 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH DD 5.1 & 2.0 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 325 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV 14 | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 12/11/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 12/10/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
SYNOPSIS:
Officially the Social Welfare Agency is a government sponsored corporation that’s in the business of saving lives. At least, that’s the ruse. In reality, it’s an agency on the fringe of technology. They give terminal patients another shot at life using cybernetic implants. This conditioning process then shapes the patient into an efficient machine for handling all of the government’s dirty work.
They’ve been given a second chance at life, but at what cost? The entire 13 episode series on 3 discs in an economical DVD box set. REVIEW:
This anime based on the manga by Yu Aida is a powerful tour de force in dramatic storytelling and arresting visuals. With a sequel set to air in Japan in 2008, Gunslinger Girl remains one of the most emotionally affecting anime series that exists. If you think anime is fluff, then you have yet to see Gunslinger Girl. It takes anime to a whole new level of mature storytelling to leave an indelible impression on the viewer.
This astonishing tale of five girls bought, sold, abandoned to and organization that is as merciless as it is exacting, is one that you will never forget. Innocence is made to murder again and again as these girls turned cyborg assassins are sent on one ruthless mission after another. The body count in the very first four minutes of the anime alone is shocking. Henrietta is the main girl focused on, who is developed the most during the series. With her kind handler Jose, she is the newest member of the group and struggles with her job of murdering others, but does so for want of praise and a strong desire to be loved by Jose. He is troubled by his role, but is a dutiful man who believes in the greater good the sacrifice of these girls are needed for. To stop terrorists and criminals above the law, what are the lives of five girls whose bodies have been altered and their futures stolen? That is one of the hardest questions this anime poses. Does the agony the girls are put through, all that they are robbed of, justify what this organization does? For the good of society, the Agency sacrifices the souls of those girls unwanted, unloved and left to die by society. They are turned into assassins. Murderers. The anime gives an unflinching look at the innocence sacrificed by the ruthless organization that uses them to kill. The show is brutally violent yet often carries a tender and vulnerable poignancy in its portrayal of the lives of these girls. These are children, and like any youths, look to those around them in authority, in this case their handlers, for approval, for guidance, and most of all, for love. Needing affection, trapped in cybernetic bodies, turned into weapons, these girls are pure untainted souls on the sacrificial alter of a so-called greater good that we never truly see. It is never known if this organization is truly doing what is best for the world, or serving its own purposes, but what they have done, using these children, is the epitome of evil. The lives these girls lead, tragic and violent, are astonishing in their haunting sorrowful futures, and their tragic pasts. The series shows each of the girls’ tragic lives and their very different relationships they have with their individual handlers. The story is heart rending, this haunting anime is a tragedy of operatic proportions and so rarely if ever has any anime series portrayed such a commanding story so well and with such emotional impact. The show tears your heart out and may well leave you weeping. If you have a dry eye by the finale, it will be shocking. Dramatic, the intensity of the series is astonishing. Gunslinger girl holds stunning, even shocking animation. There is a most unsettling aspect to watching these children murder so easily. It is done however with a visual finesse that fans of Noir will appreciate and be captivated by. The score is primarily orchestral. The ending sees the characters singing Ode to Joy by Beethoven. The rendition combined with the visuals creates an emotional impact that is poetic in the tragic irony it portrays. EXTRAS:
Bonus DVD features include clean opening and ending animation, trailers of other FUNimation titles, Gunslinger Girl Dossiers which offer character sketches, bios, and weapon design illustrations, a step by step visual of drawing and coloring three of the girls in Building Henrietta, Triela, and Rico, Meet the Real Gunslinger Girls is a feature that has the five English voice actresses portraying the five girls speaking about their roles, there is also commentary of episode 12 by the bevy of English ADR Directors involved including Chris Sabat who worked on episodes 1 and 2 and part of the final one, Eric Vale directed episodes 3-5 and was the voice of Jean, Laura Bailey (ADR Director for episodes 6-11, parts of 12 and 13 and voice of Henrietta), and Chris Bevins (ADR Director for parts of episodes 12 and 13). There is also a producer commentary on episode 12 with Eric Vale (Head Writer for the English version), James Barker (ADR Engineer), and Nathanael Harrison (Mixing Engineer). The Viridian Collection series from FUNimation has the DVD sets packaged in a slip case. Inside is a slim book-like hard card stock holder that contains the DVDs each in its own slip case. It’s an economical design that is a great space-saver. The packaging is also a display of FUNimation’s environmental consciousness as it is made of recycled materials. IN SUMMARY:
Gunslinger Girl is a series that will move you to the very core of your soul. Tragic, haunting, beautiful, it will leave its indelible mark upon viewers. Fans of Noir and Madlax will not want to miss this stunning anime.
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