| Title: | Gantz |
| Episode: | 16: I'll Do It! |
| Synopsis | |
| Kishimoto is shocked to find Kei and Sakuraoka having sex in the hallway of Gantz's apartment. The new team is briefed to go after the "Ferocious Alien" and the "Grumpy Alien". Kato impresses the newcomers with his ability to predict what will happen next, but the priest accuses him of not really being human, but rather "the symbol of foul passion", out to tempt them into going to hell. Kato demonstrates what the suits are capable of to those who refuse to put them on. The group transports to what the priest recognizes as the Ratenin Temple. The temple gates are guarded by two giant statues, which Gantz identified as the target aliens. Two baseball-bat wielding punks are beating up homeless persons nearby. Several recruits wander off despite Kato's and Kishimoto's pleas, until they reach the boundary of the gaming area. Kei is indifferent, and argues they should get on with the alien hunt. "I'm gonna f----n' kill them" he vows... | |
| Comments | |
| Stretch: Kei is really getting into this game, and has replaced Nishi as the most skillful and bloodthirsty hunter. I like the otaku who asks about the man inside Gantz and about who is behind this "game"--at last, somebody asks a few questions! He also has the good sense to put on his suit--I hope he survives, though I'm not holding my breath. I wonder how the sadistic punks will figure into this. It's too soon to say whether this hunt will be particularly exciting or intriguing. This show never really explains the weird powers/quirks that the various aliens have, or if they've actually done something to deserve being killed (or does Gantz just get it's jollies arranging brutal fights to the death?). If this lack of explanation was counterbalanced by neat action, and was used to good effect--i.e., a plot which made more sense because the aliens are so mysterious--I wouldn't mind. [Devil Doll, 2006-11-20] One might think that four hunts are enough to let only those characters survive who have understood the "us or them" element of the game, and are able to pull the trigger when necessary. (Given the number of dead corpses they've seen so far their only dread should be to be out of ammunition during the fight...) But not in this show: Again, the characters are wasting precious time, putting themselves into more danger. Why don't they just look at their device for spotting aliens, enter the room, shoot and go? Given the unknown abilities of the aliens, the hunt would still be a challenge... this plus the mindless violence (the two thugs beating up hobos) suffices for me giving another episode a mediocre rating. Although the "team" is still not really working together, some specialization has evolved: Kei is the primary fighter, Kato is the human ressources manager (his presentation of the suit's effects was impressive; then again, noone told the newcomers about the delayed effect of the guns, probably the most important tactical information), and there's the one silent guy operating the alien detector. Kishimoto is actually nothing but a nuisance (Gantz's comments are harsh but mostly correct); perhaps Sakuraoka will beat her in terms of effectiveness? Unreasonable as it were (why didn't Kei just give Sakuraoka his address to visit her after the hunt, instead of doing it when the hunt was about to start? If I were Gantz I'd consider it funny to put those two into the battle with no clothes on...), that sex scene from last time has actually improved the show as it caused tension amongst the lead characters. Look into Kishimoto's face now: Finally something interesting is happening! As for the various newcomers, I tend to have the same attitude as Kei has at this stage: Let them die if they don't believe the story, they're not interesting anyway. (From this point of view, Sakuraoka has vastly improved her chance of survival by having had sex with Kei on the floor... so maybe she actually had a good reason for that?) | |
