Honorary Princess(es): Gunslinger Girls

TV Series: Gunslinger Girl (English title)
Gansuringā Gāru (Japanese title)

Gunslinger Girls

Henrietta
Rico
Triela
Angelica
Claes
Elsa
Beatrice
Petrushka (manga only)
Silvia (manga only)
Chiara (manga only)

To make it clear, I know that for this entry and all for Guslinger Girl character entries, I will be basically focusing on the characters featured in the anime series, not the manga so for the entries, the list is Henrietta, Rico, Triela, Angelica, Claes, Elsa and Beatrice. The latter two are not featured in the picture above as they are minor characters in comparison to the other five. If there are any more anime series/films that feature more Gunslinger Girls as main characters, they will be included in the blog.

The Character(s)

"The girl has a mechanical body. However, she is still an adolescent child."

The title and tagline says it all about the main characters in this anime/manga. Basically, these girls are child assassins. Set in Italy, the show revolves around the Social Welfare Agency which is a charitable institution sponsored by the Italian government. The aim of the SWA is to aid the rehabilitation of the physically injured. Or, to be precise, that is what it wants the government and public to think they are doing, In reality, it is a military organisation that specialising in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism. The Gunslinger Girls are a part of Section 2 which employs young girls as agents to assassinate terrorists, gangsters and other undesirable elements of society.

Doesn't sound realistic, does it? The truth is that it is based on a true fact of life. In some countries, South America and Mexico for example, children (especially pre-teens) are used as assassins. In truth, children are seen as perfect as assassins due to the overall perception that all children are innocent. Also, in most countries, minors are not jailed. Also, minors are very naive and can easier to control than adults are so they are more obedient overall. The perfect weapon.

The tragedy is not just about these girls being child assassins. That is merely the tip of the iceberg. These girls started off as patients brought into the SWA for several reasons, whether it'd be assault or illness. They have suffered at least one traumatic experience in their early lives and it is this that has brought them to the SWA. Once there, they are brainwashed into forgetting their pasts and they are fitted with cybernetic implants. The implants consist of synthesised muscles which result in heightened strength within the girls, improves their reflexes and give him a high resilience to physical damage and pain. As well as that, these girls are conditioned to use weapons and obey their Handlers.

Each girl is assigned to her own Handler (which, strangely enough are all male) who either have a military, police or intelligence background and therefore capable enough to provide the girl in his care with training as well as act as mentor. They are referred to as a fratello, which is Italian for "brother". Because of this authority and care, he is free to choose how to train her and how much his girl is conditioned (otherwise known as brainwashing).

The relationship between each girl and their handlers are different and range from the indifferent to an almost romantic aspect. How each girl feels towards her handler and how he treats her is an important element of the plot.

Although all the girls do not complain about their life in the SWA (one even states her life is happier), it should never be forgotten that these girls have been brainwashed and it is hard to know whether part of this love is from the brainwashing or whether they are truly happy.

The ultimate tragedy of this anime/manga is the outcome of these girls. They all experienced a traumatic experience before they were brought in the SWA and were turned into cyborg killers, conditioned to obey their handlers (and maybe even conditioned to love them to some degree). However, it is implied in the manga and anime that the cyborg program is a relatively new one and was only developed to use them as assassins when their first cyborg was quick in her reflexes during a fight between two older men. The SWA knows that the brainwashing process alone limits her life span and the more intense the conditioning, the shorter her life span but the cyborg process is not perfect as is shown through their first cyborg, Angelica and later through the second cyborg, Triela. Regardless of their swiftness and coldness when on the job, it is easy to forget that they are mortal and as seen in the manga and anime, does not last as long as the SWA would like.

They are seen as Princesses because a feeling comes that anyone with a heart would want to take these girls from this life and try to let them have a normal life. Sadly, one gets a feeling that even if this did happen and the conditioning was reversed, they are doomed girls anyway.