Gunslinger Girl
Encyclopedia
Gunslinger Girl is an ongoing manga
by Yu Aida
. It first premiered in the November 2002 issue of the monthly shōnen
magazine Dengeki Daioh
. The chapters are also being published in tankōbon
volumes by ASCII Media Works
. 13 volumes have been released in Japan as of April 2011. Set in modern Italy
, the series focuses on young cybernetic girls and their adult male handlers who use them as assassins under the directions of a government organization.
The manga series is licensed for an English language release in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment
. A thirteen-episode anime
adaptation produced by Madhouse
aired in Japan on Animax
and Fuji Television
from October 8, 2003, to February 19, 2004. A sequel titled Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- and created by Artland premiered in Japan on Tokyo MX TV on January 7, 2008. It spanned thirteen episodes, concluding on March 31, 2008. Two additional episodes were released on DVD in Japan on October 24, 2008. The sequel is licensed for release by Funimation Entertainment
.
and counter-terrorism
. It is composed of two independent branches: Public Safety, its surveillance and intelligence-gathering division, and Special Ops, the anti-terrorist division. Special Ops is itself divided into Sections 1 and 2, the latter of which employs young girls fitted with cybernetic implants as agents. The implants, which consist of synthesized muscles and carbon fiber
frames, result in heightened strength and reflex
es as well as high resilience to damage and pain. Each girl is paired with a male trainer, or "handler", and together they are referred to as a fratello — Italian for "brother". The handler is responsible for the training, welfare and field performance of his charge, and is free to use whatever methods he considers suitable. While these methods vary according to the handler, a common part of each girl's regimen is brainwashing called "conditioning", which produces a deadly assassin with unquestioning loyalty to her handler but also limits her life span.
Each fratello exhibits a unique dynamic. Most of the handlers have police or military backgrounds and were recruited directly into Section 2. Most also chose their own cyborgs from a list of candidates, though some appear to have been assigned a cyborg. The Social Welfare Agency primarily concerns itself with dealing with the Padania
Republic Faction, an organization seeking an independent northern Italy through acts of terrorism and bribery.
, first premiered in Japan in the November 2002 issue of the monthly Dengeki Daioh
magazine. As of November 2009, 69 chapters have been published in the magazine. The chapters are also being published in collected volumes
by ASCII Media Works
, with the first volume released on November 27, 2002. Twelve volumes have been published in Japan as of April 27, 2010.
When ADV Manga was formed in 2003, the Gunslinger Girl manga series was one of the first titles the new branch of ADV Films licensed for an English language
release in North America. The first volume was released on November 18, 2003, with the next two volumes not released until 2005. At the 2005 Anime Next convention, ADV representative David L. Williams said the slow schedule was due to ADV Manga feeling that they had rushed into the manga market in a period when it was too saturated with new manga titles. After the third volume was released that year, the series went on a two-year hiatus. Release of the series resumed in July 2007 with the publication of the fourth volume, and six volumes have been released as of April 2008. On April 8, 2010, manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment
announced that it has licensed Gunslinger Girl and will be re-released, with a new translation and in omnibus format, then singles starting with Volume 7.
from October 8, 2003, to February 19, 2004. It was directed by Morio Asaka
and produced by Madhouse
, Bandai Visual
, Marvelous Entertainment and Fuji Television, with music by Toshihiko Sahashi
. The series also aired in Japan on the satellite television
network Animax
, which later aired the series on its networks worldwide, including its English language
networks in Southeast Asia
and South Asia
(where the series received its English language television premiere). Gunslinger Girl was later aired in the United States on the Independent Film Channel
. In late 2004, Funimation Entertainment
licensed the rights to release the first season of Gunslinger Girl across North America via a three-volume DVD
series, releasing the last volume on September 6, 2005. On September 19, 2006, Funimation released the complete Gunslinger Girl series in a three-DVD box set, with another version released on December 11, 2007. FUNimation's release of the first season is also available for download on iTunes
, PlayStation Store
, and Xbox Live Marketplace
.
A second season of the series, entitled Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-, was officially announced in the October issue of Dengeki Daioh
. It premiered on Tokyo MX TV on January 7, 2008, and ran for thirteen additional episodes until its conclusion on March 31, 2008. The second season was criticized for its lackluster animation, but earned praise for its more focused story line. This second season was animated by Artland and featured a new staff, with Gunslinger Girl creator Yu Aida
being fully involved as the project's chief writer and supervisor. FUNimation has also licensed the second season and is currently streaming subtitled episodes on its website as well as on Veoh
, promising a Region 1 retail release in 2009. Two additional episodes (14 and 15) were released on DVD in Japan on October 24, 2008. The sequel is licensed for English language release in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment and in North America by Funimation Entertainment.
The second season made its North American television debut on October 19, 2011 on the Funimation Channel
.
, released only in Japan. These take the form of rail shooters in which the player controls one of the girls on her missions. The series is composed of four volumes. There is an additional rogue fratello in these games, who go by the names Earnest (handler) and Pia (cyborg). Earnest and Pia do not appear in the manga or anime, nor are they ever mentioned. Pia's preferred weapons were the Desert Eagle
.50AE and M16A1
with M203 grenade launcher
.
wrote all the music and lyrics for the album. The cover art was drawn by Yu Aida.
and Helen McCarthy
feel the trauma suffered by the girls allows Gunslinger Girl to show them as "submissive blank slates in the style of Chobits
", feeling that while some handlers treated them like objects, those that tried to befriend them used methods that were like "the seduction of “damaged goods” in less mainstream works such as the Lolita Anime
".
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Yu Aida
Yu Aida
is a Japanese manga author and illustrator best known for his work Gunslinger Girl. Aida has done character designs for the eroge visual novel, Bittersweet Fools.- Works :* Gunslinger Girl...
. It first premiered in the November 2002 issue of the monthly shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
magazine Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
. The chapters are also being published in tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
. 13 volumes have been released in Japan as of April 2011. Set in modern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the series focuses on young cybernetic girls and their adult male handlers who use them as assassins under the directions of a government organization.
The manga series is licensed for an English language release in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment is a publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original manga, but now publishes licensed manga and novels, as well as select webcomics...
. A thirteen-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation produced by Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
aired in Japan on Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
and Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
from October 8, 2003, to February 19, 2004. A sequel titled Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- and created by Artland premiered in Japan on Tokyo MX TV on January 7, 2008. It spanned thirteen episodes, concluding on March 31, 2008. Two additional episodes were released on DVD in Japan on October 24, 2008. The sequel is licensed for release by Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
.
Plot
Set in Italy, Gunslinger Girl follows the exploits of the Social Welfare Agency (often referred to as simply "the Agency"), ostensibly a charitable institution sponsored by the Italian government. While the Agency professes to aid the rehabilitation of the physically injured, it is actually a military organization specializing in counter-intelligenceCounter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
and counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
. It is composed of two independent branches: Public Safety, its surveillance and intelligence-gathering division, and Special Ops, the anti-terrorist division. Special Ops is itself divided into Sections 1 and 2, the latter of which employs young girls fitted with cybernetic implants as agents. The implants, which consist of synthesized muscles and carbon fiber
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
frames, result in heightened strength and reflex
Reflex
A reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus. A true reflex is a behavior which is mediated via the reflex arc; this does not apply to casual uses of the term 'reflex'.-See also:...
es as well as high resilience to damage and pain. Each girl is paired with a male trainer, or "handler", and together they are referred to as a fratello — Italian for "brother". The handler is responsible for the training, welfare and field performance of his charge, and is free to use whatever methods he considers suitable. While these methods vary according to the handler, a common part of each girl's regimen is brainwashing called "conditioning", which produces a deadly assassin with unquestioning loyalty to her handler but also limits her life span.
Each fratello exhibits a unique dynamic. Most of the handlers have police or military backgrounds and were recruited directly into Section 2. Most also chose their own cyborgs from a list of candidates, though some appear to have been assigned a cyborg. The Social Welfare Agency primarily concerns itself with dealing with the Padania
Padania
Padania is an alternative name for the Po Valley in Italy. The term was sparingly used until the early 1990s, when Lega Nord, a political party in Italy, proposed Padania as a possible denomination for an autonomous Northern Italy...
Republic Faction, an organization seeking an independent northern Italy through acts of terrorism and bribery.
Manga
Gunslinger Girl, written and illustrated by Yu AidaYu Aida
is a Japanese manga author and illustrator best known for his work Gunslinger Girl. Aida has done character designs for the eroge visual novel, Bittersweet Fools.- Works :* Gunslinger Girl...
, first premiered in Japan in the November 2002 issue of the monthly Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
magazine. As of November 2009, 69 chapters have been published in the magazine. The chapters are also being published in collected volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
by ASCII Media Works
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
, with the first volume released on November 27, 2002. Twelve volumes have been published in Japan as of April 27, 2010.
When ADV Manga was formed in 2003, the Gunslinger Girl manga series was one of the first titles the new branch of ADV Films licensed for an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
release in North America. The first volume was released on November 18, 2003, with the next two volumes not released until 2005. At the 2005 Anime Next convention, ADV representative David L. Williams said the slow schedule was due to ADV Manga feeling that they had rushed into the manga market in a period when it was too saturated with new manga titles. After the third volume was released that year, the series went on a two-year hiatus. Release of the series resumed in July 2007 with the publication of the fourth volume, and six volumes have been released as of April 2008. On April 8, 2010, manga publisher Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment
Seven Seas Entertainment is a publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original manga, but now publishes licensed manga and novels, as well as select webcomics...
announced that it has licensed Gunslinger Girl and will be re-released, with a new translation and in omnibus format, then singles starting with Volume 7.
Anime
Gunslinger Girl was adapted into a thirteen-episode anime series based on the first two volumes of the manga. The series premiered in Japan on Fuji TelevisionFuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
from October 8, 2003, to February 19, 2004. It was directed by Morio Asaka
Morio Asaka
is a Japanese anime director.A graduate of the Osaka Designers' College, he is a member of the studio Madhouse. His noted works include, among others, Cardcaptor Sakura , Galaxy Angel, Gunslinger Girl, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII and Nana.-Directorial style:Asaka has covered a wide range of...
and produced by Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
, Bandai Visual
Bandai Visual
, is a Japanese anime, film production and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai Co., Ltd. and a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc., which is based in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Since the reorganisation of Namco Bandai Holdings in 2006, Bandai Visual now heads the group's Visual and...
, Marvelous Entertainment and Fuji Television, with music by Toshihiko Sahashi
Toshihiko Sahashi
is an accomplished Japanese composer. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1986. Sahashi has composed music for various anime series , video games, movies, dramas, and musicals...
. The series also aired in Japan on the satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
network Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, which later aired the series on its networks worldwide, including its English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
networks in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
(where the series received its English language television premiere). Gunslinger Girl was later aired in the United States on the Independent Film Channel
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
. In late 2004, Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
licensed the rights to release the first season of Gunslinger Girl across North America via a three-volume DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
series, releasing the last volume on September 6, 2005. On September 19, 2006, Funimation released the complete Gunslinger Girl series in a three-DVD box set, with another version released on December 11, 2007. FUNimation's release of the first season is also available for download on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
, and Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
.
A second season of the series, entitled Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-, was officially announced in the October issue of Dengeki Daioh
Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works under the Dengeki brand. Many manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh were later published in tankōbon volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comics imprint. The magazine is sold every month on the 27th...
. It premiered on Tokyo MX TV on January 7, 2008, and ran for thirteen additional episodes until its conclusion on March 31, 2008. The second season was criticized for its lackluster animation, but earned praise for its more focused story line. This second season was animated by Artland and featured a new staff, with Gunslinger Girl creator Yu Aida
Yu Aida
is a Japanese manga author and illustrator best known for his work Gunslinger Girl. Aida has done character designs for the eroge visual novel, Bittersweet Fools.- Works :* Gunslinger Girl...
being fully involved as the project's chief writer and supervisor. FUNimation has also licensed the second season and is currently streaming subtitled episodes on its website as well as on Veoh
Veoh
Veoh is an Internet television company based in San Diego, California. It allows users to find and watch major studio content, independent productions and user-generated material. The company is a subsidiary of Israeli start-up Qlipso....
, promising a Region 1 retail release in 2009. Two additional episodes (14 and 15) were released on DVD in Japan on October 24, 2008. The sequel is licensed for English language release in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment and in North America by Funimation Entertainment.
The second season made its North American television debut on October 19, 2011 on the Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
.
Video games
A set of video games have also been produced for the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, released only in Japan. These take the form of rail shooters in which the player controls one of the girls on her missions. The series is composed of four volumes. There is an additional rogue fratello in these games, who go by the names Earnest (handler) and Pia (cyborg). Earnest and Pia do not appear in the manga or anime, nor are they ever mentioned. Pia's preferred weapons were the Desert Eagle
Desert Eagle
The Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S. and by IMI in Israel; the pistol is manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI...
.50AE and M16A1
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
with M203 grenade launcher
M203 grenade launcher
The M203 is a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilize the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low. Though versatile, and compatible with many rifle models, the M203 was...
.
Other
On December 21, 2005, an image album for Gunslinger Girl called Poca Felicità was released by Marvelous Entertainment. It contains various songs for each of the girls (sung by their respective voice actresses), as well as an instrumental for Pinocchio, extra songs by Josefa, and two other instrumentals. Revo of Sound HorizonSound Horizon
Sound Horizon, abbreviated by fans as Sanhora , is a Japanese musical group with composer Revo as the leader. They call themselves the "fantasy band" and have released their works that closely resemble suites.-History:...
wrote all the music and lyrics for the album. The cover art was drawn by Yu Aida.
Reception
Jonathan ClementsJonathan Clements
Jonathan Clements is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi , as well as monthly opinion columns for Neo magazine...
and Helen McCarthy
Helen McCarthy
Helen McCarthy is the British author of such anime reference books as 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, Anime!, The Anime Movie Guide and Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. She is the co-author of The Erotic Anime Movie Guide and the exhaustive The Anime Encyclopedia with Jonathan Clements...
feel the trauma suffered by the girls allows Gunslinger Girl to show them as "submissive blank slates in the style of Chobits
Chobits
is a Japanese manga created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp. It was published by Kodansha in Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes....
", feeling that while some handlers treated them like objects, those that tried to befriend them used methods that were like "the seduction of “damaged goods” in less mainstream works such as the Lolita Anime
Lolita Anime
The series was the first ever hentai original video animation , created by a studio called Wonder Kids. It ran from February 1984 to May 1985 and consisted of six episodes...
".
External links
- Gunslinger Girl at ASCII Media WorksASCII Media Worksis a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
- Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- anime at Tokyo MX
- Gunslinger Girl anime at FunimationFunimation EntertainmentFunimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
- Gunslinger: Il Teatrino anime at FunimationFunimation EntertainmentFunimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...