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Gantz is kind of the worst, but I love it.

The premise, that all of modern society is evil and Tokyo is basically hell on earth, is incredibly simple at a glance, but the author pulls it off masterfully. Yes, the Gantz missions are the main selling point, extravagant gore thrown around more the further you get into the series, but the true meaning is to be found in the surrounding world. The horror of Japan's nightmarish state is presented through the cast's apathy for it, along with anyone outside of their immediate friends or family. Oku's worldbuilding is done with the mentality that, while the ... readership probably ought to know how the scientific (magical?) mechanics work, everyone takes it for granted and only mentions it in passing. Not only does this lax approach to storytelling add to the mystique of this treacherous world, danger lurking around every street corner and hiding under every manhole, it fits with the characters' ignorant existences.

It's a story about people being thrust into horrible circumstances, forced to execute random, helpless beings to satisfy the whims of a capitalistic machine gone mad, and have to work together to get by. This might be one of my favorite stories about found family. In their search to fulfill their vague, nonsensical whims, people team up and learn to love again. There are, however, exceptions.

As far as problematic fiction goes, Gantz may take the cake. Many of the characters are awful, awful monsters want for nothing but bringing others misery. They are the status quo of society, individuals who view their pride as more important than others' lives.

The narrative proper is sort of bare bones. Another mission, another target, another city decimated, just another day in Tokyo, Japan. The final few arcs' focus on what's up with the sci-fi stuff, though nice, gets old. Gantz just wants to be a shlocky action series with a lot of heart, however you feel about this will decide if you want to read this or not.

The artwork is great! From start to finish, though one could certainly make an argument about some of the aliens at the end, every panel is important and illustrated brilliantly.

On a side note, the fanservice throughout is pretty obnoxious and I don't know why it was there. I can ignore it



TL; DR: Gantz, like every great work of art, is what the reader interprets it as. Sakata is the best character, a fashion-loving misanthrope who improves every scene just by being there. Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!

Content warnings: Animal abuse, child abuse, neglect, misogyny, toxic relationships, homophobia, racism, shootings, genocide

What starts as an interesting horror manga about social media stars fighting each other to the death to gain fame and fortune quickly degrades into hackneyed, trope-ridden torture porn that appeals to exactly no one.

The characters: dull and bland, they each have one trait that gets old immediately. To serve the "plot," everyone and their mother are evil rapists who, just like the author, really, REALLY, hate women. The games: nonsensical. Stuff occurs because the editor thought it looked cool, or they had to fill the sex quota. The actual content: totally offensive in every way. Dead Tube seeks only to shock, in the most ... surface-level definition of the term, never to actually challenge the audience's perceptions or views. Everything you expect to happen will, none of the main characters die (even if they were blown up earlier on), and the story goes nowhere. The only good thing is the gore, which is hardly a compliment since that's the main selling point. Wow, you did the bare minimum, great job.

TL;DR: One of the worst things I've ever read. If you want a compelling tale of survival and betrayal, read Tomodachi Game. If you want to see social media influencers confront their deepest insecurities and fight to the death, check out Real Account. But whatever you do, stay away from Dead Tube.