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For me, Gunslinger Girl has been the series of the year
so far. Dramatic, moving, beautifully animated and intelligent, this
series offered something different to the barrage of the standard 'girls with
guns' anime by not being out and out action and instead focusing on
characterisation. This concluding volume ends the series brilliantly by
surpassing all the strengths of the previous episodes. |
The opening episodes see the agency dealing with the murder of one of the girls and her handler, both found brutally gunned down. The incident could expose potential problems with the cybernetic girls to fellow agencies and could even see the story going public. This story highlights the greatest strength of the series - showing the girl's humanity - and is the peak of the series so far. Seeing the reactions of the girls and their handlers to the murders is both touching and difficult to watch and prepares viewers for the conclusion. |
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This final volume does not just concentrate
on the failures of the cyborgs though. Against the backdrop of
sadness though we see the affectionate relationship between Henrietta and her handler Jose in
which they both treat each other as siblings. Jose retains his
resistance to condition Henrietta further and, compared to the lot
of the other girls, that is definitely not a bad thing. Henrietta
still maintains hopelessly devoted to Jose however and this devotion
shows she is still just a child. When her friend Angelica
loses faith in her handler, Henrietta faces truths that are hard to
face. |
If you are reading this review then it is likely
you have already seen the previous volumes of Gunslinger Girl
and are aware of the drama, exquisite animation and story that they
contain. The final volume surpasses the previous two by
showing the dark side of the series like never before as well as the
touching relationship that has developed between the girls and their
handlers. The concluding episodes feature less violence then
before as the onus is clearly on the characters and it
does just as brilliantly as before. The ending to the series
is excellent and well-executed, leaving the viewer to feel what
emotions they choose rather then be told how to feel. |