Ask John: What’s the Probability of New Gantz Anime?

Question:
What do you think the charnces are of a second series of the anime GANTZ being made (to complete the story), with the live action film being such a success?

Answer:
This is really a tough prediction. The first live-action Gantz feature film has earned a substantial $39 million dollars in its seven weeks of theatrical release. The film spent an impressive four straight weeks at the top of the Japanese box office. However, a significant portion of that success can be attributed to the advertising and publicity the film has gotten, and to the popularity of its stars Kenichi Matsuyama & Kazunari Ninomiya. It’s not so much the story itself that’s drawing audiences to theaters. So another anime series, which would technically be the third series, would not have the benefit of major, nationwide Japanese mainstream publicity nor the audience draw of celebrity actors. Granted, the success of the first live-action film has pushed Gantz into a higher strata of recognition now than the franchise had in 2004 when Gonzo adapted the manga into anime, but the original 2004 anime was not especially successful.

While America got the complete anime series in its unedited home video incarnation, only the first eleven episodes were initially broadcast in Japan in a censored edit on the Fuji TV network. The remaining two episodes of the first season and the 13 episode second season then premiered on the Animax satelite TV network two months later. Grim, violent, adult-oriented anime have always had a tough time securing a large audience in Japan. Television series including Berserk, Devilman Lady, Shigurui, Blue Gender, Texhnolyze, Ergo Proxy, Speed Grapher, Hellsing, Gilgamesh, Elfen Lied, Basilisk, and Shikabane Hime, to name a few, have never had more than 26 TV broadcast episodes. The current Hellsing OVA series and forthcoming Berserk movie do prove that these dark and violent anime do sometimes get revived and extended with new animation. But the frequency of these fresh productions is spotty, and as already mentioned, the success of the first Gantz live-action film certainly does not guarantee that a new Gantz anime production would reap a similar degree of success. I can’t say that more anime won’t happen, but the most logical time to announce a new anime production would coincide with next month’s premiere of the second Gantz live-action film. So if we don’t hear of a new Gantz anime production within the next few months, while audience awareness and interest in the franchise is still at a height, I doubt that we’ll ever see more Gantz anime.