Gantz Is Going to Be a Live-Action Movie

Note: Video probably not safe for work. Apparently YouTube didn’t notice the split-second of animated nipple. Also, there’s tons of graphic violence, but that’s probably okay.

Actually, Gantz is going to be two live-action movies, due in 2011. If you don’t know why this news deserves such a straightforward article title, let me assure you that the cult favorite anime/manga is one of the most violent, disturbing series I’ve seen. It’s about these dead people who are mysteriously transported to a room and then forced to participate in these horrible, preposterously violent games by a mysterious black orb. The characters die a lot. The female characters frequently get nude. The female characters also frequently get sexually assaulted, actually more times than they’re naked. There’s a ton of horrific gore and violence. And, at least in the anime and manga, the main character is a very normal type person who shares his internal monologue with the audience, which means he’s pretty much thinking horrible things all the time. It is bleak.

Between its stars and staff, this appears to be a big Japanese studio film — so much so that I’m surprised it’s being made. It’s the smaller Japanese movies that can pile on the sex and violence, not the big ones, and if these flicks are even halfway accurate to the original, they will be rated NC-17. Hell, the MPAA might need a new category for Gantz. (Via Anime News Network)