Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Hodtism
Gunslinger Girl is the word "tragedy" in anime form.
The anime is about young girls stripped of their humanity and turned into tools for the federal government that happen to breathe. These young girls face problems unique to them that only occur because of their situation, and that is what makes this anime tragic. The anime doesn't gloss over this fact, it's actually front-and-center to the audience that these girls live in a world that will waste them away if they fall behind, and that's what makes it good, no, GREAT.
The anime understands and delivers on such a melodramatic premise, and the best part? No episode feels like it's a waste of said episode, though there are some parts that feel like it could have been expanded on - especially with the rest of the episode feeling like it co…
Read at the sourceBearsCO
Gunslinger girl is a show that wants to be about the characters and the juxtaposition of innocent girls being cyborgs killers but sadly never goes beyond that. They never put them in any compelling scenarios besides shoot the terrorists. The best episodes are the backstories of each girl and the relationship with their handlers. I would have loved to see some overarching thread that gave me a reason to care about the missions the girls were sent on. Overall, if the idea of cool action sequences devoid of meaning in between genuinely good character writing sounds appealing to you then this show will serve you wonderfully.
Read at the sourceSgtSalamander
Gunslinger Girl can primarily be described as a poignant, heady, and thought-provoking anime that elevates a seemingly ridiculous concept to the level of true art. It can also be described as Leon the Professional meets Robocop. I'll begin this review with its strongest aspect, the story. While the action is a clean, precise, and tactical centerpiece, with a fair amount of gun autism sprinkled in, the real focus is on the morally grey situation the story occupies and navigates throughout. These girls as cyborgs, resurrected to fight for a shadowy government agency, and all the questions that raises. Are they tools, and their humanity merely a facade? Are they girls given a second chance at life? Are they some tragic middle thing, neither machine nor exactly human? Whatever the answer, the…
Read at the sourcefh1478
Do Cyborg's Girls Dreams Of Electric Sheep
gunslinger girl Is about political intrigue and girls, who get a second chance at life the worst way possible.
It's a good melancholy show, that shows damage and brainwright girls lives, and how they are used by the government to do the dirty Jobs and it is intriguing.
each girl has their own little relationship with they handler and they own struggle. we see how the human soft side still try to get through even behind all that conditioning.
But it is dry, There is no other way to say it, the pacing is slow and the colors they used are those early 2000 watched Out colors.
Another negative, it's hard to figure out what the different fractions are and what they represents. It is so little we are given because it focus on the little girl stories…
Read at the sourcepospmdemicanon16
This anime is sublime.Featuring a wonderful opening theme that I looked forward to hearing everytime. Top Notch Gory 2000s action (its freaking anime girls with guns).praiseworthy sound design; ie the gun sounds are very visceral and strangely satisfying. Memorable characters gave the straightforward plot a lot of soul. Its short and sweet as it's only 13 episodes.
Overall, this is my kinda comfort anime. The animation is sleek and shiny whilst the world in which the creators have developed feels breathtaking to behold. This anime is a masterpiece in my eyes. If your into campy short 00s anime, then give "gunslinger girl" a go.
Read at the sourceEmperorThor
This is a show form which Violet Evergarden stole the idea.
Unlike Violet Evergarden this one does not try to make their girls more human, on the contrary: it trains them into fighting machines.
It has 5 girls in total so you will probably be able to find one that is to your taste. Each girl has a male handler and is very attached to him.
This is not a typical cute girls doing cute things show, but these girls are really cute and likable.
Story mostly revolves around agency work, who are something like Italian FBI or special forces. They fight organized crime and terrorism and use these cybernetically enhanced girls at soldiers. It is mostly bi-episodic (one story two episodes long)
A lot attention is placed on relationships between a girl and her handler. They are different in each…
Read at the sourceRekkiemv
This is my first review, im not a native english speaker, but i will give my best! It may have minor spoilers too.
I was attracted to Gunslinger Girl by my interest in guns. I really like animes that display good action and some "gunporn". While Gunslinger Girl provided this, it was not the prominent focus. In fact i could highlight other nice characteristics it brought, like the care in reproducing Italy, the controversial plot and the beautifully produced ost.
I give the Art Direction at 3/3. Aside from some "cookie faces" and distance broken models, you can notice a good effort being put into the scenery, clothing, characterization, OST etc. Speaking of OST, its vast and beautiful, mostly made of classical themes. Again, the details for clothing, scenery representation and general anim…
Read at the sourceJoexySun
Short review: (spoiler-free)
In a nutshell, Gunslinger Girl (GSG for short) is one of the most mature, well-grounded, understated and beautiful anime that handled tragedy with respect. In C.S. Lewis' words, it is the better kind of "romanticism", inspiring you to desire a more holistic salvation/grace from beyond this world.
Baseline quality: 9.8/10.
Pros:
+ Heartbreakingly melancholic, but not overtly sensational or flatulent.
+ Solid story arcs that handles heavy thematic matters with respect, maturity and refrain.
+ Well-grounded narrative. Most of the characters are easy to resonate with. It effectively uses its historic setting rooted in real conflicts and cultural legacy of Italy. Almost every element has a realistic weight to them. You'd expect the sci-fi cyborg factors add…
Read at the source92rael_
Gunslinger Girl is a masterpiece! I watched this anime a long time ago and re-watched some times and, I think that, this anime is so beautiful and sad at the same time, is beautiful because is so much realistic world and I like so much how the Art is involved, I like how the scenery is designed in Italy and how sad the history is, the characters got a personal history about himself and is so sad and beautiful how they are counted along the history, this anime is UNIQUE! I never find or watched another anime like that, is really unique and is one of my faves animes in all time. I recommend this anime if you like a great dramatic history without lose a great action military.
Read at the sourceB2Reviews
The anime Le Femme Nikita with very young girls armed to the teeth. If I could leave it at that I would.
Gunslinger Girl is one of those titles that you expect to be tongue in cheek humor, balls to the wall action and Michael Bay explosions with a lead heroine that looks like Pamela Anderson. It's actually more subdued in context and dead serious in tone. Instead of Pam and the girls, you have a group of school girls who would otherwise be dead if the state (in this case Italy) didn't adopt them and subject them to a touch of cyber experimentation. Why?
Because they need assassins. Of course.
Brought back to life, brainwashed, taught to kill, and given the tools to do so; innocence lost is an understatement. They aren't complete robots although it's a very thin grasp on their humanity.…
Read at the sourceNightstryker
Gunslinger Girl is not your typical anime. This is a story of the sad reality of what can happen to someone who is mentally (and physically in this case) manipulated for one specific goal, regardless of the well being of that individual. The best way I can describe this is that it's basically the government program Treadstone or Operation Blackbriar from the Jason Bourne Trilogy but for 7 or 8 year old girls. It's not for everyone because although it has it's share of action, it's also very drama intensive with only moderate dialogue. There is very little, if any comedy so don't expect to laugh. I gave it a 5 overall, but don't let that keep you from watching it. It was just a little slow for my taste even though I stuck it out through the end. If you choose to watch it, give it 3 episodes…
Read at the sourcemistersunday
"You all know the truth. We're all going to die, and we'll die cold and lonely, not knowing anything!" - Angelica
Gunslinger Girl is an underrated gem. It definitely has some rough edges here and there, but overall the anime is quite layered and well-executed. If you're looking for a simple action plot with fight scenes to entertain you I would look elsewhere. This is because Gunslinger Girl shines where most other action shows don't. This anime takes a psychological approach to an otherwise simple action plot. If you give yourself time to understand the characters, and the ways in which the anime chooses to flesh them out, then you'll find yourself watching a compelling story that dissects human nature eloquently.
One of the show's most successful story-telling techniques is the juxtap…
Read at the sourceggultra2764
The Gunslinger Girl anime was made in 2003 by Madhouse, adapting the first two volumes of the manga series. It is mainly a character-driven series exploring the pasts of some of the cyborg girls before becoming part of the Social Welfare Agency (SWA) and the different fratello relationship dynamics. Being more a character-focused series, the series does a great job dabbling into the different relationship dynamics with the fratello being either professional or family-like and how each cyborg regards their experiences working with the SWA. The series is well aware of the morally questionable treatment that the girls have received due to being made into cyborg assassins. But when you also factor in the pasts of the girls before becoming part of the organization, it does offer some interestin…
Read at the sourcetamagolord
Gunslinger Girl is an anime about cute girls with guns. that much is definitely true. as of right now, the Cute Girls With Big Guns genre is pretty saturated with content, although i'll admit i've never been a huge fan of shows that fall under this category because i feel that they tend to be overly edgy without the smart writing to back it up. the typical "cute girls doing fucked up things" trope is done to death at this point in anime, but Gunslinger Girl manages to stand apart from many of them, and this isn't just because it's older than most of the anime in the genre (having come out in 2003). Gunslinger Girl is a well-paced, well-developed drama that is not afraid to explore challenging themes about morality, what makes us human, and nature vs nurture.
i'm a huge sucker for dramas,…
Read at the sourceShellshock123
So i finished Gunslinger GIrl S1. and i have to say i'm a bit disappointed. Not really in the quality of the series overall but what the series actually is. Granted though i got used to pretty fast. An anime about Cyborg assassin girls you'd think this story would be more action focused but thats not the case. In fact the assassination isn't really the main part of the story at all. Each Girl has a Male Adult Handler, and for those cyborg girls there entire life revolves around those handlers. For some its family love, For some its a master/slave relationship and for other one sided love. The series isn't really about action but more of a SOL type series of the relationship between the Cyborgs and there handlers. Which i think this series did relatively well. However the pacing was somewha…
Read at the sourceDirzd
Mandatory note: Glosses over the whole franchise without too much spoiling.
“I swear on my beating heart I will continue to run until I burn away.”
That’s the high point of the Gunslinger Girl franchise, this verse from “Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi” in the second season. It’s a nice and fuzzy feeling. You have to watch both seasons and read the manga to see where that feeling leads though. I promise everything’s great though, even the low budget season 2.
I think huge time lapses in publication and the different mediums are why Gunslinger Girl reviews are so polarizing. The story was conceptualized in the late 1990s. Season one aired 2003-2004. Season two aired 2008. The manga ran 2002-2012. This franchise has some pretty interesting generation gaps especially when you think of the audience.…
Read at the sourcecaptjoe213
Robert's Too Late reviews arriving fashionably late yet again. Today's series is a fascinating one, as though it might be titled "Gunslinger Girl" the crux of the story does not revolve around gunplay. Yes there is some shootouts, but it's not an action packed fest. This, however, enhances the viewing experience from my point of view. As always, we're looking at the dubbed version here. Let's tear this gun down and see what we have.
Story: 8
The girls in the show are all recruited through some terrible means. They are all near death when the government agency steps in and takes over. Having the parents sign over all the their rights, the government proceeds to make them top secret projects: innocent appearing young girls who are remorseless killers. This causes problem, one for the fact…
Read at the sourcebacktotheseance
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Read at the sourcenugenki
I've found it rare to come across an anime adaption that keep character interactions believable and realistic. There is no need to have a character acknowledge communication with a series of grunts, or sudden eye movements. Reality is that the listener is usually quiet, especially during more dramatic scenes, and I found this anime is be exceptional at this, which I feel is one of the biggest sins in current animation.
Not only does the anime keep it realistic in said regards, but many others as well. There are no over dramatized emotions. Characters show many different levels or joy and grief, and it's easy to tell just by their faces. With every character, you can start to understand how emotionally withholding they are, and how that drives the characters to act certain ways, there is n…
Read at the sourcePicklePride
Have you ever thought about a premise in which an underground organization takes in orphaned girls and technologically modifies them to serve morally ambiguous purposes? Well, I often have, alone in my bed, but not exactly in the same way Gunslinger Girl establishes its story and characters.
This anime is one of the most grim and unapologetic I’ve ever seen. From the very beginning, we’re introduced to this concept of little brainwashed girls used as specialized weapons to take out important targets. You’d think that a show like this would be just your typical paper-thin “badass kid kills bad guys” type of deal, but it touches on somber themes that I never expected to see, such as turbulent friendship, innocence of youth, and parental love. The drama isn’t in the action or the gangster w…
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