Gunslinger Girl (End Game?)

Visual Novel Community Anime/Otaku Discussions
#1

Major spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

Anyone else keeping up with the Gunslinger Girl manga? It appears we are reaching end game with the original cast.

  • Angelica is dead. Fatally injured using her body as a shield to protect Marco from a terrorist bomb. She was going to die anyways though…

  • Triela is now fully aware of what Hillshire has gone through - what he has given up - to ensure her place in the Welfare Program. She knows that Hillshire cares for her well being, looking over her as a daughter he never had (and perhaps never will). She honestly fears losing him now - and it’s not just the brainwashing and drugs doing it to her. Hillshire has also sacrificed himself to protect her from harm, which is just driving the tsundere to the edge.

  • Henrietta is losing her memory rapidly - which is what Angelica suffered from. She can’t remember what she’s done on past Christmas with Jose… even the one from a year ago. She’s aware her time might be short…

  • Rico might be turning yandere… ironically enough, because Jean is actually showing her affection, rather than the “work dog” mentality he’s had before.

  • Claes is starting to remember Raballo. He now haunts her dreams. Not gonna be pretty when she puts two-and-two together.

  • Beatrice… well okay… she hasn’t been shown since her first appearance. I’m sure she’s going through her own personal Hell too. :stuck_out_tongue:

Yu Aida is slowly introducing a new generation of killer girls: starting with Petrushka. They’re teenage models of the lolicon prototypes. She has three other, yet unnamed teen friends, who she shares how wonderful it is to have a Handler - I assume that means they don’t have theirs assigned yet.

#2

It was kinda made clear in volume #9. I mean, at Angelica’s last moments, while going to seek Pero for her, Marco commented to Jose that “your cyborg doesn’t have much time left either”. It was later “officially” stated by the department, that the first generation was short-lived, and that it was only a matter of little time before the girls other than Angela started to fall over as well.

In a way, I’m glad Aida Yuu had the guts to properly keep his manga going, with an almost objective analysis of the situations, without giving them girls unnecessary drama, nor life-saving miracles.

I don’t know how well the latter girls will be developed, though, since Aida Yuu explored already in depth all the possible relationships a handler can have with his cyborg: brother/sister (Jose), master/tool (Jean), fatherly figure/daughter (Hillshire), master/burden (Marco) and lovers (Alessandro). With Claes’ missing her handler and Elsa sharing an unrequited love (a contrast to Petra and Alessandro), the possibilities are wholly covered, and any other relationship may feel like a copy of a previous one.

For my part, I’d rather the author stops it at Petra: the better is the enemy of the good, and I wouldn’t want a series as magnificent as GSG to disappoint.

#3

You’re right of course. It was always foreshadowed way in the beginning, when Jose got Henrietta that camera and diary, but it’s just hard to accept that “the time has come” to see the end of such a memorable character. I knew it was coming… but to think Henrietta has less than a year of life left to her. :frowning:

Examining how the stories going, I think Aida is exploring how the handlers react to their crumbling world, rather than the cyborgs. We know Jose will be tremendously traumatized by the loss Henrietta: he made her his sister reborn… which Jean seriously warn against. Although Jean isn’t taking his own medicine either, showering Rico with new attention (and guilt) without noticing the changes in Rico’s feelings.

Triela I knew was coming from the beginning, as Hillshire always showered attention her: more so than Jose did for Henrietta even. Problem was that Triela was too damn tsundere to figure it out… it was only a matter of time until she did. Now she’s got the picture, but knowing Hillshire, he’ll probably take a bullet meant for her and die from it. It would be interesting to see what a “berzerker” cyborg does after she’s seen her Handler killed…

I’m still not sure how Claes is going to be handled… she’s so difficult to read. If she discovers the fate of her past Handler - and it’s pretty obvious the Welfare Agency killed him for going AWOL - does she “mentally shutdown” like she did before, go into a murderous rage, or quietly scheme?

I agree… although I am interested to see where things go. Those other teen cyborgs were interesting. Perhaps it won’t be so bad… There’s still Beatrice as well: incredibly apathetic to her surroundings; whereas her handler Bernardo seemed to be a quite jolly fellow. They did seem to possess good chemistry, despite the polar personalities. She didn’t rub off as “rebellious” as Triela either.

#4

It’s what one could call ‘fascination’, you know: to love someone so much you at the same time wish for her/him happiness, yet at the same time wish for her/his ultimate demise, feeling the latter is ineluctable and fearing to get there, yet irresistibly drawn to keep reading/watching the story unfold/acting to bring out the impeding doom. That’s what fascination is: to be at the same time afraid of and attracted to. :smiley:

#5

Seems you’re not gonna get your wish… nor is GSG going to end. I suppose we’ll see if this is for good or ill. :expressionless: Most recent issue is focusing on Beatrice (who seems alienated by Triela’s personality) and we’re formally introduced with two new “fresh out the factory” Getai: Chiara and Silvia

I’m interested in seeing who their Handlers are (new recruits or agency veterans). Of course they could also just be cute [color=red]Red Shirts[/color].

Sorta disappointed though… I mean why create all new girls? There’s still a few “Jane Doe” characters wandering about… I’d like to know who this unnamed girl on the far left hand side was.

I suppose it’s to show that the agency is larger than just the characters we’ve been shown…

#6

sighs
Petra is a Marie Sue enough (not to mention her handler’s almost extra-ordinary abilities). I hope the new aren’t as well.

#7

Wooooar! They can now end the series for some out there people: it happened.

Massive Triela spoiler!!!

[spoiler]The day when Triela admits her feelings to herself and her handler, is the day GSG has lost 30% of it’s purpose. :stuck_out_tongue:

It’s still a father-daughter relationship, so no worries about jumping the shark. :slight_smile:

I love Hillshire’s look: “WTF kind of drugs did they give her this time!?”

[/spoiler]

#8

Volume #10 is great for the Triela part, indeed, though Henrietta’s bits omen future happy times for her and Jose as well!

#9

Cute as it is, I’ve kinda grown “tired” (for lack of a better word), of the relationship between Jose and Henrietta. It think it’s pretty safe to say, they’re on a smooth track until the day she dies. Jose will never abandon her, and she will never abandon him. We’ve gathered this since the Elsa arc. I think the only real “plot twist” that could change the status quo for them, is if Jose sacrifices himself to save Henrietta and is severely injured. Now THAT would be something. However we already got that from the Triela-Hillshire arc.

Triela and Hillshire was more interesting to me in the later parts, because its so hard to tell what pace it would travel on, and how long would it take for that tsundere armor to breakdown more. Plus their development has REALLY advanced: she’s opened up to him, and he’s grown to understand what makes her tick. :slight_smile:

Jan and Rico are now going to be on my watchlist, because you can tell it’s starting to evolve beyond the “Master” and “Dog” mentality, but what effect this will have on Rico shall be entertaining. There’s also been a few times, when Henrietta and Rico seem to have this unspoken jealousy when they see their handler give “special attention” when working together (for example the time when Rico was balancing herself on the side of a sidewalk, getting Jan to pull her off it and hold her hand for a few moments, then Henrietta doing the same to get Jose to do it).

Still too early to tell where the Beatrice story arc is going (seeing how little we know of her handler). Petra’s has become “too happy” for my tastes - what’s their relationship problem again?

#10

Considering that she admitted to herself wanting to live as long as possible for Hilshire, I’d say that it would typically call her death or his soon. :wink:

#11

That’s… so… evil… :shock:

I agree. Seeing a handler die before his getai, with the getai still remembering him, would be totally heart wrenching… and also reveal a new aspect of the psychological conditioning. Although I think they’re saving that for Claes… with her remembering more and more of Raballo.

Another thing that’s been growing in significance: is how Jan now takes Rico with him to the grave of his fiance; which has happened twice. The very first time we saw him visit the grave however, he didn’t take Rico with him (thus how her brother could punch him). I think there’s double symbolism here - that Jan allows Rico to see him in more vulnerable states, and that Rico knows there’s someone he cared deeply for. I’m willing to bet that Rico knows there’s a woman in the grave (she must have read the name at least once out of curiosity), and that she was very important to her handler. Rico might piece together (if she hasn’t already), that she’s Jan’s instrument of revenge for that woman. It might also indicate to her than Jan has no other woman in his life but her. I think it would be fitting for Rico to feel “love” out that crazy situation… and perhaps another reason why she hasn’t gone Elsa on him yet.

EDIT

Come to think of it… I’m starting to wonder if Jan’s growing care for Rico, is only because Rico has become so important for his vengeance. It takes time to get a getai as good as Rico… she’s at the peak of her effectiveness and loyalty. To lose her now, would be a tremendous blow to his plans. He’s too close to getting revenge to lose her now. Maybe his growing feelings aren’t love at all…

#12

Hillshire is in a sexual relationship with a woman… and it isn’t Triela.

FULL STOP.

Guess they didn’t learn their lesson with Elsa.

Let the yandere begin. :twisted:

#13

Anyone else still reading the series? Last 10 chapters have been nothing but massive damage. 8)

The wonderful dread of Elsa returns. :twisted:

Oh… and the answer to who is the better handler: Jean or Jose? The answer is quite shocking. :frowning:

#14

Last one is 89, right?

Is this about to end? They killed the big bad, and I don’t know if any of the first gen girls is still alive (unless now Petra and the yet unnamed cyborgs become the cast?)

#15

Henrietta + Jose:

Looks like a double suicide. Jose broke his vow to never betray Henrietta. In fact, we now know Jose’s kindness towards her was truly an act all along… He’s fallen so far from the “white knight” he used to seem like. He’s a total bastard and deserves to die.

Rico + Jean:

Now we know that Jean’s asshole act was totally an act. He didn’t hate Rico anywhere near as much as he pretended to… and Rico seems to have known that all along. Jean seemed resigned and ready to die – he told his “goodbyes” just before the power plant raid. Killing Giacomo was all he wanted: so it was the last thing he expected to ever do. But now… Rico is begging him to live for her and still give her purpose. I don’t think he’s quite dead yet… Rico is carrying him out, and you can see him still breathing. Plus from what Rico said, if Jean had died already, she’d have killed herself in grief already.

On a side note… I absolutely love the heart wrenching scene, when Rico and Jean both think how they have nothing to live for anymore at the same time, but for different reasons. Rico for a world without Jean; and Jean for a world without Giacomo.

Triela + Hilshire:

The death vision said it all: it’s not their time yet.

Claes:
Wasn’t involved in the raid, so she’s still alive.

Petrushka + Alessandro:

Do’in fine.

Gattonero + Lupa / Fio + Soni / Fleccia + Yarrow:

Still trapped in that flooding room… but there’s a strong chance they can be saved

As for the Big Bad…

Cristiano is still alive. Crippled… but still alive

Issue 90 is in two weeks… we’ll know who lives and die then. :cry:

#16

I really need to re-read the last few chapters

#17

What? No one posting about the major revelations in the last chapters, even after this many days!? For same. :cry:

I’m predicting the series will end at 100 chapters. Plots are being wrapped up now.

The Welfare Agency is disbanding. The adults are going back to “normal” intelligence or law enforcement. The surviving cyborg girls will be “demilitarized” and become medical research patients.

We already know Jose and Henrietta are dead.

Hilshire is dead. Not entirely sure about Triela yet… few chapters ago, claimed “it wasn’t her time.” She was last seen laying on Hilshire’s corpse.

Rico and Jan are alive. However Jan appears to have suffered total memory loss. He did not recognize Rico.

Claes is fine.

Petrushka is dying of cancer radiation poisoning. Alessandro is fine.

Gattonero + Lupa / Fio + Soni / Fleccia + Yarrow were saved.

Marco is now field commander of what’s left of the Agency.

#18

They’ve actually started a process of converting the girls back to normal… starting with Petrushka.

Also this whole thing about being able to restore memories might mean Jan isn’t as hopeless as it seems.