Review of Gunslinger Girl: Vol. 3

Introduction

If there has been one anime title this year that has snuck in under the radar, it`s Gunslinger Girl. I had no idea of what to expect when the first volume turned up for review, and my initial reaction to the idea of adolescent girls with guns was guarded to say the least. If it had been played tongue in cheek, it would have wound up like countless other anime, and the risk was always there that it would be something unsavoury and tawdry. The first volume blew me away, treating the subject with a seriousness and emotional maturity that made for an utterly gripping drama. Then lightning struck for a second time, as the next volume kept that high level of quality going through another four episodes. If it strikes again with this final volume, then Gunslinger Girl could very well turn out to be the anime release of the year.

The Social Welfare Agency is an Italian government organisation that takes critically ill young girls and turns them into cyborgs, trained in assassination. They are paired up with handlers who guide them through their missions, and are set forth to do the government`s dirty work. Gunslinger Girl is a thirteen-episode anime series that is being released by MVM on three discs. Volume 3 contains the final four episodes in the series.

Ep 10. To Love
Section 2 of The Social Welfare Agency is in turmoil. A fratello has been murdered, a trained assassin and her handler taken out in cold blood. The police are happy to turn over the investigation to the `Intelligence Office`, but Section 1 sees this as a chance to discredit the cyborg program, and assign their own investigators to the case. Agents Fermi and Gabrielli look into the cyborgs and their handlers, while Section 2 look at who could have murdered two of their own. But the Republican Faction and the Mafia are quickly discounted, and when it becomes clear that something more ominous occurred, Section 2`s leader Jean initiates a cover up, sending Henrietta and Giuse on `vacation`.

Ep 11. High Fever
Henrietta is getting a chance to be a normal girl, enjoying a vacation with Giuse in Sicily. She`s even consented to give up her guns. But Fermi and Gabrielli are hot on their heels. Even though the investigation has been discretely closed, Fermi is certain that something odd occurred, and believes that Henrietta can shed light on the situation. It all comes down to how the cyborgs feel about their handlers, and while Giuse knows that Henrietta is devoted to him, Henrietta`s explanation of how the fratello may have died, makes clear just how dangerous a girl`s obsession with her handler can get.

Ep 12. Symbiosis
With the taint of scandal still about them, Section 2 needs results to guarantee the cyborg program`s continued existence. That chance arises when a Republican Faction threat is revealed. A plan is in place to kidnap the daughter of a prominent politician. It would be a simple matter to use a cyborg decoy to track down their lair, but not everything goes to plan.

Ep 13 Shooting Stars
The girls finally get a chance to relax, and they look forward to taking in a coming meteor shower. Finding an adult to supervise the excursion is difficult though. At the same time, the fact of their artificially shortened lifespans strikes home.

Video

Gunslinger Girl gets a nice 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, the image is clear and sharp, and the colours are consistent throughout. I saw no problems with artefacts, and aside from the inevitable NTSC to PAL telltales, the image was immaculate. The animation is stunningly accomplished, with the action scenes brilliant designed and orchestrated, all of this contrasts with the quieter but atmospheric character moments. The attention to detail is notable, with the lavish designs of the weapons attesting to the care taken with the anime.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese. You should be able to guess which track I chose by now. The stereo is pretty well accomplished, with the track making the most of the Dolby Surround when it comes to action and ambience. Naturally the 5.1 track trumps this, and from what little I sampled of the English dub, I think it is one of the better and more natural efforts. The music for Gunslinger Girl is excellent, with some appropriate songs for the credit sequences, as well as a classical string score for the show itself. This time around there are only translated English subtitles on the disc, no dubtitles.

Features

An MVM disc means a jacket picture that your player displays when the disc isn`t spinning, as well as multi-angle credit sequences for the show, depending on which language you select to watch it in. You get the usual textless credit sequences to look at, as well as trailers for Blue Gender and Full Metal Alchemist. There is also a brief, minute long featurette, where you can see another time-lapse character creation.

Most notable on this disc are the inclusion of two commentaries, both on episode 12, Symbiosis. Curiously, the episode in question is repeated at the end of the second layer for the commentary tracks, rather than them simply being applied to the original episode. In effect there are five episodes on this disc, which necessitates a rather unnecessary layer change in the middle of Symbiosis.

The first is the Production Commentary, with writer/director Eric Vale, ADR Engineer Jimmy Barker and Mix Engineer Nathaniel Harrison among others. They talk about the technical side of adapting the Japanese anime into English, as well as the episode in question. It is a fairly detailed, serious piece, in stark contrast to the Voice Directors` Commentary, where episode directors Christopher Sabat, Eric Vale, Laura Bailey and Chris Bevins all get together to let their hair down and have a few laughs.

Conclusion

It`s three for three, as this final volume of Gunslinger Girl maintains the quality and concludes the series in style. It takes the unusual premise of girls with guns and invests it with a depth of maturity and feeling that elevates the subject almost to the sublime. If anything, it improves on the earlier episodes, as it takes the story that has been built up and fashions a worthwhile conclusion for it. At the end of the last volume we were introduced to the final fratello, Elsa and Lauro. Their relationship was fractious to say the least; while she was devoted to him, he looked on her as little more than an ambulatory weapon. This almost led to the failure of a crucial mission, and this volume continues with that thread as it begins.

In fact, just as in the previous volumes, the focus is on the relationships between the assassins and their handlers, and the first two episodes on this disc allows us to see this relationship through external eyes. While we have seen the girls` devotion to their handlers, and the handlers somewhat more varied responses to the girls, it takes the eyes of Fermi and Gabrielli to illuminate just how damaged and dangerous these relationships are. Even then, it`s when they force Henrietta to demonstrate her devotion to Giuse that he finally realises how being the sole figure in her life damages her. From this point he begins to place some emotional distance between them. Symbiosis is a final burst of violence, as the girls work to restore their standing in the eyes of their superiors, and foil a kidnapping. The first cyborg Angelica isn`t up to the task, but she wants to please her handler Marco, and winds up getting into trouble. However, the strength of Gunslinger Girl, more than the action has been the character and emotion, and the final episode Shooting Stars ends with a strong focus on the characters. There are no explosions, nobody`s shot and there`s no violence. Instead Henrietta has to get used to the distance between her and Giuse, and Angelica and Marco come to terms. It`s a roller-coaster of emotion for the finale, set to the strains of Beethoven`s Ode To Joy, and I`m not ashamed to admit I had a tear in my eye.

You would think that I wouldn`t have a complaint about Gunslinger Girl, given the praise that I have just so generously lavished for the three volumes, but I do. It`s too short. The series has the best characterisations I have yet seen in anime, a well-designed and intricate world, and a gripping and multi-layered story, and the fact that it is told in a miserly 13 episodes is almost a crime. Any lesser series would have tried to cram it all in, but Gunslinger Girl actually sacrifices the story to play to its strengths. This series has been about the girls and how they relate to their handlers. That remains in stark relief throughout the thirteen episodes. Everything else remains in the background, only coming to forefront when it affects the main focus of the show. So we only really get momentary glimpses of the politicking going on inside the Social Welfare Agency, the competition between Sections 1 and 2, we are briefly acquainted with the villains of the piece, the Republican Faction, and encounter a couple of fascinating characters whose loyalties are questionable. There is always that sense that there is much more going on than we are told

A longer 26-episode run would have done wonders in bringing us the bigger picture, but I guess by that same token, it would have diluted that character study that makes this show so appealing. I find myself hoping that this isn`t all there is, and the world of Gunslinger Girl will be revisited. There are surely more stories yet to be told. But for what it sets out to do, Gunslinger Girl is a marvellous achievement. It tells its tale with a rare degree of emotional maturity, there is a depth of character that is astounding, and for such a fantastic premise, it has a deep sense of utter realism about it. I`ve found my favourite anime of the year, and given the other titles that have been released in the past six months, that is high praise indeed. Gunslinger Girl is unique, and it deserves to be seen. With just three discs to purchase, it`s an even more attractive option. Phenomenally good.