Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「たった1つの想い」 (Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi) by KOKIA
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2
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Summary:
In a French toy store, Social Welfare agents Joze and Hilshire are looking for presents to bring back to their respective girls, and Hilshire has decided on a Steiff teddy bear for Triela. The shop owner overhears them talking about a Henrietta, so he offers something that’d be perfect for her. On the train back to Italy, Joze thinks about his own sister from a long time ago and how she didn’t want him to leave at the time. After he returns, Joze sets out with Jean, Henrietta, and Rico in Rome where there is a large protest going on, and demonstrators are clashing with police. The Agency suspects that a certain group will take advantage of this and act, and shortly after Joze and Henrietta separate from Jean and Rico, a car bomb explodes. The impact knocks Joze onto the ground, but he’s relatively unhurt, and Henrietta subsequently spots a man in a riot police uniform sneaking away during the chaos. The man flees via a waiting van, so Joze and Henrietta borrow Priscilla’s Vespa when she rides in after having seen the explosion from a distance.
While Joze and Henrietta give chase, Hilshire and Triela set a trap in an alleyway by removing a manhole cover. Before the van reaches that point though, one of the men inside starts firing his gun at the Vespa. Henrietta returns fire and kills him, however this slows her and Joze down because the man ends up tumbling out of the van and into the path of the Vespa. Fortunately, the van then drives into Triela’s trap and gets its wheel stuck in the manhole. Triela manages to kill the driver with her first shot, and her second shot ends the life of the guy who gets out of the van trying to retaliate. Two more men rush out of the opposite side of the van and run down the narrow alley, approaching a square where Rico is waiting. Not aware of who she really is, they run towards her, and this leads to her throwing one of them over her shoulder and shooting the other one in the leg. When the first guy tries to scramble away, Jean shoots him in the leg too. Triela meanwhile knows that there might be someone else in the van, and when he pops out and lunges at her with a knife, she knocks it away and shoots him in the gut.
Later that night, with the mission over, Henrietta writes about it in her diary. She decides to go see Joze, but he turns out to not be in his room. Henrietta looks around inside anyway and sees his shirt, so she snuggles up with it on his bed. She then notices the present sitting on his desk and decides to open it. Inside, she finds a golden kaleidoscope, but to her dismay, the French inscription dedicates it to a woman named Louise Antoinette Rolle. This disturbs her because she thinks that’s Joze’s lover, but when she tells Claes and Triela about it, Claes tells her not to worry because that woman died in the 19th century. Claes recalls that this was the lover of a great French writer who ended up writing about it in a novel and naming her character Henrietta. All this means that the kaleidoscope is indeed a present for Henrietta, so she goes to see Joze again, and he ends up taking her outside to look at the stars. After Henrietta is out of the room, Triela wonders if the story ended in a successful love, and when Claes says it didn’t, Triela feels that it’s a bad omen. Claes thinks that it’s okay since the kaleidoscope is probably fake due to how they were only just invented around that time. She also suggests that because that love didn’t work out, it was a fake love.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「doll」 by 多田葵 (Tada Aoi)
Watch the ED! Mirror 1, Mirror 2
Well let’s see, the animation quality left something to be desired – it was rather simplistic at times and not as good as the first series. The music was okay, but didn’t really stand out too much (admittedly I did really like the OP and the piece that played after the action scene when they were explaining the background of the show). The voice acting also took some getting used to, especially if you can remember what everyone sounded like in the first series. Story-wise, they used elements of the first chapter of volume three of the manga along with some stuff to reintroduce the characters and plot, and it doesn’t look like they’ve made any major changes with the characters themselves (though you argue that changing voice actors changes the way the characters are perceived).
Overall, it was a solid episode, but you’re probably not going to be blown away (I wasn’t) if you’re familiar with the first series. I’m interested enough in the continuation of the story to stick with this (for those of you familiar with the manga, the title of episode two is Pinocchio), and as I get used to the change in production quality and voices, it probably/hopefully won’t bother me again.
Well, I can see that the animation is a little different, the girls look cuter somehow and more ‘little girl-like’.
As a girl, I think another big plus is that the guys look hotter.
WAY better than the first season.
MOE 4 LIFE xD
On another note, is it just me? Or does Claes’s expression at the end look like she’s saying,”GODDAMNET TRIELA!! Will you shutup and go to sleep!”
lol……….
The 1st series opening was also so wonderful, so heartwarming and full of emotions..
the animation is leaving me rather…ugh
New character designs?
Wow theres a sequel o_o i never saw this coming haha yay first series was wonderful! hope this one is
I´LL WATCH JUST TO ANSWER IN THE FUTURE IF SOMEONE ASKS:
” YES I HAVE WATCHED THAT ONE TOO ”
” I AM THE UPPER SUPER DUPER TENSAI OTAKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!! ”
I AM THE BEHOLDER OF THE ANIMES…FROM MY SIGHT THERE´S NO ESCAPE!!
T_T(SOME DEEP SHIT IN HERE)
THE BLOOD IS RED!!!! IT’S NO LONGER OIL!!!
i really really like the VA for Jose in the previous season…i wonder how the new VA is
Eyes look a bit odd in this one, but my memory of the original is a bit off. They seem a bit brighter..
Some one told me its about kids falling in love with old guys? Is that true? >_>;
But I do like guns….
KOKIA!!! Love the OP.
The girls are all look cuter maybe because of their eyes.
The character design, the voice and even the animation looks different than the first series. Heck i think the first series with 13 milion yen of production cost EACH EPISODE is better. This really need some time to get used to, well atleast they still follow the manga
omg, kokia gave me chills….. but honestly? she could have done better. the episode is ok, looking forward to it more.
This looks rather… bland compared to the first series.
This must be the season for degrading sequels. (e.g. Minami-ke)
Other than bland even the guns (which i think is one of the main reason that this series is worth watching) is not that nice to see, all the guns seem rather animated. Isn’t it the guns that is the main attaction in Gunslinger?
Where’s my Aria?!! I hope Aria’s animation quality’s not as bad as this.
BULL-ISH!!! that opening theme was wack compared to the first AND i thought these cyborg biatches had only a limited life span!?? hell they were dropping in the last one..but i guess they all got resurrected for some love……ooohhhh how nice
what a letdown, they should have let Madhouse making the second season. Everything is sugar coated, yes, everything looks brighter and girls look cuter, and it must be the new technologies installed in them, cause they blush so easily and so often now. But the dark and gloomy atmospheres and emotions, which made the first series so enjoyable, are just not there in the new series.
wow, they do look a bit different from the original series, and the voices did seem a bit off to me, but guess I’ll have to get use to it, since this is basically the only series that I’ve been looking forward to.
Well, I liked it, really.
Different graphics… well, the difference is like between first GITS and GITS: SAC, it’s up to you to decide, like it or nor.
There’s no use in blaming actors or directors – just enjoy it =)
For some reason, I can hear Kururu’s Socho’s voice. hehe
*RukiaNeko*
“Some one told me its about kids falling in love with old guys? Is that true? >_>;
But I do like guns….”
Yes you are absolutly right and WE call IT the:
” PEDO REVERSE ” (LOL)
Lol! cant they use some newer guns?!
Finally it’s here. Cute girls on killin spree. Who’s gonna sub this one?
Sure, it’s different character designs made by a different company.
But, it’s still the Gunslinger Girls story, and the animation is good. Was my most-looked-forward-to series of the season. And so far nothing to displace that sentiment.
I cried in another meaning. T_T
The evaluation was fixed to this as a black history between fans of Japan.
THE BLOOD IS RED!!!! IT’S NO LONGER OIL!!!
@ Tensai Otaku
Rofl, sounds funny.
@ Avexmode
I saw the first episode of Aria the Origination, the animations wasn’t as good as I thought ti would be.
Seriously disappointing…for an action anime the action scenes just are not up to scratch – compared to other stuff it might be on par but compared to the first season it is just disappointing…and this is the first episode as well…
come on! You probably can count the ANIME sequels that have been better than the first season in both hands. I myself can’t name but a few. I think ghost in the shell second season was better and that is about it.
I’m having a hard time with how drastically they’ve changed things, but I guess when you think of it Madhouse’s version was intentionally made more bleak, realistic, and depressing than the even manga. If I recall Angelica was supposed to be dead at the end of the first series, so we’ve already lost some continuity between the two.
Above all, as far as the designs are concerned, I don’t like what they’ve done with their eyes – especially Henrietta. And they made her just way too chirpy she supposed to be shy and insecure. But whatever – they’re apparently focusing more on Triela this time. I just can’t wait to see the epic duel between her and Pinocchio in action. Show Spoiler ▼
It was painful to watch. The background music is lousy, and the action sequence is just plain awful. The first episode should set the tone for the rest of the series, and none of the girls do anything to demonstrate their cyborg abilities. They should at least have Henriette protecting her ‘Oniichan’ during the blast – that scene is in the manga after all – albeit with a different pair. >_
Really, really dislike the new character designs – too simple – way below the quality of the older designs
Did anyone notice that Artland is the same company that produced Mushi-Shi?
Was expecting the same animation quality as the first season. A bit disappointed. Hope the story doesn’t suffer as well.
*FreChick*
Did anyone notice that Artland is the same company that produced Mushi-Shi?
I was actually looking forward tot he art because of this. =/
I like the animation for the first season, guess I have to get used to still cool though. Initial D voice actor for Ryosuke Takahashi is Jean. When he started talking I was wonder who’s voice was that and it was him.
http://xs223.xs.to/xs223/08022/0016665.jpg
how can someone say that the second is better? maybe you forgot something..
Had not watched this or the 2nd season but planning to.
Do the 2 seasons follow the manga roughly(main plot)? Did the 1st season end off with a inconclusive ending that allows this 2nd season? Or they have totally break off from the manga
Dammit, why did they have to change it all. Couldn’t they see that season one was the best it could be? did they really think they could have improved it?
This is really annoying for me because Gunslinger Girl was always my favourite anime, and now season two has blemished the whole anime.
Wow, this is turned out horrible.
The dark and mysterious feel is completely gone, the animation is too bright and bland.
The music is very bad, I loved the soundtrack from the first season, now its just cheezy.
I really feel like they ruined what could have been a great sequel. 🙁
Their eyes look washed out, including Henrietta’s. I see incorrect influence from other childish anime on the series, which was rather supposed to be dark and gloomy. Their voices sound a bit jittery, too.
jack: Yes the anime does (mostly) follow the manga. As I noted in the writeup above, they’re starting here with the beginning of the third volume.
The animation quality is inferior to the first seasons; the action sequences suffer the most, with a frame rate as low and jerky as some low-budget 80’s show. What the hell happened?! Despite the animation flaws, the action sequences definitely got my heart beating faster; of course the manga did too…
The quieter moments are decent in places, as far as conveying the emotions of the characters. I like the looks and voices of all the characters better in the new show; with the exception of Henrietta. Her new eye design makes her look Asian (not that looking Asian is bad, except she’s not) and her voice would be more appropriate to ‘Manabi Straight’. I really love Henrietta’s blend of fierceness and vulnerability; but the voice acting is too one-dimensional to express her character properly.
The first season complemented the manga nicely, differing somewhat, artistically, but exceptionally well done. The second season is looking more like a low-budget ripoff of the manga, so far.
Oh well; I hope some new plastic character figures and t-shirts are released…
Disappointed.
the dark, gloomy atmosphere (which is wut i love about Gunslinger Girl) is now completely destoryed, nahda, zero, i can’t feel any of it in the new season. when i watched first episode in season 1, i thought this would be an interesting series with some depth, and it did.
now that i finished first episde of season 2, i feel this is just another “justice vs evil” with cute little girls holding guns and hot looking guys as fan services to grab ppl’s attention, in other word, just another “i got nothing to do, might as well waste some time on this shit” anime.
if they keep this shit up for 2 more episodes, i am giving it up, just gonna stick with the manga.
I have to agree with Nutster. I have seen the first season and I was really expecting a similar quality and atmosphere in the second season. Unfortunately I am somewhat disappointed. The voice actors are different and not in a good way (it almost sounds like the voice actors are emotionless), the animation although nice but the they failed to convey the atmosphere of the scenes somehow. I guess it is down to the different production company working on GSG. Anyhow, I will probably keep watching hoping that they recapture the essence of what made GSG a good show.
This episode is a trainwreck. This arc is frigging awesome in the manga too.
Pedobear is not amused
ok what did I just watch?
I had to stop watching halfway through the “action” scene
Show Spoiler ▼
It was terrible anime.
Whoever said that this was better than the first season in ANY aspect, were you closing your eyes and ears while watching?
I’d have more fun watching floaties in my toilet.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to cry in a corner.
I loved the first season of Gunslinger Girl. The quality of the original was immersive kinda like Haibane or WH Robin. The backgrounds were well done and even the vocal tones of all the seiyuu had genuine foreign atmosphere to them. The only thing I hated about it was that the opening theme sounded like something a hippie would *try* to sing.
So which jerk passed the sequel rights to this animation studio?!
Characterisation is way off. The guy’s blood on Triela’s clothes seems more comical than serious. I could pick on every scene, so I’ll stop here.
I bet they animated this way just to make the age difference among the supervisors and machineries look smaller. Less like jail bait, understandable, but this is just too much…
The only good thing about this episode is that you get to see Triela’s hair down.
AnimeOne did an A+++ job subbing the first season. I’d advise them not to risk tainting their rep on this just yet.
The transition of quality from 1st to this 2nd season of Gunslinger is like asking the people who did GITS:SAC to make a new sequel that has an animation style like Pokemon. Not even funny.
I’ll keep watching anyway… as I am hoping and praying that my premonitions of this turning out to be an awful season is dead wrong.
Opening song: sucks. I didn’t like the distorted sound of the first OP but at least it had an attitude and fit the mood.
Opening “animation”: It’s a bunch of photos! It’s a joke. Just recycling some animation would be a major improvement.
New character designs: suck, very generic, it pales even in comparison to Pokemon.
Colours: too bright, too pale.
Logic: absent; protesters are lemmings running towards armored and armed cops; fake cop runs away long after bombing instead of walking normally; guys shot into legs twice: no blood, can stand; guy shotgunned but Triela who shot gets covered in his blood; car gets stopped by manhole and stuck in it
Voice actors: absent, no wait, mostly just not matching the characters and I have not even compared them to the originals.
Kaleidoscope: it’s a frickin sextant
Ending song: sucks
I even wonder how you can say it’s a question of lower “budget” because the first series did not have that much complex animation at all. It had a lot of still frames, there was a lot of talking mouths and scrolling going on but it still looked better by magnitudes because of much better and realistic character designs as well as clever choice of colours. The ending animation was just a very few frames in a loop and still looked great. The ending song was very fitting too.
I was pretty disappointed with the first episode.
The first series had extremely good animation, and short action that would last only a few minutes max, then the rest would be good solid Story.
The first thing I noticed when I fired up the first episode was that the animation quality was toned down quite a bit. A little less shading here, a few pictures sliding around the screen there. The first series didn’t rely on such cheap animation.
The music was another thing to point out in the new series. The first series had a few elegant songs that you would hear in the background, while the new one was dominated by high-speed 1980’s synthesizer action music.
This is only the first episode, and I really hope that the series picks itself up, sadly though, I doubt this is going to happen unless the budget suddenly doubles.
could someone send me an email telling me if this one is as good as the first Gunslinger GIrl?
and if they use the same american/english character voices?
horrible! is this some ‘new’ art direction the new animation team is adopting? i feel that the first season was superior. where’s that film noir style that was so effectively employed in the first season?!? the deep themes and human element has vanished and the BGM, voice acting, animation sucks too. and the eyes! ugh! from o.o to O.O? *shudder* why did they even bother to make the seque!
I want sue Il Teatrino company! They make fun of my company manholes! Italian manholes is n*1, pride of italia! how can car get stuck on manhole? cio é merda!
I hope it is not nice, and not conventional. They are not “Little girls.” Not cute girls with guns, but cyborg killers. They cant have standard interpersonal relationships. they can only have weird relatioships. They dont even die… they break down. If its nice, it will be stupid.