Netflix isn’t exactly known for a robust catalogue of quality anime features to choose from. Recently, the streaming service’s selection has only marginally improved in some respects, rotating out a handful of forgettable titles with a few films that could charitably be called improvements. The most noteworthy of Netflix’s recent acquisitions, however, is Gantz: O, making its first appearance on the streaming service following its English language debut at the Tokyo International Film Festival late last year.
Based off of Hiroya Oku’s cult sci-fi action manga, Gantz: O follows a group of recently deceased people who have been seemingly resurrected by a mysterious black orb that charges them with the task of exterminating a host of shape-shifting aliens marauding across the island of Japan.
Adapted from the series’ midpoint chapter, the film follows Masaru Katou, a selfless and well-intentioned high schooler who is brought back to life by the eponymous “Gantz” after being stabbed to death in a freak subway attack.
What starts out as an inexplicable tragedy quickly transforms into what in all honesty could be described as a hyper-violent game of BDSM-themed laser tag with super powers, with Masaru soon swiftly recruited by the sphere’s meek roster of human chess pieces before being whisked away to downtown Osaka to murder a horde of Japanese demons.
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