Customer Reviews

Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino--The Complete Series

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally, it's here. Several years after the original Gunslinger Girl blew me away with its stunning visuals and shocking premise, the much-awaited sequel, Il Teatrino, or simply Gunslinger Girl 2, has arrived. Based even more closely on the manga by Yu Aida (and with even more supervision from him), this series is a direct continuation of the events from the first show. Where the first series was less about action and more about the relationships between the characters, Il Teatrino zooms the focus in squarely on the action and plot. It assumes you are already familiar with the concept of the "fratello" and the cyborg girls, and as such only gives a brief overview of the premise in various episodes. That's not to say that there are no more emotional moments or shocking scenes. Far from it. In fact, GSG2 is probably even MORE shocking with some of its subject matter. The show is quite deserving of its TV-MA rating; there is more blood, much stronger language, and more horrible things done to children. I won't give a plot summary here, because it's on the back of the box, and since I hate knowing even minor plot details before watching a show, I will give the same courtesy to readers of this review. I will say that this series does a fantastic job of keeping continuity with the first GSG. There are many references back to events in that show, and even some cameos by characters you thought you'd seen the last of. We finally get to see Angelica in action, learn more about Triela's heartbreaking backstory, and are even introduced to a new fratello.

Now, about the somewhat controversial visual style... The first GSG, animated by Madhouse, had a massive budget, with somewhere around $130k devoted to each episode. Il Teatrino was less fortunate, and had a much more modest budget. While it is evident that it is not the same animation studio (Arthouse this time around) or budget level, do not let that put you off. Yes, the character designs have been changed somewhat, but the results actually end up being closer in resemblance to the original manga, so that should be a plus for all you purists out there. I personally was not put off by the visuals whatsoever. If you are willing to look past the negative things you may have heard, you will be quite pleasantly surprised, as I was. I had heard mostly doom and gloom about how awful Il Teatrino looked, but after actually watching it (what a novel concept, right?), I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

The English dub performance is another gem from the folks at Funimation. The entire original cast returns for the sequel, and hammers the ball right out of the park. Frankly, this show would not be the same without them. Laura Bailey onces again stands out and demonstrates her impressive range as Henrietta, and the rest of the cast picks up right where they left off in the original. Funimation gets a big round of applause for pulling the cast back together and establishing some continuity.

All in all, this is a can't miss, must have follow up for fans of Gunslinger Girl. Do not be put off by internet rumors or bad reviews elsewhere. This series, combined with the first GSG, is a masterpiece for those who appreciate sad, dark, morally gray anime. Bottom line: buy it.

I don't say this often, but I had the rare opportunity of going into Gunslinger Girl misinformed. It has been often said that the show's primary attribute is shock value in the idea of brainwashed children acting as cold-blooded assassins. Worse still is that previews, trailers, and other promotional material surrounding the property do little to dissuade this notion. However, I am pleased to report that judging the show based on that single aspect would be doing it a great disservice. But before I get ahead of myself, let's take a look at the cold hard facts, shall we?

Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino The Complete Series comes in at a runtime of 315 minutes and contains 13 episodes spanning two discs. The discs come packaged in a pair of thin packs (with some very impressive label art) within a cardboard slipcase.

The show wears an appropriate TV MA (mature) rating due to some graphic violence sequences and themes of warring factions, civil unrest and of course assassinations.

Language options are typical sub and dub, which means the viewer has the choice of running either the original Japanese dialog track (stereo) or an English dub (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) and the option of displaying English subtitles beneath either dialog choice.

Extras include an interview with the Japanese voice actor who plays Marco, original TV commercials, textless songs, and a host of upcoming Funimation anime previews.

The story follows the innocent and borderline adorable girls of the SWA (Social Welfare Agency) who, despite their kind hearts, seem a little bit eschew right from the get go. It turns out that these girls are actually the grizzly remains of humans who by all facts and circumstances should be deceased. Only rather than resting in peace in a cemetery somewhere, these children have been reassembled with cybernetic implants that replace the damaged areas and act as memory suppressants.

With all past knowledge of their existence wiped away, these girls are trained in the ways of combat, assassination, weapons use; in other words they are killers with loyalty to the government that built them.

Okay so my summary sounds an awful lot like the malarkey I was dealing with coming into the series but rest assured, the simplified plot synopsis does little to demonstrate the show's greatest strength: Character development.

The pacing is spot on throughout with a deliberately slow and intriguing beginning that doesn't fully answer all of the viewer's questions. The plot structure is such that answers come swiftly just like the action and by the third or fourth episode; it feels like a masterwork of storytelling and visual delights.

Set in Italy of all places, the core of the tale centers on a political conflict between a governmental body and a terrorist faction called the FRF. Their primary target are the members of the SWA which basically boils down to cybernetic assassins squaring off with supposed normal children with personality disorders deluxe.

The political segments, like the rest of the show, are quite well done and go a long way in setting up a believable backdrop for the action in the foreground. Especially noteworthy is the fact that the show's creative team goes the extra mile to convey the conflict from both viewpoints so that a black & white/ right and wrong, good guy/ bad guy perspective is never a factor.

The music score is exemplary with excellent use of tension and building that coincides beautifully with the on-screen situations.

Voice work is also quite commendable with the English dub squeaking in as the overall superior choice in my opinion. There was a time when I advocated the idea that the only way to enjoy anime was to crank up the original Japanese dialog and follow along with the subtitles but Funimation has been raising the bar so steadily that there is little reason to cling to my old ideology. Don't get me wrong, the Japanese dialog is spectacular here but American voice actors (especially those in the employ of Funimation) have proven time and time again that they are very capable of nailing the emotion and grit of a dark story like this. Gunslinger Girl is no exception to the trend.

Like you may have surmised, the very deepest levels of this tale strike a chord of fear within all of us as to what it actually means to be a human. Swirled within a life of confusion, control, conditioning and killer instinct, the will to be free, the will to love and be loved still manages to resurface. When it does, the assassins are treated medicinally so as to remain complacent but there is an element of just how much oppression the human heart can take all throughout this tale that manages to inspire.

Sure the element of gun-touting, seven-year-old-girl super killers is a bit unsettling, the true strength of this anime lies in its strong character development, expert pacing, and gritty atmosphere. The human condition, though never quite in the foreground of the prose, acts as a constant motivator of the lead characters. This coupled to the fact that the Italian scenery, political conflict, and voice acting are all spot on results in a show that's best not to be missed.

I finally finished watching GG2. I must say it was very good. For you who have seen the first series, the anime is different than the original but most of the main voices are the same. The story line was good. I haven't read the manga in a while but the show seemed to follow what I did remember. Action and violence mixed with the emotional complications between the girls and their handlers... I found it difficult not to watch the whole series in one sitting.

The only complaint would be that only thirteen episodes are presented. Two other episodes, 14 & 15, were not included, though they were in the Japan release. Other than that, I would recommend buying this box set. If you have not seen the first series, I would say buy both, but I believe Gunslinger Girl 2 can stand alone.

There are some folks here who have said that although this series is different from the original, it is still the same quality of story and almost as good as the original. I am going to disagree. The animation is very different, the girls are very different, but most importantly the story line is not as good. This is not the original, it is not as good as the original, and I can't think of a single thing that was improved in this version.

The girls have been "glamorized" for this series. Big eyes, cute hair, etc. Henrietta looks nothing like her character from the original series. The moment that I noticed this, I knew there was only one reason to make this change - the story is not as good as the original and they need to prop up the series by making the girls more attractive.

The animation is not of the same quality as the original. Many shortcut methods were used to reduce cost and stretch frames. This I could forgive if the story made up for it. Alas, it does not.

That said, the most important aspect of the original series was the storyline and the time spent developing the girls' characters. This critical element of the original series' success is sorely lacking in this series. The entire time I watched this series, I kept asking "where are the girls?!" This series spends too much time on characters I do not care about and that contribute nothing to enhance the story. Where is the action? I want more action WITH the girls. What I remember most about watching this series is constantly wondering when the girls were coming back and why are they giving me a soap opera with characters I don't care about. When they did finally get around to the formula that worked in the original series, it was always too little and I would be disappointed when they went back to the soap opera.

If you loved the original series as much as I did, you are going to be seriously disappointed with this one. If you must have it to complete your collection, or as in my case, having a serious need for more GSG, then by all means go ahead. But you will be disappointed.

This series is very well done, thoughtful, contemplative, paced well, and focusing on character development. I'm giving it 5 stars b'cos it does what it tries to do very well.

BUT, if you liked the first and are expecting more of the same, I think you might be disappointed. The action scenes -- primarily gun battles, are short-lived and brutal. The character designs are a bit more cutesy than before. Many episodes have little to no action at all. While the first series was largely a 'girls with guns' and 'fight of the week' type show, this takes a much slower pace and has a discontinuos plotline. It is not so much about the girls or the fights, but all the other people and all the events around them.

So to summarize, this is a great series for drama and character development with a little bit of violence and psuedo-realistic gun battles added in (more 'real' than the first). It covers a lot of ground and makes you understand where most of the characters are coming from, why they act the way they do, etc.

Despite being a bit disappointed when I first heard the animation would be different I was excited for a second season. I finally purchased this last week and it did not disappoint. At all. Yes the visuals are different. Not better. Not worse. Different. If you are a true fan of the series, and not just watching it for the action sequences, then it's the characters themselves that you love. Il Teatrino does an even better job than the first run at exploring the characters and their relationships with each other. I'm really picky when it comes to spoilers, and not wanting to know much of anything about a series before watching it, so I won't get into details about the who's and what's. Character development is top priority. I'm sitting here, as I'm writing this, watching it for the second time. I'm going to go ahead and close this out before I get too long-winded, but if you enjoyed the first season don't listen to what you may have heard about this being a lesser offering. Fans of Gunslinger Girl MUST own this...

This is a good continuation of the original series. The lower budget hurts, but the new animation studio did a good job of capturing the feel of the original series and they continued the storyline. This time around the series has a stronger story arc and the focus is more on Triella. It's not a black and white world, as evidenced by the treatment the three main "villains" get, both in terms of air time and character development. It's hard to find Anime that rises up to the level of both of Gunslinger Girl series. Just as with the first series, while violence is a part of the series, it's the characters and the character development that makes this such a great series.

GS2 was great. I enjoyed it as mauch as I did GS1. Great story line and all the characters were represented. GS2 focussed on Triella and it was great to see her in action. I thought the theme music was not as good as GS1 but fans of the genre will not be disappointed.

even amoung a sequile to Gunslinger Girl: Box Set (Viridian Collection 2) it holds it own and adds its own twist to it ..... i recomend it

The follow up to the first season of Gunslinger Girl is another stand-alone hit. While the first season provided solid background for Henrietta, this season focuses on both Triela and the new character "Pinocchio". It also features more action and suspense then the first season. Although there is a follow up OVA which looks amazing, it is not a necessary buy. Like the first season, Il Teatrino provides you with a solid, satisfactory, ending. If you bought and enjoyed Gunslinger Girl, this is a must buy, as is the OVA. However, this is more of the same. If you dislike the idea of cyborg children running around Italy with guns attacking terrorists- then this is not the series for you. It should also be noted that the animation is amazing, and has good voices for the English dub.
:)