Gantz: Perfect Answer (Blu-ray) (2011)

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General		Extras
Category	Sci-Fi Action	Featurette-Making Of Featurette-Fight Choreography Teaser Trailer Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Eastern Eye Trailers x 3
Rating
Year Of Production	2011
Running Time	145:02
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Shinsuke Sato
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Kazunari Ninomiya Ken'ichi Matsuyama Yuriko Yoshitaka Kanata Hongô Gô Ayano Ayumi Ito Tomorowo Taguchi Takayuki Yamada
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Kenji Kawai

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Japanese DTS HD High Resolution Audio 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 48/16 2.0 (1536Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Gantz: Perfect Answer is the conclusion, to Gantz (2010), the live action version of the manga written by Hiroya Oku that commenced in 2000. While Gantz followed the magma reasonably well, Gantz: Perfect Answer is an original script, bringing a conclusion to the Gantz universe although the manga is still going strong after 300 plus issues.

     Gantz: Perfect Answer commences with a review of the concluding events of Gantz; Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama) has been killed in the battle with the alien many armed Buddha and Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya), taking leadership of the Gantz team of fighters, has vowed to earn 100 points and bring Kato back to life. In the meantime, in conjunction with Tae Kojima (Yuriko Yoshitaka), he looks after Kato’s kid brother and fights aliens as directed by Gantz.

     But the entire “game” is getting far more complicated. Detective Masamitsu Shigeta (Takayuki Yamada) is wondering why people who have been killed are turning up alive on the streets of Tokyo and there is another group of black costumed people who are seeking Gantz’s location in order to destroy it. And, just to complicate things further, it seems that previous Gantz players who had earned their 100 points and freedom, such as model Eriko Ayukawa (Ayumi Ito), are being murdered and brought back into the Gantz universe. Then, just before Kurono can earn enough points to resurrect Kato, he reappears anyway. But this Kato is not what he seems, and as Kojima becomes an unwitting target for assassination by both sides, loyalties, friendships and alliances are sorely tested.

     Gantz: Perfect Answer has a very different feel from Gantz. The first film offered no explanation of the Gantz universe and featured diverse, flashy, energetic, loud and very bloody action sequences with a nice mix of alien beings. In contrast, Gantz: Perfect Answer starts out as more of a mystery with various intersecting timelines, characters and dimensions. New characters are introduced, such as the model Ayukawa and the Detective Shigeta, but for much of the first hour we are not too sure just where they fit in. Just what is this hand sized Gantz like orb that is instructing Ayukawa? The diverse mix of aliens from Part 1 is also absent; the aliens in Part 2 are all human-like, but with extended powers. In some action scenes the CGI is also overdone, with people leaping around buildings (looking much more poorly executed and cheap than say The Matrix), but many of the action sequences are still explosive, loud and energetic, such as the battle in the moving subway train. Yet even here the fight has more of a martial arts feel than a battle against aliens, especially as both side use swords. With the reappearance of Kato the film tends to become more of a continuous chase and fight, until the lengthy, and somewhat lingering, final section that feels like it has more conclusions than Return of the King.

     Indeed, Gantz: Perfect Answer does not quite know where to stop so it goes on a bit as it tries to tie up all the characters and explain the Gantz universe, yet the more it tries to tie things up the more internally inconsistent it seems. The film also has a surfit of sentimentality, with enough death scenes, and anguish, for a dozen Shakespearean tragedies while the love interest scenes between Kurono and Kojima are weak and distracting. Yet when the final revelation comes it is a doozy, and certainly worth waiting for.

     Part mystery, part electrifying action, Gantz: Perfect Answer may not satisfy everyone. It diverges from the magna and suffers from trying to tie up too many things, yet it is a worthy conclusion to Gantz and well worth watching.

Video

     Gantz: Perfect Answer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the original aspect ratio, in 1080p.

     The print is fine, although not exceptional. Sharpness is an improvement over Part 1 as is detail. However, in the many, many night sequences shadow detail does suffer in comparison to other Blu-rays I have watched. You can see what is happening, sort of, but there are occasions when the black leather combat suits of the Gantz fighters blend very much into the black sky or dark backgrounds. Blacks are always deep and colours natural, although mostly deliberately muted. Skin tones are fine, contrast and brightness consistent. I did not see any artefacts of any kind.

     English subtitles are available in a yellow font that is mostly easy to read although occasionally they flash past a bit too quickly. They did not contain any spelling or grammatical errors.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is a choice of Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD MA at 2412 Kbps or Japanese LPCM 2.0 at 1536 Kbps.

     The sound design of the DTS-HD MA is awesome. There is a frequent machine like hum in Gantz sequences, many deliberate silences, but when the audio bursts into life it was crisp, sharp and beautifully balanced. Dialogue is clear and centred and the surrounds were full of life, especially during the action sequences. Directional effects were good, such as in the subway train battle which results in a wonderful, enveloping feel. The subwoofer added to this; it was constantly in use for explosions that filled the room, gunfire, music, and other effects.

     The original score by Kenji Kawai is not overused, and nicely adds to the feel of the film.

     Lip synchronisation was fine.

     The LPCM 2.0 is sharp and loud; I cannot say I sampled much of it.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

The Making of Gantz: Perfect Answer (32:31)

     Behind the scenes footage, preparation for stunts and interviews with cast Kazunari Ninomiya, Kenichi Matsuyama, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Takayuki Yamada, Go Ayano, Ayumi Ito , director Shinsuke Sato and action director Yuji Shi. Pretty much an EPK but there is some interesting behind the scenes information on the subway train battle. Small yellow subtitles can be lost in the Japanese script captions on screen. Worth watching once.

Fight Choreography (6:20)

     Rough video footage of preparation for the fight sequences. No linking narration or structure.

Teasers and Trailer

     Teaser trailer (0:32, 0:31) and theatrical trailer (1:31).

Eastern Eye Trailers

     Trailers for other films from Madman: Ip Man: The Legend is Born (2:25), Space Battleship Yamato (1:43) and A Million (1:47).

     The Region A US release is a three disc edition with the BD, a copy of the film on Region 1 DVD, plus a DVD of extras. I cannot find details of the extras listed but it could be the same as the bonus DVD included with the Japanese Region A BD (see below), in which case it is also Region 1 coded. The US release includes an English language dub of the film as well as the original Japanese.

     The Japanese Region A BD has deleted scenes and a commentary by the director, producer and action director. An extra DVD (Region 1 coded) has a making of, director interview, trailers, promotional featurettes and a booklet. However, this has no English subtitles for the film or extras.

     The theatrical run time of the film was 141 minutes, and this is the time listed for the US Region A BD. Our Region B release runs 145 minutes and is advertised as the “uncut sequel to Gantz”. With the Japanese release not being English friendly, it seems a matter of choice between the others: a longer cut of the film or some more extras.

     Part mystery, part electrifying action, Gantz: Perfect Answer suffers from trying to tie up too many things yet is a worthy conclusion to Gantz. The film has enough death scenes for a dozen Shakespearean tragedies but when the final revelation comes it is a doozy.

     Our Region B release runs 145 minutes and is advertised as the “uncut sequel to Gantz”. The video is good and the sound design awesome. Extras are not extensive but are OK.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall