Gantz (film)

Gantz
Directed by Shinsuke Sato
Produced by Takahiro Sato
Screenplay by Yūsuke Watanabe
Based on Gantz 
by Hiroya Oku
Starring Kazunari Ninomiya
Ken'ichi Matsuyama
Yuriko Yoshitaka
Release dates

Gantz:

  • January 29, 2011 (2011-01-29) (Japan)


Gantz: Perfect Answer:

  • April 23, 2011 (2011-04-23) (Japan)
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Budget 2.1 billion yen (total)[1]
Box office 7.4 billion yen (total)[2][3]

Gantz is a series of two Japanese live-action films released in 2011, based on the manga series of the same name by Hiroya Oku. The first was simply titled Gantz, and the second was titled Gantz: Perfect Answer.

Plot

Gantz

Standing at a subway station a young man, Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya), watches as his old primary school friend, Kato (Ken'ichi Matsuyama), attempts to rescue a man who has fallen onto the tracks. Kurono ends up on the tracks with Kato after the man has been rescued, just as a train is speeding through the station. The pair are surprised to find themselves not dead, but rather relocated to a room with a few other people. When they turn around, they see a strange black sphere, about two meters in diameter.

Before they can discover what has happened, the sphere begins to display messages on its surface, including one which lists the name of someone whom they must kill. After the messages the sphere projects two large drawers filled with metal briefcases and strange handguns. They find that they are part of a strange game where they must not only work out how to play, but also how to survive.

Gantz: Perfect Answer

Kurono decides to continue playing to achieve 100 points, and he and several remaining members of the team continue to work for Gantz. A woman, Ayukawa Eriko (Ayumi Ito), receives a small box in the mail; in it is a small black sphere. The sphere begins to give her messages; it tells her she has the first key and thanks her for her work the previous night, which she does not remember. The sphere tells her that there are four keys leading to the room (the one with the large sphere known as Gantz) and then gives her the details on her next target. The first three people she kills appear in the sphere room and join the team.

It is revealed that there is someone following the previous events leading up to Kato's disappearance; they have evidence on missing people and bodies. The investigator eventually uncovers a mysterious basement room full of people and is told to follow another lead before having the secret to the room and sphere given to him by their leader. Kurono and the team are sent out to kill the leader of the men from the basement, and at the same time Eriko is on the train to kill Kurono's love interest (Yuriko Yoshitaka).

Another Gantz (2011)

Airing on TV before Gantz: The Perfect Answer, Another Gantz is an alternate version of the first Gantz film. The film follows an investigative journalist during the events of the Gantz: the Perfect Answer.

Cast

Character Japan Actor (Original) Philippines English Dubbing
Kei Kurono Kazunari Ninomiya Raymond Narag
Masaru Kato Ken'ichi Matsuyama AJ Constantino
Tae Kojima Yuriko Yoshitaka Unknown
Jōichirō Nishi Kanata Hongō Kevin Santos
Kei Kishimoto Natsuna Watanabe Charmaine Sagrado
Eriko Ayukawa Ayumi Ito Unknown
Tanaka Seijin Ainosuke Shibata Unknown
Kayo Sugimoto Chieko Ichikawa Unknown
Musō Tokugawa Donpei Tsuchihira Unknown
Green Onion Father Hidekazu Nagae Unknown
Kiyoshi Hatanaka Kazuhide Kobayashi Bon Reyes
Kenichi Kurono Kazuyuki Asano Unknown
Ayumu Kato Kensuke Chisaka Mitchiko Tiongson
Mako Yamamoto Yurie Midori Unknown
Ball Man Matsuri Hashimoto Unknown
Izumi Shiraishi Merii Unknown
Takashi Inamori Motoki Ochiai Unknown
Kōki Takahashi Ryuuya Wakaba Unknown
Green Onion Kid (Face) Shō Igarashi Unknown
Green Onion Kid (Body) Yasutaka Hayakawa Unknown
Hiroto Sakurai Shunya Shiraishi Unknown
Ryōta Sugimoto Shūya Haruna Unknown
Masamitsu Shigeta Takayuki Yamada Unknown
Yoshikazu Suzuki Tomoro Taguchi Mark Muñoz
Masashi Yamada Toshimasa Komatsu Jeck Lubrin
Train Station PA (voice) Yuki Hamano Unknown
Risa Sakano Yūko Genkaku Unknown
Akitoshi Okazaki Yūsuke Furusawa Joarm Santiago

English Dubbing Staff

Production and release

On November 24, 2009, it was announced that two live-action Gantz films were in production, based on the manga series of the same name. The films star Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama in the roles of Kurono and Kato respectively, and were directed by Shinsuke Sato. Both films were released in 2011: the first, Gantz, in January; and the second, Gantz: Perfect Answer, in April.[4] Computer-generated animation (CG) was done by Digital Frontier.

The first film, titled Gantz, was released in Japan on 29 January 2011. A special one-night screening took place in the United States on January 20, 2011, during which the film was simulcast to movie theaters in 46 states;[5] with the film dubbed into English for the event.[6] At the end of the special screening at the Mann's Chinese 6 Theater in Los Angeles, there was a discussion and live interview with both the male leads, as well as a teaser trailer for Gantz: Perfect Answer.[7] The film premiered in the United Kingdom at the Sci-Fi-London Festival on April 26, 2011 at the Apollo Theatre in London.[8] The film was not dubbed, instead it was shown with the original soundtrack and accompanying subtitles.[9]

Both films, Gantz and Perfect Answer, were screened in San Diego, California, as part of Comic-con International at the Gaslamp 15 Theater on 22 and 23 July 2011.[10]

Reception

Entertainment Today said that Gantz, the first film, "was good, but the dubbing/voice-over detracted from the movie."[11] Twitch Film published the review of regular reader Brandon Tenold, who stated that the effects were "quite impressive" and called it "a pretty good slice of Japanese-style popcorn cinema."[12] The Japan Times called the second film, Gantz: Perfect Answer, an action-packed but disappointing followup.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "GANTZ: Manga Gets The Hollywood Treatment". mtviggy.com. January 24, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Gantz (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Gantz Sci-Fi Manga To Be Adapted in Two Live-Action Films". Anime News Network. October 7, 2009.
  5. ↑ LeChevallier, Mike (December 16, 2010). "Info dump: list of US theaters to screen Gantz in 2011". Japanator.
  6. ↑ "Gantz (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012. It will be English over-dubbed exclusively for this big screen event.
  7. ↑ Nguyen, Mai (January 19, 2011). "World Premiere of Gantz on January 20". Asia Pacific Arts.
  8. ↑ "The Sci-Fi-London 10 Programme". Sci-Fi-London Festival. 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Gantz". Sci-Fi-London Festival. 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  10. ↑ "G A N T Z : Perfect Answer" (in Japanese). Gantz-movie.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  11. ↑ ""Gantz" a Japanese horror action landed on Hollywood". Entertainment Today. January 21, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ Tenold, Brandon (January 22, 2011). "Gantz: Part One Review". Twitchfilm.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  13. ↑ "'Gantz: Perfect Answer'". The Japan Times Online. Japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved January 9, 2012.

External links

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