Gunslinger Girl

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~Tried my best not to mention spoilers~

I started reading Gunslinger Girl because of its (frankly) ridiculous premise. I was kind of looking for something to kill my brain with. I mean, Italian cyborg assassin girls working for an agency that fronts as a charitable organization -- it certainly isn't a cliche, but I got the impression that this would be a hefty action story with a poorly chosen setting and with story elements that didn't make sense. But in the end, I was way off the mark and I found myself almost in tears after I had finished this short 100 chapter gem of a ... manga.

Gunslinger Girl is a very character driven story. Sure, there's a lot of action, and peaks that excite and leave you afraid (but desperate) to turn the page, but for the most part, it's an evocative piece that tackles serious themes of the loss of innocence, crime, terrorism, revenge, etc. Each character gets the time they need to develop in order to feel like they're actually a part of the story, and none of them stick out or feel out of place. The manga has a shocking amount of depth -- the kind that demands a deep breath before you move page to page. But where Gunslinger Girl shines so much brighter than a lot of manga is in its pacing. The pacing and the use of flashbacks is well-thought out -- it's clear the author took the time to actually think about the story rather than cram it between chapter releases (believe me, it's incredibly refreshing to see this for a change).

Now, let's address what is arguably the most random setting choice ever in a manga: Italy. I still smirk and chuckle a bit thinking about it. Not that there's anything wrong with Italy, but it's certainly a first for me in a manga. Still, Gunslinger Girl does not cease to amaze me. The setting choice was actually an interesting change for once and there are no sacrilegious Japanese tropes carried over from the genre. Without going into detail, the author definitely did his/her research (there are literally dozens of footnotes for every detail, musical piece, cultural reference, monument, etc. scattered throughout the manga to aid the setting) and to that end, I completely respect this setting choice -- the way it is presented makes it feel real rather than something the author thought of on a whim.

Gunslinger Girl also feels unbelievably realistic despite its unbelievably unrealistic premise. And it does this with a good implementation of its setting (as I already mentioned) but also with plot points that are historically informed, though I cannot reveal any more than that as it would give away some story points.

The only thing I would really take issue with in the story is the epilogue... or should I say epilogues? Don't get me wrong, Gunslinger Girl was perfect up to the very end, but I suppose the author just wanted the whole thing to end on a relatively happy note and without any open ends. In other words, the ending/epilogue just feels pretty extended and a little bit out of place, but it's still a nice addition and it doesn't harm the story in any way.

Overall, this is a beautiful manga with a premise and title that may do it disservice to those who aren't willing to look beyond them. It feels real, it's emotional, it's exciting, it may even teach you a few things about life, and the best part: no fan service, inappropriate relationships, or anything of the sort. Be prepared for violence and heavy crime themes though, and don't expect any humor. Go ahead and read it already.

(P.S. With regards to the anime adaptation, don't bother.)

TL:DR
Not pervy despite the premise. Confused, slightly meandering plot but great characters, thought provoking, utterly baffling ending. Mixed recommendation, if you like the psychological implications to the premise and don't care for the rest then read this.

Story: 5/10
Firstly, I would like to point out the unique setting, Italy during the "Years of Lead", that’s setting up for something good. Or so I though, it didn't live up to expectations (or the MAL score). The whole plot feels disjointed. The start meandered for a while, introducing the characters and there dynamic while hinting at the antagonists. Those antagonists is swiftly and suddenly discarded, it's quite jarring. ... Then we get a new antagonist that comes out of nowhere.

There's a few volumes dedicated to a side character who is suddenly introduced and then is largely ignored throughout the rest of the manga.

The ending is… disgusting? Baffling? I have no idea but it is awful, it rise to send a message but it's so utterly bizarre and creepy that it actually makes me angry.

It makes me angry because the last arc is actually pretty enjoyable, it was quite good and gave endings the arcs of most characters.

Art: 7/10
Nothing to say really, it's good art

Characters: 8/10
The characters are so well written, from the cyborgs to their handlers. It really sells the psychological impact of the trauma the characters experience. From the brainwashed cyborgs to the messed up people who train and command them, these characters are excellently depicted.

Overall: 6/10
Great characters combined with a poorly executed plot. I can only recommend this if you only care about the psychological aspect of this manga, because the plot brings this down.

I spend a lot of time reading manga at a local Barns & Noble. After reading what I wanted to read, then reading what I didn't think I would hate, then reading what they had just because they had the whole series, I started reading Gunslinger Girl. I admit, I did not have high hopes for it, having flipped through the pages often and always putting it back on the shelf, but today I decided to read it.

The first thing that drew me in was the art. With a lot of works having pretty shoddy graphics, even after being serialized into a ... manga, I was relieved that the mangaka for Gunslinger Girl was pretty good. Often, in battle manga, scenes can have chaotic effect drawings, making it hard to distinguish whats going on, but I never lost track of what was happening. The characters are all drawn similar, but not clones of each other, nor do they fall into obvious stereotypes. However, even characters from different countries seem to look like they came from the same basic mold, and it gets old pretty quickly. What also doesn't help is that none of the characters have unique personalities. What I mean is, try reading a chapter of GG imagining that every line is coming from the same character. Nothing would be out of place. No one on screen seems to have any characteristics that differentiate them from anybody else.

As far as the plot, I can't help but think the story focuses on the bad guys. We see things from their perspective, but that doesn't seem to justify their actions in my mind. Without giving away too much, Gunslinger Girls is about a section of the Italian government that takes elementary-school-aged girls who've suffered fatal wounds and makes them into cyborgs, who're trained assassins. There are a few different teams the story follows around, and all they do it kill different factions of "terrorists" that oppose the current regimen. I don't think I've seen them yet spare an innocent, and in fact, for whatever reason, one of the first kills is an innocent boy who was shot just because he's spoken to one of the Girls in an earlier panel. By contrast, some of the "terrorists" were put into the exact same situation and let their child live. With so many (at least six) different "terrorist groups" trying to take down the current government, and the lack of demonstrated morals by the protagonists, one wonders who is the oppressor.

I'll probably keep reading it, until new volumes for the manga I'd prefer to read come in, but it just seems to drone on and on, a bunch of boring handlers telling lifeless dolls to kill enemies of the state chapter after chapter. In order for GG to be serialized, I know that more of a plot has to show up eventually, but for now, it's just plain.