Background[]
The Osaka team is the Gantz-team based in the city of Osaka, Japan. Its core consists of several extremely experienced hunters who have reached 100 points multiple times, chief among them Hachiro Oka, who has cleared the game seven times. Most of the core members are psychopaths who treat the hunt as a game, taking drugs, listening to music and toying with, torturing or raping their prey during missions. The team has a loose structure, with members often fighting enemies 1-on-1, or hunting in smaller groups, teaming up only when necessary. They show little to no interest in aiding new members.
Early History[]
Little is known of the Osaka team before the events of the Nurarihyon Alien Mission. Hachiro Oka is the longest tenured member, having accumulated 100 points seven times. The Osaka team once encountered an alien worth 100 points, which Oka supposedly defeated by himself after two thirds of the team were killed.
Nurarihyon Alien Mission[]
The Osaka team were summoned to hunt the Nurarihyon alien. To their surprise, the Tokyo Team was also summoned to Osaka to participate in the mission. Feeling territorial, the Osaka team warned the Tokyo team not to get involved. Anzu Yamasaki would be the only member to cooperate with the newcomers, initially following around Tokyo-team member Masaru Kato just to sate her curiosity about his desire to save innocents, eventually choosing to help him. Despite their flippant attitude, several of the less experienced members of the Osaka team were killed early on.
The Sadist Trio were the first of the more experienced team members to fall, being killed by the Samurai Yokai Aliens and Vampires. After saving rookie member Tsuneo Nikaido, Kyo Hanaki took him with him to search for aliens worth a high amount of points. They succeeded in finding a massive crowd of aliens, chief among them Nurarihyon, an alien worth 100 points. Kyo shoots it, seemingly killing it, only for it to change forms and begin attacking him. Kyo manages to dismember its body, but a stray eye-beam from its severed head kills him. Tsuneo picks up the head, which is still firing eye-beams, and uses it to fire at the aliens, buying himself the chance to escape, just as a massive lake-monster emerges from the river. Hachiro Oka appears to take on the huge beast, while Tsuneo runs into the Japanese army and is saved by Masaru Kato from the Tokyo team.
The pair are attacked by the Inugami Alien Boss and the Tengu Alien Boss, who shrug off Kato's attacks. Just before the battle commences, Kazuo Kuwabara, Joji Shimaki and Nobuo Muroya appear to take the aliens on. Nobuo insists on taking the Tengu-alien on by himself. Despite scoring several hits on it, it manages to grab him, prompting him to beg Kuwabara and Shimaki for help. The pair refuse, since Nobuo demanded to take the alien on by himself. The Tengu-alien is killed by a delayed blast from Nobuo's gun, but he is mortally wounded in the process. Shimaki demands to take on the Inugami by himself, and succeeds in killing it, just as Nurarihyon re-constitutes itself and enters the fray.
Kuwabara and Shimaki agree to team-up against it, but when their attacks prove useless, Kuwabara decides to retreat and leave it for Oka. Shimaki refuses however, and grabs it to try and crush it, only for it to transform into a golem composed of naked women, devouring and killing him. Unable to refuse the temptation, Kuwabara climbs the monster and begins having sex with it, only for it to blow him off, severing his legs and arms in the process. Miho Yamanaka and Sumiko Yamada take care of Kuwabara's mutilated body and retreat, while Tokyo-team members Kato and Joichiro Nishi destroy Nurarihyon's body. It shifts into yet another form, dispatching Nishi and attacking the rest of the Tokyo Team, who have been hiding on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Oka has finished dispatching the giant monster and proceeds to engage Nurarihyon. He destroys two of the monster's forms, concluding that it is weak to attacks from outside its range of awareness, before deciding that the fight is far too risky and departs, leaving the Tokyo Team to handle the monster by themselves. Tokyo Team member Daizaemon Kaze destroys yet another form, only for it to shift yet again. Declaring the battle boring, it leaves and chases down Oka, killing him. With several Tokyo Team members grievously wounded and Anzu and Tsuneo being the only Osaka Team members still in the fight, Kato comes up with a plan for the remaining fighters to scatter and snipe and Nurarihyon from outside its range of awareness while he remains to distract it. Anzu, having fallen in love with Kato due to his selflessness, forces him to promise that he will survive and move in with her. The plan is seemingly successful, but Kato is grievously wounded in the process, prompting Anzu to run in and sacrifice herself to save him. The Tokyo Team manage to kill Nurarihyon, starting the transfer.
As they transfer out, Tsuneo, in awe of Kato's courage and selflessness and vowing to be more like him, promises to accumulate 100 points and resurrect Anzu. With Nobuo having succumbed to his injuries, Kuwabara, Miho, Sumiko and Tsuneo are the only survivors on the Osaka Team. Everyone except Tsuneo has accumulated 100 points and chooses to leave the game, seeing no purpose in remaining without their comrades, leaving the rookie Tsuneo on his own.
Italian Mission[]
Tsuneo is summoned to the Gantz-room again, joined only by a small child. Together with various other Gantz teams from around the world, they are sent to Rome. He resolves to protect the little girl, and manages to take down a few aliens before having his arm ripped off. Just when he thinks he's about to die, they are returned to the room. Having accumulated over 100 points now, Tsuneo keeps his promise and resurrects Anzu Yamasaki.
Final Mission[]
During the invasion of the Giant Aliens, several members of the Tokyo Team send out a call to other Gantz Teams around Japan, asking for volunteers for a mission to help free humans captured on the Giant's ship. Tsuneo and Anzu, the last two remaining members of the Osaka Team, answer the call and join in on the mission. They are successful in rescuing countless humans, before Gantz's teleportation capabilities break down, leaving them stranded in a ruined part of the Giant City together with a group of humans. Believing they're back on Earth, the humans run off, with Anzu and Tsuneo following after to persuade them to come back and follow the rest of the Gantz Hunters. They wander into the nest of a group of predatory alien creatures who attack, forcing Tsuneo and Anzu to defend them until back-up arrives. Tsuneo loses a leg as they begin to be overwhelmed, but back-up arrives and the pair along with the surviving humans are saved.
They manage to contact the Kyushu team, who arrange for transport into the enemy mothership, where the American team is making a final push against the Giants. They are then transported to meet the God Aliens, who explain the origins of the missions and Gantz technology. After the departure of the God Aliens, they scramble to find a working Gantz-unit to transport them home. They find the American team fighting the surviving champions of the Giants one-on-one. The Giants' greatest hero, Eeva Gund, easily disposes the American team and demands that Kei Kurono appear and fight him, or he will detonate the Mothership, destroying the Earth along with it. Kurono appears, and fights Eeva, who takes the upper hand, only for the rest of the Final Gantz Team to join in on the battle. Several die fighting Gund, Tsuneo among them.
Kato tells the Gantz-operator to send Anzu to Osaka, promising he will find her, leaving her the last survivor of the Osaka team. Kato and Kurono are successful in defeating Eeva Gund, saving the world in the process, and manage to safely return to the Earth.
Structure and Abilities[]
The core members of the Osaka Team do not generally work together, most preferring to hunt alone or in smaller groups. The Sadist Trio stick together, as do Nobuo and Shimaki (though they generally do not help each other, instead challenging each other to kill aliens within a given time-frame) with Miho (Nobuo's girlfriend) and her friend Yumiko not far behind. While there appears to be no hierarchy, Anzu Yamasaki remarked that Knob-yan considered himself the team's leader.
Most of the members of the Osaka team have cleared the game several times, giving them access to advanced weaponry. Most wield the H-Gun and are also proficient with the rest of the arsenal, such as the X-Gun, rifle and sword. Most of the Osaka team fight recklessly, many taking drugs before the missions and toying with their enemies. The exception is Oka, who prefers to lurk in stealth mode, only emerging against foes worthy of facing him. Being veteran hunters, many of the team's members knew their own limits, backing off against foes they considered too risky.
Trivia[]
- While the Tokyo Gantz-unit has an irreverent attitude towards its team, generally insulting them with a few exceptions, the Osaka Gantz-unit is more complementary of its team, giving glowing compliments to the surviving veterans of the Nurarihyon mission, even those that achieved more modest scores. Whether this is because the Osaka Gantz-unit is more pleasant than its Tokyo counterpart, or because the veterans have earned the Gantz-units respect or affection through their continued success is unknown.
Characters[]
Names are in Western order, with the given name before the surname (family name).
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
 Kazuo Kuwabara |
A veteran member of the Osaka team who has cleared the game three times before the Nuri mission. Described by Anzu as a serious pervert who rapes even aliens. One of the few Osaka team members who survives the battle against Nuri, although he loses both hands and feet when he tries to rape Nuri after the alien turned into a large mass of naked women. |
 Kyo Hanaki |
A Osaka team member who has earned 100 points twice prior to the Nuri mission. He often fights by riding the Gantz bike and likes to shoot up during the missions. Gets killed by one of Nuri's eye beams after he shot it with the X-Shotgun. |
|
|
Oka Hachirou was the champion of the Osaka team, who had earned 100 points 7 times previously, and is the only hunter shown thus far in the series with an advanced Gantz suit, a flying vehicle, and a robot. It is unknown how Nuri killed him. |
 Yamasaki Anzu |
One of the few members of the Osaka team who is not psychotic, (this is debatable as she does basically force Kato to promise her to move in with her after knowing him for hardly an hour.) A 23 year old young woman who lives alone with her son in an apartment. During the Nuri mission she meets Masaru Kato and fights by his side, moved by his behavior of helping others, which she at first finds ridiculous. She eventually dies by protecting Kato from one of Nuri's energy beams, although a fellow member of the team vows to revive her. |
 Shimaki (George)
|
He got 100 point in Gantz 3 times. Anzu describes him as the lowest one in the bunch (compared to Kob and Kuwabara). |
 Nobuo Muroya (Knob)
|
"Knob" has cleared 4 times. He acts like he is the leader in the osaka team. Fights like a maniac. |
 Sampei Taira
|
One of the "The Sadist trio". |
| Tetsuo Hara | One of the "The Sadist trio". |
| Susumu Kimura | One of the "The Sadist trio". |
 Miho Yamanaka
|
Knob's girlfriend. |
 Sumiko Yamada
|
