I have all 13 eps, its just that i dont have the time right now to watch them all. currently at ep. 6 and i agree that there isnt that much action but the thing too look for in this anime is the story. overall a pretty original (in some ways) anime.
Gunslinger Girl tv Review
Officially The Social Welfare Agency is an Italian government sponsored corporation that is in the business of saving lives. However, in reality it is an agency on the fringe of technology that gives terminal children another shot at life using cybernetic implants, shaping the patient into an efficiently deadly machine, and then using them to handle all the governments dirty work. Each child assassin is assigned a handler known as a fratello, meaning 'brother' in Italian. Each Fratello is set with the task of overseeing the cyborg's basic welfare and training. The anime focuses on the conflicts arising from the needs to create an efficient weapon along with the needs of a growing adolescent girl, the relationship between each girl and her Fratello, and the conflicts that arise.
Contributed by beautifuldreamer1289.
Story & Characters
At first, the story of Gunslinger Girl seems cliché. This, however, is not the case when one watches beyond the first episode. At a glance, Gunslinger Girl seems like the type of anime with cute gun-toting schoolgirls (the name doesn’t do much to make the viewer thing otherwise, either). The first episode does deliver its share of action, but don’t become too expectant. The series focuses more on the “brother/sister� relationship (as the fan sub that I watched called it) than it does on action packed scenes. Despite this, Gunslinger Girl was no pushover. Character development more than made up for lack of action in my opinion. Maybe I shouldn’t say lack of action, since there is action, don’t get me wrong. The emphasis is more on the characters and their mental state than what the characters are doing with their weapons.
Now to back up for those that are completely lost. The basic plot for Gunslinger Girl is that there is a group that is specially training girls to become killing machines. Why girls, you ask? It seems that they are just ideal when it comes to learning how to be assassins. Or something like that. There’s a little twist, though. There is more to these girls and their teachers than meets the eye.
Rating:
Art
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m no pro at art, but I have nothing against the artwork in Gunslinger Girl. The character designs were up to date and didn’t look badly proportioned or “too shiny.� I must say, though, the scenery was really beautiful. The girls have their share of travels and the cities that they visit look very nice. The artwork is well done, but I might just be saying that because I’m a sucker for European settings in an anime. There’s really nothing super special that I found in the art and special effects besides the fact that the anime is wide screen with its own upper and lower frame design.
Rating:
Sound
One of the reasons that I was able to enjoy this anime to its fullest was that the soundtrack really helped set the mood. You don’t really notice the background music on its own, but you do notice the lack of it. It’s almost as if it acts as some piece of string tying the anime to something special. The sound effects and voice acting weren’t bad either. I’ve only seen the subtitled version, but I didn’t find anything to complain about. Guns actually sounded like guns, even though they aren’t the focal point of the series as the title may suggest. The ending and opening songs are awesome. Again, it just might be me European loving side talking.
Rating:
Presentation
The anime certainly presents itself as something it isn’t initially, that is to say, girls with guns killing people and lots of action scenes. I was expecting something like another Noir, but with more girls and more killing. This really wasn’t the case. The anime was kind of presented like Noir and .hack put together. There wasn’t too much talking, but then again, there wasn’t superfluous action. Any scenes that were intense showed character and helped the girls shine. The anime really knows how to present action sequences at the right time, and for that, I give the makers credit.
I found the ability to enjoy the anime fairly high. One: it is fairly short (13 episodes) and there are no filler episodes. Two: You don’t see similar situations more than once. Three: The music helps get the viewer into the mood.
This anime certainly is original. Rather than focusing on killing, the anime focuses on relationships and the fragile human mind. I found this to be intriguing and an interesting take for an anime, even though 13 episodes may have only been the tip of the iceberg when it comes to fully understanding the mentality of all the characters.
Overall, this anime isn’t for people who are looking for action scenes. It’s almost as if it’s a
fairy tale and each girl is a chapter. There’s a moral there somewhere, just try to find it.
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.0000 (good)
Reviewed by MadTeaParty, Feb 26, 2005
Comments
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kumilove Mar 06, 2005
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kumilove Mar 06, 2005
I have all 13 eps, its just that i dont have the time right now to watch them all. currently at ep. 6 and i agree that there isnt that much action but the thing too look for in this anime is the story. overall a pretty original (in some ways) anime. better than noir by the way, IMO. sorry for the double post, my ISP sucks hard.
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rukasu44 Nov 10, 2010
I really liked the end. Very touching ;P
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