GANTZ US Premiere - a cracky joyride

That was spectacular.  I went with a few friends.  When we entered the theatre it wasn't very packed.  Just a couple of people sitting spastically throughout the room.  The screen was showing trivia about the stars (which we got right, but we only got to see one because we were on a tight schedule to get to the location).  We were first introduced to our host (some guy from a magazine with the word otaku in it).  He then brought on Nino and Kenichi Matsuyama.  They didn't get a chance to speak much, just say hello.  My friends and I joked about the fact that their translators looked more like bodyguards.  Then the cinematic experience began. . .

The film was dubbed.  If you know anything about spoken Japanese then you probably know why dubbing in English (well) is pretty much impossible.  Unlike English, Japanese does not require you to move your mouth as much.  Besides that, trying to match their mouth movements to English that matches content and the script is unlikely.  I make it a rule never to watch a film dubbed.  (Anime is different because the mouth movements are more dramatic and easier to work with.)  However, I expected it to be cracky.  The voices never sound like they match the person that they are originating from.  This lead me to laugh/ giggle a lot through the entire program (especially in those serious dramatic scenes).

The film was great.  Actioned packed.  Emotion and meaning, as you expect because it is based on a manga (which the dubber pronounced in the American fashion).  Some good comedy thrown in.  Pairing that make your imagination explore.  Very well made, so I am thrilled for the second installment.

Now being an Arashi (Nino in this case) fangirl. . . my friends and I were being a bit perverted.  I mean, he is in a thin, tight, leather jumpsuit.  Who didn't gaze at his mighty crotch?  Speaking of Nino's glorious crotch, he was sporting some very nice pants.  He was also adorable with his seduction attempts and bromance.  He also was hilarious when he was trying to be a bad-ass.  I'll restrain myself.

After the film finished it was time for the live from Hollywood Q&A.  First off, the camera were crooked, but they stealthily fixed the issue.  Second, I didn't care for the host.  He seemed more interested in the girl, which wasn't there.  He also pronounced GANTZ in the American fashion which was odd because otaku tend to get pissed when people don't say things correctly (and it is also a sign of a noob).  Third, I was unimpressed by the questions.  The question of how many points would you get and would you survive a mission was my favorite.  The rest were quite vanilla (how much of your own stunts did you do, favorite scene to film, &ct).  One had great potential, but it didn't pan out that well (Interesting/ funny story from the set).  My friend's (who is a huge Arashi wota) idea of a good question was something to do with Ohno and Nino.  I can't think of it at the moment.

The best part about the Q&A (besides Nino's pants : 3) was the interaction with the translators.  (Nino touched his translator once during it *faint.)  Nino knew how to handle the whole situation (because timing it can be a bit tricky).  I was pleased the translators didn't do the whole speaking over them strategy.  Unfortunately for one of the translators (great for the audience), Nino's costar wasn't aware of the problems with translating.  He would just keep talking without offering some breaks for his translator to jump in.  Poor guy.  But his face was just classic (he was quite charismatic).  You could see him just thinking (fuck, fuck, fuck).  We started to believe Matsuyama was messing with him.  They were some hints that they wanted to do the same for the second part (which comes out in April?).  My friends and I will definitely go again.  He also mentioned that he wanted to speak more English.  He also wanted for the audience to hear his own voice (go subtitles!).  I highly recommend you guys go watch GANTZ when it becomes available.  Don't expect a theatrical release in the states; I think tonight was it.