Gunslinger Girl is a reflective, melancholic piece of art that rewards the attentive and inquisitive viewer. Make no mistake; this is a psychological anime first and foremost, exploring characters, relationships and the crises and existential issues they face. The title, marketing and so on do little to communicate the series' real strengths or purpose so I could not blame anyone for expecting a series heavy on action and simple moral issues and ending up disappointed because of it, and I imagine this is part of why Gunslinger Girl does not seem to have the strongest reputation in the anime community. There is little overarching narrative to engage in, only sporadic and swift action to enjoy and no primary antagonist or overall goal to aim for. If this sounds interesting to you, this may well be something you really enjoy.

The series follows girls who were all but lost to life being taken in by an agency, given cyborg bodies and training, and being told to kill terrorists. Unsurprising then that so many people expect more action and fun from this series. But this setup serves to put the characters into an environment where relationships and issues take a deep root and grow, as they live at an agency surrounded only by other cyborgs and employees of the agency. The true content of the show is the growth of the girls, their bonds with each other and their relationships with their handlers. The setup exists to explore the realisms of each character. Every character in Gunslinger Girl serves a purpose and is bereft of superfluous characteristics or scenes. Many of the scenes are subtle. Characters are not transparent and the importance and meaning of things is not spoken to the viewer outright. Gunslinger Girl very rarely gives direct insight into a character's thoughts, This by no means that they are not there however and this is squarely an anime to pay attention to or you will miss out on it's depths. This lack of direct communication does not exist to confuse or trick the viewer; the intricacies of the emotions of each character simply cannot be conveyed on the surface or by dialogue.

Not unlike the sophisticated character writing, Gunslinger Girl effectively uses music to heighten the experience. It understands both the effectiveness of recurring musical motifs and themes and the pure ability of silence to leave a profound impact. There simply isn't enough time in a review to go through the various ways music is used, so I shall give a single detailed example.

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This track is first used in the very first episode so I don't feel it's too spoilerfic to mention; it's used as the main character Henrietta is being trained, and the use of this track servers as a strong early signal of the true psychological nature of this anime. This scene should not be looked upon positively, it is a child being trained as a weapon. Wailing voices and harsh instruments cry out the true evil of it all. But even more interestingly, only the early parts of this track are heard. It is only in a much later episode when something much more evil and damaging happens that the track plays again and finishes. Deceptively simple yet brutally effective use of music.

I realise I haven't really gone into specific examples of anything from the show bar the musical example, and that's deliberate. I think it's a disservice to spell things out for any potential viewer before they watch. A show like this is rare, a piece of art inviting the viewer to engage with the world, absorb the events and reflect on the emotions packed within. It is not something that wants to hit you with an immediate wave of surface-level shock, instead garnering more understanding and empathy you levy upon the characters.