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Dark Horse just confirmed that Gantz:g, the spinoff of Hiroya Oku’s Gantz, is getting an omnibus edition. It’s set to drop on September 30 and will bundle the full series into one collection.

This action-packed story throws a group of high school students into a nightmare. After their school bus crashes off a bridge, they wake up in a mysterious room with a strange black sphere. Death isn’t the end for them—at least not yet.

They’re forced into a deadly hunt against terrifying aliens, given weapons and suits, and told they must earn enough points to come back to life. If they fail, they’re gone for good.

The manga was created by Keita Iizuka and Tomohito Ohsaki, with artwork by Iizuka. It originally ran in Miracle Jump in 2015 and wrapped up after three volumes in 2017. Dark Horse had previously published the series in paperback between...

Following Hiroya Oku's 37-volume Gantz manga—which was also collected in 12 omnibus books—Dark Horse is giving Gantz G a similar treatment. The spinoff written by Oku and Tomohito Ohsaki, with art by Keita Iizuka, is set to hit shelves once again, this time in a single omnibus volume. The 656-page omnibus arrives in bookstores and comic shops on September 30, 2025 for an Msrp of $29.99. Gantz G Story: Hiroya Oku and Tomohito Ohsaki Art: Keita Iizuka Translation: Matthew Johnson Lettering: Studio Cutie Synopsis: Death does not have to be the end, at least not the first time! When a school bus plunges off a bridge, another deadly game is set in motion. A group of students awaken in an empty room with a mysterious black sphere. Their deaths have made them the latest recruits in a hunting game. This new team is given weapons, uniforms, a mission, and an ultimatum:...

One of the biggest adventure anime and manga series of the late 90s, Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi is one of his more serious works. The series had a widely successful journey, and to this day, it serves as a means of inspiration for many other manga artists. However, the success of Inuyasha was not easy to pull off at the time.

Inuyasha | Credit: Studio Sunrise

Ever since Inuyasha started, the one problem that fans had with the story of the series was its repetitiveness. Although the overall narrative was intriguing and filled with thrills, the major themes of the series were repeated with every plot, and this was not good for the series at all. But still, it managed to make a big name for itself and its manga creator.

Inuyasha was released at a time when the manga and anime industry was at its peak in terms of global recognition.

The recent spike in One Piece’s popularity is extraordinary. From fans to renowned figures of the anime industry like Takehiko Inoue and Yoshiyuki Tomino, many sing praises for Eiichiro Oda’s exceptional skills as a mangaka. It’s not common for those in the manga industry to openly criticize their contemporaries, and an exception to this norm is Hiroya Oku, the creator of Inuyashiki and Gantz.

A still from Inuyashiki: Last Hero | Credits: Studio Mappa

The creator has been quite vocal about his hate for One Piece, and he is seemingly proud of it, too. He never misses an opportunity to engage in some Oda and Op slander. Sometimes, he takes it too far by incorporating it into his works as well.

Hiroya Oku’s Hate for One Piece And the Frequent Reminders of It Hiro asks the girl her favorite manga | Credits: Studio Mappa

Inuyashiki is a fairly...

The most brutal death games in anime history plunge unwilling groups of players into a series of horrific challenges with their lives on the line. These games can be extremely high-stakes versions of real-world games that the players are likely to be familiar with, or much more original creations designed specifically to be as hostile to human life as possible. Any player who can’t adapt immediately is doomed, and large casts can be expected to shrink really fast.

Most often, the players’ worst traits and weaknesses are quickly brought to light when push comes to shove. Efforts to stick together, form alliances, and save as many people as possible are often easier said than done. To the heroes’ horror, they are usually the only ones even trying; the villains’ example of throwing everyone else under the bus to be the sole survivor tends to be much more popular.

Tomodachi Game...

Despite not being a typical entry into the genre, Gantz showcases isekai's flexibility and mingles superhero tropes with other-worldly elements. Gantz utilizes many Super Sentai themes, including the power of teamwork, and many of the structures used to craft compelling villains. The series exemplifies superhero values within an isekai setting, proving that, under the right circumstances, the genre can be molded to fit a multitude of situations.

Undoubtedly, isekai stories have experienced a surge in popularity over the past decade that has mesmerized anime fans worldwide. One reason why isekai has grabbed public attention is due to the genre's versatility in its storytelling methods. That versatility allows contemporary isekai creators to write stories that seamlessly mix fantasy, adventure, and romance. Unfortunately, despite the genre allowing for such diverse worldbuilding, many have complained that a majority of modern isekai struggles to stand out amid the endless sea of "transported to another world" content.

The Japanese anime industry is split between a variety of animation studios, all of which work incredibly hard to produce the best anime any fan could ask for. Some animation studios have been at work nonstop since the 1960s to provide entertainment for all, and other, newer ones have caught up with a handful of outstanding titles to their names. One such studio is Studio Mappa, which has quickly risen as one of the biggest names in the anime industry today.

While Studio Mappa hasn't been involved with legendary anime like the shonen "Big Three" or Dragon Ball, Studio Mappa does have an impressive library of other, equally great anime titles under its belt. Ever since its founding in 2011, Studio Mappa and its staff have been cranking out one smash-hit anime after another, several of which totally define the modern anime landscape, most of all of shonen and seinen anime.

Seinen manga, aimed at older audiences, offers complex stories and mature themes that wouldn't be possible in shonen manga. The genre's intense artwork adds to its appeal and has contributed to its recent popularity. Some of the best art in seinen manga can be found in series like Uzumaki, Gantz, Jagaaan, One Punch Man, Berserk, Innocent, Vagabond, Goodnight Punpun, Hideout, and The Climber. These manga not only tell compelling stories, but their artwork is museum-worthy and adds depth to the narrative. Seinen manga allows for a wide range of genres, from psychological horror to historical fiction to coming-of-age tales. The artwork in these manga can evoke strong emotions and create a one-of-a-kind reading experience that fans won't find anywhere else.

Manga for adult men is home to some absolute classics of the medium, with some of the best art in seinen manga being legitimate masterpieces even outside of their story significance.

Hundreds of new anime hit the airwaves every year and with so much content to explore it’s easy to get caught up with the most popular success stories instead of the messier misfires that don’t last. Every anime fan knows about Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and Cowboy Bebop, but not all anime get to end on their own terms and fully finish their stories.

A number of factors can contribute to an anime’s cancelation whether it’s poor ratings, budgetary issues, or disagreements between the production studio and the broadcast network. However, a canceled anime is not always analogous to a bad anime. It’s unfair to completely write off these anime and even though they met early ends they’re still able to accomplish a lot and deserve to be seen.

Related: 12 Anime That Were Cancelled Before Their Stories Could Conclude Properly

Bubblegum Crisis 8 Ova

Bubblegum Crisis...

Exclusive: After recently wrapping production on Bullet Train, Sony Pictures is eyeing another popular Japanese IP adaptation. Sources tell Deadline that Julius Avery has been set to direct Gantz for the studio.

Based on the manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku, the script will be adapted by Marc Guggenheim, with Temple Hill producing. Insiders add that the project is still in early development with no production start date set.

The series tells the story of Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, both of whom died in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous “game” in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed to the teeth with all sorts of futuristic weapons and gadgets.

The series has had a handful of anime series and Japanese feature adaptations; given how much Hollywood sees this genre as having a big...

The best way to learn and pick up a language is by watching a film or web series with subtitles. And with you having ample time at home to binge-watch content at its very best, why not tap the play button and experience some of the best shows made in foreign languages. If you’re wondering which are the best ones to stream, here are five of the very best.

Open your mind to world cinema with these must-watch foreign shows.

Dom (Amazon Prime Video)

Dom is a Brazilian crime-mafia series which is inspired by a true story. Directed by Vincente Kubrusly and Breno Silveira and starring Gabriel Leone, Flavio Tolezani, Filipe Braganca, this series is about a police officer who is has been fighting the war against drugs his entire life only to finds his own son become the most drug lord in Rio de Janeiro. So, if you...

As I have mentioned before, due to the countless entries in the shonen genre, it is really difficult for someone to come up with something really new, something that strays completely away from the Naruto-Bleach-One Piece standards. Hiroya Oku, the author of the manga the anime is based on, managed to do just that, by having a more than unlikely protagonist and a title where the shonen aspect is just an “excuse” for a number of sociopolitical comments. Let us take things from the beginning.

The story revolves around two axes, in essence around two individuals, whose stories eventually “clash.” The first one, and the unlikely one I mentioned before, is Ichiro Inuyashiki, a man who has no friends while his family members seem not to care about him the least. Furthermore, he is almost completely ignored in his work place, and despite being just 58, he looks...

Barcelona— A take on physical joy and hellish pain, Gaspar Noé‘s “Climax” took best film at the 51st Sitges’ Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.

Among other main awards, Panos Cosmatos (“Mandy“), Quentin Dupieux (“Keep An Eye Out”) and “Atsushi Doi” snagged director, script and FX respectively.

Produced by Germany’s Wild Bunch and Rectangle Productions,”Climax” took Cannes’ 2018 Directors’ Fortnight top unofficial prize, the Cicae Art Cinema Award. selling to a24 for the U.S., it sparked maybe the biggest consensus thumbs-up in the director’s career for its early going, chronicling a dance troupe performance. After that, as is typical with Noe, the feature sparked mixed radically mixed reactions.

Italian-Canadian filmmaker Panos Cosmatos scooped best director for his sophomore effort “Mandy,” starring Nicolas Cage and Andrea Riseborough, a stylized romance between two misfits involving Messianic members of a biker gang.

Sold by Xyz Films, “Mandy” is produced by Belgium’s UMedia and U.

With the 22nd annual Fantasia International Film Festival kicks off in Montreal this July, the first wave of programming has now been announced, and as per usual, there are many events for genre fans to look forward to, including the world premiere of the horror anthology Nightmare Cinema, screenings of Unfriended: Dark Web and David Robert Mitchell's Under the Silver Lake, and a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to filmmaker Joe Dante:

Press Release: Montreal, May 2, 2018 - The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 22nd Anniversary in Montreal this summer, taking place from July 12-August 1, with its Frontières International Co-Production Market and Industry Rendez-Vous Weekend being held July 19-22.

The festival’s full lineup of over 130 feature films will be announced in early July. In the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a carefully selected first wave of titles, along with several special happenings.

International Premiere Of...

In “Inuyashiki,” an alien encounter mutates two unsuspecting charaters — one, a decrepit salaryman, the other, a neighborhood teenager — into indestructible cyborgs, but contrary to genre conventions, it’s the kid who turns evil, leaving the wussy old codger to save the day. Adapted from a manga by Hiroya Oku, this Japanese genre effort is ably directed by Shinsuke Sato, who foregrounds interpersonal relationships and human emotion over action and effects. The fact that English translations of the 10-volume series exist digitally, while an anime miniseries can be viewed on Amazon Prime Video, should boost the film’s overseas potential. Meanwhile, in a country with the world’s highest elderly population, the action movie’s anti-ageist thrust — demonstrating how undervalued senior citizens kick ass — proves unexpectedly heart-warming.

From “Parasyste” to “Gantz” (also written by Oku), Japanese science fiction is rife with stories of humans merging with androids or aliens. Of this tradition,...

Let me start by stating a few things. The anime “Gantz” is one of my favorite anime of all times. I have not read the manga by Hiroya Oku. When I review an anime/manga adaptation, I try to focus, as little as possible, on how close to the original it remained; instead, I make an effort of watching it as a stand-alone work. The above considering, I think Shinsuke Sato’s two-part movie is one of the best films based on anime/manga.

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Two classmates, Kurono and Kato, are killed while trying to save a homeless person who had fallen on the subway rails. After their death, they find themselves in an apartment, where a man cabled inside a black sphere forces them to participate in a death game, along with a number of other people experiencing the same fate, where they have to kill particular...

The upcoming full 3D CG anime film adapts once more the ultra-violent, ultra-popular manga by Hiroya Oku.

Keiichi Satou (Tiger & Bunny, Asura) is the chief director for the film, and Yasushi Kawamura (Appleseed: Ex Machina CGI director) is directing the film. Tsutomu Kuroiwa (One Piece Film Gold script) is writing the screenplay. Digital Frontier is handling production.

The film, which adapts the original manga’s Osaka arc, is slated to open in Japan on October 14.

Source: animenewsnetwork...

Gantz (2010) Movie ReviewStory70%Special Effects81%Cinematography 65%2016-01-2572%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (4 Votes)87%

Director: Shinsuke Sato

Written by: Hiroya Oku (manga), Yusuke Watanabe (screenplay)

Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama, Natsuna Watanabe, Kanata Hongo, Yuriko Yoshitaka

Your lives have ended. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. That’s the law.

Now go and kill this guy.

(Gantz)

Based on the manga by Hiroya Oku, Gantz proves that a good story cannot be killed by a poor adaptation. The Plot

Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato are hit by a subway train when they were trying to save a drunkard who fell from the platform. The next moment they find themselves in a strange room, empty except for a mysterious black sphere.

There are other people in the room, most of them convinced that, like Kurono and Kato, they have died today.

The people are wondering...

Humankind’s collision with otherworldly life forms can make for unforgettable cinema.

This article will highlight the best of live-action human vs. alien films. The creatures may be from other planets or may be non-demonic entities from other dimensions.

Excluded from consideration were giant monster films as the diakaiju genre would make a great subject for separate articles.

Readers looking for “friendly alien” films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), It Came from Outer Space (1953) and the comically overrated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) are advised to keep watching the skies because they won’t find them here.

Film writing being the game of knowledge filtered through personal taste that it is, some readers’ subgenre favorites might not have made the list such as War of the Worlds (1953) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957).

Now let’s take a chronological look at the cinema’s best battles between Us and Them.

Another week, another Monday. So it’s time for the rundown of DVDs and Blu-rays hitting stores online and offline this week. It’s another packed week, with plenty of movies waiting to take you money, so let us breakdown the new releases and highlight what you should – and shouldn’t – be buying from today, February 6th 2012.

Pick Of The Week

Tyrannosaur (DVD/Blu-ray)

Joseph (Peter Mullan) is an unemployed widower, drinker, and a man crippled by his own volatile temperament and furious anger. Hannah (Olivia Colman) is a Christian worker at a charity shop, a respectable woman who appears wholesome and happy. When the pair are brought together, Hannah appears as Joseph’s potential saviour, someone who can temper his fury and offer him warmth, kindness and acceptance. As their story develops Hannah’s own secrets are revealed – her relationship with husband James (Eddie Marsan) is violent and abusive...

Gantz 2: Perfect Answer

Stars: Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama, Yuriko Yoshitaka | Written by Hiroya Oku | Directed by Shinsuke Sato

Based on a hit manga series created by Hiroya Oku and starring leading Japanese actors Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City), Gantz 2: Perfect Answer begins several months after the events of the first film. Kurono (Ninomiya Kazunari) is still fighting aliens under the order of Gantz and he is close to reaching the score he needs to resurrect his friend Kato (Matsuyama Kenichi). As the missions begin to get increasingly dangerous for both the alien fighters and the general public, Kurono discovers that the endgame for Gantz is quickly approaching.

So, mysterious black ball. Check. Tight leather-clad undead heroes. Check. Strange shape-shifting(?) aliens. Check. Complete lack of understanding of what’s going on having not seen the original movie. Check. Enjoying it for what it is,...

Director: Shinsuke Sato. Review: Adam Wing. For those of you that don’t know, let’s cast our minds back to how it all began. In a nutshell - big black balls. Gantz and its sequel Gantz: Perfect Answer are based on a hit manga series created by Hiroya Oku. Directed by Shinsuke Sato, Gantz stars leading Japanese actors Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note, Detroit Metal City). After an accident on a train platform, recently deceased childhood friends Kei and Kato find themselves transported to an empty apartment populated by several confused strangers and a mysterious black ball known as Gantz. The big black ball issues them a set of strange suits, instructing them to exterminate "dangerous aliens" from Earth in a series of bloodthirsty games. They are given high-tech weaponry, and the opportunity to collect points depending on how many aliens they kill.

It’s the start of another week, so you know what that means – more DVD and Blu-ray releases to swallow up all your hard-earned cash! So here’s the rundown of what’s available to buy from today, October 3rd 2011.

Pick Of The Week

Chuck: Season 4 Box Set (DVD/Blu-ray)

When Chuck Bartowski opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists. With the government’s most precious secrets in Chuck’s head, Major John Casey of the National Security Agency assumes the responsibility of protecting him. His partner is the CIA’s top agent -and Chuck’s first date in years – Sarah Walker.

The 2011 Sitges Film Festival, held 6-16 October on the Catalan coast of Spain, is finalizing its lineup, which now includes Francis Ford Coppola's Twixt, Kevin Smith's Red State, and the return of Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, who will be presenting their new piece Livide. In addition, The Thing (2011) has been named as the closing movie.

Be sure to visit the official Sitges Film Festival website for more info!

Official In-Competition Fantàstic Selection

Another Earth: a story of redemption revolving around a young girl traumatized by a tragedy in her past, and who will find the answer to her innumerable questions in a bizarre phenomenon, the appearance of a closely orbiting replica of the Earth. This film by Mike Cahill was one of the big winners at Sundance 2011.

The Divide: Xavier Gens, director of Frontieres, is back with the apocalypse as a banner to show the...

Ballz. Anytime you encounter a strange metallic sphere, and you don’t know what it does, it never turns out well. For two friends who were accidentally killed while trying to save another man’s life, this orb meant being thrust into a Death Race-like game where they and other recent-dead people are forced to kill aliens in hiding on Earth.

Gantz is a live-action movie based on the hit anime/manga series by Hiroya Oku and stars two of the biggest stars of Japanese cinema, Kazunari Ninomiya (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note). New People Entertainment will release Gantz in North America on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 30, 2011. Celebrating the release, there will be a special screening of the film on Friday, August 26, 2011 at 7pm in San Francisco at the 2011 J-Pop Summit Festival. The sequel, Gantz II: Perfect Answer will also be premiered at the festival on that same weekend.

Warner Home Video has acquired the rights to release Shinsuke Sato’s live-action adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s manga series Gantz on Blu-ray August 30th. The film is about the “tale of two teens (Kazunari Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama) who attempt to save a man from an oncoming train, only to wake up in a strange apartment dominated by a mysterious black sphere. Tasked with hunting down aliens, they’re soon given advanced weaponry and returned to Earth”.

According to Blu-ray, the film will be released on a 3-Disc Blu-ray set, and will include a Bd disc and two standard DVDs. Nothing much is known about the Special Features other than interviews and a theatrical trailer.

Despite the somewhat negative response I’d received regarding the first part of the live action adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s manga “Gantz”, I thoroughly enjoyed the flick. Of course, I’m not familiar with the source material at all, so this may have had something to do with my positive reaction to the somewhat confusing sci-fi actioner. The second installment, “Gantz: Perfect Answer”, now has a brand new teaser and a full trailer, as well as a fully-functioning official website. That’s pretty darn cool. You can find both clips lurking just below this moderately informative paragraph. If you enjoyed the first part, then there’s a very strong possibility that you’ll dig the second. In theory, of course. Via Nippon Cinema function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf", "mplayer", "590", "375", "8", "#000000"); so.addParam("wmode","transparent"); so.addParam("swliveconnect", "true"); so.

The official website for Shinsuke Sato’s Gantz: Perfect Answer has been relaunched with a new teaser and full trailer.

This is the finale of the 2-part live-action film adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s popular manga about a mysterious sphere called Gantz that grants the recently-deceased super powers and a second shot at life in exchange for a seemingly never-ending string of alien assassination missions.

The two main characters, Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama), were childhood friends who died in a train accident and were subsequently recruited by Gantz to assassination various “seijin” (aliens). Kurono chooses to fight and do whatever it takes to survive, while Kato rejects violence. Trapped in an endless cycle of war, both men are eventually faced with an important choice…

Toho will be releasing Gantz: Perfect in Japan on April 23, 2011.

Watch »...

Directed by: Shinsuke Sato

Written by: Hiroya Oku, Yûsuke Watanabe

Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, Kazunari Ninomiya, Yuriko Yoshitaka

Music by: Kenji Kawai

What is it about live action film adaptations that are just so inferior to their original counterpart?

Without even including anything directed by Uwe Boll, I bet you can easily name five bad live action films that were adapted from either a video game, a book, an anime, or the like. It’s not difficult, is it? I can personally name five films simply from the last few years: Hitman, Dragonball: Evolution, The Last Airbender, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now, I bet you can’t do the same for good live action film adaptations, can you? Off the top of my head now, I can give small kudos to films like Harry Potter, the original Resident Evil, and the original Spiderman. The point...

"Gantz" is a new live-action feature based on the anime/manga series created by Hiroya Oku.

"...'Gantz' tells the story of 'Kei Kurono' and his friend 'Masaru Kato' who die in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous 'game' in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items of equipment and weaponry."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Gantz"...

Check out a couple of trailers for “Gantz”, a live-action feature based on the popular anime and manga series created by Hiroya Oku, which will be getting its world premiere January 20 at Mann’s Chinese 6 in Hollywood — a whopping nine days before the film debuts in its native land of Japan. The dark, violent story opens as alienated high school student Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) and his friend Masuru Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama) are killed trying to rescue a drunk who’s fallen on the subway tracks. They wake up in a room dominated by Gantz, a mysterious black sphere that sends them and other newly dead people to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on Earth. Just in time for the movie, a four-disc set of the original animated series is being released at the same time Stateside. function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf", "mplayer", "540", "340", "8", "#000000"); so.

I haven’t read the comic on which its based, but the I can tell you this much: The full-length trailer for the upcoming Japanese action opus “Gantz” looks extremely cool. And I’m not just saying that because I have a hard-on for lithe Asian peeps in skintight black outfits, either. Well, that might have something to do with it, but it’s not the only reason I’m eagerly anticipating this two-part epic’s eventual arrival onto North American shores. At present, the first entry in the series will hit Japanese theaters this January, while the second installment arrives in the spring of 2011. When the movies make their presence known elsewhere remains to be seen. I await this news with baited breath. Here’s a meaty synopsis courtesy of Nippon Cinema: The films are based on Hiroya Oku’s long-running manga about two students who die in a...

On Saturday, the official website for Shinsuke Sato‘s upcoming 2-part live-action adaptation of Gantz was updated with a new 90-second theatrical trailer as well as a second teaser.

The films are based on Hiroya Oku’s long-running manga about two students who die in a train accident only to be brought back to life by a mysterious black sphere called Gantz. The pair, played by Kazunari Ninomiya of the pop group Arashi and actor Kenichi Matsuyama, receive enhancement suits which give them the superhuman abilities needed to complete a series of alien assassination missions. Through these missions they earn “points” toward buying their own freedom, but various incidents complicate matters along the way.

Other announced cast members include Yuriko Yoshitaka as Tae Kojima, Kanata Hongo as Joichiro Nishi, Natsuna (formerly Natsuna Watanabe) as Kei Kishimoto and Takayuki Yamada as Shigeta Masamitsu.

Toho will be releasing Part 1 (Zenpen) on January 29th.

Never heard of “Gantz”, but then again, I’ve never heard of a lot of things from Japan. “Gantz” is from Hiroya Oku, and was a manga and anime before it became a live-action movie. It looks like a teenage sci-fi action movie, or at least, lots of stuff blows up in these two teaser trailers for the film. Looks kinda fun. There are two parts, both due out in 2011. Sorta like the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” movies, except with Japanese teenagers in black leather. Hey, it is Japanese, after all. (And is that the Mortal Kombat theme song playing over the trailers?) Via Nippon Cinema. The films star Kazunari Ninomiya as as Kei Kurono and Kenichi Matsuyama as Masaru Kato, two college students who die in a train accident only to be brought back to life by a mysterious black sphere known as Gantz. Equipped with advanced weaponry and...

Here is what I'm assuming is the latest preview for the upcoming 2-part live-action adaptation of Hiroya Oku's Gantz and the closest thing to a genuine trailer that's been released so far. Mercifully, this one is completely free of morning show graphics, talking head reaction boxes, and chatty announcer voices yapping over the best parts.

The films star Kazunari Ninomiya as as Kei Kurono and Kenichi Matsuyama as Masaru Kato, two college students who die in a train accident only to be brought back to life by a mysterious black sphere known as Gantz. Equipped with advanced weaponry and special suits that give them superhuman abilities, they're forced to carry out alien assassination missions, earning "points" toward eventually buying their freedom. However, various incidents along the way complicate matters. Additional cast members include Yuriko Yoshitaka as Kurono's girlfriend Tae Kojima, Kanata Hongo as a young veteran of the Gantz world named Joichiro Nishi,...

Ntv has aired an almost one minute long promotion teaser for Shinsuke Sato’s upcoming two-part live-action adaptation of Hiroya Oku’s manga series Gantz. The teaser features a few seconds of actual movie footage (we’ve seen most of it in the first TV spot), some behind-the-scenes material and a comparison of the main characters and their manga counterparts.

[via Nippon Cinema]...

I’m not sure what “Gantz” is. Let’s see now…hmm. Mr. Google, please. Oh yes. Gantz is a Japanese manga and anime series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato who die in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous “game” in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items of equipment and weaponry. Nice, sounds cool. So “Gantz” has gone live and you can probably rent it now, or eventually, in a Netflix near you. Which I think I may do because of this picture you’ll see below of a person, a female, a vision, that I’m told is called Kishimoto, being played by Watanabe Natsuna. Friends, this is what Sci-Fi is all about. Thanks Alafista.

Back in October word got out that Hiroya Oku's hyper-violent ongoing sci-fi manga "Gantz" would be entering the realm of live-action features with a two-film franchise directed by Shinsuke Sato and written by Yusuke Watanabe. Now, a 15-second teaser has hit the Web, giving fans a brief look at what the future might hold for the film series.

"Gantz" follows a cynical Tokyo college student after his apparent subway tunnel death and subsequent reanimation at the hands of a mysterious black sphere. He and others like him are gathered in an anonymous room in the city, provided with weapons and loosed on bizarre alien-kiling missions. Very few are successful.

While the teaser posted on YouTube doesn't reveal much about the film, there's a quick shot of stars Kazunari Ninomiya ("Letters From Iwo Jima") and Ken'ichi Matsumaya ("Death Note") in their black combat suits, which appear to be pretty faithful to the source material.

A 15-second TV spot for the upcoming live action adaptation of Gantz has been broadcast on the Nippon Network Television of Japan and thankfully, a viewer have captured it and uploaded it on Youtube.  In the video, we get our first brief glimpse at the mysterious black sphere known as "Gantz", accompany with the "participants" wearing the black enhancement suit.

Budgeted at $45 million Us, the film is based on Hiroya Oku's bestselling sci-fi action manga that tells the story of a "young Tokyo college student who is reanimated after a deadly subway accident. Kei Kurono and his friend Katou Masaru go on violent, seemingly endless missions at the behest of an unseen host."  As mention in our earlier report, it will be split into two parts with director Shinsuke Sato (The Princess Blade) on the helm and the two main characters, Kei and Katou, being played by J-popstar Kazunari Ninomiyais and Kenichi Matsuyama respectively.

From the developing "Ninja Scroll" to the almost released "Astro Boy," manga properties are beginning to have as much movement on the big screen as American comic books—and in Japan, a decidedly hardcore manga titled "Gantz" is set to make that same leap.

Anime News Network reports that Hiroya Oku's "Gantz" will be adapted for not one, but two live-action movies starring "Letters From Iwo Jima" actor Kazunari Ninomiya and "Death Note" star Ken'ichi Matsumaya. Japanese filmmaker Shinsuke Sato is directing the project with Yusuke Watanabe writing the screenplays.

According to Ann, "Gantz" focuses on "a young Tokyo college student who is reanimated after a deadly subway accident. Kei Kurono (Ninomiya) and his friend Masaru Kato (Matsuyama) go on violent, seemingly endless missions at the behest of an unseen host."

"I'm happy with just appearing in a work that I love so much," Ninomiya said of working on the project.