Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino

When I watched the first season of Gunslinger Girls a few years back, I was really drawn to the story of these cybernetic enhanced little girls who are used as assassins in a fictional Italy. The series had a somberness and humanity to it that I hadn't seen much in anime. Although the plots usually revolved around a mission, the series strength was that it would explore relationships of young girls to themselves, the world, and the men they were partnered with. Finding encouragement, nurturing, and direction in a difficult world were the common themes. Unusual stuff, Gunslinger Girl.When I saw the initial art designs for season 2 I pretty much avoided it outright. The show had abandoned it's gothic realism in favor of a less expensive, more colorful and cartoony look. More jarring sitting thru the first episode, which recaps the essential info of season 1, with some really uninspired art and animation, and the music had descended into a pretty generic synth heavy score. However, as the action concluded, the story shifted to the girl's dormitory and Henrietta's discovery of a present her handler Jose has bought for her. All of a sudden, all the strengths of the show were back. I can't help feeling that the first episode was a test for the animators to see if they could pull off an episode with a smaller budget and a shorter schedule. That's how I look at, and in that way, it's forgiveable, because Il Teatrino delivers the goods when it comes to narrative and emotion.***minor spoilers***The main story arc revolves around the FRF assassin boy Pinocchio, his relationship with Franco and Flanca (the bomb makers from season 1), his encounter with Triela, and the bombing of an important civil project in southern Italy. The show once again makes no clear stand about the morality of any of it's characters, but does steep us in their backstories, and they're quite good. Rather than center on Jose and Henrietta, whose relationship is fairly well established in 1, it is Triela and Hillshire who are the focus of Il Teatrino. Her origin backstory ('Flowers of Goodwill, ep 10) is very powerful, and Hillshire is no longer this stern man in a grey suit of season 1, but a an ex-cop, learning to be more compassionate to the coming of age angst of his "sister". Other standout episodes include 'A Day in the Life of Claes' (ep 8), which uses the song 'Scarborough Fair' as a wonderful subtext for her feelings of loss, 'Caterina and the Circle of Revenge' is amazing drama, as Flanca recalls her motivations for becoming a terrorist, and facing some angry victims, and 'Clever Snake, Simple Pigeon' where the girls must assassinate a target at a showing of the opera 'Tosca'.. which is the spiritual center of this season, the opera's meaning and it's associations with the social politics of Italy...Where season 1 was a slower, more deliberate pace, season 2 goes for action and high emotion, and in this reviewers opinion, succeeds on all counts. I was interested in all the characters, and couldn't wait to see what happened next.Like others are saying, if you liked season 1, give it a chance. It's a different flavor, but it's still Gunslinger Girl. And it's still a great dramatic niche-anime.

Ratings are a guesstimate, usually on the "safe side".Genre: Action SuspenseSituations: PG+Language: Probably PGNudity: PG or lessViolence: PG, maybe RLanguage options: Separate Language and Sub-title enable. (Yay!)Another Funimation series that commits the cardinal sin... you can't skip or fast forward through the load ads at the beginning.Special Features: Japanese TV interview #2 of 5... (Why bother if you're not going to put them all in?). Textless Songs. Original TV Commercials. And, of course, Trailers: Most are done well (they actually give you enough info about the show to decide if it's worth looking into) but a couple are vague and one is for a live action movie. (I dislike this. I want anime ads in my anime). This is the story of cybernetically enhanced children assassins and their handlers used by the State (Italy in this story) to remove "threats to national security". It deals with questions of ethics and morality vs. convenience (or "necessity" as governments would call it). They also go a little further in this second series to add the weight of the advancements the girls cybernetic testing are providing to the medical community. The "bad-guys" this time are more developed adding the question of "are they really bad?". There is more, but I'll leave something for you to enjoy... This is the sequel series to Gunslinger Girl and mostly lives up to expectations. It is thought provoking and well written. This series explores the girl's relationships with their handlers and the reasons their handlers came to their jobs. It also interestingly goes into the girl's target's past and their motivations and reasons as well. Don't get the idea this is nothing but sentimental flashbacks though, there is an active "present" story line and plenty of action. While I still prefer the original series slightly, I'd say this is a worthy sequel to a great series.

The original Gunslinger Girl (in Japanese with English subtitles) was a piece of art in all respects. It was visually pleasing, the characters were alive and believable, and the story was intriguing to the point that you wanted to watch the entire series in a single setting. Season 2, Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, was of equal stature in its original airing in Japanese.My review is of the English dubbed version, however, and that leaves a great deal to be desired. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the first six episode in the original language with English subtitles. I was unfortunate enough that when I purchased the VOD download, that it contains only the English language version. In spite of what other reviews have said about the quality of the English language voice acting, my view is quite different. I found it dry and uninteresting, and a detraction from the story that unfolds on the screen. To add insult to injury, the English cast seemed not to even be able to apply the appropriate accent when speaking character names.The result is an experience that left me wanting. It's a shame because the story is of a superb caliber. Had this item been presented with the ability to chose audio language and subtitles, it would have received a full five stars. As it is, I can only offer four.I've since purchased the Blu-ray of season 2 and was able to enjoy the series the way it was meant to be viewed. I will also state what some others have said regarding the art in season 2. While not bad, the big-eyed-typical-anime-style detracted from the visual appeal of the first season. I do wish they'd stayed with the original animation house.

'Il Treatino' seems to have been slated by many reviewers, and there's no doubting it's an inferior effort compared to the first series of Gunslinger Girl. The character design is much cruder, and the animation is frequently downright static. That said, the presence of an overreaching story arc - plans by the FRF to destroy a new bridge - gives this series a more holistic feel, and there's a serious effort to delve into the characters of the girls and their handlers a little more, not to mention freelance bombers Caterina & Franco. The introduction of the unfortunately-named boy assassin Pinocchio provides a logical nemesis. Best of all, though, is how the first series' relentless amorality is seamlessly carried over: the 'good guys' routinely torture detainees and eliminate undesirables, while the 'terrorists' fret about civilian casualties. Like its predecessor, a compelling, uncomfortable, thought-provoking watch.

Excellent!

I think that to fairly review the second season of gunslinger girl, you have to divide the review into two parts: the story in and the anime itself.The story is very different from the first season, in where it gives the viewer something to go on from beginning to end instead of what we saw in the first season where all the characters are introduced. The story itself is quite entertaining and gave me the rush and intrigue that I've come to expect from Gunslinger Girl.The anime itself however was just mediocre. There is no possible comparison between the first and second season that can be made: I don't know whether they changed production studio or decided to try something new, but the visuals feel cheap and prolonged. When looking at the first season, there's never a still background: there is always movement. In the second season, it's not rare for the first 5 to 10 seconds of a scene being pan shots of still drawings, which feels as though the series is being dragged on without advancing anything.In conclusion, while bringing on a good story with an interesting conclusion, don't expect the same visual quality as what was delivered in the first season.

While not as good as the first season/series, it still holds up as an enjoyable enough show. Granted I haven't had a chance to finish it yet, but I'm not sure that a good conclusion would boost my rating to five stars or that a bad one would lower my rating to three stars. Anyway, if you're a fan of the first season, you'll have trouble adjusting to some art/animation differences as well as a slightly different way of telling their story, and if you're not really a fan I wouldn't recommend grabbing this season because it's definitely not quite as good as the first one.

LOVE IT!!!