Yu Aida

When Henrietta barely survives a brutal attack that killed her family, she is "rescued" by the Social Welfare Agency who repairs her body with robotic components and brainwashes her to forget her past and become a lethal cyborg assassin.

Gunslinger Girl

[Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars]

Feb 2, 2023 

Volume 3
Chapters 12-17

The plot in this volume is obviously picking up. After introducing the characters from the Social Welfare Agency, especially the girls and their handlers, we got to know the characters from the terrorist group, such as the young but skilled hitman Pinocchio, the bomber partners Franco and Franca and Nino, who used to be 'ticking time-bomb' radical activist who is now more of a pacifist kidnapper who provides non-violent tactics.

Personally, this set of characters are all so interesting to follow. They have their own attitude in doing things, different ways to get their missions done and different goals to achieve in all of these. There are some crumbs scattered about their pasts and their motivations, but not fully laid out for us to see this early. It's enough to make me anticipate the next volumes.

And I know this is weird, but these characters are quite likable despite being the 'supposed bad guys'/terrorists. Also, the young man Pinocchio managed to knocked Triela out, a cyborg more skilled than average adult man, which goes to show how capable he is as a hitman. He's decisive in his kills but the memory of a little girl he mercilessly killed when he was younger still lingered in his mind. That's the only reason why he didn't kill Triela after knocking her out..

She could have died right then and there. But that defeat got Triela her own reflection time. She blamed herself for letting her handler Hilshire hurt, despite him consoling her. As a cyborg, she felt useless. It was actually good to see this vulnerable side of her, because she always looks so confident and mature. Seeing her struggling shows that she's a human too, a kid at that, and it makes me want to root for her more. 

Angelica getting her first mission after getting out of the hospital, though she's not fully well based on how that mission played out, but the situation was still salvaged at the end. Though I think her condition, instead of getting better, is only getting worse. Rico is still as cheerful and laid-back as ever and Henrietta is still as obsessed over Jose as ever. 

Things are getting more and more interesting and I can't wait for the next volume. 


**Gunslinger Girl Volume 1
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 2
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 4
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 5


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[Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars]

Jan 30, 2023 

Volume 2
Chapters 6-11

This volume is a bit slower than I expected but it introduced us to another two more of the cyborgs. Claes, the 'guinea pig' cyborg and Angelica, the first experimental cyborg.

Claes, unlike any other cyborgs, doesn't have her own Handler anymore. She used to have Captain Raballo as her Handler but he was suddenly died/killed. After his death, Claes was supposed to be useless as a cyborg as her conditioning was programmed especifically to match her with her own handler and it would not be easy to assign new handler for her, but the higher ups decided to use her as a guinea pig. All new parts or developments would be tested on her first. 



Claes: Perhaps most importantly, I understand the simple pleasure of spending time in idleness. That is something I learned a long time ago. My father was the one who taught it to me...I think. 

That line was what she got from Captain Raballo. Her memories were deliberately erased so she doesn't remember anything about Captain Raballo, but her love for books sure stayed with her, which she adopted from him, along with some of his beliefs he imparted with her. 

On the other hand, Angelica was shown having signs of memory loss. Some of the side effects of conditioning are having a shorter lifespan and memory loss. As the agency's prototype, she was the first one suffering from the side effect.

She and her handler, Marco, is the very first fratello in the agency. But now that Angelica's condition is deteriorating, it's not advisable for her to do missions. Marco is quite cold towards her now but it was shown that they used to have a very close relationship back then. I think he was trying to put some distance between them for some reason that is not yet revealed. All I know is that it was painful for Marco to see Angelica forgetting things that are both important to them, and he doesn't know how to handle her that way.



I think this series is deliberately going for a slower start to better build up both the characters and the plot. I don't mind slow-paced plot. This volume might be slow but it provided more important character points and was actually very informative. It also sets up some details for deeper plot events as few potential enemies were also introduced. 


**Gunslinger Girl Volume 1
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 3
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 4
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 5


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[Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars]

Jan 29, 2023 

Volume 1
Chapters 1-5

Ever since watching the Gunslinger Girl anime and liking it, I already decided to pick this up one day. And that day has now come. 

This series might have adorable little girls as protagonists, but it's not something fluffy and flowery and light. On the other hand, it might get heavy and dark and depressing at times. They are adorable little girls with guns in their hands and violence in their minds. They are little girls with different degrees of 'disabilities' who, in some reasons or another, have to undergo some 'conditioning'. It's a process of them getting brainwashed to be a Cyborg assassins for this organization called Social Welfare Agency, a government-sponsored counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence group. They are mostly 'tools' to use for the government's 'dirty works', as they put it. 

This first volume provided us an initial introduction of the main Cryborgs protagonists and their respective 'Handlers', which are called to the agents assigned to them. They are partners in most missions. The Handlers monitors, equips and trains the Cyborgs while the Cyborgs helps protect their respective Handlers. They are usually called 'fratello' or siblings/brothers.

We are introduced to Henrietta, Rico and Triela, who have different personalities but equally lovable in their own ways. They are programmed to be loyal to their handlers but the girls have different ways of viewing them. Rico sees her Handler, Jean, like her master. I think, in my personal opinion, she has the highest level of 'conditioning' between the three of them. She has this blind trust to her Handler and she listens to him without question. 



Fermi: If you were killed while fighting to protect Jean, would that make you happy?
Rico: I think I'd rather not die in the first place. But...
Jean: A cryborg exists for the sake of her handler. Dying to protect him is a matter of course.
Rico: If Signore Jean says so, then it must be true 

Henrietta, on the other hand, acted purely on her emotions. She clearly loves her Handler Jose, either as older brother or in a romantic sense, I'm still not quite sure, but I don't think her love was due to the conditioning. Jose also avoided putting Henrietta in too much conditioning, as it exposed the girls to too much drugs and might turn them into less human, and more of a real cyborgs. In my opinion, he might be the most soft and empathizing Handlers out of those introduced. But Henrietta, this child, might be the scariest one when it comes to emotions, as it was shown in one of the chapters. 



She might be like Elsa, one of the Cryborgs, who killed her Handler Lauro for not getting her feelings returned then killed herself. But getting her feelings returned or not, Jose clearly and sincerely cares for Henrietta.

Lastly, I think for now, Triela might be my most favorite among the three. I think she is one of the oldest and definitely the most mature. Just like Jose, her Handler Hilshire also avoids putting her in too much conditioning. 



She's smart and rational. She's not as blindly loyal as Rico and not 'obsessively in love' like Henrietta, but she clearly cares for Hilshire as well, though she didn't show it openly. She sometimes acted like a rebel and have an occasional spat with him. I think Triela and Hilshire have the most 'fratello' relationship. They're like real siblings in many sense. I want to see more of their interactions, as well as the other 'fratello'.

I'm not sure if I remember correctly but most of what happened in the anime is already here in Volume 1, so I guess I would see more content from this series as it has up to 15 volumes. I'm quite thrilled to see more from this!


**Gunslinger Girl Volume 2
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 3
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 4
**Gunslinger Girl Volume 5


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Gavin

Very daft. The Italian(!?) Government uses extremely unreliable, uncoordinated, forgetful orphans for hit jobs. Nothing to it.

Gunslinger Girl

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