Plot
A pair of high school students, Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, are seemingly run over by a subway train, after saving the life of a homeless drunk who had fallen onto the tracks. Following their untimely deaths, Kurono and Kato find themselves transported—alive and well—along with a number of people who have also just died, to the interior of an unfurnished Tokyo condominium from which the Tokyo Tower may be seen—and none of them are able to leave. At one end of the room is a featureless black sphere known as "Gantz". By way of green text that appears on the surface of the sphere, Gantz informs those present that their lives have ended. The following words appear on the black sphere's surface: "Your lives have ended. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. That's the theory, anyway."
Without explaining anything to them, the Gantz sphere opens up to reveal a bald man on life support in the center, and three racks that offer various items for them to use. Information on the Gantz Targets appear on the surface of the sphere, shortly before the Gantz Team are transported to the location of the mission, where they are expected to kill aliens. Gantz gives out individual suits for each person there, giving them great strength, speed, jumping ability, and protection from harm. Additional weapons and items are gained from the hundred point menu.
The hunters cannot return from their mission until all enemies have been killed, or the time limit has run out. If the mission is successful, each individual is awarded points for the aliens they have killed. They are then allowed to leave, and live their lives as they see fit until Gantz summons them back again for the next mission. The only way to stop having to participate in the missions is to earn one hundred points, and choose the option to be freed. While in the anime version, there are four targets, including a "Kurono alien", at present, there have been nine different types of alien targets in the manga.
Central characters
Kei Kurono
Kei Kurono (玄野 計 Kurono Kei) is the main protagonist of the series. Kei is a 10th grader who is summoned by Gantz, along with his old friend Masaru Kato, after being hit by a subway train in an effort to help a hobo who passes out on the tracks. In the beginning, he is a rather selfish character who often ends up being the reluctant hero. However, after Kato dies in the third mission, Kei starts taking care of other people as well, and he starts to avoid casualties amongst Gantz team members. His immense skill and his steady leadership quickly make him a hero to most of the other members. During missions, Kei often uses unconventional tactics to great effect. He lives alone in an apartment complex, as he was not on good terms with his family. After reviving some of his former friends, Kei leaves the game due to a request from his comrades. The vampires group searches and eventually finds Kei, killing him. After the first mission of Phase 2, he is revived by Masaru Kato but remembers nothing beyond his choice to leave after the Oni Mission. After the failed Italian mission, Gantz revives an additional copy of Kurono at Reika's request, unknown to the others. After meeting the original Kurono, he decides to live with Reika. His seiyu is Daisuke Namikawa, and his English voice actor is Christopher Ayres.
Masaru Kato
Masaru Kato (加藤 勝 Katō Masaru) is summoned, along with Kurono, by Gantz after they were hit by a subway train while helping an unconscious hobo who fell on the tracks. He is an old friend of Kurono and serves as a secondary protagonist until his death and as the main protagonist in phase 2. At school, he acts as a guardian to the weaker students who often find themselves bullied, getting himself a bit of a reputation for fighting. He initially lives with a violent aunt who reluctantly adopted him and his brother after they were orphaned. They leave after Kato can no longer stand his aunt hitting his little brother. With Kei Kishimoto, he also has a romantic relationship, but she later dies in the Buddha mission from the series. He is also later in the same mission but revived months later. After that, he manages to kill Nurarihyon and gains 100 points, choosing to revive Kurono. In the Japanese series, Kato is voiced by Masashi Oosato, and in the English dub by Illich Guardiola.
Secondary Character
Reika Shimohira
Reika (レイカ) is a beautiful, young and popular idol. Like almost everyone else, she is caught in the line of fire during Izumi's killing spree in Shinjuku. She develops a crush on Kurono after seeing him in action during her first night as a participant in the game. Surprisingly enough, she proves to be a formidable opponent against the Aliens. She uses her points to resurrect Tae because she wants Kurono to be happy. It is not until Kurono chooses to be free that she confesses her love to him. After Kurono departs from the game, she is appointed the new team leader of Gantz. After Kurono is revived, Reika confesses her feelings to him, but Kurono, having rekindled his relationship with Tae, rebuffs her. Distraught over Kurono's choice, Reika suffers an apparent mental break, and resolves to earn 100 points to revive a new Kurono for herself. She succeeds in reviving a second Kurono (though accidentally via a strange glitch in Gantz while trying to revive Suzuki), who exists concurrently with the copy brought back straight from the Oni mission end transfer. The second Kurono now lives with Reika and she seems to quit her job to be with him, even going as far as to mention changing her name to "Kurono Reika".
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