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I was disappointed with Gantz Ending so here I would try to reflect on what make Gantz story work for me and what didn't and why and maybe speculate on an alternative ending that would have been more meaningful.
Storylines / themes:
From its first arc Gantz deal with several story themes that made it interesting and worth following beyond the action:
Kurono Kei's Story: Kei's evolution from a cynical rogue character who hates everyone to someone who believes in being a hero and wants to love and save people .
This is slightly different from the archtypical manga protagonist because the protagonist doesn't start as weak or unaccepted, Instead he starts as average and his conflict to overcome is mostly his superficial attitude and lack of faith in society that places him somewhere between the Sociopathic Nishi and the Heroic Katou.
This story seems to be at the heart of things and worked nicely along the first part where Kurono is still struggling with accepting that he cares and feels responsible for people for all the trouble it brings while in contrast also having to deal with loss, lust and the cynicism it brings in regards to other people.
Escapism and Criticism at Society norms:
This was explored by looking at the characters in their life outside of the Gantz room.
For every protagonist character this conflict of realities consistently brings one to ask if the cruelties of the Gantz room outweighs the cruelties of the character's mundane existence.
This is also used to show that everyone come from somewhere and why they act the way they do and how would they continue to act when the constraints of the civilization that created them are removed.
Existentialism
The Gantz team are copies yet their lives still matter and we as readers probably care about them more than the people they protect.
What is the ultimate goal of that existence, what drives them to want to carry on with it and what if they cease to exist.
Maintaining of the story throughout the Post-Buddhist temple arcs:
After the Buddhist temple Arc and the Shorty Alien Arc we got a new cast of characters,
I think we started to see more focus on strong suppor characters like Kaze, Izumi and Sakata and Reika that were very cool and popular.
They are different from the other characters in that their background is not that important and they are there to play a role that support the main characters in the Gantz room:
Kaze is a role model for Takeshi
Sakata is a mentor for Sakurai
Izumi is a rival for Kurono and poetically is probably the embodiment of a fusion between the contrasting Nishi and Katou characters that died in previous arcs.
Reika is a rival to Tae and a Temptation for Kurono since she is the embodiment of the ideal he thought he wanted (Reika is later developed into an actual standalone character)
Where most of the supporting characters mentioned above are ideal for what they are Most of the new protagonist characters are underground and start of a place of weakness and some of them are largely under-developed so (with the exception of Sakurai) they come across less strongly than the above and perspective characters like Takeshi probably have as much personality as Hoi Hoi..
Story-wise at this point we see a slight shift in direction the theme and conflict of Escapism intensifies with protagonist characters like Sakurai and Takeshi who seek escape from abuse , Izumi who just finds normal life too boring and easy and Kurono who has to choose between Tae (real) and Reika (An Idol he met at the Gantz room) that likes him for his Gantz Shooter skillz and probably would be unattainable for him otherwise..
Escapism is taken to the point where it becomes the center of the story with the Vampires antagonists brought fourth to represent the cost and dark side of surpassing mundane existence.
The later arcs in this phase change Kurono's initial conflict , his story was more about struggling with his connection to others and dealing with the 'Human conditions', now changes to more about 'Escapism' and 'Reality altering'.
(This change would pose a problem in the final arcs where Oku-sensei seemingly wants to turn the wheel back and contrast the First arc 'Uncaring scumbag' Kurono with 'Heroic Savior' Korono as if that contrast remained the main conflict all along.)
Katastrophe + Post Katastrophe + Final.
Katastrophe and post Katastrophe arcs introduce new themes:
Conspiracy Theory, the conspiracy theme was previously alluded with the vampires and musings about the origins of gantz but here it is taken out and laid bare to solve many of the mysteries.
World War+ Post Apocalypse This explores the morality of war including its byproducts of terrorism, discrimination, Anarchy, mass murder, dehumanization and propaganda. it practically dwarfs the losses the Tokyo team incurred in previous arcs and make them seem insignificant by comparison both due to the revival and the amount of casualties.
Reverse perspective : This is something that has been to a lesser extent in 'the Short alien' and 'Nurarihyon Alien' Arcs and is expanded on in the Alien invasion arc to reflect that to the Aliens the Gantz team are just as much aliens or killers that pose danger to their otherwise peaceful existence.
The story exploring some these themes is definitely interesting, but this become more about the global perspective which clashes with the individual perspective and reason of previous phases which becomes a problem:
1) Change in genre: Gantz started as a story of a group of individuals and presented with themes that are harsh for a science-fiction or cyberpunk genre, including death of characters and a measure of realism..
However when the Alien invasion started , Gantz seem to transition into something of a fantasy genre with Kurono becoming this legendary world savior despite the fact that there are so many people around who are as or more qualified for the position.
The only speculation that I think of that might seem reasonable is that for Oku-sensei the idea represented a complete full circle transition from the anti-heroic Kurono we seen at the beginning but on the other hand the delivery of the final didn't allude to that and If it was meant to I would have liked to see a final struggle for the protagonist that really epitomize that choice *(standing in front of a screen and being peer pressured to do an ultimatum battle is just confusing and doesn't represent real choice)
2) The ending doesn't really deal with Gantz's or its character's conflicts, it simply solves the war conflict that wasn't at all about the characters.
Alternate Ending : its easy to analyze but I wonder what an alternative ending would look like . I think that if I had the chance to write one I would cut after 'Nurarihyon Alien' or even after 'Buddhist temple' and begin from there while adapting some ideas from later arcs in a manner that would make them meaningful and purposeful.
Storylines / themes:
From its first arc Gantz deal with several story themes that made it interesting and worth following beyond the action:
Kurono Kei's Story: Kei's evolution from a cynical rogue character who hates everyone to someone who believes in being a hero and wants to love and save people .
This is slightly different from the archtypical manga protagonist because the protagonist doesn't start as weak or unaccepted, Instead he starts as average and his conflict to overcome is mostly his superficial attitude and lack of faith in society that places him somewhere between the Sociopathic Nishi and the Heroic Katou.
This story seems to be at the heart of things and worked nicely along the first part where Kurono is still struggling with accepting that he cares and feels responsible for people for all the trouble it brings while in contrast also having to deal with loss, lust and the cynicism it brings in regards to other people.
Human condition: Survival ,Responsibility, Hate, Pragmatism, Innocence , Love, Loss and Guilt and Regret :
Character die , throughout the first arc it still seems happen with a purpose that explores a conflict between needs and wants and where they compromise the human condition and turn people into monsters.
The major events that trigger this are mostly centered around Kei and the people he is forced to interact with in the Gantz Room and scenarios.
Survival in particular is examined both when characters are better off alone and others are a burden about them or vice versa and in contrast also when the team thins out and has to relay on each-other to survive.
It is epitomized and made 'real' to the reader by the results when characters do not survive due to choices they made.
Character die , throughout the first arc it still seems happen with a purpose that explores a conflict between needs and wants and where they compromise the human condition and turn people into monsters.
The major events that trigger this are mostly centered around Kei and the people he is forced to interact with in the Gantz Room and scenarios.
Survival in particular is examined both when characters are better off alone and others are a burden about them or vice versa and in contrast also when the team thins out and has to relay on each-other to survive.
It is epitomized and made 'real' to the reader by the results when characters do not survive due to choices they made.
Escapism and Criticism at Society norms:
This was explored by looking at the characters in their life outside of the Gantz room.
For every protagonist character this conflict of realities consistently brings one to ask if the cruelties of the Gantz room outweighs the cruelties of the character's mundane existence.
This is also used to show that everyone come from somewhere and why they act the way they do and how would they continue to act when the constraints of the civilization that created them are removed.
Existentialism
The Gantz team are copies yet their lives still matter and we as readers probably care about them more than the people they protect.
What is the ultimate goal of that existence, what drives them to want to carry on with it and what if they cease to exist.
Maintaining of the story throughout the Post-Buddhist temple arcs:
After the Buddhist temple Arc and the Shorty Alien Arc we got a new cast of characters,
I think we started to see more focus on strong suppor characters like Kaze, Izumi and Sakata and Reika that were very cool and popular.
They are different from the other characters in that their background is not that important and they are there to play a role that support the main characters in the Gantz room:
Kaze is a role model for Takeshi
Sakata is a mentor for Sakurai
Izumi is a rival for Kurono and poetically is probably the embodiment of a fusion between the contrasting Nishi and Katou characters that died in previous arcs.
Reika is a rival to Tae and a Temptation for Kurono since she is the embodiment of the ideal he thought he wanted (Reika is later developed into an actual standalone character)
Where most of the supporting characters mentioned above are ideal for what they are Most of the new protagonist characters are underground and start of a place of weakness and some of them are largely under-developed so (with the exception of Sakurai) they come across less strongly than the above and perspective characters like Takeshi probably have as much personality as Hoi Hoi..
Story-wise at this point we see a slight shift in direction the theme and conflict of Escapism intensifies with protagonist characters like Sakurai and Takeshi who seek escape from abuse , Izumi who just finds normal life too boring and easy and Kurono who has to choose between Tae (real) and Reika (An Idol he met at the Gantz room) that likes him for his Gantz Shooter skillz and probably would be unattainable for him otherwise..
Escapism is taken to the point where it becomes the center of the story with the Vampires antagonists brought fourth to represent the cost and dark side of surpassing mundane existence.
The later arcs in this phase change Kurono's initial conflict , his story was more about struggling with his connection to others and dealing with the 'Human conditions', now changes to more about 'Escapism' and 'Reality altering'.
(This change would pose a problem in the final arcs where Oku-sensei seemingly wants to turn the wheel back and contrast the First arc 'Uncaring scumbag' Kurono with 'Heroic Savior' Korono as if that contrast remained the main conflict all along.)
Katastrophe + Post Katastrophe + Final.
Katastrophe and post Katastrophe arcs introduce new themes:
Conspiracy Theory, the conspiracy theme was previously alluded with the vampires and musings about the origins of gantz but here it is taken out and laid bare to solve many of the mysteries.
World War+ Post Apocalypse This explores the morality of war including its byproducts of terrorism, discrimination, Anarchy, mass murder, dehumanization and propaganda. it practically dwarfs the losses the Tokyo team incurred in previous arcs and make them seem insignificant by comparison both due to the revival and the amount of casualties.
Reverse perspective : This is something that has been to a lesser extent in 'the Short alien' and 'Nurarihyon Alien' Arcs and is expanded on in the Alien invasion arc to reflect that to the Aliens the Gantz team are just as much aliens or killers that pose danger to their otherwise peaceful existence.
The story exploring some these themes is definitely interesting, but this become more about the global perspective which clashes with the individual perspective and reason of previous phases which becomes a problem:
1) Change in genre: Gantz started as a story of a group of individuals and presented with themes that are harsh for a science-fiction or cyberpunk genre, including death of characters and a measure of realism..
However when the Alien invasion started , Gantz seem to transition into something of a fantasy genre with Kurono becoming this legendary world savior despite the fact that there are so many people around who are as or more qualified for the position.
The only speculation that I think of that might seem reasonable is that for Oku-sensei the idea represented a complete full circle transition from the anti-heroic Kurono we seen at the beginning but on the other hand the delivery of the final didn't allude to that and If it was meant to I would have liked to see a final struggle for the protagonist that really epitomize that choice *(standing in front of a screen and being peer pressured to do an ultimatum battle is just confusing and doesn't represent real choice)
2) The ending doesn't really deal with Gantz's or its character's conflicts, it simply solves the war conflict that wasn't at all about the characters.
Alternate Ending : its easy to analyze but I wonder what an alternative ending would look like . I think that if I had the chance to write one I would cut after 'Nurarihyon Alien' or even after 'Buddhist temple' and begin from there while adapting some ideas from later arcs in a manner that would make them meaningful and purposeful.
