[Manga]Gunslinger girl

Gunslinger girl

Volumes:15
Chapters: 100
Status: Completed.
Authors: Aida, Yu
Genres: Drama, Tragedy, action

Synopsis:
Set in contemporary Italy, Gunslinger Girl depicts a seemingly endless, covert war of terror fought between the Padanians (with benefactors in Camorra), and a public-security outfit known as Section Two.

The Padanians, represented by both a legitimate political party, and a terrorist wing called the Five Republics Faction, want an independant Northern Italy; the government in Rome, however, is not so enthusiastic about the idea, and opposes their efforts on both levels. When the FRF's resultant attacks become more ferocious, more urban, and harder to fight, the Italian federalists bring out their secret weapon in the suppressive battle: child assassins.
These are not any ordinary child soldiers, however. They are solely girls, handpicked from around the world, past victims of heinous sexual abuse, sole survivors of mass-murders, or terminal cancers, to name a few scenarios that once faced three of our characters, Triela, Henrietta, and Petra, respectively. They are girls that would be otherwise dead if not for the charitable generosity, and medical breakthroughs offered by the Italian Social Welfare Agency, the front organization concealing Section Two.


Using the latest in cybernetic medicine -- advanced prosthesis in the realm of this series -- up to eighty percent of the patient's ravaged, worn-out body is discarded, and replaced with bio-mechanical limbs, organs, and muscle. To avoid the immune system's lethal rejection of the new body, the girls must then be phamaceutically Conditioned -- drugged up, in other words. This method also conveniently brainwashes the mind of past memories, good and bad, resulting in a conscious, educated adolescent young girl, with no traces of the past, no allegiances excepts to those around her, and no goals except those given to her by her guardian, called a Handler. And the goals are simple: select some guns, master them, and kill terrorists, whenver told, and however told.
When the memories of the past begin to stir, or when the girl begins to ask questions, another round of Conditioning is ordered, until the day she dies -- be that death from a gunshot wound, drug toxicity from the repeated rounds of conditioning, or the induced chronic-memory loss similar to Alzheimer's, that results from the various procedures inflicted on her body and mind. But, should that happen, in the words of Jean Croce, one of the less sympathetic Handlers on the Agency's team, then "we find another one," and the cruel process starts over again. Cruel? Or is it? These girls would have been dead long ago, if weren't for the efforts of the Social Welfare Agency to begin with . . .
And so the question persists: They've been given a second shot at life, but at what cost?
-----
"Do the ends justify the means?"




Its by far my all-time favorite manga, and even my favorite story.

It seems the manga is done now, at 100 chapters.

I must admit that I enjoyed both anime and manga versions of this series. I doubt that I would make a good handler, as I would view them as children rather than tools (as is touched on in some storylines).

Been thinking of reading this since it's finished now but should I bother checking out the anime at all? How faithfully does it stick to the manga?

DaGrump wrote:I must admit that I enjoyed both anime and manga versions of this series. I doubt that I would make a good handler, as I would view them as children rather than tools (as is touched on in some storylines).

Hartmann/hillshire also diden't see Triella as a tool, and he did a decent job at it.

saintcross wrote:Been thinking of reading this since it's finished now but should I bother checking out the anime at all? How faithfully does it stick to the manga?

The first season has a good atmosphere/OST(and a amazing OP & ED), that can't be found in the manga.
So the first season(up until chapter 11) is highly suggested. Madhouse did a amazing job at animating it. It adds some anime original content to it(or "fillers", although they are really good). They give Elsa, who only appeared in a few panels in the manga, a backstory/her own episode. S2 covers up until chapter 27~, but it lacks the atmosphere from the first season, and they also changed the character designs(in a negative way). Its worth watching, I still loved it for its story. But unlike S1, I do not consider it a "must". The OST and OP/ED are still amazing though.

Oh, and btw. The latest chapter won't be released until late September(according to MAL), and it will still need to be translated after that.

saintcross wrote:Been thinking of reading this since it's finished now but should I bother checking out the anime at all? How faithfully does it stick to the manga?

whats ur sig of?

Eri wrote:

saintcross wrote:Been thinking of reading this since it's finished now but should I bother checking out the anime at all? How faithfully does it stick to the manga?

whats ur sig of?

The 4th pic from his sig is akiga from akiga, i'm not 100% sure about the other characters in his sig.

Eri wrote:

saintcross wrote:Been thinking of reading this since it's finished now but should I bother checking out the anime at all? How faithfully does it stick to the manga?

whats ur sig of?

They're all from works by Nobuyuki Fukumoto

left to right:
Kurosawa, Ten, Zero, Akagi, Kaiji, Ginji (Gin to Kin), Gai, Washizu.... dunno about the last one (could be Igawa from Ten but I'm not entirely sure).

oh nicee, thanks guys.