Gunslinger Girl, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Yu Aida (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

In Italy, select teenage girls have been transformed into cyborgs and subjected to a brainwashing process known as "Conditioning." These girls are then paired with fully human supervisors, called Handlers, and are made to carry out assassinations on behalf of a shadowy government agency. The girls are fiercely loyal to their Handlers and would do anything to protect them.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–Containing the artful blend of action and melodrama common to many popular manga series, Gunslinger Girl tells the stories of little-girl assassins trained by an undercover arm of the Italian government. Their bodies are improved with prosthetics and rigorous training, while their minds are conditioned so that childish emotions and needs do not interfere with their work. However, the agency has not completely succeeded in stamping out the children's humanity, or that of their adult handlers. At one point, a slight, fair child cheerily asks for ice cream as her reward for carrying out a gruesome attack; at another a group of handlers are distressed to find that a newly conditioned recruit has forgotten a fairy tale they used to tell her. Drawn in a more spare, sober style than other manga thrillers, this is an unusually provocative tale that should keep its readers thinking as they wait for the next installment.–Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
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Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: ADV Manga (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413902332
• ISBN-13: 978-1413902334
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #980,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BLESS THE KILLERS, June 6, 2005

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gunslinger Girl, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

Volume 2 of Gunslinger Girl has less violence and more character development than the first installment. We start off with the backstory of Claes and end with the backstory of the first girl agent, Angelica. The most touching moments of the series are when the girls remember their humanity despite all the "conditioning" they receive to rid them of it. Even some of the adult "handlers" begin to question whether they are on the right side. The middle section of this volume deals with the Agency trying to stop mad bombers and rescuing the money man of an underground organization. But the plot is interspersed with quiet moments such as the girls going out in the dead of night to enjoy a meteor shower, and the tragic story of Angelica, whose own father tried to kill her for insurance money. The same Angelica whose memory is completely shot due to the massive amount of experimentation that was done on her.

The premise of Gunslinger Girl is quite disturbing but it does show how adults corrupt the world of children with no regard to their welfare at times. In a war against terrorists just how far would people be willing to go? What is the difference in sending 18 year olds to fight and die? Are they any less children than the girls we see here? Another poignant thing about it is that all the girls seem to have been unwanted, in some cases, even by their own parents. And that they cling to their handlers and to each other as the only family they have. Yu Aida never exploits the plot. I think the author is trying to show how a blank slate can be turned into a killer if properly trained. But there is something in the souls of the girls that is trying to fight its way out and reject this whole messed up situation. Thought provoking manga!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN INTENSE TECHNO WORLD OF SECRET ENFORCERS VS TERRORISTS, December 18, 2008

By 

Alan C. Stephens "OGM" (Columbia, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gunslinger Girl, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

Gunslinger Girl, Volume 2 (v. 2)
FIRSTLY, GET ALL THE VOLUMES OR AT LEAST VOL. 1 FIRST. THIS STORY OF CYBORG ASSASSINS [IN THE FORM OF YOUNG GIRLS] IS DEAD [NO PUN INTENDED]SERIOUS HIGH DRAMA AS THEY COMBAT TERRORISTS. THE ENTIRE SERIES IS SIMPLY THE WORK OF A MASTER ILLUSTRATOR/WRITER. DEADLY & VERY CUTE HAS SUCH AN EMOTIONAL IMPACT. ADD THE DEPTH OF THE STORIES AND YOU GET A CLASSIC THRILLER. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SERIES FOR FANS OF SUCH THRILLERS: YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.