While fighting invading monsters, Kei Kurono rescues his friend, Reika. Though she protests, he attacks the monsters' leader, dying after killing it. Reika and her surviving teammates are teleported back to their base. Elsewhere, Masaru Kato dies attempting to save someone from a knife attack in a subway. He wakes up in a room with Reika and her teammates: Yoshikazu Suzuki, an old man; Joichiro Nishi, a surly teenager; and an angry, unidentified man. Suzuki explains that they have each died and woken in the room, and have been forced to fight against waves of monsters ever since. Before Suzuki can explain further, a black orb identified as "Gantz" announces that their next mission is about to begin. The angry man refuses to participate and is killed by Nishi, who reasons that he would have been a liability.