Gunslinger Girl

Rating:
Summary: Buy. Now.
Review: Beautiful. I read Gunslinger Girl at the bookstore, and it is the only book I have ever read and thought, "I have to get this." (Except for Lord of the Flies.)

The story telling is original; Even an author may have trouble finding where, exactly, they bring in certain information, and a lot of it is implied. The result is a style that tells you most of what you need to know, but still makes it feel as though you don't know. That's why you feel as though you just have to read it again, and then again.

As I began reading GG, I didn't think much of the art, as it's not really my style (I like slightly more realistic stuff.) But then, as I went on, I started to appreciate how well drawn the action scenes were, how well the artist showed the emotions of his characters, and how easily the art contributed to the storytelling. In the end, the artwork is really as beautiful as anything by CLAMP.

Now, the story. It's brutal, chilling, and tender, and I didn't even realize it until afterwards. The only thing that I could think about related to the relationship between the girls and their handlers. It doesn't really seem so much to me about the girls' frustration, having fallen in love with their handlers--it is about that, but what struck me most was that the girls weren't supposed to fall in love. Whoever runs the project tried to manipulate their minds to make them fiercely loyal to their handlers--but they went too far, and the girls actually fell in love because of it. Just shows that they shouldn't have tried to mess with the human mind.

This book is not just high quality as far as art and storytelling goes. It has wonderful twists on the premise, which is thought-provoking to begin with. It's like SE Lain, the very perfect example of the stories I love. It shakes up your world and makes you re-think your way of looking at everything. Though, yes, it's a bit violent, as the premise demands, but I didn't notice that much. A wonderful read, altogether.

~Arisu

Rating:
Summary: Buy. Now.
Review: Beautiful. I read Gunslinger Girl at the bookstore, and it is the only book I have ever read and thought, "I have to get this." (Except for Lord of the Flies.)

The story telling is original; Even an author may have trouble finding where, exactly, they bring in certain information, and a lot of it is implied. The result is a style that tells you most of what you need to know, but still makes it feel as though you don't know. That's why you feel as though you just have to read it again, and then again.

As I began reading GG, I didn't think much of the art, as it's not really my style (I like slightly more realistic stuff.) But then, as I went on, I started to appreciate how well drawn the action scenes were, how well the artist showed the emotions of his characters, and how easily the art contributed to the storytelling. In the end, the artwork is really as beautiful as anything by CLAMP.

Now, the story. It's brutal, chilling, and tender, and I didn't even realize it until afterwards. The only thing that I could think about related to the relationship between the girls and their handlers. It doesn't really seem so much to me about the girls' frustration, having fallen in love with their handlers--it is about that, but what struck me most was that the girls weren't supposed to fall in love. Whoever runs the project tried to manipulate their minds to make them fiercely loyal to their handlers--but they went too far, and the girls actually fell in love because of it. Just shows that they shouldn't have tried to mess with the human mind.

This book is not just high quality as far as art and storytelling goes. It has wonderful twists on the premise, which is thought-provoking to begin with. It's like SE Lain, the very perfect example of the stories I love. It shakes up your world and makes you re-think your way of looking at everything. Though, yes, it's a bit violent, as the premise demands, but I didn't notice that much. A wonderful read, altogether.

~Arisu

Rating:
Summary: Wish I had something really useful to add....
Review: daitokuji31 I hate taking the glory away from you of having the ONLY review up, especially since your review is so good, and such. However, I've wanted to review "Gunslinger Girl" for a while now, so that is what I shall do.

I don't want to summarise it since daitokuji31 did it so wonderfully(and better then I probably could). So I'll just tell you what I thought of the story, themes, and drawings.

When I first started reading GunSlinger Girl, it was very difficult for me to get into. It wasn't something that exactly grabs you from the get-go. Even though the story-line is intriguing in itself. But I had to get used to the story-telling style. And once I did, I got so caught up in it, and I couldn't put it down until I was done. And I still can't wait to read volume two(And normally I'm a Shojo girl).

The idea of taking girls whom have been physically and/or mentally maimed from accidents and turning them into asassins is both a brilliant and brutal idea. Such a story as this easily could have fallen flat on its face, but Gunslinger Girl does not. The thing that makes Gunslinger Girl work so well is that these girls have to struggle with their emotions just like any girl. Even though their memories have been washed clean away, they are still girls. And they struggle between trying protect their partners, not letting emotions get involved in work, and making friends(or rather not) with outsiders.

Gunslinger girl is a very engrossing drama story, it really gets you involved in not only the lives of each girls story, but also their partners and with the complications that come with such a "project".

I would reccomend Gunslinger Girl to anyone who wants a manga that has great characters, tight storytelling, and nice artwork. I don't think you'll think of little girls the same ever again.

I reccomend not letting anyone below 16yrs read this because of violent and graphic content as well as heavy themes, that will probably fly over a younger person's head.

God Bless & *enjoy* ~Amy

Rating:
Summary: Dangerous Little Girls
Review: Girls with guns is not anything new in the Japanese story canon, and as one can expect, Yu Aida's manga has plenty of the conventional plotting elements. Dying girls are given a new chance at life, their memories wiped away, their bodies enhanced to create a unit of highly deadly assassins. The agency pairs a trainer/brother up with each cyborg girl and uses these pairs to deadly effect within a world of terrorists and warring political factions.

Despite the premise, it was a bit of a surprise to discover that the story within the pages was neither an action-packed fight fest with bullets constantly flying or full of scenes of high emotional outbursts. There's plenty of violent gunplay within the story's context, but this volume focuses primarily on psychological exploration of innocence and violence, and the unusual relationship between cyborg and trainer. This is not a comedy series, despite the indication on the cover jacket. In GUNSLINGER GIRL the emotional energy appears as controlled as the girls themselves. There are no exaggerated takes, no crying scenes. Small smiles and frowns dominate the emotional landscape, but become much more powerful for their restraint.

Since this is not set up as one smooth-flowing story, but rather broken into five chapters, the narrative does lose a bit of its action-adventure energy, and makes for a slower paced story. A sense of bittersweetness underscores this manga from beginning to end, the feeling that what has happened to these girls is terribly wrong, and yet unescapable. There is some concern about the young nature of the girls and their relationships with their brother/trainer but I found the overall relationships did not imply anything salacious. While the love attachment fostered may not be exactly proper, this is part of the poignancy of this story. There are no inadvertent panty flashes or seduction scenes to imply otherwise. It is possible that the story arc will gain momentum from this introductory volume to come up with an interesting storyline for our heroines--with so little in this story that's not conventional, it may be difficult to pull off this manga series, but it has potential.

To my mind, the artwork is one of the best parts of this particular manga. Beautifully drawn, the images consist of clean lines and borders, with little ornamentation, allowing the frames a clear and Spartan quality. The action scenes contrast nicely with the more static dialogue scenes, really evoking the sudden transition of these girls from innocent children to deadly killers. And while the violence is brief and refrains from being overtly gory, it is nevertheless effectively drawn. Yu Aida clearly knows his weaponry, and the attention to accuracy of the various guns the girls use will likely be appreciated by readers who are weapons enthusiasts.

This is a decent action/drama manga containing moderate violence, minimal sexual reference and no sexuality of a truly graphic nature. No chibi cuteness and plenty of realistic weaponry. But be aware that the psychological explorations certainly mean this manga is for a mature audience and may not be appropriate for the preteen reader. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series will go.
Happy reading! ^_^ shanshad

Rating:
Summary: Dangerous Little Girls
Review: Girls with guns is not anything new in the Japanese story canon, and as one can expect, Yu Aida's manga has plenty of the conventional plotting elements. Dying girls are given a new chance at life, their memories wiped away, their bodies enhanced to create a unit of highly deadly assassins. The agency pairs a trainer/brother up with each cyborg girl and uses these pairs to deadly effect within a world of terrorists and warring political factions.

Despite the premise, it was a bit of a surprise to discover that the story within the pages was neither an action-packed fight fest with bullets constantly flying or full of scenes of high emotional outbursts. There's plenty of violent gunplay within the story's context, but this volume focuses primarily on psychological exploration of innocence and violence, and the unusual relationship between cyborg and trainer. This is not a comedy series, despite the indication on the cover jacket. In GUNSLINGER GIRL the emotional energy appears as controlled as the girls themselves. There are no exaggerated takes, no crying scenes. Small smiles and frowns dominate the emotional landscape, but become much more powerful for their restraint.

Since this is not set up as one smooth-flowing story, but rather broken into five chapters, the narrative does lose a bit of its action-adventure energy, and makes for a slower paced story. A sense of bittersweetness underscores this manga from beginning to end, the feeling that what has happened to these girls is terribly wrong, and yet unescapable. There is some concern about the young nature of the girls and their relationships with their brother/trainer but I found the overall relationships did not imply anything salacious. While the love attachment fostered may not be exactly proper, this is part of the poignancy of this story. There are no inadvertent panty flashes or seduction scenes to imply otherwise. It is possible that the story arc will gain momentum from this introductory volume to come up with an interesting storyline for our heroines--with so little in this story that's not conventional, it may be difficult to pull off this manga series, but it has potential.

To my mind, the artwork is one of the best parts of this particular manga. Beautifully drawn, the images consist of clean lines and borders, with little ornamentation, allowing the frames a clear and Spartan quality. The action scenes contrast nicely with the more static dialogue scenes, really evoking the sudden transition of these girls from innocent children to deadly killers. And while the violence is brief and refrains from being overtly gory, it is nevertheless effectively drawn. Yu Aida clearly knows his weaponry, and the attention to accuracy of the various guns the girls use will likely be appreciated by readers who are weapons enthusiasts.

This is a decent action/drama manga containing moderate violence, minimal sexual reference and no sexuality of a truly graphic nature. No chibi cuteness and plenty of realistic weaponry. But be aware that the psychological explorations certainly mean this manga is for a mature audience and may not be appropriate for the preteen reader. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series will go.
Happy reading! ^_^ shanshad

Rating:
Summary: hmmmm....hmmm...*.*
Review: Gunslinger Girl first caught my eye in Newtpe Magazine (If you don't know this magazine, pick it up, it's amazing, and if you do, pick it anyway ^o^). I thought the anime would be good, but I was very suprised to find that before I got my hands on the anime I got to read the manga. This doesn't often happen. Let me just say, I'm glad I read the manga first. I was shocked that the drawing style of the people was so harsh! I would catergorize it with GTO or Onizuka..yetch.. but the backgrounds are very very well drawn and expressed. Also, the angles are well-done, too. It really adds to the experience of reading. Not many mangas do this (at least not the ones I read to this specific effect), so I was really grateful. The storyline was quite different from what I'm used to. I'm a shojo enthusiast, but I also have a serious side. The serious side was very satisfied with the story. I kept wanting to cry, especially in chapter three. Hoo boy. *Whimper*. It just goes to show you that these girls do not have any shred of a normal life. Also, throughout the book, I kept wondering what the girls will do in the future after they outgrow thier "young girl innocent 'I, being a young girl would never be expected to tote a gun so don't suspect it'" visad. I suppose they will probably die either in battle or due to thier "conditioning" before this happens, ne? Anyway, I didn't think that this book would be a multiple-times-reader type of a book, but it definitely is. It's a good investment in your money because not only did I read it multiple times, it also took me quite a while to read because my eyes wanted to drink in all the scenery! So, give yourself a kleenex and read this drama-filled thriller. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A chilling but good read...
Review: Gunslinger Girl is set in Italy in the near future. Blah blah blah. If you want a summary read the back cover. What you want to know is, is it any good?

The answer is a resounding "Yes, but...." Gunslinger girl is not for the faint of heart. Though the graphic gore is minimal, the story definitely has the darkness that one would expect of a story about early adolescent girls brainwashed into deadly assassins.

Once one gets beyond the violence and the somewhat chilling premise Gunslinger Girl is an amazing work of graphic fiction. It maintains a perfect balance between the focus on two "main" characters (Guiseppe and Henrietta) and a very well developed cast of secondary (but not at all minot) characters. Two of these even have whole stories devoted to them.

The depth of emotion in this book is startling and unexpected, and in fact probably merits a second read-through once you've absorbed the rich and exciting storyline.

A final note: I've seen GG accused of being mildly paedophilic, either in that the plot has undertones of paedophilia or in that it caters to paedophiliac impulses. I disagree. On the second count, when compared with other contemporary anime and manga GG doesn't particularly portray the children as sex objects (I can think of a lot of other mainstream a+m that does so a lot more). On the first point, I think that this reflects a misinterpretation of what is going on in the story. What the story does so well is showing the conflict raised when a child develops a romantic attachment to an older person, and the effects of the varying responses from the targets of this affection (indifference, paternal love, etc.) This of course is not an unrealistic situation; who among us never had a crush on some camp counsellor, student teacher, or friend's older sibling? Gunslinger Girl lovingly and carefully explores this quintesential experience of frustrated youth.

This manga is definitely worth a buy if you can handle a few scenes of violence. The only downside I can think of is that ADV has given no indication of when we might get another volume, which you WILL be begging for immediately upon finishing volume one.

Rating:
Summary: Nature vs. Brainwashing?
Review: Henrietta has been taken in by the Social Welfare Agency after surviving a brutal attack on herself and her family. She has been changed, her missing body parts replaced with artificial ones and her mind conditioned, with drugs and training, to be the perfect killing machine. At least, as perfect as you can get and still be a little girl.
She is just one of a group of assassins, each one controlled and taught by a adult handler, each one dealing with their brainwashing and their own normal emotions.
Can a programmed killer fall in love? Can a conditioned assassin pick life over death? Can Henrietta ever truly live?

Rating:
Summary: Nature vs. Brainwashing?
Review: Henrietta has been taken in by the Social Welfare Agency after surviving a brutal attack on herself and her family. She has been changed, her missing body parts replaced with artificial ones and her mind conditioned, with drugs and training, to be the perfect killing machine. At least, as perfect as you can get and still be a little girl.
She is just one of a group of assassins, each one controlled and taught by a adult handler, each one dealing with their brainwashing and their own normal emotions.
Can a programmed killer fall in love? Can a conditioned assassin pick life over death? Can Henrietta ever truly live?

Rating:
Summary: Great artwork, good action, but too many objections
Review: I cannot endorse this manga. To be honest, I feel guilty after buying (and enjoying) the first volume. The art is a cut above the rest and the action sequences are good.
However, this is too much of a disturbing fantasy, especially for the target adolescent audience. These ~14 year old young women are conditioned to have unswerving loyalty and love (or close to it) for their adult male handlers.
These handlers train, condition, and control the lives of the young women. I have read some reviews of some dating sims and seen a highly disturbing episode of Boogiepop Phantom, and the idea of becoming a girl's mentor is a theme in the genre. Worse yet, the book states that there is an element of heroism in bearing the burden of this unconditional interest. This caters too much to an audience of boys who find it difficult enough to approach females.