The Show:

Based off of a manga by Yu Aida, Gunslinger Girl is a thirteen episode anime that has been seeing some release her in the US thanks to FUNimation. On the surface the show looks a tad cliché with young girls in school outfits carrying around big guns. Once you dig deeper though you'll realize there is much more to the series than meets the eye.

The basic premise of Gunslinger Girl is that a faction of the Italian government called the Social Welfare Agency is utilizing a technology to create the ultimate assassin. With the help of cybernetic implants they can save the life of the terminal but that doesn't come without a cost. The agency is mostly known for helping orphans out but what they are really doing is brainwashing them into the ideal killers.

Each girl that goes through the program is given a counterpart called a handler who is basically their trainer and caretaker. On the verge of womanhood the girls that are the focus of this show are going through more changes than just augmented cyborg abilities. Gunslinger Girl carries a very violent and somber tone to it and totally eradicates the seeming stereotype it would fall into. In the last volume we met the girls and learned about them as they went through their opening. The second installment is another great chance to learn what's going on and see them in action.

The four episodes on the second volume are: Gelato, Protezione, Il Principe del regno della pasta and Lucoris radiate Herb.

The thing I really like about this series is that the fact the assassins are little girls is played out wonderfully. Unsuspecting bad guys are caught by surprise and there's just something about seeing a young girl whip out a sniper rifle that seems cool. It's almost something along the lines of Leon the Professional with a similar atmosphere, except there's no Natalie Portman.

One thing is for certain and that is there sure are a lot of terrorists running around Rome in the time frame the show is based on. From bombs in subways to curriers with ledgers depicting terrorist finances there are a lot of bad guys running around Italy but thankfully the SWA is there to clean up the mess. This volume also takes a more in depth look at some of the girls, especially Angelica and Elsa.

If you haven't had the chance to watch the show yet, Gunslinger Girl is one that should definite be on your to see list. The action is intense and the atmosphere of the show is equally intriguing and moody. The slower style of music combined with the somber attitude of a lot of the girls feel like a strange combination with the violence. This means that despite the amount of action here, the show feels a little slower paced than others of this nature.

Probably the single most attractive thing about this anime is how wonderful it looks though. The vision of Italy that is created here along with the character designs are head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Add to that some extremely fluid and stylish animation and you've got on drop dead gorgeous show that is pure eye candy. The only problem seems to be that because the series only got a short run of thirteen episodes there's only one more disc left to get. It makes you wonder how it all is going to end and what type of climax the show is going to have.

The DVD:

Presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and enhanced for anamorphic widescreen playback, the image quality for Gunslinger Girl is stellar. As mentioned in the previous section the design of the characters and the world that they live in is very slick and stylish. There is a wide palette of colors that are used and while there are a lot of earthy colors the more pronounced ones jump off the screen. The only flaw I noticed was that in some of the darker areas of the show (which there were a few) a few bits of noticeable pixilation creep in.

The sound direction here is another feather in the cap of the show's presentation with some fantastic voice work, sound effects and a memorable musical score. The show comes with English 2.0 and 5.1 options as well as the original Japanese 2.0 track. Both selections hold up well though for my primary viewing I went with the 5.1 English track. With the amount of gunfire, dialogue and ambient music going off at all times the audio offers a great deal of quality.

Some of the features included on this disc include dossiers of the girls with a profile, some sketches and images of their weapons of choice. Clean opening and closing animations find their way onto this volume as well an artist creation of Triela that goes through the production process. Rounding out the bonus material is a few minutes of the voice actors for the girls talking about their characters and what its like to portray them.

Final Thoughts:

Gunslinger Girl is just one of those shows that will leave its mark on you after you sit down and watch it. The deliberately slower nature of the series combined with a lot of action and character development compliment the atmosphere very well. With only four episodes left in the show I'm wondering how everything is going to end, but if it's the same quality as the rest of the series then there's nothing to worry about.

This show should be on your watch list and if you've written it off as a cliché girls with guns anime, then you couldn't be further from the mark. This is also one of the more beautiful aesthetic presentations for an anime I've seen in a while and is a real treat for the eyes and ears. Highly Recommended

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