Yu Aida
Gunslinger Girl: Innocence Regained (2003)
Author: Yu Aida
Genre: Manga (Shojo)
Plot Summary:
The Gunslinger Girl series centers around an Italian counter-terrorism/counter-intelligence agency called the Social Welfare Agency. The Agency's cover is a charitable institution that aids in the rehabilitation of injured children, but in reality, the two independent branches work to reduce terrorism throughout the world. The Public Safety branch is the intelligence gathering branch, while the Special Ops branch works in anti-terrorism. Special Ops employs young girls fitted with cybernetic implants as counter-terrorism agents. The girls are paired with a male trainer (called a "handler"), who trains the girl and helps "condition" her to perform as a deadly assassin. SPOILER: Volume 2 revolves around two different cyborg agents, Claes and Angelica. As Angelica moves through the book, you see her slowly start to remove herself from her human morals. She begins killing without remorse and it is unclear whether she will regain her humanity in the following volumes.
Geographical Setting: Italy
Time Period: Present Day (2003)
Series: Volume 2 in the Gunslinger Girl series
Appeal Characteristics:
The biggest appeal characteristic in this manga novel is the characterization of the gunslinger girls. Each girl has her own personality and loyalty to her handler, and even without many words, the creator really brings each girl to life through their actions and thoughts. The girls have been fitted with cybernetic implants, turning them into living cyborgs who are trained killers. Through the book, the reader catches glimpses of the girls struggle through their training in order to better control their new implants, as well as struggle with their humanity as they kill. Another appeal characteristic of this novel is the pace with which the story progresses. The story is very fast paced, partly due to the lack of dialogue, but also due to the vast amount of action in the storyline. This volume of Gunslinger Girl had three major action scenes in the storyline, and the scenes really increased the pace of the entire novel. The tone of the novel is dark, mainly due to the nature of the girls' jobs, which are trained killers. Also, there is an aspect of the main character, Angelica, who is slowly losing her morals and humanity with each terrorist she kills. There is a sense of struggle between the girls and their handlers, as the handlers seem to struggle with keeping their cyborg "conditioned" and in peak performance while still treating them like the children/pre-teens that they are. Overall, this struggle adds to the dark feeling that surrounds the novel. The frame of the book is one of Italy, though through the eyes of counter-terrorist operatives. Several of the sites are drawn clearly, but there is always the underlying feeling of looking for the next terrorist to kill. Readers might be drawn to the fact that the Agency is established in Italy, so the frame of the book is an important appeal characteristic. A final appeal element is the artwork itself. Unlike some manga, the characters are drawn with great attention to detail. Their faces appear realistic, though still with caricature facial features. The greatest emphasis is placed on the face and body, with background images drawn in lesser detail. Overall, the artwork employs great direction for the reader to follow, especially during the action scenes, and the characters are drawn in a way to display their emotions throughout the story.
Read-alikes: One read-alike suggestion for reader's who began the Gunslinger Girl series with the second volume is Gunslinger Girl: Innocence Lost, which is the first volume of the series. This novel is a good read-alike for those readers who really liked the series and would like to know how the characters began in the overall plot line. Also, this would be a good read-alike for those who really liked the action of the second volume, as this first volume has more action than the second, though less in character development. This read-alike has several of the same appeal characteristics as the second volume, such as an Italian setting, a dark tone (mainly due to the nature of the children's job as a trained assassin), and some characterization, though admittedly less than the second volume. For readers interested in stories with more bionic female protagonists, Ray would be a good read-alike. Ray is about a girl who lived on a farm, with the farm's sole purpose being the supply of body parts. When Ray was young, her eyes were harvested, but she was then rescued and given new eyes, and a new power, x-ray vision. The story continues with Ray helping others by using her x-ray vision. This would be a good read-alike for readers who liked the action of Gunslinger Girl, as well as for those who enjoyed the implausible storyline of extra abilities due to bionic body parts. This is also a good read-alike suggestion for those who enjoyed the dark, moody aspect of Gunslinger Girl. Another read-alike for readers wanting more manga with include robotic humans is the Chobits series. Chobits is set in the future where personal computers in human form are everyday occurrences. Hideki, a perpetually broke slacker with no ambition, finds a discarded humanoid and decides to take her home with him. After activating her, he realizes she has no memory so he and a 12-year old programming genius decide to reprogram and train her. Eventually, Hideki realizes she is a new type of super computer called a Chobit. The series outlines Hideki's trials with his Chobit. This is a great read-alike for those liking the robotic aspect of Gunslinger Girl and for those who really enjoyed the characterization aspect of an older man caring for and training a younger female, much like in the Gunslinger Girl series. For those readers interested in reading more manga with deep character development, especially a character that struggles with their new role in life, then Neon Genesis Evangelion would be a great read-alike. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the story of a young man who is persuaded to pilot a giant robot by his dying father. Shinji Ikari is summoned by his father and told that he must fly the robot spaceship in a battle against "angels" bent on destroying the earth. This book features appeal characteristics such as deep character development of Shinji as he struggles with his new role as a pilot in warfare. In addition, the series has a dark tone and is written in a way where the darkness of war is compared with the psychological journey, both of which are discouraging struggles. A final read-alike suggestion, Chibi Vampire is for readers who enjoy unusual girls (this one is a vampire) and great characterization of the protagonist. Karin is a vampire from a long line of vampires, the only problem is, she's not like any of them. Instead of drinking other people's blood, once a month Karin is forced to donate her blood to unsuspecting people, which, if done right, could be a positive thing. Unfortunately, Karin rarely does anything correctly. This book uses a combination of humor and teenage embarrassment to bring the character of Karin alive. As the reader travels along Karin's path of misadventures, the reader gets a great idea of Karin's personality and feelings. In addition, this is a story of a very unusual girl, so it is great for readers that are interested in unique characters, like the cyborg children of Gunslinger Girl.
Red Flags: graphic violence
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