| Title: | Gantz |
| Episode: | 23: Kurono Alien |
| Synopsis | |
| Kei is appalled to find himself declared the “Kurono Alien”, i.e, the target of this latest hunt. He hopes this is some sort of sick joke on the part of Gantz, and urges the others to suit up before they transport, in case they run into another pack of deadly aliens. Hajime (the light blue haired homeless hunter) considers himself and fellow hunter Ryuji to be lucky, first of all because they’ve been resurrected, and secondly because “killing dead people isn’t a crime”. The others try to make sense of their situation. Ryuji demands some sort of proof from Kei that he can be trusted. Kei has a vision of Kato, and several others experience frightening, dreamlike flashbacks as well. A confused Kei takes a shot with his blaster which frightens the others. Hajime pulls a gun on him, and along with Ryuji advises the others to put on their suits while they hold Kei prisoner. Hajime is startled as everyone transports, and Kei takes the opportunity to jump him… | |
| Comments | |
| I’m glad to see that apparently everyone isn’t going to gang up on Kei, as I’d expected. The fact that Hajime and Ryuji do not especially like or trust one another is intriguing—I wouldn’t be surprised if one winds up killing the other. These two are rather quick to grasp what’s going on, considering how dense practically all new hunters have been in the past, which is… convenient. How, for example, does Ryuji know that “if we don’t (kill Kei) we won’t be able to go back”? Maybe he wants it to be just the way it is—that is, this freakish situation is like a dream come true to him. I also notice that nobody has any doubt that the guns Gantz provides them with are genuine deadly weapons, whereas everybody seemed to deride them as “toys” in the past. Apparently the time lag between shooting and hitting the target was a handicap Gantz intentionally installed in the blasters. One thing I liked was the resourcefulness Kei displayed in improvising a weapon for himself.
[Devil Doll, 2007-02-24:] Despite the apparent plausibility issues I consider this one of the better episodes. Gantz's methods of bullying Kurono are indeed impressive; the characters are in a deadlock, and it's interesting to see them check their individual priorities. Perhaps not doing anything at all (thus denying Gantz the fun of watching) would be the most humane solution of the scenario; I have long wondered whether any character would come to the insight that a life according to Gantz's rules isn't worth living, and there is a slight chance of getting that in the next episode. | |
