Finally finished watching Season 2 of Gunslinger Girl, which is formally titled: Gunslinger Girl 2: Il Teatrino....
**SPOILER ALERT** This series picks up where the original left off. If anything it is even darker, even more visually alluring, with tasteful CGI used to heighten certain effects. The voice actors are the same as in the original series, but the characters have developed and changed over time; they've matured and are more experienced. Rico is less stupid and more focused. Henrietta is more assertive and no longer the shrinking violet she used to be in Season 1. She's also more passionate and even more clearly in love with her "handler", Jose, than she was even in Season 1. When Rico accidentally breaks a gift that Jose had given Henrietta, she's hot with anger at Rico and cries bitterly. She does eventually forgive Rico (after the gift is repaired)...I loved Henrietta in Season 1 precisely because she was a shrinking Violet, so soft spoken and shy. I was kind of expecting more of the same for Season 2, but I was also pleased by her development and growth as a character. She seems happier than in Season 1, and more in tune with her emotions.
The character who changed least is Claes, who is basically their reserve agent and resident brain, not to mention cybernetic experimental guinea pig. Claes remains bookish and reserved, tends to her garden, and contemplates the deeper meaning of the song "Scarborough Faire". She's aloof and sometimes comes across as cold and analytical, though in the final volume expresses gratitude that her comrades all came back from the latest mission alive, because she felt lonely being at HQ all alone...there's a genuine warmth in her voice when she says this and so I believe her.
The character I was most surprised by was Anjelica, voiced by Monica Rial...(not pictured below; below is Henrietta, as depicted in Season 1)
Above is the Box Art for Season 1, the end of which, Volume 3, I could have sworn that poor little Anjelica had died! (I'm pretty sure this is Anjelica below, e.g. Monica Rial's character, but it could also be Claes without glasses):
Anjelica was probably the saddest girl of the group (all of their histories are heartbreaking; Triella's backstory is discussed in Season 1, but graphically shown in Season 2; more on that later). Claes is especially cruel to her. The ending episode, with the Beethoven and all, was beautiful, but also a real tear jerker. I thought for sure it meant that Anjelica had died.
But she didn't...she survived and comes back for Season 2. She continues to struggle initially but finishes Season 2 on a much "happier" note, relatively speaking. She's finally back on par with the others in terms of her contributions as an agent.
Season 2's main focus is on Triella, her handler Hillshire, and their opposite numbers on the enemy side, Pinocchio and Cristiano. Triella has an early encounter with the assassin Pinocchio and is wounded, knocked unconscious, and very nearly killed but for some reason Pinocchio can't bring himself to shoot her, and so spares her life. Triella spends the rest of the season angry at herself for letting Pinocchio get the drop on her and beat her, and swears revenge.
In a grisly final battle in the last episode, Triella finally bests Pino, but it is very nearly a Pyhrric victory for Triella, who is very nearly killed herself. Hillshire is there to hold her when all the dust has settled and the enemy is down. It is a very tender scene when Triella leans her head gently on Hillshire's chest, and he strokes her hair gently. Triella is the oldest of the "Gunslinger Girls", and since she was cybernetically altered long *after* puberty, unlike all the other girls, Triella has to deal with a monthly period and is moodier and more emotionally developed than the other girls. Triella's history is utterly horrific...before she was adopted by the Social Welfare Agency, she had been held captive, raped, beaten, and was made the subject of a torture/snuff film. Hillshire found and rescued her with the help of an Interpol colleague, who unfortunately gets mortally wounded by a thug's gunshot. When Triella recounts her vague memories of her "mother", she is actually describing this female former colleague of Hillshire's, now deceased. He breaks down afterward every time Triella brings up her "mother". Mercifully, Triella has no clear memory of her horrific life before her adoption by the Social Welfare Agency. None of the girls do...this has been wiped clean; nearly all of them were victims of abuse or neglect in their past lives, however, and all at death's door.
When you stop and think about just how f*cked up the world of Gunslinger Girl is, it kind of gives you the willies. It's a beautiful series but the beauty is grounded in a world that is utterly full of horror.
The girls are all developmentally arrested in their physical growth...Triella will always be an older teen, and the younger girls will always be young teens and tweens. But they are growing and maturing mentally with time and experience.
I like that Rico is more focused...her handler Jean is still a jerk, but their tension is considerably less in this series and Rico remains unquestioningly loyal to Jean. I really wish there was an Italian dub of this Anime, since all of the action is indeed set in Italy. I would so totally watch the Italian dub if it existed.
Even the "bad guys" have depth and motivation, and even have sympathetic qualities...in many ways most of them are victims of their particular circumstances and upbringing...it's hard not to like Franca and her bomber boyfriend. Even Triella recognizes the common human bond she shares with Pino, and that his devotion to Cristiano is not unlike her own unswerving devotion to Hillshire. As the last Chapter Title has it, "And so Pinocchio Became A Human Boy", by means of this recognition by Triella.
The only plot discontinuity I didn't like is Triella ditching her 1897 Winchester Trench Gun in the final assault...yes, it gets knocked out of her hands, but she doesn't go back to pick it up, which puts her at a distinct disadvantage in her final fight with Pino. If she'd managed to unload some double 00 buck into Pino, that'd be all she wrote for him. Maybe if he'd managed to grab it and toss it out the window or something. But no, Triella just dropped it and didn't go back for it, for whatever dumb reason. I know they wanted to have a final sword/knife fight (actually bayonet versus knife), but they should've found a more convincing way to eliminate the shotgun from the equation rather than [Triella drops shotgun]. Lame!!
The Gunslinger Girl 2 is just as action packed as Gunslinger Girl (original series); if anything the pacing seems even faster. There's a single guiding narrative and it's less episodic than the first series. I look forward to watching the Gunslinger Girl 2 OVA courtesy of Netflix in a few more rotations and will record my impression here at that later date once I'm done with it.
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