Gunslinger Girl - Vol. 2 (Animated) (DVD)

.../> In my honest opinion, Gunslinger Girls is one of the most unique animes on the market, because it pushes highly unfamiliar territory in the female manga sector (I don't remember the proper word for female manga, male is "shonen"... I think...). Most animes aimed at a young female audience play to the cute romantic comedy side of things (Tokyo Mew Mew and Chobits are good examples of this). The protagonists in these examples are still ...
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Gunslinger Girls tells the story of an Italian Government agency where girls are taken from their deathbed and "conditioned"- fitted with cybernetic implants and then trained to make them the perfect assassins. Each girl has her own handler, who is both like a trainer and a father or older brother to her at the agency, and is responsible for their actions and training. The girls have been trained to obey and almost love ... more

Having written a review for volume 3, and noticing that one for volume 2 STILL wasn't written, I quickly persuaded my rich friend (the source of a lot of my DVDs) into lending me this again. I'll warn you now that, because I've been watching it in extreme detail and writing notes, this is likely to be a looooooong review. Well, might as well get to it whilst you're all with me.

*~* THE EPISODES *~*
I'm going to give a little overview of each episode and a little rating. But first here's my overview of the series as a whole.

In my honest opinion, Gunslinger Girls is one of the most unique animes on the market, because it pushes highly unfamiliar territory in the female manga sector (I don't remember the proper word for female manga, male is "shonen"... I think...). Most animes aimed at a young female audience play to the cute romantic comedy side of things (Tokyo Mew Mew and Chobits are good examples of this). The protagonists in these examples are still battling the forces of evil, but the tone is a lot less serious than in male manga, you never honestly believe that they are in danger or that they might not save the day. The tone is set by light hearted jokes and cute misunderstandings (like a blond robot marching round town reciting "panties" with each step).
GG has a totally different feel to it. The light hearted tone is gone, replaced with dramatic irony and black humour; the tone serious and dark. As you watch it, you realise that it's not aimed at 13 year old teeny boppers, but at a most mature, and perhaps more educated audience. The sweet side is still there with the little girls in schoolgirl outfits, as well as the traditional anime theme of human bonding between friends, but it's quite a heavy sophisticated piece, with detailed, well thought out plot lines and dark undertones. It's very unpredictable, completely surprising and practically cinematic in it's editing. And strangely enough, it's thought provoking! It's anime for adults, WITHOUT the sex!
The soundtrack also slips away from other animes, with it's classical Italian style. It's also used rather sparingly, instead of thrown about all the time like in most Western cartoons. The animation is also absolutely beautiful, and as I watched I really felt a lot of effort had been put into it.

Gunslinger Girls tells the story of an Italian Government agency where girls are taken from their deathbed and "conditioned"- fitted with cybernetic implants and then trained to make them the perfect assassins. Each girl has her own handler, who is both like a trainer and a father or older brother to her at the agency, and is responsible for their actions and training. The girls have been trained to obey and almost love their handlers unconditionally, there is nothing they would not do for them. Looking so sweet and innocent and carrying their weapons in violin cases or sports bags, the girls go around Italy unnoticed by the general public, and carry out the government's dirty work behind closed doors.

Our main character is Henrietta, a young adolescent girl who came to the agency after her family was murdered around her and she was raped on the floor beside their corpses (the show isn't that graphic, dialogue in the first episode told me that). Her memory has now been erased, several of her body parts replaced with cyborg implants, and she is now in the care of Jose at the agency. She strives hard to meet with Jose's standards and lives only to impress him, Henrietta's life revolves around him and killing for him alone.
The other girls have their own problems, and their own reasons for being at the agency- Rico was born disabled and Angelica was mowed down by a car. More and more problems with the agency's programme emerge through the series, and we start to wonder what will happen to the girls if the project is shut down. The conditioning process is far from perfect, and the girls and still human deep down, with human emotions, human jealousy, and human problems.
Life for the girls is hardly easy, and is a far cry from fun and games. They shoot. They survive. That's all there is to it. Kill or be killed.

I'm not sure how else to describe it really, so I'll just move on to the mini episode reviews.

WARNING: I have tried my hardest to give a summary of each episode without giving away too much, but be warned, these may count as spoilers.

Episode 6: Gelato (Reward)
Henrietta and Jose investigate a plot by terrorists to contact the best bomb makers in town. The mood is suspenseful and edgy, with no-one sure what is going to happen next. We also see the situation through the eyes of the bomb makers (you'll meet them more and more over the coming episodes), which is highly thought provoking and unique in a world of stereotypical 1 dimensional baddies. The dramatic irony and tactics employed by Henrietta are absolutely delightful, but I found it slow paced, as if moments were nothing was happening was the producers bad attempt at making a very suspenseful plot. All in all, I left it feeling that I hadn't really experienced anything new.
3/5

Episode 7: Protezione (protection)
This episode is focused around Rico and her handler Jean, and unusually, the soundtrack features a piece with vocals called Woke From Dreaming (which I happened to love, shame they didn't have that separately in the extras). Thankfully, this episode balances out the background information filler episodes with a plot involving a young accountant called Filippo who is under threat from the Republican Factionists. It's well written, very well edited, and has a lovely combination of information about classical Italian art and action. We also see a much harsher, never before seen side to Jean that made my stomach twitch in places. Mutilation someone for information and then wiping your knife clean on his tie in art gallery toilets? Classy.
4/5

Episode 8: il Principe del Regno della Pasta (the prince of the kingdom of pasta)
Weird name, I know, but it's the name of a story handler Marco told to the agency's first recruit, Angelica. Unfortunately, her life isn't going as nicely as the prince of pasta's, after being run down by a car and restored by the agency, the flaws in the system begin to emerge. All the work Marco poured into her disappears before his eyes, and it's truely heart wrenching, but this episode is just a background for later ones, and although necessary, is rather slow. You have to be patient to sit through all of it, that's for sure.
2/5

Episode 9: Lycoris Radiata Herb (Be struck off herb)
To me, this episode symbolised what Gunslinger Girls is all about, and it was almost worth buying the DVD just for this episode. It focuses on a cold new recruit, Elsa and her heartbreaking desire to do anything to please her handler, who sees her as nothing more than a tool. Tension rises as she sees the way Henrietta is treated by Jose on a mission to assassinate a government official. The action here is well placed, and absolutely fantastic, whilst the blend of soundtrack and dialogue (I recommend you watch this one in English) forms a beautifully emotional episode. It really is the best episode of the DVD, and it's especially important to watch if you want to watch the 3rd instalment.
5/5

*~* Options *~*
Choose between watching in dubbed in English, or in the original Japanese, with subtitles available for both. Awesome if you're brushing up on your language skills (like me!), or if you just fancy a casual view and can't be bothered to read (I know a lot of people who say that when I suggest watching in Jap) just select English as you language.

A little bit about dubbing: Anime is notorious for being badly dubbed with unsuitable voices, and a lot of diehard fans see the apple of their eye ruined with annoying American accents. However, with the exception of Rico's voice (SHEESH I wanted to strangle her!), I felt that the English speaking cast was very well chosen and played their parts to perfection.

*~* Extras on the DVD *~*
Building Rico:
a bizarre little short piece showing how the character of Rico was put together, starting with base colours and finishing off with detail. Seemed absolutely pointless to me, didn't give any insight into how the character of Rico was actually formed... it was just watching blocks of colour come together on the screen. The first volume of GG had exactly the same thing but with Henrietta. YAWN.

The Real Gunslinger Girls:
When I first clicked this, I secretly hoped it was a documentary telling me about how there really WERE cyborg pubescent girls working as government assassins in Italy. Of course, my imagination had run away with me. Instead, this is the voice actors of Angelica, Claes, Henrietta, Rico and Triela talking about what they thought of their characters, what it was like to play them and so on. The insight into each of the characters from the English cast was pleasant to listen to, and was surprisingly fun- although it wasn't exactly thrilling. Worth a look if you've got the time and patience, or are interested in what goes on inside the head of voice actors. Note: these are audio interviews only, the visuals are all clips of the show.

Opening and ending songs without credits: For those of you who love the theme tunes. I sure do :D

Trailers: One for an old school style anime called Yu Yu Hokashu (I think...) and another for a show where people turn into the animals of the Chinese zodiac whenever they hug (as far as I can tell, it didn't actually tell me what the show was called :S... This is Funimation trying to absorb more money out of your wallet. Ignore them.

Is the DVD worth buying?
Yes, if you're looking for something new to your anime collection, and DEFINITELY yes if you plan to buy the 3rd instalment (as I said, these episodes provide a background for later ones). Strangely enough, I think that you could get away with enjoying this without having seen the first instalment. I do recommend this for all anime lovers who are looking for something a little more intellectual, or just something different. It's a lot less predictable than other animes out on the market, and I think provides more for you money (anime DVDs are notorious for being overpriced due to high translation costs).

However, as with the first and 3rd instalments, I was slightly disappointed with the lack of special features- even something simple like a bio of each of the characters would've been nice, or some screenshots.  

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