Gantz vol. 12

Yup.  I’m still reading this.

It’s funny because when you look at what’s happened in the past eleven volumes it seems like a lot.  The problem is that it doesn’t feel that way as you read each individual volume, as I tend to breeze through them in less than half an hour.  Still, we’re at the beginning of one of the most interesting arcs as Kei’s nemesis Izumi has slaughtered his way through Shinjuku in an attempt to get back into Gantz’s good graces.

Not only has Izumi’s rampage brought a lot of new and interesting characters to the game, but it sets up an interesting dynamic between him and Kei.  While the former is in it just for the thrill, Kei’s knowledge of how Gantz works puts him in a position of leadership amongst some of the newcomers as they try to survive being slaughtered by alien dinosaurs.  It’s another example of how far Kei has come as a character and his growth from selfish teen to concerned leader has been the best part of the series so far.

So if you were planning on jumping off this series, now isn’t a good time to do it.  Things are picking up again, and I’m still onboard and looking forward to seeing what happens to the series after it gets past the point I read up to in its scanlated form.