It's not entirely clear what's going on in this show. Rahzel is kicked out of her house with just a blind-folded teddy bear and a command to "see the world." She comes across an oh-so-myseriously-sexy albino-with-issues (and a gun) named Alzeido. They go on random adventures together (inexplicably joined by the playboy Baroqueheat) and learn the value of friendship and true love. Or something. Also, she has vague magic powers that seem to involve shooting generic energy blasts and the playboy can turn his hand into a... sword... thing. And don't worry about keeping any sense of time or space or tension during the fights, 'cause there is none.
It's got all the classic shoujo elements: a cheerful heroine, a silent-but-sexy type, and an overly affectionate hunk. The meandering "plot" and the lack of any distinct setting, per se, makes it difficult to follow - as do the stilted and heavy-handed references to Mysterious Pasts for both the bishis - but the actual dialogue was surprisingly sharp enough for me to give it a little time to develop. Our heroine isn't a swooning ditz, she's a reasonable bad-ass in her own right and her exchanges with both her gigolos are surprisingly entertaining. She's got a sharp tongue and so do they. Perhaps even more importantly, they don't insist on continually denying obvious feelings for each other. While they all certainly
enjoy putting on the act that they don't care about each other, they all ultimately admit it and that gives
Hatenko Yugi a leg up on my female harem shows.
Unfortunately, that's not really enough to overcome the show's central flaws. The hunks (and even Rahzel herself) are set up with intensely dramatic, mysterious and tragic backstories and we know this because we are
told so. Flat out. Repeatedly. Usually by Rahzel herself. The accompanying heavy-handed metaphors drag whatever episodic plot they're foisted upon, giving everything a childish feeling at odds with the often dark and brutal subject matter. The
undeniable gravitas is just shoved down the viewer's throat. It's possible it
might have worked with some kind of central plot to hang on to, but instead it all collapses under its own meandering weight.
It's a shame, as I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Rahzel bickering with her man-whores. Fans of shoujo with a high tolerance for "Isn't that
tragic?" who are looking for something a little different will probably find something to enjoy here, but everyone else can probably give it a pass. It
could develop into something good, but with the level of storytelling presented thus far, it'll likely come at a high price.
based on 3 episodes : ANN : Wikipedia : YouTube
So I'm done. Not recommended to anyone, unfortunately.
It's got all the classic shoujo elements: a cheerful heroine, a silent-but-sexy type, and an overly affectionate hunk. The meandering "plot" and the lack of any distinct setting, per se, makes it difficult to follow - as do the stilted and heavy-handed references to Mysterious Pasts for both the bishis - but the actual dialogue was surprisingly sharp enough for me to give it a little time to develop. Our heroine isn't a swooning ditz, she's a reasonable bad-ass in her own right and her exchanges with both her gigolos are surprisingly entertaining. She's got a sharp tongue and so do they. Perhaps even more importantly, they don't insist on continually denying obvious feelings for each other. While they all certainly enjoy putting on the act that they don't care about each other, they all ultimately admit it and that gives Hatenko Yugi a leg up on my female harem shows.
Unfortunately, that's not really enough to overcome the show's central flaws. The hunks (and even Rahzel herself) are set up with intensely dramatic, mysterious and tragic backstories and we know this because we are told so. Flat out. Repeatedly. Usually by Rahzel herself. The accompanying heavy-handed metaphors drag whatever episodic plot they're foisted upon, giving everything a childish feeling at odds with the often dark and brutal subject matter. The undeniable gravitas is just shoved down the viewer's throat. It's possible it might have worked with some kind of central plot to hang on to, but instead it all collapses under its own meandering weight.
It's a shame, as I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Rahzel bickering with her man-whores. Fans of shoujo with a high tolerance for "Isn't that tragic?" who are looking for something a little different will probably find something to enjoy here, but everyone else can probably give it a pass. It could develop into something good, but with the level of storytelling presented thus far, it'll likely come at a high price.
I'm a big fan of the original series. It managed to combine slick animation with a completely fan-service, pandering concept and somehow turn it into a rather compelling tragedy. Both the manga and the original anime had a wonderful atmosphere. The juxtaposition of delicate young girls toting around assault weapons and remorseless murdering anyone they were ordered to was honed even further with the razor-thin line they all walked between following orders and losing all control in their mad obsession with their handler. The characters were all given surprising depth, despite clearly being from a checklist of "character traits to include in successful anime production."
All that the sequel manages to retain of that comes from direct references to its predecessor. It clearly had no budget for animation, substituting shaky still images and speed lines for quality production. Nor does it have any solid writing, either, feeling the need to state the obvious that was left simply understood before. There are no tactics, no questionable morality, no smiling children murdering each other, no real attention to detail or subtle charm. Just schoolgirls with guns and mental problems shooting totally eeeeeevil Italian terrorists.
Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino- is, bluntly, just about everything the original was criticized for being without any of the redeeming elements I found in it. Not recommended for anyone, unless poorly-animated middle schoolers with machine guns is really enough to get you going.
