Kei Kurono is an apathetic young man that, while waiting for his train, runs into a childhood friend. When a homeless man falls onto a track, his friend coaxes him into helping save his life. Unfortunately, the train comes in and they both die. However, they both wake up in a strange room with other recently deceased people and a big black ball that tells them to kill aliens in order to gain their freedom.
Despite not quite living up to its occasionally epic source material, for those who never read the manga, the anime can be a fun watch. If you want more anime recommendations that capture the distinct mix of sex and gore like Gantz, then look no further.
Anime Like Gantz
For Fans of Boobs and Blood
Elfen Lied
Lucy is a special breed of human known as a Diclonius, sporting a pair of small horns and telekinetic powers. All her life she has been held captive in a government facility. However, after staging a bloody break out one night, she is hit in the head and sent tumbling over a cliff. Washing up on shore with amnesia, she is taken in by some college students who are about to be pulled into the bloody world of government conspiracy.
Both Gantz and Elfen Lied built their whole series on providing a whole lot of blood and a substantial amount of nudity. However, the nudity in Gantz is more gratuitous while the nudity in Elfen Lied usually makes sense in the circumstances and uses girls with normal bodies instead of overly stacked ones. You like boobs and violence, then both series are legendary for it.
High School of the Dead
It happened suddenly. The dead rose and threw Japan into chaos. In the high school of Takashi Kimuro, the situation forced him to kill his bitten best friend and protect the man’s girlfriend, Rei. As they narrowly escape the school with a few others, they find the real survival just beginning.
If there is one show that became more famous then Gantz for its huge use of nudity juxtaposed with violence, it is High School of the Dead. However, both shows were just following the tone that their source material set and did it to great success. However, the only difference is that instead of aliens like in Gantz, High School of the Dead deals with zombies.
Shigurui
At the beginning of the Edo Era, a time of peace has descended over the land. The Lord Tokugawa Tadanaga, however, has decided to hold a fighting tournament with real steel instead of wooden swords. Within this tournament, the one-armed Gennosuke and blind Seigen are set to face off. As they were both disciples of Iwamoto Kogan, the greatest swordsman in all of Japan, both are determined to prove they are the rightful successor.
At face value, Gantz and Shigurui have virtually nothing in common. However, if you like shows of a strong sexual nature that throw in a whole lot of violence, then Shigurui is more likely to shock you than Gantz. Throughout the series you find out how the swordsmen got so mutilated, which is not so unlike the heavy mutilation that happens in Gantz, but infinitely more permanent.
For Fans of Powerful Enemy Creatures
Parasyte
Quietly overnight, the world was overrun by aliens that took over human bodies. Luckily for the young Shinichi Izumi, he was sleeping on his arm and trapped the alien parasite trying to take over his brain in his arm. Now with humans unable to understand the alien in his hand and aliens seeing his failure to take over the brain as unsatisfactory, Shinichi and the alien Migi must work together to survive.
In Gantz, the aliens don’t seem to be making any moves to hurt humanity, at least not until the players arrive. However, Parasyte is a lot like the Gantz world if there was no elite super suited guys to fight them. Both shows are about fighting aliens in their own unique circumstances.
Attack on Titan
Facing imminent extinction, humanity retreated behind a series of tall, thick walls to escape their most dangerous threat – massive human-like Titans with a taste for human flesh. With an enemy that eats humanity for fun rather than food, they are constantly threatened. As such, it is the duty of every human to defend the species. Enter Eren Yegaer who, after his village was destroyed by Titans breaching the outer wall, he and his adopted sister Mikasa join the Survey Corps. They are one of three factions of the military that scouts and combats Titans outside the walls. After joining in the brutal war, Eren discovers a secret about himself that could unravel what the world thinks they know about Titans.
In Gantz, no one knows why they play the game and why the aliens are there. In Attack on Titan, no one knows why the titans exist and why they specifically target humanity. However, while the technology in Gantz is more sci-fi, Attack on Titan is more of medieval theme with light technological accents.
Claymore
In this world, humans are forced to coexist with demons called Yoma. These beasts feed on humanity and take on a human appearance. In order to fight them, an order of women called Claymores were imbued with Yoma essence in order to stand against the tide.
Not unlike Attack on Titan, Claymore stays more medieval while Gantz is modern and sci-fi. However, both shows are about the seemingly futile fight of humanity against some kind of monster. In both shows you watch main characters struggle and even die as they try to protect an ungrateful populace.
For Fans of Augmented Bodies
Terra Formars
After sending cockroaches and algae to terraform Mars as a second home for the now-overcrowded Earth, their efforts are coming back to bite them years in the future. Not only is an alien disease ravaging humanity on Earth, but the cockroaches evolved in murderous giants with a vendetta against humanity on Mars. Determining the disease came from Mars, a team of genetically-modified heroes from around the world are sent to the red planet and must fight in order to gather samples that will help create a cure.
Both Gantz and Terra Formars take a somewhat more futuristic look at humanity and their relationship with otherworldly beings. Of course, how they interact with them is the same – they kill them! While Terra Formars genetically enhances their soldiers, in Gantz, their physical abilities are modified via the suit.
Psycho-Pass
In the 22nd century, the justice system has changed. The Sibyl System now determines the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for criminal intent. This has become known as their Psycho-Pass. Once criminal intent has been identified, Inspectors like Akane Tsunemori are in charge of subjugating them. However, this tough job is not without dangers. This is why Inspectors are paired with Enforcers, like Shinya Kougami, latent criminals with just the right amount of psychopathy to keep other criminals in their place.
While Gantz stays more modern feeling, through the Gantz game, you get a look at a lot of futuristic tech. In Psycho-Pass, it is basically all futuristic tech and sci-fi themes. Both series also keep a dark tone with the characters being controlled by a higher power. The real question in each show is why?
Tokyo Ghoul
The citizens of Tokyo now live in fear of vicious creatures called ghouls that blend in alongside humans and feast on their flesh. One day, Ken Kaneki, a shy college student, meets a girl called Rize who is also an avid reader like him. Unfortunately, as he finds out on his first date, Rize turns out to be a ghoul. Just when she is about to eat him, Kaneki is saved, barely clinging to life. In the process of surviving this attack, Kaneki finds out that he has now become a ghoul.
In Gantz, they choose to let the suits augment their bodies, but many of the characters in Tokyo Ghoul don’t have a choice. However, both shows specialize in excellent violence, but unfortunately they also both feature a weak and whiny main character.
If you have any more good anime recommendations for Gantz, let us know in the comments section below.
The real comparison that needs to be made between Gantz and Psycho-Pass is how they both feature guns that cause people to explode after a lag period instead of firing bullets, which is awesome.