Gunslinger Girl
Gunslinger Girl | |
![]() First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Henrietta | |
Genre | |
---|---|
Manga | |
Written by | Yu Aida |
Published by | ASCII Media Works |
English publisher | |
Magazine | Dengeki Daioh |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | May 21, 2002 – September 27, 2012 |
Volumes | 15 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Funimation Channel |
Original run | October 9, 2003 – February 19, 2004 |
Episodes | 13 |
Video game | |
Developer | Marvelous Entertainment |
Publisher | Marvelous Entertainment |
Genre | Rail shooter |
Platform | PlayStation 2 |
Released | April 8, 2004 |
Anime television series | |
Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- | |
Directed by | Hiroshi Ishidori (Chief) Akira Mano |
Written by | Yu Aida Tatsuhiko Urahata (assistance) |
Music by | Funimation Channel |
Original run | January 8, 2008 – April 1, 2008 |
Episodes | 13 + 2 OVAs |
Gunslinger Girl (stylized in small caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yu Aida. It was serialized in Dengeki Daioh magazine from May 2002 to September 2012. Its chapters were collected in 15 tankōbon volumes by ASCII Media Works. Set in modern Italy, the series focuses on young cybernetic girls and their adult male handlers who use them as assassins under the directions of a government organization.
The manga series is licensed for an English language release in North America by
As of December 2012, Gunslinger Girl had over 3.9 million copies in circulation. In 2012, the manga won the Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival.
Plot
Set in Italy, Gunslinger Girl follows the exploits of the Social Welfare Agency (often referred to as simply "the Agency"), ostensibly a charitable institution sponsored by the Italian government. While the Agency professes to aid the rehabilitation of the physically injured, it is actually a military organization specializing in
Special Ops is itself divided into Sections 1 and 2, the latter of which employs young girls who have experienced traumatic and near-death experiences fitted with cybernetic implants as agents. The implants, which consist of synthesized muscles and
Each girl is paired with an adult male trainer, or "handler", and together they are referred to as a fratello — Italian for "brother". The handler is responsible for the training, welfare and field performance of his charge, and is free to use whatever methods he considers suitable. While these methods vary according to the handler, a common part of each girl's regimen is brainwashing called "conditioning", which produces a deadly assassin with unquestioning loyalty to her handler but, if used excessively, also limits her life span.
Each fratello exhibits a unique dynamic. Most of the handlers have police or military backgrounds and were recruited directly into Section 2. Most also chose their own cyborgs from a list of candidates, though some appear to have been assigned a cyborg. The Social Welfare Agency primarily concerns itself with dealing with the Padania Republic Faction (PRF or RF), an organization seeking an independent Northern Italy through acts of terrorism and bribery.[3]
Media
Manga
Gunslinger Girl, written and illustrated by Yu Aida, premiered in Japan on May 21, 2002 in the monthly Dengeki Daioh magazine, and was completed with the September 27, 2012 issue.[4] The chapters are also being published in collected volumes by ASCII Media Works, with the first volume released on November 27, 2002.[5] The series was collected and published in fifteen volumes in Japan.[6]
When
The first volume was released on November 18, 2003,[8] with the next two volumes not released until 2005. At the 2005 AnimeNEXT convention, ADV representative David L. Williams said the slow schedule was due to ADV Manga feeling that they had rushed into the manga market in a period when it was too saturated with new manga titles.[9] After the third volume was released that year, the series went on a two-year hiatus.
Release of the series resumed in July 2007 with the publication of the fourth volume,[10] and six volumes were released as of April 2008.[11] On April 8, 2010, manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it has licensed Gunslinger Girl and will be re-released, with a new translation and in omnibus format.[12][13]
Anime
Gunslinger Girl was adapted into a thirteen-episode anime series based on the first two volumes of the manga. It was directed by
Gunslinger Girl was later aired in the United States on the
On September 19, 2006, Funimation released the complete Gunslinger Girl series in a three-DVD box set, with another version released on December 11, 2007. FUNimation's release of the first season is also available for download on
The second season made its North American television debut on October 19, 2011 on the
Video games
A set of video games have also been produced for the PlayStation 2, released only in Japan.[22] These take the form of rail shooters in which the player controls one of the girls on her missions. The series is composed of three volumes. There is an additional rogue fratello in these games, who go by the names Earnest (handler) and Pia (cyborg). Earnest and Pia do not appear in the manga or anime, nor are they ever mentioned. Pia's preferred weapons were the Desert Eagle .50AE and M16A1 with M203 grenade launcher.
On January 9, 2020, it was announced a collaboration between the mobile game Girls' Frontline and Gunslinger Girl, in which the characters of Angelica, Claes, Rico, Triela and Henrietta would become units available in the game.[23] alongside a new story event merging the world of "Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-" into the world of Girls' Frontline, a future in which humanity suffered a third world war and environmental collapse, leading to technologically advanced tactical doll or "T-Dolls" are used in combat.
Other
On December 21, 2005, an
Reception
As of December 2012, the manga had over 3.9 million copies in circulation.
Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy feel the trauma suffered by the girls allows Gunslinger Girl to show them as "submissive blank slates in the style of Chobits", feeling that while some handlers treated them like objects, those that tried to befriend them used methods that were like "the seduction of 'damaged goods' in less popular works such as the Lolita Anime".[26]
References
- ^ Lau, Enoch. "Gunslinger Girl". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ^ Chapman, Jacob (July 7, 2010). "Gunslinger Girl BLURAY - Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- ISBN 978-1413900200.
- ^ Loo, Egan (August 29, 2012). "Gunslinger Girl Manga Confirmed to End Next Month - News". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Gunslinger Girl (1)" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "Gunslinger Girl (12)" (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ Dang, Bamboo (July 4, 2003). "Formation of Two New ADV Branches". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ADV Manga (via Anime News Network. October 23, 2003. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ Koulikov, Mikhail; Macdonald, Christopher (June 21, 2005). "Anime Next - A.D. Vision, Inc". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ Dong, Bamboo (June 30, 2007). "Anime Expo 2007: ADV Films". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- Amazon.com. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "New Life For a Fan Favorite—Gunslinger Girl | Tor/Forge Blog". Torforge.wordpress.com. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Seven Seas Relaunches Gunslinger Girl & Blood Alone". Anime News Network. April 8, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Synopsis for Gunslinger Girl - Animax Asia". Animax Asia. Archived from the original on July 11, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "List of Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- episode titles" (in Japanese). Marvelous Entertainment. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "FUNimation Entertainment Acquires Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino from". Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Official Gunslinger Girl 2 Anime Web Site". Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Manifest Acquisition Announcments [sic]". Madman Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 11, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "FUNimation Makes August Splash". Mania: Beyond Entertainment. June 5, 2009. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "FUNimation Week 43 of 2011". Funimation.tv. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Anime on Netflix January 2016 Update - Anime on Netflix". animeonnetflix.com. January 4, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ "Gunslinger Girl Vol. 1 Playtest". Ps2.ign.com. May 5, 2004. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "Gunslinger Girl x Girls Frontline Title Card". Official Twitter. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ "GUNSLINGER GIRLとは (ガンスリンガーガールとは) [単語記事]". Niconico Encyclopedia (in Japanese). May 19, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ Loo, Egan (December 13, 2012). "Otomo's 'Combustible' Anime Short Wins Media Arts Award - News". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ^ Clements, Jonathan; McCarthy, Helen (2006). The Anime Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. p. 260.
Further reading
- Bymun, Aaron H. (June 2005). "Gunslinger Girl Vol. 1". Animefringe. Vol. 6, no. 6. p. 14. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Chapman, Jacob Hope (August 9, 2010). "Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino Bluray". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Chapman, Jacob Hope (July 7, 2012). "Gunslinger Girl Bluray - Season 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Ellingwood, Holly (December 10, 2007). "Gunslinger Girl Complete Series - The Viridian Collection DVD Box Set (Advance Review)". ActiveAnime. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Eries, Sakura (April 7, 2011). "Gunslinger Girl Omnibus Collection 1". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the originalon December 8, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Johnston, Chris (March 2005). "Gunslinger Girl Volume 2". ISSN 1541-4817.
- Martin, Theron (June 10, 2005). "Gunslinger Girl DVD 1". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Scholes, Sandra (April 15, 2011). "Gunslinger Girl II Teatrino Complete Series (Advance Review)". ActiveAnime. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Tonthat, Tom (November 20, 2009). "Anime Review: Gunslinger Girl". The Escapist. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- Tonthat, Tom (December 23, 2009). "Anime Review: Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino". The Escapist. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
Notes
- ^ In North America through Crunchyroll (formerly known as Funimation), in the United Kingdom through Crunchyroll UK and Ireland (formerly known as Manga Entertainment) and in Australia through Crunchyroll Pty (formerly known as Madman Anime).
External links
- Gunslinger Girl at the Wayback Machine (archived January 11, 2010)(in Japanese)
- Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- anime Archived February 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at Tokyo MX (in Japanese)
- Gunslinger Girl anime at Funimation
- Gunslinger: Il Teatrino anime at Funimation
- Gunslinger Girl (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia