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The first game is over but will the horrors committed be forever
burned into the souls of those who remain "alive"? As new
shocking developments rip the survivors' "real" worlds to
shreds, the sins of the flesh grow and spread, festering until
the line between good and evil ceases to exist. In a world
where the laws of life and death have been overturned, what
other forbidden passions remain?...
Aftershocks
sees
the second volume of Gantz episodes to be released
by MVW. What I loved about the four episodes on this collection
was the fact that the writers are not afraid to shift pace
as teh story progresses. Volume
1 thrust viewers into Gantz's messed up universe
without leaving them with any space to breath. In Volume
2 we get to learn a lot more about the background of the
characters without the writers feeling the need to quickly
set out on another Gantz mission immediately. This helps to
not only build up a relationship with the main characters,
but also builds tension as to when Gantz will call them back.
Also in this collection random characters seem to keep cropping
up for no real reason - there's a spoilt child and his doting
grandmother, a male model and his stalker, and a gang of bikers
- but worry not their appearance isn't there just to confuse
you... every thing is made clear as the epsidoes progress.
That
Means at the Time... opens with the mysterious tooth collecting
bully beating up a man for reasons not yet known. It later
transpires that this juvenile thug beats up anyone that fails
to pay protection money to another member of his gang and
that he is currently beating up the school's karate instructor
because he dared to challenge him and his gang for picking
on his karate students.
Back
in the Gantz room, one of the seasoned players of the cruel
game explains to the survivors that they are fax copies of
their real selves and that they are free to return home. However,
they must not talk of Gantz or their experiences. Kurono goes
back to school, Masaru goes back to looking after his younger
brother, but Kishimoto cannot go home as her real body wasn't
destroyed (Kurono and Masaru's bodies where totally torn apart
by the tube that ran them down, and no one knows who the two
mystery school boys are that were killed) in fact she survived
her suicide attempt. This now means that Kishimoto has nowhere
to stay - she can't really go home and explain to her family
why there are two copies of herself.
Alright
sees Kishimoto turn up at Kurono's front door and ask to stay
with him. Kurono has the hots for Kishimoto (well, for her
huge breasts) and agrees to take her in on the off chance
that she will sleep with him. And he really thinks his luck
is in when he realises that she'll have to share his single
bed. But, just as he's managing to get somewhere (in his eyes)
she starts telling him about her self abusive past and the
fact that her real body is still alive.
We're
After You sees Masaru and his brother have a serious run
in with their aunt - who is a bit of a bully - who they live
with after their parent's were killed. She has made them sit
on the floor without an evening meal while she and her two
young sons stuff their faces. The reason they are banished
from the table is because Masaru's younger brother accidentally
got his aunt's carpet a little dirty.
Meanwhile
Kurono and Kishimoto are out shopping for supplies, but things
start to take a turn for the worse when the shop assistant
offers to let them take the groceries home for free if they
can direct her to the right platform for a journey she wants
to make. Startled by such a bizarre request, Kurono and Kishimoto
make a run for it. Later, back at his house Kurono reflects
on the odd event and comes to the conclusion that Gantz is
gearing up to transport them in for another game. He insists
that Kishimoto tries on her gaming costume as it is her best
chance of survival should they suddenly find themselves in
the Gantz room. However, does he have other motives than Kishimoto's
well being? Could it be that he can't wait to see her huge
chest crammed into that tight black latex outfit? Yep, it
looks like Kurono is perving after large breasted women again.
Uh-oh!
sees Kishimoto reveal to Kurono that she is in love with
someone... and she is keeping going for this special someone.
Everything points to this special person being Kurono. Could
his luck finally have changed? Has the girl that he's been
lusting after since he met her, finally fallen for him?
Gantz
also decides that it's time to bring back the survivors from
the last game as well as a few new recruits to track down
and kill another alien being...
There
are plenty of amusing elements to these episodes. Kurono's
large breast fixation could be his downfall. Two items were
left at the scene of Kurono and Masaru's messy underground
train accident. Masaru left a plastic umbrella with initials
engraved on it, while Kurono left a specialist
porno mag that caters for those that like top heavy girls.
The police seem intent on tracking down the owners of these
items in order to find out who the two boys were.
Kurono's
infatuation with Kishimoto's breasts is also amusing. He's
totally blinded by them and convinced that she will fall for
him - especially after she asks him to keep her in his house
like a pet.
Extras
on this disc include textless opening and closing titles (as
with the last volume); 2 x 18 minute Q&As with the voice
actors (the second one has too quite a soundtrack); and some
trailers for other releases.
This
is one release that I am now starting to eagerly anticipate
every couple of months. The writing is tight and the acting
is fantastic. I also love the music. The opening track (Rip
Slyme's Super Shooter) rolls around your head for ages
and I can't think of a better way to close each episode than
with Bonnie Pink's Last Kiss power ballad. As I mentioned
earlier the writers aren't afraid to shift pace constantly.
This could have been a mindless action packed series where
every episode featured a new Gantz mission. Thankfully that's
not the case and there is a level of intelligent writing that
makes the viewer really care for the characters.
Without
a doubt one of the best Japanese animated series currently
in production.
 
Darren
Rea
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