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GUNSLINGER GIRL IL TEATRINO OVA |
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Reviews
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Monday, 25 January 2010 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | FUNIMATION ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH DD 5.1 AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 48 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | TV MA | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 12/01/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 01/25/2010 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
Right off you should know that the 35 minute length listed on the back of the case is incorrect, the OVA is actually 48 minutes long. It holds two episodes that are set after the events of Il Teatrino. It begins with Jean at the graveside of his fiancée. He has an unfortunate run in with his dead fiancée’s brother and it opens the door to the latest mission he and Rico will be sent on. They must travel to Venice to stop a terrorist group. The episode is short yet accentuates Jean’s driving and sole reason for existence – revenge. It is what shapes his every movement and thought. It explains his cold and ruthless behavior towards Rico. He sees the child assassin as a tool. Her only use to him is as a weapon to mete out his revenge against the group responsible for his fiancée’s death. At the same time, it shows the disquieting innocence in the child killer. Rico is always in the moment and also suffers from obsessive single-mindedness, but hers is to please Jean in whatever way she can in the hopes of gaining his affection. To see her play on a beach when she had shortly finished murdering several men and women beforehand is both off putting and heartbreaking. The heartbreak doesn’t end there. In the second episode we see Triela upset over the events that occurred with her battle against Pinocchio. Yet the story does not dwell there. Instead it follows the group of Rico and Henrietta with Jose and Jean who go for a brief respite. This vacation isn’t restful for Jean however. It shows how different both men are in dealing with the loss of Enrica. Jean’s is to shut himself down emotionally, rage, and seek the death of those responsible however indirectly. Jose tries to find forgiveness by treating Henrietta as kindly and as well if not better than his dearly departed sister. During their stay, Jean has a visit or hallucination of Enrica and it offers insight into the man and his and Jose’s drastically different relationships with the assassin children assigned to their respective care. The OVA spent a great deal of time on Jena and Rico, mostly forsaking all others including Triela which seems an unusual character to give such brief air time to. However, it is moving, violent, and heart wrenching as is the series from its first season to the next as a whole. The animation is seamless as it is done by the same animation that did Il Teatrino and offers as visually beautiful and disturbing a story as the rest of the series.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include songs without text for ending version 1 and ending version 2, trailers, and a 25 minute video segment where Japanese voice actress Atsuko Enomoto (Triela) interviews and has fun with Masaya Matsukaze (Hillshire), they even have a drawing competition between them.
IN SUMMARY:
A dramatic coup de grace for the series. |