These 'list posts' are most insightful. I'd ban every ****** who thinks AUKN is MAL if I had the ability to do so.
9-20 of Gantz - all I own on DVD until Play start working again and send the last two. (Slow ****s...)
I can see where Fabio was coming from with his shounen jibe, and I agree - the second mission was almost ruined because of the pacing. Where as it may have worked to have lots of talking with still images in the manga, in animated form it was as if I was watching it play out in slow-motion. The movements were slooooooooow and, conveniently, the robo-alien kept missing whilst everyone had a good old natter about whether or not to help Nishi. Even a death scene was ruined by the pacing, the scene in question clearly having been extended to fit the episode with lots of still shots of the characters' faces. (I think most of the blame for the second mission failing lies with Gonzo trying to get the manga content they wanted to fit 13 episodes.)
I was going to 7/10 it until the final episode, which flowed much better and had some decent humour (Kei trying to figure out what to do when surrounded by angry looking robots). In the end, it stayed at 8/10 because what came before that arc had been so enjoyable. It's 100% more of a guilty pleasure than it is a masterpiece. I can't recall enjoying an anime THIS much - it's been a long time.
The 'second series' started off well - with characterization - and the third mission has been exciting. Again, it hasn't exactly been fast-paced, and there have been some moments where you can see sections of the manga were inserted without the editing required not to make it look dumb with motion (tits' death), but the action has been so intense during all the drama that I've been unable to not enjoy it. I'm actually feeling depressed that I can't finish it; anime onry story or not.
The one thing I will add is that the mangaka/whoever put his interview on the fourth DVD is a dick. In the interview, the mangaka goes, "Yeah, he's my favourite character... but I still killed him." Way to spoil a future manga AND anime death!
I've seen enough of Gantz to know that the manga has a good chance of being a favourite of mine. Without the slow-motion animation, designed to let the characters speak during enemy attacks, I think it'll be a lot better. Things like Battle Royale, Bokurano, Eden and Gantz are appealing simply because, unlike 99% of the titles out there, the authors all ballsy enough to kill off everyone other than the lead characters. The likes of Bleach and Naruto, where all the good guys survive (unless they're old!), just don't cut it anymore.
The only manga downer is that, with so few volumes released in English, I think the anime has burned through most of the buyable content. ;____;
..oh, and I've also watched Tokko 6-9. It's ******* ****. Because the manga ended unfinished, 80-85% of the content is filler - bad filler at that; bad filler combined with very poor visuals and a truly terrible soundtrack. Where as time sped up when I watched Gantz, the opposite occurred with Tokko. It's got a rare 3/10 from me, four episodes before the end - it's THAT good.
