At first I was a bit hesitant about watching Gunslinger Girl. I was afraid it’s going to end up too serious and too difficult to comprehend. I was wrong on both counts. The girls made the anime more suited to my taste (not like I’m a pedophile or a dirty guy or anything like that). It gets serious and hard to understand sometimes, but for most of the time, I actually enjoyed myself.
I’m a bit disappointed that it’s not as violent as I thought it would be. Sure there are bloody parts but they come at a minimum and they’re not really that brutal. However, those parts were done tastefully so it’s all good.
It’s a nice plot, but I’m too afraid it’ll attract too many lolicons and pedophiles. I mean, preteen girls wearing nice, cutesy clothes and wielding weapons at the same time. Feeling that I’m watching an anime that attracts people like that kind of bothers me.
On the other hand, what I really like about it is the setting. Anything that has something to do with Europe, especially Italy, instantly captures my heart. I even picked up a few Italian lessons from the episode titles and the ending song.
Anyway, the illustrations are nicely done, but I found that the faces were too pudgy for my taste. For the girls, it’s acceptable, since they’re supposed to have baby faces, but even the adult women have huge faces and small eyes. Because of that, I got a feeling that the illustrations were influenced by the western style. The backgrounds were nice too. The colors of the background were more subdued compared to the characters’ so the complimented each other really well. Speaking of the colors, I noticed that the colors were mostly in cool tones, which fits the anime’s feel, which is also somewhat cold and indifferent.
However, the girls make the anime much more likable. They use guns (really kick ass ones too), they’re part mechanical, and of course, they kill people but I just find them all sweet. My favorite is Angelica, she’s the loveliest and gentlest of them, but I also like Rico. I feel sorry for her because she’s stuck with someone like Jean. I also like Elsa, despite her bitchiness – she seems interesting to me.
Voice acting is another aspect of this anime that I find favorable. Although I find it weird that they’re speaking Japanese fluently while in Italy, It’s not that bad. When they mentioned Italian terms/names, they had the correct pronunciation. Besides, this is not the first time it happened. Most of the seiyus are actually quite young, like Hitomi Terakado, Angelica’s VA. I think she’s only 19, but she did a good job. What surprised me is that Ami Koshimizu, Claes’ Seiyu, also did Tenma Tsukamoto from School Rumble and Anemone from Eureka 7. Those are three different characters, and I’m definitely impressed by her ability.
Music is actually quite impressive, and that’s thanks to Toshihiko Sahashi, who’s also responsible for Akazukin Cha Cha, Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, Cutey Honey and Hunter X Hunter. I love the Delgados opening theme – it’s a touching song that’s also well made. The ending song, which was in Italian, was also nice to listen to. The background music was also nice, although most of them are a bit dreary – I like them nonetheless.
It’s not one of my favorites, but I thought it was very good and interesting to watch. It had the ingredients of a really good series, but I’m not too impressed by it. Although, I kinda want a second season just so I know what happens. The last few episodes were implying that something big was about to begin, and I’m curious as to what that thing is.
