Who likes Gunslinger Girl here?

[Skadi]

Mental Note: This thread is about discussing the first
season of Gunslinger Girl, not the second one.
(Yes and I am well aware that it is out now in stores and on the internet)

GS or Gunslinger Girl is an action/espionage anime, animated by Madhouse. What I really liked about Gunslinger Girl, was the sense of innocence and purity you got from watching it, even thought it has a lot of guns and some violence in it. The opening theme song. "The Light Before We Land" really sets up that atmosphere from the get go.

Don't be fooled though. Just because it has cute girls in it, that also happen to be assassins. Does not mean this anime can be for the little ones. The plot can be hard to follow at times. (but is pretty straight forward) and the violence is moderate. Meaning the young kids won't be able to understand GS's plot that easily, if at all. Plus the violence would most likely turn them off or traumatize them in some way. When I mean little kids, I am pretty much implying children 10 to 12yrs old.

GS is rated "M" for mature audiences. (Australian film classification) So that rules out kids 12yrs or younger most definitely. A mature age is usually 15 yrs or older. (In case you were wondering).

Another thing I really liked about Gunslinger Girl was the main girl character leads. They were portrayed as your typical adolescent teenagers, (they all had similar, but varied interests, that most real life teens could relate to).
Except that they were doped up to the eyeballs and surgically enhanced.

I know some anime critics were turned off by the simple fact "that young girls were being brainwashed and modified (body wise), to serve an unknown, secret organization as professional hit woman."

I found nothing wrong with this by the way. I found it to be an essential storytelling tool when addressing the ever changing plot line of GS. It simply added not took away, like some people think... :dodgy:

Overall. I found Gunslinger Girl to be a very interesting and enjoyable anime. Likable characters and a fascinating story line engage the viewer to the very last scene. Sure the ending was supposed to be meh. Its hardly that, but it isn't the best ending I admit.

Lastly if you are a fan of the English Dub of Anime. Most folks watch the original Japanese Dub nowdays, (simply because it is what anime was first produced as). That's cool, but if you love the E Dub like I do. Then watch it with keen curiosity. To point out. I realize that pretty much everybody (the die hard anime purists in particular)
reckon for some unknown reason, that all english dubs sound bad. Personally I think anybody that thinks that has a fried brain. But that's just me.

If you like celeb VA's and always on the lookout for them. (like yours truly! ) Then listen out for the voices of "Laura Baily", "Monica Rial" and "Caitlin Glass". All girls do a wonderful job of filling in the roles of their chosen girls. (but they are veterans so you would expect nothing less from them right?)

To elaborate. GS is a love or hate anime. That should appeal to the majority of the mainstream anime audience.
(I loved it so much I bought myself a Gunslinger Girl Plushie!)
Treat it with patience and dedication and you'll be generously rewarded for your efforts.

Peace for taking the time to read this.