Gantz/YMMV

• And the Fandom Rejoiced: Kenichi Matsuyama, a veteran of sorts for Live Action Adaptations of Death Note and Detroit Metal City, getting the role of Kato. It's like the Japanese equivalent of Christian Bale as Batman, really.
• Angst? What Angst?: Cloned Kurono seems to get over the fact that he is not the "real" one rather quickly. Of course, living with an Idol Singer who falls head over heels for him obviously helps.
  • Original Kurono is also quick to accept the fact that he has a clone and is not too shocked when faced with said clone. The two resolves their love problems within one page. Probably justified since the alien invasion is imminent, and both of them just want to live peacefully while they still can.
• Anvilicious: The final episode of the anime.
• Complete Monster: Shion Izumi. His apathy towards people (including his girlfriend) and his delight for killing people just to return to Gantz is sickeningly evil and shows that he doesn't give a damn about others as long as he gets what he wants. And how he kills Tae Kojima puts his status as one beyond all doubt.
  • Though, in his last moments, he seems to redeem himself by saving his girlfriend from the vampires.
• Crowning Moment of Awesome: An eight-year old kid beating up a 30m alien with nothing but his fists.. In a recent chapter when Sakurai, lamenting over his dead girlfriend proceeds to use his Psychic Powers to tear apart a bunch of the invading aliens, who are just casually snacking on captured humans. Even more recently, the original Kurono singlehandedly takes down a squadron of the invading aliens on their home turf, with only his Gantz gun and katana.
• Crowning Music of Awesome: The opening to the anime Super Shooter.
• Damsel Scrappy: Oh, boy, all that "TAAAAAEE-CHAAAN" business has surely gone under the readers' skin. Of course, a part of the hatred has always been fueled by the fact she's not as attractive (thus "good for Kurono") as Reika, but still the author's efforts to keep the other characters busy rescuing her look almost perverse.
  • YMMV greatly on this. Kei leaping from roof to roof to try try to to rescue Tae is seriously one of this series greatest Crowning Moments of Awesome.
• Designated Hero: Kurono is an asshole in the early parts of the story. He gets better.
• Designated Villain: Apparently some aliens only try to live through normal lives, without bothering anybody.
  • One could argue that the aliens were infiltrating Earth in preparation for what's under the spoilers in the It Got Worse entry below. Gantz, although a total asshole, was meant as a pre-emptive strike against them.
• Ensemble Darkhorse: Nishi. He came 1st in the official character popularity poll and has a ton of (often yaoi) fanart dedicated to him in the Japanese fandom. He's pretty popular in English-speaking fandom too. Some would say this has devolved into Draco in Leather Pants treatment. To others he's The Scrappy. You either love him or hate him.
• Fan Nickname: Clonerono. Also, "Muscle Rider" for Daizemon Kaze (which is his in-story nickname, but only Gantz and Takeshi call him that).
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Kurono/Reika...with the interesting twist of having two Kuronos now.
  • Again, YMMV, Reika is viewed quite as something of a Scrappy by other fans.
• Growing the Beard: For the first 9 volumes, Gantz was a Guilty Pleasure consisting of naked women, Gorn, and a Jerkass Anti-Hero. Along came Tae and much needed Character Development for the protagonist, and the manga never looked back since. Well, you still get Ludicrous Gibs and loads of Fan Service, but both are now beside the point.
• High Octane Nightmare Fuel: Now with it's own page!
• Hollywood Homely: Tae
• Memetic Mutation: In Chapter 55, a bit character makes the original Y U NO? face (taken WAY out of context).
• Moral Event Horizon: Shion Izumi has done more than his fair share of dog kicking (just ask the 387 people he killed just to selfishly get himself back.) But all those 387 deaths were not as irredeemably heinous, nor tragic, as when he cold-heartedly killed Tae in Volume 16. And while it was Gantz who assigned the mission, it was clear that one could choose not to kill her, much less in such a sudden, vile way. Rest assured though, the vampires slay Izumi four volumes later and Tae gets revived by then.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Nishi started off as an asshole who, while experienced, was constantly seen disappearing from battle and leaving much of his colleagues to die. That all changed in chapter 341 where he kicks the viral monsters' asses and saves Takeshi from the explosion at the department.
• Squick: During the Osaka arc, some Osaka team members are seen raping various female demon/aliens, which is bad enough. But then you see one stuffing his hand in the mouth on the back of one's head. That took it to new levels of grossout. Not to mention how many times they have pointless ECUs of people's spit coming out of their mouths; not total grossout, but it'd be nice if there was less of it.
  • The female demon/aliens being raped is a Futakuchi-onna and a Rokurokubi.
• The Woobie: Takeshi, for officially having the worst childhood ever. The heartbreaking part? He's still a toddler.
• Uncanny Valley: The Tanaka alien disguise can be unsettling to many. See for yourself.