Gunslinger Girl
Publisher
FUNimation / MVM
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
13 episodes / 25 minutes
Year
2003
Gunslinger Girl Volume 1: Little Girls, Big Guns
By otaku_kei
12th Feb 06  Here we are once again with yet another 'girls with guns' anime show, but this time rather than buxom, leather-clad, gun-toting mistresses we get cybernetically enhanced, brainwashed pre-teen girls! As I am sure you will admit not your usual 'girls with guns' scenario, nor your normal run of the mill choice for an assassin! Gunslinger Girl brings us into a world of government sponsored assassinations and clandestine organisations charged with carrying out such missions. With its shocking violence, political intrigue and character driven stories Gunslinger Girl looks set to be one of the shows to keep an eye on in 2006! Henrietta is one of the many girls at the Italian Social Welfare Agency: on the surface an organisation that helps out needy and invalided children and help them integrate into society; in reality a covert branch of the government engaged in building remorseless killers who are instantly expendable! Brainwashed to have no memory of their previous life, Henrietta and the others are programmed to be fanatically devoted to the completion of their mission and the continued well-being and survival of their handlers. Yet when not on a job the girls find themselves doing much what any other girls that age do: spending time with their friends and getting to grips with their first feelings for boys! When I first saw the trailer for Gunslinger Girl I was instantly reminded of that other anime about female assassins: Noir. Both visually and musically this show shares a lot with Noir - the European setting, the muted colour palette and the orchestral, haunting melodies that score this show. Gunslinger Girl even shares the similar themes of self discovery and hidden pasts. The similarities will make fans of Noir instantly familiar with many aspects of this show, a familiarity that I found made this show much easier to get to grips with. But whilst this show may be familiar in many ways it is also forging its own identity very quickly. Not only do the children (emotionless killers) have a past that they are completely unaware of, but their relationships with their handlers also appear central to the development of this show. Many questions are raised in this volume, I just hope this show has enough time to answer those questions whilst still delivering the high octane action! Gunslinger Girl is yetr another new series hitting shelves near you soon, so just why should this title rise above the rest to be picked up, purchased and taken home? Well if you enjoy mystery, intrigue and high powered firearms but with a solid emotional core then you really cannot go far wrong with this title. Fans of Noir I am certain will find something to enjoy here, and for those 'girls with guns' sub-genre fans who prefer their girls as buxom S&M mistresses may just enjoy flexing their grey matter with this smart, exhilarating debut!
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; 'Building Henrietta' Art Gallery; Textless Opening & Closing; MVM Trailers
Release information: COMING SOON - 6th March 2005
Notes: Gunslinger Girl Volume 1 benefits from the quality and attention that MVM lavish on their releases. The audio and visual quality are top notch and we get a batch of nice extras for this show. Nothing amazing that will keep you coming back for more but still worth a look.
-- otaku_kei 12th Feb 06
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