Gantz ~ ガンツ

 

 

Finally managed to watch Gantz after saw the trailer ages ago and the mass amount of promotion in whatever variety shows and even news that I came upon. Gantz is a movie adaptation based on the manga by the same title. and they have the anime version of this too. Considering that I can't even finish reading the first book since it's too graphic for me, the movie is very much toned down, by landslide. So, for those fans of the manga, I can imagine their dissapointment for not seeing more blood splatters, body parts flying all over the place and off course, the hentai stuff. That being said, it's still ranked as PG12 for Japan, and I must say, Japan have a very low threshold for violant content because when it reaches Singapore, the ratings is up to N-16, and poor fangirls will have to wait for the DVD instead. So, what we get from this movie? Is it worth the money after all those promotions they've done (not in Singapore definitely since I didn't even see the trailer up at the MRT, unlike Space Battleship Yamato)?

So, I came to see Gantz without any clue of what to expect. Yes, yes, I already know it's about folks suit up in black latex getup (as Kei pointing out: Cosplay?!?) fighting alliens and lots of blood spills, splatters, whatever, but that's about it. With this in mind, I find the movie has done quite a good job with considerable fast phase plot but not leaving gaps by introducing the characters and each of their circumstances, given the limited screen time that they have. But having to say this, it means that it's less screentime for the action parts which is what Gantz should be all about. Granted that they've given quite a handful of action scenes to satisfy this requirement, but that's about it, they don't exceed expectation in this department. Action scene is not what I have complains on for this movie considering both lead actors are not action movie stars. In fact because of these 2 leads, Gantz has transformed into a human drama, which is totally non existance in the original work. As for the CGs, they managed to throw in some cool ones during the action scenes. I like particularly the scene where they fight the 1000 arms God statue. It has enough blood but not too gory for general public and it's thrilling enough with adequite suspense to entertain. I'm not saying that the CG techniques are spectacular, nothing new has shown in this movie, but all is enough to satisfy or not to make the manga/anime fans condemn this movie. Some may say the Negi human scene is good, but that's because it's disgusting and gory, which looks more like what the original manga has.

I actually like the drama parts. It's not a lot, which is good, but it feels needed to keep the story moving. I like how they portray how each of the characters struggles with Gantz and return to their normal life. Kei with the pressure of getting a job while reminiscing of being a hero during his childhood. Kato with his past and vow to protect his brother. The rest of the supporting characters also get a glimpse of their life shown. I like the part where Kei almost ready to give up his life after losing Kato but was pulled by Tae (Yoshitaka Yuriko's character which will have more screen time on the 2nd part). It just to shows the realization for Kei on the need to keep on living, and fight on Gantz to get 100 points.

My only complain is, why Kanata Hongo has so little screen time??? His character is quite cool with the antagonist personality, a very oposite from Kato's and somewhat Kei has mimick his personality right after he knows how to use the Gantz suit. So, I was kind of pissed that he dies so early, just during the earlier part of 2nd alien killing.

So, overall, did it worth your money? Yes, because it'll be a whole total different experience if you watch it at home, unless, you have a very good home theater system. No, if you're the hardcore fan of Gantz. What good about Gantz is that they throw in enough action, gore and CGs to make it at least acceptable in ohtaku realm (I do think they only try to satisfy the minimum standard of passable for it), and they throw in enough ikemen (at least 4 in part 1 and more in part 2) to lure in those fangirls with spending power. Just look at who's going to see Gantz in Japan? 80% of it are the ladies, not the guys, and we're talking about shounen manga here. Other than Japan, there're more guys watching as I can see there are more guys in the theater than fangirls today and most people outside Japan don't know who Nino or Arashi is.

Rebound ~ リバウンド

 

Now this is something that all ladies out there can relate to, and I definitely cannot agree more with this drama. Seeing how rare I watch rom-com dramas these days, Rebound has come up pretty strong with all the hillarity and absurdity and I don't feel any stress watching it. Let's just say the feeling of watching this drama is the same as when you watch Hotaru no Hikari, for a comparison (off course not the story, just the feeling). Granted the story based on topic that's definitely not new and been around for rom com in quite some time, cakes and diet. We've seen My Name is Kim Sam Soon (K-drama), Love on A Diet (HK-movie) from donkey years ago, to name a few examples. But what's different in this drama is that, Rebound starts with the thin Nobuko, not the fat one. And the first 3 episodes phase is quite fast for a drama, which makes me curious what comes next.

Rebound begins its story by how Nobuko (Aibu Saki) who grows up with her doting parents in a Tonkatsu restaurant encounters her love for cake and because of it, she grew fat. She managed to lose all those kgs in 1 year after being dumped by her boyfrend Kensaku (Katsuji Ryo) and now working for fashion magazine, Eden, with the editor who hates fat people. In one incident, Nobuko is assigned to review pastry shop, Angie, which turns out to be her first cake shop. The current owner is the son of the previous owner, Taichi (Hayami Mokomichi). Taichi is a quite hot tempered chef and reacted very badly after Nobuko give a bad review of his cakes. He then asks Nobuko to try his cakes experiment. Now, this is bad for Nobuko because she'll rebound to her old weight if she keeps eating the cake. So will she rebound back?

This drama has the 1 thing that I love, the cakes. They are all made so beautifully that I literally drooling in front of TV. So yeah, I can totally relate to this drama. But wait, there's another part that's most of us girl will nod in agreement. It's totally difficult to loose weight. As we watch how Nobuko struggles to maintain her weight and the way she gives in to the temptation, we've all been there and done that. The drama off course exegerate Nobuko's reaction to cakes, food, diet, etc, but we all get the point. In a way, this drama shows that appearance matters. Look at how different Kensaku treats Nobuko when she's fat and slim. Although in the end, Kensaku admits that it's Nobuko's personality that attracts him though not explicitly, but first it's all appearance. Taichi is also the same though it's for different reason and background. And even Nobuko reacted differently with the lean and fat Taichi. Oh yeah, in just 3 episodes, Nobuko's weight has been yoyo for at least 2 times, which here comes the absurdity and hillarity of this. Even her dietitian doctor is shaddy by giving her the funny meds with disclaimer.

I like Aibu Saki's in Zettai Kareshi and as the bad girlfriend in Buzzer Beat. Her acting in this drama is quite different as in here she's portraying the girl who has lose her weight but still have some insecurity due to being constantly made fun off until she even made fun of herself. I like her acting in a big movement and with exegerated reaction to almost everything, it makes the drama so lively and fun to watch. As for Mokomichi, I like his acting in Zettai Kareshi (yes, they're together again in this drama, only this time he gets the girl), but I don't really like him on the others. In here, his acting is as exegerated as Aibu's, but that's why it matches and I like to see them together and how they can overcome all their complex.

Nobody sings in this drama just because there's no singers casted here. And after episode 3, I'm looking forward to the next episode, just because there's a wedding scene... wait a minute, a wedding scene on epi 4? What will happen with the rest 7 episodes? Isn't it interesting?