GANTZ creator Hiroya Oku says an anime studio would need considerable guts to take on a reboot of the series.
In a recent post on X, Oku said he regularly receives requests from people around the world for a GANTZ anime reboot.
However, he suggested that studios may be reluctant to take on the project because of the amount of work involved in animating the series.
“People from all over the world keep asking for a reboot of the GANTZ anime. I wonder if anime studios aren’t willing to take it on because they know how demanding it would be in terms of animation workload. Any studio willing to do it would have to be one with some serious guts,” Oku wrote.
Oku’s comments come as fans continue to hope for a new adaptation that stays closer to the manga’s content.
The original GANTZ anime, produced by Gonzo, premiered in 2004 but diverged from the source material and ended before adapting the full story.
While the television broadcast faced heavy censorship to remove graphic violence, gore and nudity, the DVD releases offered uncut content.
The animation quality of the anime was also heavily criticized by the fans.
Oku Previously Raised Concerns About Rebooting GANTZ:
Oku had expressed similar sentiments about anime’s reboot in a 2021 interview with Crunchyroll, citing the manga’s graphic violence and nudity as major obstacles to a faithful adaptation.
He also recalled the censorship imposed on the original 2004 anime, saying a television producer had told him that the adaptation could not be made the way he wanted. Oku added that the anime’s director frequently struggled with these restrictions.
Oku also acknowledged criticism of its character animation, explaining that his realistic character designs require more detailed linework and make it difficult for animators to maintain consistency.
He added that adapting his manga demands more time and effort than other productions with comparable budgets.
The possibility of a new GANTZ adaptation has also been complicated by a Hollywood deal.
During the same interview, Oku revealed that a Hollywood company held the rights to adapt the manga into anime and live-action projects.
Later that year, Sony Pictures attached Overlord director Julius Avery to the live-action film, with Marc Guggenheim writing the script and Temple Hill producing. However, the project was still in early development at the time, with no production start date announced.
No subsequent production update or confirmation of the rights’ current status could be verified as of October 2026.
Written and illustrated by Oku, GANTZ ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump from June 2000 to June 2013. The manga’s chapters were collected in 37 volumes.
A historical spin-off titled Gantz: E, written by Oku and illustrated by Jin Kagetsu, has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Young Jump since January 2020.
Following the 2004 anime adaptation, the franchise received two live-action films released in January and April 2011. In 2016, the 3D CGI film GANTZ: O adapted the popular Osaka arc from later in the manga.
![[Exclusive] The Great Indian Anime Show: The Journey Behind India’s First Ever Anime Talk Show](https://animehunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Analyst6-150x150.webp)
