The Pull List – Gantz: G Volume 1 TPB
A deadly game of predator and prey begins for a group student forced into a new reality. A mysterious and futuristic machine known as Gantz has appeared has selected victims of a high school bus accident and pits them in violent confrontations for the sake of protecting the Earth. The rules are simple, players are given equipment and each player must survive numerous challenges to earn points. Once a player has reached 100 points they are presented with a few options; escape from the games, obtain powerful weapons, or resurrect another dead player. The battles take place in an alternate dimension of earth, but with strange aliens and creatures for the humans to fight. Many other players from different Gantz devices participant in the challenge, but they all fight for their chance to escape. For high school classmates Kei, Sakurai, Matsumoto, Kaji, Naiki and Ikegami, they must learn to fight as a team or be forever lost to the Gantz games.
Gantz:G is a spin off series of Gantz, a manga series created by Hiroya Oku in 2000. Gantz focused on Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, and other participants in the Gantz to fend off an alien invasion. It was bizarre, violent and graphic manga series that had it’s own anime, live action movies and a CGI movie in 2016. Gantz: G was published in Japan from 2015-2017, making it’s first American debut in June 2018. Gantz: G bought back creator Hiroya Oku and artist Keita Lizuka, and adds Tomohito Ohsaki to the team. These manga creators are known heavy use of stylish action, and focus on retaining all the bloody visuals of the original Gantz.
The first volume of Gantz:G drops the reader straight into the deep end of the focus of the series. A class of high school students are left confused and scared as the enter the alternate reality while two veterans of the Gantz games quickly explain the rules. Some of the students seems to get a gripe of their new fates and others freak out, but once the first hunt begins it jumps to a bloody mess in only a few panels. We don’t get a lot of information about the backgrounds of each character, at least on the important ones that is. There are a lot of unfortunate players that didn’t pay attention to the rules or were quick enough to dodge some attacks. Overall, Gantz: G starts pretty strong to pump up the readers with this twisted and brutal story. Fans of the novel and movie Battle Royal, Hunger Games and the original Gantz should take a look at what Gantz: G has to offer.