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A secret Italian government organization saves severely injured little girls by... turning them into brainwashed super-strong cyborg assassins! These girls are paired with adult male handlers (nowhere near as skeevy as that sounds), given great big guns, and sent off to chase terrorists and anyone else the government is down on.
This typically involves a lot of poignant interactions between the girls and their handlers, who variously treat them as disposable tools, or as beloved little sisters or daughters. The girls almost universally adore their handlers. But then, that's what they're programmed to do. Did I mention that any time a girl goes off the rails, she's re-conditioned - a process which erases her memories and shortens her life?
As I said, remarkably not skeevy. Though the girls may get crushes on their handlers, the handlers do not do anything sexual with them. I'm sure that's unrealistic, but a) series about superstrong child cyborgs, b) I would not read it otherwise.
The series so far focuses on the relationships between the girls and their handlers, the girls and each other, the way the girls develop personalities and make choices in a situation where it seems like they shouldn't be able to, and what those choices and personalities look like, stripped down to their eternal-present essence. Plus lots of shoot-outs, not to mention pretty Italian countrysides and monuments. Very much my kind of thing, and very well-done. So far it's episodic, but I assume an arc will start any minute now.
I read the first two volumes, then rushed to the library to get more. Looks like there's twelve volumes total, but I'm not sure it's all available in English. Does the anime have the complete story?
Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 1
This typically involves a lot of poignant interactions between the girls and their handlers, who variously treat them as disposable tools, or as beloved little sisters or daughters. The girls almost universally adore their handlers. But then, that's what they're programmed to do. Did I mention that any time a girl goes off the rails, she's re-conditioned - a process which erases her memories and shortens her life?
As I said, remarkably not skeevy. Though the girls may get crushes on their handlers, the handlers do not do anything sexual with them. I'm sure that's unrealistic, but a) series about superstrong child cyborgs, b) I would not read it otherwise.
The series so far focuses on the relationships between the girls and their handlers, the girls and each other, the way the girls develop personalities and make choices in a situation where it seems like they shouldn't be able to, and what those choices and personalities look like, stripped down to their eternal-present essence. Plus lots of shoot-outs, not to mention pretty Italian countrysides and monuments. Very much my kind of thing, and very well-done. So far it's episodic, but I assume an arc will start any minute now.
I read the first two volumes, then rushed to the library to get more. Looks like there's twelve volumes total, but I'm not sure it's all available in English. Does the anime have the complete story?
Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 1
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Yeah, I saw the opening and heard the music and said, I'm there. I don't need to see any more to know that I want to watch this series.
few things implied
? I know one of the handlers treats his girl as a tool, and knocks her around physically. But given that the girls treat their handlers as a combination older brother, father, and would-be boyfriend, the series is surprisingly un-skeevy.