Customer Reviews

Gunslinger Girl Starter Set

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "chicks with guns" anime genre is a rather crowded field often loaded with shows that are either plotless action driven affairs or shows crammed with mindless fan service and stupid jokes. "Gunslinger Girl" is one of the few shows that rises above these conventions with its focus on the young cybernetic girls and their relationships with their handlers.

The basic premise for the show is that a special agency in the Italian government has used a new scientific technique to brainwash and condition people to train them into killers. The technique is more successful the younger the recruit. Using young orphans girls to under "conditioning" the girls are then handed off to agent who are called "handlers" who will oversee that the girls become trained killers.

The show has its share of particularly violent and graphic action sequences stemming from various missions the girls undertake. However the missions are more of a backdrop to exploring the relationship each girl has with her handler. Henrietta has a father figure type handler in Joze who is very kind to her. In contrast another character Rico has a very abusive handler, Jean who is critical of her performance and very rarely gives the praise she so desires.

The episodes on the fisrt disc devote one episode to each character to introduce to their personality and tell us about their past. The storytelling is slow but really pulls you in with its characterization and the beautiful piano heavy background music.

Its unclear if the future discs are building up to a major story arc or if the pacing will stay self contained episodes. Fans looking for non-stop action heavy on the jokes and fan service may need to look elsewhere. Anime fans who are looking for something a bit introspective done beautifully might want to consider adding this to their collection.

THe starter set is particularly a great buy. Coming packaged with a nice box and a BEAUTIFUL silk screened banner makes this a worthwhile purchase.

I think the artwork and sound is great. A lot of thought and time has been put into this anime. For those of you who are a fan of the manga, the first five episodes DO seem to be following the first two books. Some stories have been skipped but as most are stand alone they could show up in later discs. The extras include a dossier on each of the main female characters, opening and closing songs, trailers and more.
This is what I would call a serious anime - a work of art. A few series try to reach the level of Gunslinger Girl, but while reaching greatness they fail to understand that the greatest mystery, the greatest part of the story, is the relationship between characters. Lain, Cowboy Bebop, Witch Hunter Robin and Noir are up there, but they're all in a different class - they had different goals to set, to reach. I can't wait to see where Henrietta and her friends end up.

The girls with guns genre has been used so many times in anime cynics might think it'd run out of good stories. In fact here we cannot even get away from having the words "gun" and "girl" in the title.

The plot: `Gunslinger Girl' is not about originality. The cloak and dagger "Agency" finds crippled girls whom undergo "6 Million Dollar Man" surgery to become assassins, and eliminate Europe's crime bosses. Apparently the process only works with children.

The episode plots are not too complex. `Gunslinger Girl' is light on actual action but is NOT slow moving or boring is any sense.

`Gunslinger Girl' is 100% dependant on style. I've seen few anime recently that have evoked this type of emotion through artsy style. The animation and music are very unique. Most of the score are renditions of well know gangster or action film themes. The closing credits play to `Scareface'.

Most anime fans are comparing this to `Noir' in that they have similar themes and focus heavily on the splendor of their settings in present day Europe. True it's similar to `Noir' the same way `Cold Mountain' and `Gone With the Wind' are both about the Civil War, but there's really no comparison.

`Gunslinger Girl' honors the best elements of Luc Besson's `La Femme Nikita' and `The Professional' while focusing heavily on the color white the way `Point of No Return' did.

This is a must for anyone whom likes anime.

Another girls with guns series that was recently exceptionally great was `Najica Blitz Tactics.' Same theme but it was a comedy and it moved at a much faster pace. All 12 episodes are now being sold in 1 pack at bargain basement prices.

See `Najica Blitz Tactics' if you want to laugh and be thrilled. See `Gunslinger Girl' if you want your jaw to hit the floor in total amazement, and end up in a week long daze like I am as I write this review.

The Social Welfare Agency is a clandestine government branch that takes in young girls who are terminally ill or otherwise unable to live a normal life. Secretly, they are rehabilitated through the use of cybernetic implants and trained to be assassins or be involved in other often lethal covert operations.

It's a rather far-fetched premise, but if you can get over the general implausibility this is a highly enjoyable series. Far from being the non-stop action show one might expect, it is actually surprisingly gentle and introspective. A substantial amount of time is spent behind the scenes, examining the girls' relationships with their handlers (who usually act as "big brothers") and with each other. Characterization is solid, and you really care about these girls and their problems. One of them has trouble controlling her aggressive tendencies; another loses her trainer to a random accident and must confront her sudden lack of purpose in life. There is genuine sadness, such as when one of the girls is forced to kill a witness she befriended earlier in the story. To be honest, I didn't expect this much depth, so I was pleasantly surprised. After the first two episodes, a different girl becomes central to each.

This volume contains five episodes and runs just under two hours. The show is presented in widescreen with both English (5:1 stereo) and Japanese (2:1) soundtracks available. Subtitles are white and smaller than usual, but still readable. Extras include dossier files on each of the girls featured on this disc (the last girl, who has not yet been introduced, is not accessible here), clean (textless) opening and closing sequences, a neat little animation showing the layers of art that go into creating just one still figure, and trailers for this and other Funimation releases.

I must start off saying this anime was everything I had hoped it to be...I was concerned that FUNIMATION which doesn't have a good track record for making good english adaptions in the past,had me worried, but this adaption is top grade all the way! I prefer my anime rooted in contemporary settings as a rule, I dont mind sci-fi or fantasy,but i like someething rooted in reality. Gunslinger Girl's 14 episodes succeeds where NOIR failed, this show captivates and draws you into the story.The 5 girls of the story each have a sad tale to reveal , and this show will one by one delve into their pasts. In vol.1 Henrietta is the victim of a trauma and murder of her family that would ruin anyone her age for life. The benevolent Italian government comes along and wipes away her past and gives her a new life as a asassin. You might think it's wrong to brainwash little girls into doing political murders, but compared to her previous fate, she was very fortunate. One interesting aspect is that the series never becomes cliched by trying to help Henrietta realise revenge on her familie's murderer, if this were a american storyline, Henrietta would be going KILL BILL on the men responsible for hurting her. Instead G.G. tells the story of the men chosen to mentor the 5 girls, and how the girls deal with their situation in life. It must be noted that the opening song for the series, is one of the best tunes to come along in a long time to any anime series. Please if you ever enjoyed the likes of CRYING FREEMAN or GOLGO 13: The Professional, or KITE, do find yourself in front of Gunslinger Girl Vol.1 and enjoy a new classic of the genre.

The cover artwork to the DVD's of Gunslinger Girl, made me roll my eyes and think that the anime industry is getting worse. They seem to have lolita fantasies, young girls with guns. In this series the girls don't look older than ten years of age. So I watched the first disc not expecting much more than silly action and weak storyline. I was glad to be proven wrong.

The opening theme song as the credits started was great and right from the getgo, the episode begins with an intro of a little blonde girl walking around, carrying a mean looking shotgun in her hand; carefully searching for something, but all we see is a room riddled with bullet holes and bloody, dead bodies laid around; Making me wonder, "what the hell happened?". Then a man calls some other people on the phone saying that the witness is not there. Then the scene cuts to another man and a little girl that go to another room where shady looking characters are hiding out and a blood bath starts. Then the story does a bit of a flashback that introduced the little girl named, Henrietta. She first started with the secret government agency called, The Social Welfare Agency, which is really a top secret program, that turns little girls into cybernetically enhanced, assassins!

From the very first episode to the last, Gunslinger Girl, had me hooked! It did not have much action, but when it did it was very violent and over quickly, demonstrating the girl's ability and profiency in killing the bad guys. The melee combat was kenetic and fast, the shoot-outs were bloodbaths and resulted in high body counts. Before any of that happens however, the agency's director and supervisors create a plan of attack. They discuss, strategic approaches to locations, estimated enemy count, possible risks and in case something goes wrong. They know how to cover their tracks before police gets to the scene of the crime. They try to cover all possiblities of a mission before they take action. This careful planning makes the covert element of the story more believable.

What makes the story so compelling however is not the action sequences, in fact, as I said before the action is very short and takes a backseat to the stories which unfold dramatically. The stories are mostly profiles about the little assassin girls which work in the agency; how they got picked, trained and assigned to be under their adult supervisors, known as "handlers". The handlers accompany the girls on these deadly missions, give orders to the girls and even join in attacking their targets. Some of the handlers are cold and uncaring to the girls- they see the girls as nothing more than tools of the trade. Other handlers act like big brothers and treat the girls like their little sisters. They grow weary of the girls safety and well being.

The little assassin girls are loyal and very obediant to their handlers; they are even willing to die to protect their handlers. Part of this loyalty comes from the conditioning (brainwashing) process and part of it comes from their emotional attachment to have a father/big brother figure. I'm glad that there was NO fan service and nothing that implied a lolita fantasy. Everything is very serious and interesting. It is this drama, complimented with the excellent script, voice acting, wonderful music, fantastic artwork which makes Gunslinger Girl, a MUST OWN anime! There is a total of 13 episodes in the whole three disc series, the Enlgish dub and extras on the dvds are excellent as well. Contains graphic violence, and mature themes, for adults only. I also recommend the anime called, Noir and Elfen Leid.

The girls with guns genre has been used so many times in anime cynics might think it'd run out of good stories. In fact here we cannot even get away from having the words "gun" and "girl" in the title.

The plot: `Gunslinger Girl' is not about originality. The cloak and dagger "Agency" finds crippled girls whom undergo "6 Million Dollar Man" surgery to become assassins, and eliminate Europe's crime bosses. Apparently the process only works with children.

The episode plots are not too complex. `Gunslinger Girl' is light on actual action but is NOT slow moving or boring is any sense.

`Gunslinger Girl' is 100% dependant on style. I've seen few anime recently that have evoked this type of emotion through artsy style. The animation and music are very unique. Most of the score are renditions of well know gangster or action film themes. The closing credits play to `Scareface'.

Most anime fans are comparing this to `Noir' in that they have similar themes and focus heavily on the splendor of their settings in present day Europe. True it's similar to `Noir' the same way `Cold Mountain' and `Gone With the Wind' are both about the Civil War, but there's really no comparison.

`Gunslinger Girl' honors the best elements of Luc Besson's `La Femme Nikita' and `The Professional' while focusing heavily on the color white the way `Point of No Return' did.

This is a must for anyone whom likes anime.

Another girls with guns series that was recently exceptionally great was `Najica Blitz Tactics.' Same theme but it was a comedy and it moved at a much faster pace. All 12 episodes are now being sold in 1 pack at bargain basement prices.

See `Najica Blitz Tactics' if you want to laugh and be thrilled. See `Gunslinger Girl' if you want your jaw to hit the floor in total amazement, and end up in a week long daze like I am as I write this review.

Sure, the "girls with guns" theme will always cause an anime fan to raise an eyebrow. I was curious as to what Gunslinger Girl would offer me. I bought the series not sure what to expect. I was very surprised.

This series caught me off guard from an emotional point of view. I quickly grew attached to Henrietta's character after learning about her background. I think it's hard to not feel for at least one of the girls since they are basically society's rejected, helpless, or tragic victims. I found this series to be very emotional and moving. I absolutely loved it.

The thing that I was surprised the most is how the enjoyment came not from the action but the character interaction between the Handlers and girls. They are paired as a brother/sister (Fratello) team with each Handler responsible for the training and condition of each girl. This series explores the cause and effect of each pair as each Handler has his own way of dealing with their respective girl.

As for the animation, it is superb. They characters are very well drawn. They are sharp and extremely detailed, especially the guns they use. The setting in Italy is well drawn and is a refreshing change from the usual Neo-Tokyo or feudal Japan settings I am accustomed to seeing. The action is used sparingly but explosive in execution.

The music creates a beautiful melancholic soundscape which mates perfectly to the scenery. Also, the OP "Light Before We Land" is simply the best I have ever heard for a series. It's beautiful because it's lyrics AND music describe this series accurately. It's a very moving piece and I too have purchased the song once I heard it. I always relate the song to Gunslinger Girl when I listen to it now.

This series is a work or art...both in story and animation. Get the starter Box set as well. It's gorgeous and the banner is beautiful. Highly Recommended!

I first read about this anime a while back and thought that it would be a good one to watch. I was right. Yes, the anime includes little girls with running around with guns inside instrument cases, but it's not about the girls shooting people, but about why they are, and how that happend to be. The story has a well defined and carried out plot with developing and likeable characters. Young girls with great physical and mental damage are given another chance at living, if only to take the lives of those that are wanted dead by the goverment. They are then "conditioned" by being brainwashed and having their bodies made more durrable for the job that awaits them. The series is somewhat disturbing and really makes you think, although one that should be watched by all anime lovers.

The "chicks with guns" anime genre is a rather crowded field often loaded with shows that are either plotless action driven affairs or shows crammed with mindless fan service and stupid jokes. "Gunslinger Girl" is one of the few shows that rises above these conventions with its focus on the young cybernetic girls and their relationships with their handlers.

The basic premise for the show is that a special agency in the Italian government has used a new scientific technique to brainwash and condition people to train them into killers. The technique is more successful the younger the recruit. Using young orphans girls to undergo "conditioning" the girls are then handed off to agent who are called "handlers" who will oversee that the girls become trained killers.

The show has its share of particularly violent and graphic action sequences stemming from various missions the girls undertake. However the missions are more of a backdrop to exploring the relationship each girl has with her handler. Henrietta has a father figure type handler in Joze who is very kind to her. In contrast another character Rico has a very abusive handler, Jean who is critical of her performance and very rarely gives the praise she so desires.

The episodes on the fisrt disc devote one episode to each character to introduce to their personality and tell us about their past. The storytelling is slow but really pulls you in with its characterization and the beautiful piano heavy background music.

Its unclear if the future discs are building up to a major story arc or if the pacing will stay self contained episodes. Fans looking for non-stop action heavy on the jokes and fan service may need to look elsewhere. Anime fans who are looking for something a bit introspective done beautifully might want to consider adding this to their collection.

THe starter set is particularly a great buy. Coming packaged with a nice box and a BEAUTIFUL silk screened banner makes this a worthwhile purchase.