Gunslinger Girl

This is a manga with a very silly premise, but it addresses that silly premise so earnestly, in a way that only manga really does. Troubling implications are taken seriously, and disturbing aspects evolve towards their natural conclusions. Violence is never shown as uncritically "good". It's a bit of a stretch to imagine how Italy got to the point of using cybernetically modified little girls as assassins, but aside from that—and a few other details—this is a realistic story about something that could actually happen (and in some ways, something that really did happen in Italy in the 1970s, and in many other places continuingto this day). At some point in this manga, a character quotes the poem Horatius at the Bridge. Here's part of it: "And how can man die better, than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods". All of them, terrorists and secret police alike, believe they are defending something sacred from the barbaric horde at the gates. And many of them are willing to commit any atrocity that they think would aid their cause. To me, that encapsulates this story. It's a story about violence, escalation, and how morality falls away in conflict. But it's also a story about the reasons why people fight. The girls fight because they are programmed to love, protect, and obey their handlers. The way the handlers treat the girls in their charge shows their own ambivalence, and how they cope with the dehumanization of their violent lives. Ultimately, the escalation of violence is driven by the tit-for-tat desire for vengeance, but many of the characters are shown fighting for some of the same reasons as the girls, out of love or loyalty for their comrades. Some of them could even be considered brainwashed themselves. In a different story, quoting that poem would come across as laughable or passe, but here, it actually made me cry.

I once asked my friend “why don’t you like Dragonball Z” and he replied “because back in primary school (when it was very popular) I thought the aliens were creepy and disgusting.” That is how I feel about this manga, I just really dislike the idea of turning people into mechanical beings and on top of it trying to produce a drama manga out of it, simply because is cruel and they’re only expressing feeling programed into their heads, and hence I found it very hard to connect with cyborgs especially Henrietta and Rico. Well, at least that’s how I felt half the time, butI can’t say that the manga is bad because most of the drama concerning the REAL HUMANS was pretty good. The manga also felt really slow at times, especially when it’s introducing new characters or attempting to add more depth to existing characters by giving more background info. Some of the intended drama was really boring simply because I couldn’t connect with the cyborgs, or maybe is just me not being used to the writing style but to give you an idea of how I felt while read the manga, imagine playing a video game where it took twice as long to kill your enemies and your enemies took twice as long to kill you than the game’s original intention, that’s what it felt like. Because of the slow pacing many of the drama wasn’t memorable and made the over arcing story disjointed, also the full impact of the parts I enjoyed was taken away because of how bored I was at times. In fact the most memorable part of the story was the irony at the end of a chapter where Franca looked at Henrietta thinking she was a rich girl and said “Is girls like her we’re fighting to protect.” I mean there is something wrong when the most vivid memory of a story is a language technique used. Overall I can’t say that it is a bad manga because some of the drama is pretty good. Lots of people seem to like it and I can understand why. To people thinking of reading this, I would say it might take a while for you to get used to the slow pace and writing style especially if you’re used to more childish themes such as Shounen like me.

Story It flowed nicely even sometimes it got little bit boring when it was stuck on some problem. But whole idea was surely great. I like the fact that it's about characters, their problems and relationships even it's very action driven. Art Definately awesome, nice details, action scenes were just top Characters Probably a biggest plus of this manga. I loved so many of them and even I soemtimes wanted to smacked some because they did something stupid it was all reasonable because characters here acts like normal human beyings. Everything they does is beliavable, the good things, the bad things. Enjoyment I enjoyed this manga a lot even at the startI thought it's bit boring so I had like three years break but then I came back and still don't believe that it was soo awesome. So give it a time it goes better and better Overall Must read, it's deep and bitterweet...

So i finished Gunslinger Girl and there is really only 1 way to describe this series. Beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed this series alot more than i thought i would especially in the later parts. The anime underwhelmed me so the manga kinda too me by surprise. The series about Cyborgs and handlers is just incredible. The emotional depth between these two called a fratello is just immense. The author does a fantastic job in making you sympathize with the characters. The entire series is a ticking time bomb. On which you can do nothin but slowly watch the cyborgs waste away. Henrietta put it verywell. That the cyborgs are lucky to be alive so don't pity them. And its emotion and experssions like this where i have to stop reading and just think. Each page becomes harder and harder to read. However the series is not without its flaws mainly its action and its story. Now the characters and there personal story is amazing. Each handler and cyborg brings a lump to my throat. However the whole main terrorist plot was poor. This is a story about the girls who sling guns. And its very well done. I do wished the author would be a bit more dramatic but at the same time there is the reality of being simple. In the end i very much enjoyed this series. Its emotional depth was the best part. But the action though well choregraphed didn't really suit the series. As well giamaca or whatever the main villain name was he was weak. But yeah emotions and stuff. there good. Also the last chapter (epilogue) though was random. The ending itself was fantastic. The underlying romance was as well written very well. Not too strong to give you hope but enough to be torture for both you and the cyborgs 8/10