Rating: 
Summary: Not so thrilled.
Review: I wasn't too impressed with the manga. I have seen the entire animation series before picking up this book so it seemed like the manga went through each story rather quickly (there are 5 stories in this volume). I hope the later volumes go into a little more depth. I'd recommend this volume to those who have not seen the animation, it's still a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Unique, intelligent and gripping
Review: Reading descriptions of Gunslinger Girl might make it sound like a grim action series along the same lines as Noir, but in reality, it ends up being something much different. That's not to say that there aren't beautifully animated action scenes and impressive gun fights, but this is not really an action series. At its core, this manga is about the relationship between characters and questions the essence of humanity.
Each of the story's young assassins is paired up with an older man who serves as her supervisor and guardian. These pairs are referred to as 'fratello' or 'siblings'. Instead of having any true plot to connect all the episodes, each installment focuses on a single fratello and explores the dynamic between the girl and her supervisor. These relationships vary greatly; some supervisors act as loving parents while others only use the girls as tools to get the job done. The manga does a commendable job developing the character relationships and showing how it affects each of the girls. It comes across with a depressing realism that adds to the emotional impact of the series and raises some interesting and thought-provoking questions about what makes a person human.
All in all, this is a unique, intelligent and gripping work that I cannot recommend highly enough.
Note: A persistent and inaccurate myth that has grown like moss on the Gunslinger Girl series is that Rico could not have cared less about her brief and tragic crossing of paths with Emilio at the Hotel Villa Gatti. This misconception persists despite being in contradiciton with the facts recorded in Episode Two of the series, which documents the incident in full.
After returning from her survey of the target area, during which Rico met Emilio for the first time, our heroine requested violin lessons from Henrietta. This action would be meaningless if she had not harboured the hope of somehow seeing her newfound friend again and fulfilling his wish for her to play him a song.
In the wake of her mission and her final, fateful brush with Emilio, Rico could clearly be seen shdding tears. It has been widely assumed that Rico's weeping was a result of her nightly subconscious reflecting over her bleak early years, our heroine being deathly afraid that she would rouse from her slumber to find that her new, healthy exisistence was but a dream. However, a proper examination of the episode clearly indicats that crying was never a part of Rico's reminicising, thus telling us that she was, in fact, greiving over something else, namly choosing duty over affection and losing a friend by doing so.
In the final analysis, Rico did feel something for Emilio and was traumatised ovr her awful deed, but attempted to bury her sadness and guilt by telling herself that performing her duty as an assassin was the least she could do to repay the SWA / Section 2, who had given her the fit, strong body she always dreamed of possessing. Whether or not she will continue to repress her feelings in this way we may never know.
Rating: 
Summary: "What am I Supposed to Say Now?"
Review: This is a pretty interesting little series about little girls who after being severely physically or mentally damaged are given a new chance in life by the Social Welfare Agency: they become killing machines, literally. little girl cyborg killing machines Welcome to the world of _Gunslinger Girl_ set in what appears to be contemporary Italy. This book consists of five chapters: The first dealing with Henrietta a sad little girl who somehow survived brutal assult after her family was killed and her "brother"/ trainer Giuseppe. The chapter is pretty standard and serves to introduce the reader to the characters. as does the second chapter Jean/Rico and the third Chapter Triela/ Hillshire. The fourth and fifth chapter delves into a few problems that can surface in these relationships. This is an interesting series, but sometimes I think it leans a bit too much towards pedophillia. Also, unlike what ADV says on the back of the book, this is definately not comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Art and a Great Story
Review: This is simply a well put together piece of work.
Gunslinger Girl tells a very interesting story in typical anime fashion and the drawings in this manga are extremely good. The pages have a good layout and the action sequences are some of the best I have seen.
My main objection with this series would be that at times I was a little confused by who was speaking or thinking in a particular square of comic but I found it easier as I kept reading.
I am looking forward to continuing to read the series. This one is for people who not only like good writing but good art.
Rating:
Summary: Comedy In A Dark Vein
Review: When I first began reading _Gunslinger Girl_, I was left scratching my head as to why ADV Manga classified it as a comedy/drama. Drama I could see. But comedy? About half way through it became apparent that indeed this is a comedy, albeit a black comedy. The example of this comedic aspect that springs immediately to mind is a political assasination mission (I don't recall which assasin was sent). All is going well and our heroine/assasin accepts friendly overtures by a bell boy she meets in the alley behind the target hotel. One is left thinking she even likes the bell boy and could be interested in taking their meeting further. However, after carring out her mission, she is comes accross this same bell boy in the hall, greets him, smiles, then kills him (her instructions were to not leave any witnesses). It's amusing in a dark, very dark, way. Oh the irony of meeting a person, liking them, then killing them without hesitation. All in all, it is a very funny scene. So if you have an appreciation for black comedy and a love of manga, you will get a kick out of _Gunslinger Girl_. But if you just don't get black comedy, you'll be left scratching your head and looking in vain for the comedy contained in these pages. But trust me, it is there.
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