Karl Olson
09-21-2005, 03:04 AM
Prefacing this review would be like trying to cover the aurora borealis with a dark lens: it just wouldn't help. So I'll get right to it: <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> Vol. 3 is fantastic.
This is what series that try to have a more ambient, less keyed-up pace should strive for. It's what voice actors should dream of being capable of. It's a masterful blend of visuals, vocal performances and music that at the very least make it one of the best shows Morio Asaka's ever directed, and it's not like he's any slouch with stuff like <i>Cardcaptor Sakura</i> and <i>Final Fantasy VII: Last Order</i> to his credit. It's probably one of Madhouse Studio's finest non-theatrical works. Basically, <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> is unsettlingly excellent.
Vol. 3 picks up right where Vol. 2 left off, continuing the Elsa de Sica arc. The last episode of Vol. 2 introduced the last of the Gunslinger Girls, Elsa. Her handler, Lauro, is so cold and unfeeling that he almost makes Jean's physical abuse of Rico seem fatherly. Elsa and Lauro turn up dead in the first episode of Vol. 3. It would seem like the work of the Republican Faction terrorists they've been fighting, but something doesn't quite add up. Section 2 tries to cover up the real story, but Section 1 does its own investigation and thanks to Henrietta and Jose, they work out what probably happened, and though I don't want to spoil it, the truth is more screwed up than just Elsa dying to protect Lauro from some Padania thugs.
The final two episodes deal extensively with Angelica while giving each of the girls some final moments to shine. Angelica's desperate to try to go on another mission in spite of her poor health and failing memory, and Marco, being perhaps too kind, consents when the Agency needs to take on a huge operation to take out a terrorist hideout. She ends up taking fire and has to go back in the hospital, where she realizes the true fate of the girls. The last episode chronicles Angelica's collapse, Triela's amazing capabilities and Henrietta's honest emotion and spirit. I'm not spoiling any more of the ending, but it's brilliant and almost operatic. It's something I'd really expect more from a PBS drama than a girls with guns show, but <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> has that kind of artistic sensibility and intellectual depth.
Technical details are on the same high level. Outside of maybe one or two visual glitches, the animation is very nicely storyboarded and very smooth and clean, especially given the level of detail on the girls. There are lots of little bits of shading in motion, and there are theatrical works that don't have that kind of detail. It's really got a cinematographic usage of the palette, comparable perhaps only to Makoto Shinkai's works, though without the idealism. <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> has a striking visual realism in its design and color and it's just entrancing, even when it's dark and foreboding. The compositing is really nice as well, and the digital background work is very good for a series that ran in 2003 in a very late night time slot. The audio is expertly mixed on both English and Japanese tracks, giving the series an appropriately cinematic tone and layout in the stereo field.
The writing and direction then make excellent use of that technical perfection. Morio Asaka hits gold here. Everything comes together. The scenes have just the right words, music, visuals, line deliveries and pacing. There are very broken, but human characters; everyone in this show is screwed up in some capacity, but it's the kind of screwed up you feel sorry for or maybe even relate to. There's an Icarian morality and philosophy running through it, which works perfectly. The thought of these girls as people who came out of terrible circumstances into a wider world only to fall apart again into an even greater loss is perhaps a little over the top, maybe even exploitive to the jaded, but it is nonetheless perfectly fitting and brilliantly woven into the fabric of the series, so much that it took a few views and a lot of thought for me to "get" the show.
However, if the writing takes that kind of investment, it means it's at least intellectually accomplished. Though emotionally, I think it's been harder on me every time to watch it, so it's only worked better upon repeat viewings. Good shows should only get harder to detach from.
The voice acting and music is great as well. FUNimation may have taken a few odd liberties with the script at points, but the original intent is still clear, and perhaps more importantly, the voice actors punch in with some outstanding performances, easily the grade of LA's best work. In a sense, it's like <i>Cowboy Bebop</i> -- it may not be word for word, but the performances are so dead on that it works to their advantage. The more amazing thing is not only did they pull those performances out of their veteran actors, they had newcomers in the studio and they nailed it. The Japanese cast also puts in some excellent performances. The musical score is top notch, and the finishing touch of Beethoven's 9th during the last episode's closing scene makes a great finale.
The DVD itself does lose the previous Funimation tradition of having subtitles and dubtitles, keeping only the subtitles (I bet too many people didn't navigate to the right track), but it still has seven points of access per episode (Funimation deserves a trophy for that), commentaries from the production and director staff (yes, it's the American staff, but it's still fun and informative), plus the dossiers, textless OP and ED and another "building the character" bit. The reversible cover is very pretty as well, and video and audio are encoded very cleanly and crisply.
All in all, <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> is an excellent anime; it is darkly beautiful, subtly intelligent and clearly brilliant. It has action, drama, good characterization, lovely animation and visuals, excellent voice acting and music, and precise direction. Definitely not one for the kids, but I'm sure that's obvious. But like any incredible phenomenon, you'll have to see this for yourself.
This is what series that try to have a more ambient, less keyed-up pace should strive for. It's what voice actors should dream of being capable of. It's a masterful blend of visuals, vocal performances and music that at the very least make it one of the best shows Morio Asaka's ever directed, and it's not like he's any slouch with stuff like <i>Cardcaptor Sakura</i> and <i>Final Fantasy VII: Last Order</i> to his credit. It's probably one of Madhouse Studio's finest non-theatrical works. Basically, <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> is unsettlingly excellent.
Vol. 3 picks up right where Vol. 2 left off, continuing the Elsa de Sica arc. The last episode of Vol. 2 introduced the last of the Gunslinger Girls, Elsa. Her handler, Lauro, is so cold and unfeeling that he almost makes Jean's physical abuse of Rico seem fatherly. Elsa and Lauro turn up dead in the first episode of Vol. 3. It would seem like the work of the Republican Faction terrorists they've been fighting, but something doesn't quite add up. Section 2 tries to cover up the real story, but Section 1 does its own investigation and thanks to Henrietta and Jose, they work out what probably happened, and though I don't want to spoil it, the truth is more screwed up than just Elsa dying to protect Lauro from some Padania thugs.
The final two episodes deal extensively with Angelica while giving each of the girls some final moments to shine. Angelica's desperate to try to go on another mission in spite of her poor health and failing memory, and Marco, being perhaps too kind, consents when the Agency needs to take on a huge operation to take out a terrorist hideout. She ends up taking fire and has to go back in the hospital, where she realizes the true fate of the girls. The last episode chronicles Angelica's collapse, Triela's amazing capabilities and Henrietta's honest emotion and spirit. I'm not spoiling any more of the ending, but it's brilliant and almost operatic. It's something I'd really expect more from a PBS drama than a girls with guns show, but <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> has that kind of artistic sensibility and intellectual depth.
Technical details are on the same high level. Outside of maybe one or two visual glitches, the animation is very nicely storyboarded and very smooth and clean, especially given the level of detail on the girls. There are lots of little bits of shading in motion, and there are theatrical works that don't have that kind of detail. It's really got a cinematographic usage of the palette, comparable perhaps only to Makoto Shinkai's works, though without the idealism. <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> has a striking visual realism in its design and color and it's just entrancing, even when it's dark and foreboding. The compositing is really nice as well, and the digital background work is very good for a series that ran in 2003 in a very late night time slot. The audio is expertly mixed on both English and Japanese tracks, giving the series an appropriately cinematic tone and layout in the stereo field.
The writing and direction then make excellent use of that technical perfection. Morio Asaka hits gold here. Everything comes together. The scenes have just the right words, music, visuals, line deliveries and pacing. There are very broken, but human characters; everyone in this show is screwed up in some capacity, but it's the kind of screwed up you feel sorry for or maybe even relate to. There's an Icarian morality and philosophy running through it, which works perfectly. The thought of these girls as people who came out of terrible circumstances into a wider world only to fall apart again into an even greater loss is perhaps a little over the top, maybe even exploitive to the jaded, but it is nonetheless perfectly fitting and brilliantly woven into the fabric of the series, so much that it took a few views and a lot of thought for me to "get" the show.
However, if the writing takes that kind of investment, it means it's at least intellectually accomplished. Though emotionally, I think it's been harder on me every time to watch it, so it's only worked better upon repeat viewings. Good shows should only get harder to detach from.
The voice acting and music is great as well. FUNimation may have taken a few odd liberties with the script at points, but the original intent is still clear, and perhaps more importantly, the voice actors punch in with some outstanding performances, easily the grade of LA's best work. In a sense, it's like <i>Cowboy Bebop</i> -- it may not be word for word, but the performances are so dead on that it works to their advantage. The more amazing thing is not only did they pull those performances out of their veteran actors, they had newcomers in the studio and they nailed it. The Japanese cast also puts in some excellent performances. The musical score is top notch, and the finishing touch of Beethoven's 9th during the last episode's closing scene makes a great finale.
The DVD itself does lose the previous Funimation tradition of having subtitles and dubtitles, keeping only the subtitles (I bet too many people didn't navigate to the right track), but it still has seven points of access per episode (Funimation deserves a trophy for that), commentaries from the production and director staff (yes, it's the American staff, but it's still fun and informative), plus the dossiers, textless OP and ED and another "building the character" bit. The reversible cover is very pretty as well, and video and audio are encoded very cleanly and crisply.
All in all, <i>Gunslinger Girl</i> is an excellent anime; it is darkly beautiful, subtly intelligent and clearly brilliant. It has action, drama, good characterization, lovely animation and visuals, excellent voice acting and music, and precise direction. Definitely not one for the kids, but I'm sure that's obvious. But like any incredible phenomenon, you'll have to see this for yourself.