Top 10 Characters in Gantz

For those who do not know Gantz is an extremely violent science fiction manga by Hiroya Oku. It recently ended earlier this year and it is one of my favourite mangas. Here is the list of my top then characters from the series (Spoilers for those who have not read the series).

10 – Oka Hachirou

Legendary member of the Osaka team and has cleared the game seven times. Oka definitely deserves a place on my list for being a complete badass to have survived the games that long. He also introduces much of the new equipment to the series such as the hover bike, heavy suit and mecha. His fighting style is mainly close quarters using hand to hand with the heavy suit and the gantz sword when it is destroyed. He is a very imposing individual and he always goes after the strongest aliens in the hunts, such as his epic battle with the Nurarihyon. The reason he is so low however is because we don’t know much about him due to lack of screen time and for being so legendary he gets killed off screen by being sliced in half.

9 – Kenzo Sakata

Member of the Tokyo team and managed to clear the game once, using his points to bring back Sakurai, though it is hinted he may have been in the game before. The psychic of the team he prefers to use his powers and crush the alien’s hearts or brains which I always found to be cool. Like Oka he is lower on this list because we do not get much back story and also because I think he could have had a better death scene.

8 – Hojo Masanobu

Member of the Tokyo team that was killed during his second mission against the Buddhist statue aliens. I like Hojo mainly because of his funny interactions with his stalker and that everyone acts weird around him because he is gay. He fights with a mix of close quarters with his fists and mid range with the x – gun and he did have some really cool moments when fighting. Also his death scene against the thousand armed statue was one of the coolest in the series.

7 – Hikawa

Leader of the vampires and one of the coolest characters in the series. Has a very cool design too with his tuxedo, hair style and constant smoking. Hikawa is an enemy of the gantz players and is responsible for killing several of them, his most famous ones being Izumi of the Tokyo team and the sadistic trio of the Osaka team. He is always shown to be very calm (even after having his finger sliced off) and is also a sadist that is shown through his sword fighting style. Could have been higher in the list but he has real conclusion to his story and is not shown at all except the end in the Katatrophe arc.

6 – Kazuo Kuwabara

Veteran member of the Osaka team and has cleared the game three times. Kazuo is without a doubt the biggest pervert in the series and is known to rape the aliens in the missions. He has a very cool design and is noticeable that he only ever wears half of the gantz suit. He prefers using the gantz sword his scenes are very cool when using it but he is also known to use the z – gun. One of the funniest parts I think of the series is when Kazuo gets caught by the Nurarihyon when it transforms in to a golem of naked women but when he breaks free he rapes its head lol. Survives the mission but chooses to exit from the game.

5 – Kei Kurono

The main protagonist of the series and victor of the final battle against the giant aliens. Kei is definitely one of my favourite characters because of how much he has done and been through to survive the games. I also liked his character change from someone who only cares about himself and his points to someone who wants everyone to survive the games. He has no real fighting style because he prefers to use all of the gantz equipment and weapons.

4 – Kei Kishimoto

Member of the Tokyo gantz team who unfortunately dies during her third mission before she could even clear one game. She is mostly known for her large breast size and for being naked in a lot of the chapters she is in. However I do like her character for more than just that because she really has been cool in the fights she has been in and her naïve attitude when she was staying with Kurono was really funny. She was not in it for long but I think she was one of the best written characters, I really wished she could have been revived later on in the series.

3 – Reika Shimohira

Member of the Tokyo gantz team and at one time its unofficial leader. Like Kishimoto she is mostly known for her large breast size and for her nudity but this is mostly excused by the fact that her occupation is a model. She is this high on my list is that because unlike Kishmoto she survives a lot longer and has been really badass in all of her fights either with the gantz swords or guns. Disappointed by her death however because like Oka it happened off screen.

2 – Joichiro Nishi

Veteran member of the Tokyo gantz team and one of the coolest characters of the series. Despite being only 14 years old he has killed both aliens and people and has a lot of knowledge about gantz even though he barely shares it. Only cares about himself and his points and his willing to use the lives of his team mates to be the best there is. His preferred fighting still is using the controller to become invisible, waiting for the alien to become distracted (Even if it is slaughtering his team mates) then moves in for the kill. His fate is left unknown because he is last seen stranded on the alien spacecraft.

1 – Shion Izumi

Veteran member of the Tokyo gantz team and had cleared the game at least two times, he is also my favourite gantz character. The first time he won the game he chose to leave but had the burning desire to go back even though he lost his memories of it. After receiving a message from gantz for more players he paints himself as a black man and goes on a massive killing spree, killing hundreds before entering the games again. He cares for none of his team mates and usually goes off after the boss alien for the highest score possible. He was the first one to use the gantz sword and is the best when wielding it. Killed by Hikawa which is a shame because it would have been interesting to see him interacting with the Osaka team or fighting the giant aliens.

So there you have my list, what do you think?