheels, and a kaiju that has the Gantz using their own invisible giant robot. The Osaka and Tokyo team have trouble working together, with Kato making peace with the bouncy Yamasaki who quickly takes a liking to him despite the fact she is in her mid-20s with a son. The unnamed big boss demon proves to be especially difficult to kill with several of both teams getting killed off trying to keep it down despite how many times they cut it up, fire lasers at it, and crush it with a kinetic energy hammer gun. Kato gains enough points during this mission to win his freedom from Gantz service, but instead uses his bonus to resurrect Yamasaki who died in the final fight. It's revealed that Kato had previously been a Gantz player that had his memory wiped after an already successful tour as a Gantz soldier.

Gantz: O is a decent enough intro to the original manga's premise, making it more appealing to casual movie watchers without being bogged down with alot of the negative aspects that made the anime TV series appealing to gritty teenage audiences. The fan service and levels of violence of the source material are diminished to show the movie as a positive action-adventure epic. The CGI is effective, notably in the outstanding fight sequences. You might get the same feel out of playing a standard combat game, but the movie is a compelling enough thrill ride for a single sit.