Anime Review: Gunslinger Girl
Italian high school girls shoot people. 'Nuff said.
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Italian high school girls shoot people. 'Nuff said.
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Anime Review: Gunslinger Girl
- Thread starter KValentine
- Start date
I am reasonably sure that most any other anime (that has guns) could be described as Gunslinger Guys, that being said good review.
I, personally, enjoyed Gunslinger Girls. I especially like the more realistic route they took with it. It was cool.
I could not get into this when it hit TV(er fansubs) a few years back, but after watching SHikbane Hime I might try it again! When it comes to anime I prefer adventure themed stuff and some romantic comedies and sometimes shy away from anything harder like Clymore and GSG(tried to like requiem for the phantom but can't it just dose not compute with me), I just finished Clymore in glorious fansub and damnit it was not that bad a very interesting take on demons(seems to be using a "Asian" demon type with western story elements and themes) very interesting use of demonic powers and the fiction surrounding demons I should kick myself for writing it off as a simplistic gore fest with a tragically dumb plot/story...damn it was deeper than I thought.
I watched this series years ago and I still find the moments where the grils grip their guns like teddy bears or when they have tea parties as they are cleaning their weapons to be surreal.
That said, if you have any probelm or get squeemish with the concepts of child exploitation, abuse, or suicide (ala Evangelion, the twins in the second season of Black Lagoon, etc.), you will have problems with Gunslinger Girl.
That said, if you have any probelm or get squeemish with the concepts of child exploitation, abuse, or suicide (ala Evangelion, the twins in the second season of Black Lagoon, etc.), you will have problems with Gunslinger Girl.
I'm a fan of this series--the manga's pretty good too. I liked the unique setting too--how often do you see fiction outside of Italy based on internal Italian politics?
My friends' viewpoints were mixed. They seemed to be of the opinion that there were two types of scenes in the whole series: i) the really awesome scenes of preteen girls blowing people away en masse with big guns, and ii) the dull scenes of said girls having an endless succession of tea parties. Even if you don't like the latter, I think they're worth trudging through for the former.
My friends' viewpoints were mixed. They seemed to be of the opinion that there were two types of scenes in the whole series: i) the really awesome scenes of preteen girls blowing people away en masse with big guns, and ii) the dull scenes of said girls having an endless succession of tea parties. Even if you don't like the latter, I think they're worth trudging through for the former.
I saw the first episode of this on TV a few years ago (saw it mentioned in TV Guide that week) and should probably find the others. I'll probably do that at some point.
actually this anime is pretty good once you get that its NOT about the action
its a tragedy basiclly
the lives of the girls and the impact of their relationship with their handlers are the KEY to this story, and for the most part it does so very well
whole heartedly recommanded
at least by me
its a tragedy basiclly
the lives of the girls and the impact of their relationship with their handlers are the KEY to this story, and for the most part it does so very well
whole heartedly recommanded
at least by me
You know what, that's all well and fine, but if I wanted a story that focused more on the drama and less on the action i wouldn't have picked up an anime called Gunslinger Girl, now would I? The first episode is the only episode that really interested me; a good mix of drama and action. Thing is though, once I watched more episodes, I found that I had to try to care about the relationship between the girls and their handlers. And once I found out that I had to try to be in the mood that anime should have put me in to begin with it was no longer fun.bladeofdarkness said:
The other reasons I couldn't find it enjoyable:
Episode 2 = Recap of Episode 1 + 5 minutes of filler. I can understand recaps, but do you really think you did such groundbreaking things in the first episode and that we have such a short attention span that you need a recap at the second episode?
And because nobody put it up yet:
Oooo language technically but the song is by a Scottish band called The Delgados
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIfZZ1cQZss
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Delgados
as for GSG yeah it was good but I pretty sure it got cut half way through the production run so it never really completed the story. Then a second season came along but it had a cut budget and was done by a different studio so it didn't look anywhere near as good.
The Anime also touches on the abuse that the kids suffer but it never actually goes in to any detail the Manga on the other hand does give a greater insight in to the suffering some of the kids went through prior to being 'saved' by the agency.
The thing is when you read that they are trained killers with augmentations you're left thinking that this is gonna be something a kin to Ghost In The Shell the reality is the 'agumentations' are never actually shown in any great detail with them being reffered to more as mental conditioning rather than actual robotic bits designed to make them faster and stronger.
I've had this DVD set for a while and I recall being disappointed that the story didn't really seem to actually go anywhere during this first set of episodes. We got a lot of background, a lot o moping around, but when combat did break out it was freakin' awesome. More so than more anime where children are killing people this show really makes you feel the emotional weight of it.
Also as someone mentioned the second season picks up where the first left off. While the animation took a hit the stories are better, there's more action, and there's actually a fully fledged story arc throughout it.
The reason on the disparity between production values on season 1 and season 2 is simple. Season 1 had obscene production values, they were just launching hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars at each episode just to make it look good.
Also as someone mentioned the second season picks up where the first left off. While the animation took a hit the stories are better, there's more action, and there's actually a fully fledged story arc throughout it.
The reason on the disparity between production values on season 1 and season 2 is simple. Season 1 had obscene production values, they were just launching hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars at each episode just to make it look good.
Heh. Probably my favourite Anime. Though I have a tendency to like things that are somewhat disturbing psychologically. (and honestly, that's what this show focuses on, especially the first season. - The disturbing nature of the girls...)
As for the... Modifications done to the girls, it raises a few strange questions if you think through all the scattered clues.
Triela in particular shows some weird evidence that all is not quite as it seems...
Now, Angelica is the 'prototype', and has been there the longest...
And yet it's obvious that Triela is physically the oldest (except perhaps Claes).
This would make her about 13 or so.
However, based on the second season, we learn that Triela looked the same when she was initially 'recruited' as she does in the current time...
Add to this that at one point in the second season they replaced her legs... ( I mean that literally. They removed her legs, then replaced them.), combined with details that suggest the entire skeleton, most of the muscles, the skin, and (based on some other comments), the eyes are artificial, they are very much cyborgs.
That leaves one final piece of the puzzle... Triela's teddy bear collection. Since she got a new teddy bear for christmas, and she had 6, that suggests she could have been at the agency for anything up to 6 years. (though 3 is more likely, considering birthdays.)
Now obviously, that's very circumstantial, since there's no way of knowing when and where she got those 6 bears.
Nonetheless, it suggests that Triella was about 13 years old when she joined the agency, and could have been there anywhere from 1 to 6 years. (or more).
Meaning... She could be 19 years old, and simply not have grown in 6 years because most of her body is artificial.
When you consider that Angelica has probably been there longer than that (though presumably started out at a younger age), it makes the whole thing somewhat surreal.
Then again, there's this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_de_Graaff
A well known dutch TV presenter (though he died 7 years ago)
Who, thanks to a growth defect, has looked (and sounded), like a 12 year old for most of his life, right up to the time of his death, at which point he was 35...
That must really mess up your life though right? 35 years old, and you still look 12?
Messed up on so many levels. Both for him, and anyone who had to deal with the fact that he was legally an adult (with everything that that implies).
As for the... Modifications done to the girls, it raises a few strange questions if you think through all the scattered clues.
Triela in particular shows some weird evidence that all is not quite as it seems...
Now, Angelica is the 'prototype', and has been there the longest...
And yet it's obvious that Triela is physically the oldest (except perhaps Claes).
This would make her about 13 or so.
However, based on the second season, we learn that Triela looked the same when she was initially 'recruited' as she does in the current time...
Add to this that at one point in the second season they replaced her legs... ( I mean that literally. They removed her legs, then replaced them.), combined with details that suggest the entire skeleton, most of the muscles, the skin, and (based on some other comments), the eyes are artificial, they are very much cyborgs.
That leaves one final piece of the puzzle... Triela's teddy bear collection. Since she got a new teddy bear for christmas, and she had 6, that suggests she could have been at the agency for anything up to 6 years. (though 3 is more likely, considering birthdays.)
Now obviously, that's very circumstantial, since there's no way of knowing when and where she got those 6 bears.
Nonetheless, it suggests that Triella was about 13 years old when she joined the agency, and could have been there anywhere from 1 to 6 years. (or more).
Meaning... She could be 19 years old, and simply not have grown in 6 years because most of her body is artificial.
When you consider that Angelica has probably been there longer than that (though presumably started out at a younger age), it makes the whole thing somewhat surreal.
Then again, there's this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_de_Graaff
A well known dutch TV presenter (though he died 7 years ago)
Who, thanks to a growth defect, has looked (and sounded), like a 12 year old for most of his life, right up to the time of his death, at which point he was 35...
That must really mess up your life though right? 35 years old, and you still look 12?
Messed up on so many levels. Both for him, and anyone who had to deal with the fact that he was legally an adult (with everything that that implies).
