Last year when I was staying at a hotel in the countryside of Japan, I decided to have a wander around with nothing better to do. I chanced across the hotel's manga library from which the title 'Gigant' immediately jumped out at me. Amongst all the other titles, I felt compelled to pick up Gigant. I began with volume one and eventually found myself having ploughed through all published volumes.

Gigant is not unique. Many of the ideas have been presented before in the author's other works. It is very reminiscent of Gantz. Although they have overlapping features, something about Gigant feels fresh. Something is always happening, and slowly the truth about things become revealed.

What I enjoy about Gigant is that it isn't afraid to show what it wants. If it wants sex, it'll have sex. If it wants gore, it'll show gore. It doesn't censor anything. This non-censorship is accentuated by the author's artwork which in many cases is absolutely stunning.

The characters are interesting, but are not without their flaws. Our main character, Rei, comes across as whiny in many cases, for example the scene where he balls his eyes out in the family restaurant. Papiko, our female heroine, steals the spotlight and is a far more interesting character than Rei. She is the heart and soul of Gigant. Besides Papiko, the other characters leave much to be desired. Particularly the cup noodle obsessed time travellers.


Conclusion:

Even though I give Gigant a 10, it certainly isn't a masterpiece. I just personally enjoy Gigant. If this work ever gets translated into English I would certainly recommend it. However, just keep in mind that Gigant will not blow your mind, but it will certainly entertain you.

I think for me, the big enjoyment of reading Gigant comes out of the fact I use it for Japanese practise. Nobody is translating the chapters as it comes out, so it feels like I have some sort of exclusive scoop on it as I suck in each chapter. It's great for learning different sci-fi language that I wouldn't come across in other contexts.