(L) Gunslinger Girl discussion

[Lina]

I just saw episode 5...

Spoiler:

Ugh... I don't know what's worse, being slapped around like Rico or forever being an experiment like Claes where they make you strain until you hurt yourself. That reminds me of the Holocaust experiments where they would do incredibly awful things like cutting someone's leg open and filling it with garbage just to see how it would react.

Could someone explain what happened with Claes' Brother? I didn't quite understand. Did he call that news reporter to write an article about his death so that the Society would stop tracking him?

I think my favorite character out of this series will be Triela... she's the only one who is the best at her job and she makes me feel the least sorry for her. . _ . That describes how this series makes me feel pretty well. I'm afraid what Angelica's episode might be about since in the intro she is paired with the "out of commission" Claes. I'm sure it'll be something horrible, no doubt. Just a guess.

[wao]

Originally Posted by Relentless

Do you realize the titles of the episodes are in Italian?

Yeah, I do know the titles of the episodes are in italian, but usually the italian and the japanese are close to each other in meaning:

兄妹 - Brother and sister, which I believe is Fratello or close to that...
少年 - youth, usually referring to a young boy, which is close to ragazzo (boy)...
人形 - doll, which is bambola...
I could not find any matches for "orione" which is why I din't put 天体観測 down, but orione is the name of that star constellation so at least it seems closer to 天体観測 (Astronomical observation).

Gelato and reward have the least relationship to each other going by the other episode titles. That's what I mean. So I guess Henrietta can expect an ice-cream or something.

My brother was just plugging the local Gelato store to me the other day....

[K_R]

'fratello' means brother[s].

kyoudai using those kanji, specifically means older brother and younger sister ( 兄弟 for general 'siblings').

[aquilus]

Originally Posted by Lina

Spoiler:

Could someone explain what happened with Claes' Brother? I didn't quite understand. Did he call that news reporter to write an article about his death so that the Society would stop tracking him?

Spoiler:

I´d think either the Society or then someone else had him killed. Given that he had contacted the reporter, probably to give him some information, the former option would seem more likely.

[Relentless]

Originally Posted by Lina

I just saw episode 5...

Spoiler:

I'm afraid what Angelica's episode might be about since in the intro she is paired with the "out of commission" Claes. I'm sure it'll be something horrible, no doubt. Just a guess.

Spoiler:

On a brighter note, at least Claes is alive. They could have killed her since she doesn't have a handler anymore, like the hunting dog Jan openly thinks the girls are. I think Claes and Angelica appear together just because they are secondary characters to Henrietta, Rico and Triela. We won't get to know them too well and/or won't appear much. Five fully developed characters is too much for only 13 episodes

[wao]

Originally Posted by K_R

'fratello' means brother[s].

kyoudai using those kanji, specifically means older brother and younger sister ( 兄弟 for general 'siblings').

You get my point in general though, don't you... All the same, I'm just being a bored nitpicker... Can't wait for a decent release of GSG #5.

I wonder if Angelica will get an ep to herself?

[K_R]

Angelica probably won't. Her chapter in the manga is short - about half the length of Claes' chapter. Unless they make up some filler, like they did with 02.

[Relentless]

Originally Posted by K_R

Angelica probably won't. Her chapter in the manga is short - about half the length of Claes' chapter. Unless they make up some filler, like they did with 02.

You mean, Angelica's story doesn't continue in chapter 12?

I say there will be an episode devoted to her. She does appear in the opening, after all.

[K_R]

My mistake, I was only looking at chapter 8. She does feature in chapters 10 and 11 as well. Plenty to make a full Angelica episode, but it won't be from one chapter as has been done with the other girls.

Spoiler:

Chapter 8 is where she receives her AUG

[wao]

I watched Episode 5 finally...

Go highlight if you watched Ep 5...

Spoiler:

Ok, about Rabaro, I'm not completely sure what happened to him (that's a point I like actually, it makes you think!) - do you assume that Jan was telling the truth in the first place?

I have this odd feeling that Rabaro simply moved back to the Military Police.

Correct me if I'm wrong (I never read the manga)but I think this ep jumped a little through time - it must have been at least an year since Rabaro paired with Claes...

I suppose it was enough time for Rabaro to get re-enlisted, and he finally decided to go. I think Jan lied to Claes and told her Rabaro got killed, so that she might not think that Rabaro left because he wanted to (and thus feel lonely AND betrayed instead of feeling just lonely).

Then again, is Jan the kind of person who'd care about Claes' feelings so much as to tell her a lie so that she won't be so sad? PERHAPS it could have been an order from higher up, to tell her something not-so-harsh so that she COULD still be useable and not suffer from breakdown (though in the end she still did).

It's not a very good postulation though, and on the GSG website it says 担当官は、ラバロだったが「事故」で死亡。Something like 'Although she had a caretaker called Rabaro, he died in the "accident"'. Hm...

Which might be why I think aquilus' explanation is more feasible; Rabaro gave information (probably about the Corporation) and they got him killed. This killing is probably the 'accident' they referred to - OR it might have been a real accident? I doubt that... Ruthless aren't they, killing Rabaro for leaking info despite Claes' dependance on him... but that's the way they work.

The question is then, WHY did Rabaro give information about the Corporation?

Another thing about this episode, I almost thought the girl on the wheelchair in episode 2 was Claes for a while, then I noticed that girl's shoes match Angelica's in the opening so it's probably Angelica as I thought earlier. Also Claes started wearing her spectacles full time after her breakdown I think.

The best part of this episode was when Henrietta and Claes were training. Seeing how easily Claes turned against Henrietta and how easily Henrietta turned against Rabaro but later apologized after Jose told her to... brings up a rather scary possibility in the future.

One last thing, this was on the GSG site: 淡白な性格で干渉することもされることも嫌い。 My Japanese is terrible, what does this translate to? Something about a frank character, inteference and dislike.

I suppose this is a part spoiler, its not in any of the episodes yet but it's found on the GSG website... or ify ou've read the manga I guess... or you just guessed.

Spoiler:

It appears Angelica's trainer is the person who said "Once she is paired with a master, it can't be easily changed". I THINK he seems to be of higher standing than Jose and Jan... His name is Marco...

[Kensuke]

Finally downloaded ep. 5...

Spoiler:

I support theory that Rabaro (correct spelling is Rabal?) was killed by Organization because of he was going to release infomation. So either way Jean didn't tell the whole truth, since it is possible that Rabaro just went back to Military Police and they didn't want to tell the truth to Claes, or they couldn't tell the truth since they were the ones who killed him.

I have to watch the episode again, but exactly why Claes killed those men in the tunnel? I didn't get it.

Henrietta almost killed a waiter in ep. 2, Rico killed that poor hotel boy in ep. 3, Triela shoot that man in ep. 4 and now we saw how easily they turned agains each other. That brings up very scary thoughts about the future indeed...

[aquilus]

Originally Posted by Kensuke

Finally downloaded ep. 5...

Spoiler:

I have to watch the episode again, but exactly why Claes killed those men in the tunnel? I didn't get it.

Spoiler:

Didn´t you notice the knife? ;P

As for the shooting range scene, I wouldn´t think of it as an example of how easily the girls can be turned aganist each other, more as an example of their eagerness to protect their ...whatever you want to call the guys they work with , like in the situations Kensuke mentioned.

[Kensuke]

Spoiler:

Yes, I noticed it, but why they send Claes there, so far there has been at least somekind of explanations about motivations, and if that was just training then why kill... Althought Rabaro tell her only to act to protec herself, but still it bothers me...

[K_R]

Originally Posted by wao

It appears Angelica's trainer is the person who said "Once she is paired with a master, it can't be easily changed". I THINK he seems to be of higher standing than Jose and Jan... His name is Marco...

It's not a spoiler, because this was already mentioned in episode 3. At the range, Hilsher talks to Marco about Angelica. Also, Marco is not the boss.

[wao]

Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that. Sheesh. -_-

Does Marco have any special position then? He seems to be somewhat different from the other two...

And Kensuke, I guess she had to have experiance in really killing people. I suppose those guys at the Corporation don't care about those people's lives. Or maybe there was a hidden motive.

[Go-lytely]

Originally Posted by Kensuke

Spoiler:

Yes, I noticed it, but why they send Claes there, so far there has been at least somekind of explanations about motivations, and if that was just training then why kill... Althought Rabaro tell her only to act to protec herself, but still it bothers me...

Spoiler:

I dont see what the confusion is. Ravalo wanted to test her abilities by seeing how she dealt with the subway thugs. He said that she didn't have to kill them but could if it was necessary. Claes obviously wasn't as polished a killer as she should have been seeing as how she got stabbed and had to shoot her gun.

On an unrelated note. In Newtype it says Claes killed Ravalo and had her memory altered. I wonder if this will be revealed later or if its just in the manga.

[Relentless]

Originally Posted by wao

I watched Episode 5 finally...

Go highlight if you watched Ep 5...

Spoiler:

Correct me if I'm wrong (I never read the manga)but I think this ep jumped a little through time - it must have been at least an year since Rabaro paired with Claes...

Another thing about this episode, I almost thought the girl on the wheelchair in episode 2 was Claes for a while, then I noticed that girl's shoes match Angelica's in the opening so it's probably Angelica as I thought earlier. Also Claes started wearing her spectacles full time after her breakdown I think.

The best part of this episode was when Henrietta and Claes were training. Seeing how easily Claes turned against Henrietta and how easily Henrietta turned against Rabaro but later apologized after Jose told her to... brings up a rather scary possibility in the future.

Since you like spoilers, here it goes:

Spoiler:

In the manga, this story (chapter 6) starts with Claes doing the tests in the gym and then goes to an extended flashback, from when Marco met Jan on the bridge, until the boss and the long haired doctor are speaking in front of Claes (who was NOT in a wheelchair), weith all events in the same order as in the anime. Then we get back to current time and Claes wakes up crying in Marco's bed, where she has fallen asleep reading a book. Then she meets Henrietta (who was playing with the Christmas gift Jose gave her in chapter 4) and both go the garden, and it ends. BTW, chapter 4-5 seems to have been skipped (rats!)

You can be sure the girl Henrietta sees in ep.2 is Angelica, just notice her ribbon.

I know it's extremely insensitive since the scene at the range illustrates how badly those girls have been screwed up, both psychically and emotionally, with the Corp.'s brainwashing, but I still chuckled at the sight of a pissed-off little Henrietta hefting a heavy bench and ready to whack Marco on the head. The exact moment was better presented in the manga: Marco and Jose were in the center, Marco had his back turned toward Henrietta and Claes was behind Jose, facing Marco.

Originally Posted by K_R

It's not a spoiler, because this was already mentioned in episode 3. At the range, Hilsher talks to Marco about Angelica. Also, Marco is not the boss.

When was that? According to ANBU's version, Marco only mentions that Angelica has problems with her body and he's giving her some time to rest.

I wonder if instead of Rabaro or Ravalo, the authors meant "Navarro", which is a common Italian name (unlike the former).

It's easy to get confused when there're only two faces for the grownups: Marco-type and Jose-type. Let's see: Marco has a goatee and glasses, the doctor has a goatee but no glasses, and the boss uses glasses but has no goatee Fortunately, Navarro (or Ravalo, whatever) uses a cane and is going bald, so he was easy to tell apart.

[K_R]

Well, at the range you have Jean/Rico, Hilsher/Triela and Jose/Henrietta. Spot the trend?
Also, when Marco is making fun of Hilsher for being a miserable brother, Hilsher replies with:
君こそアンゲリカ？ (anime)
If Marco was the boss, or someone unrelated to Angelica, Hilsher would not start his reply with, "and what about you?", when the topic is brother/sister pairs.

For reference, in the manga its
君こそ自分の「妹」は？
Even without the more obvious wording of the manga, there are enough hints there to tell you who Marco is paired with.

[Relentless]

Originally Posted by K_R

Well, at the range you have Jean/Rico, Hilsher/Triela and Jose/Henrietta. Spot the trend?
Also, when Marco is making fun of Hilsher for being a miserable brother, Hilsher replies with:
君こそアンゲリカ？ (anime)
If Marco was the boss, or someone unrelated to Angelica, Hilsher would not start his reply with, "and what about you?", when the topic is brother/sister pairs.

For reference, in the manga its
君こそ自分の「妹」は？
Even without the more obvious wording of the manga, there are enough hints there to tell you who Marco is paired with.

No, I meant when did Marco say "Once she is paired with a master, it can't be easily changed"?

I know Marco is not the Boss, If somebody has (apparently) a higher rank than the other guys, it should be Jan. He's always present at the boss' office when there's discussion about any of the girls, like if he's responsible for the whole fratello corps.

[K_R]

Oh that. The boss is the man who says that line and I was pointing out that Marco isn't the boss, and that we already know that Marco and Angelica are a fratello, so it's not a spoiler.