[OWLS TOUR] New Life, New Goal New Purpose – Gunslinger Girl, the Revival of Once Normal Littles Girls

©Madhouse

A new year started and here I’m back with a new blog post for the OWLS group. In case you doesn’t know, the OWLS group (Otaku Warriors for Liberty and Self-Respect), is a group of blogger and vlogger who promote the acceptance of everyone without taking in consideration their ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation disabilities. If you want to know more about us, feel free to visit the group blog.

For this month our lovely Chief Creative Officer, Lyn Lyn (Something About LynLyn) came out with a really nice topic: Revival

A new year implies “new beginnings.” Yet, rather than discussing the “new,” we will be discussing the “revival.” “Revival” has multiple definitions, but the meaning we will be focusing on is the improvement, development, or refinement of something. Our posts will be about characters that undergo a positive or negative transformation and what we can learn from them

What make an series interesting is the transformation a character go under but instead of looking for a series where we are witnessing that transformation, I decide to pick a series where the change already happened, Gunslinger Girls.

 

©Madhouse

Gunslinger Girl is Shounen manga written by Yu Aida between May 2002 and September 2012. The manga was adapted into an anime series in 2003 by Madhouse for the 1st season and Artland for the 2nd season which aired in 2008.

Synopsis
In the heart of Italy, the Social Welfare Agency rescues young girls from hospital beds and gives them a second chance at life using the latest in cybernetic advancements. With their artificially enhanced bodies, the girls are brainwashed and trained as assassins to carry out the dirty work of the Italian Government. Despite all the modifications, they are still just children at heart, struggling for recognition from those they love, even knowing the love they feel is manufactured. This tragic tale unfolds as these girls grapple with their emotions in an agency that treats them as nothing but ruthless killers –MAL

I will not discuss in-depth about the story itself, but more about those little girl. In fact the plot have little to do with the present topic, but I still feel those little girl turn into assassin for the Italy government is a good example for this month topic, since a lot of the little girl who work for the Agency should be dead. The Agency gave the little girl a new life, they «revive» them by giving them a new purpose in life and new goal.

©Yu Aida

If it wasn’t of the Agency, Henrietta would still live with the sequelae of the attack on her family. She was the sole survivor, but at what cost. The traumatic event left her psychologically unstable and suicidal. If it wasn’t of the Agency Henrietta would have live the rest of her life in a mental institution. The Social Welfare Agency gave a second chance in life to Triela. Kidnapped in Tunisia, she was brought in Amsterdam where she was tortured and raped for a snuff film. Like for Henrietta, Triela was given the chance to live a new life. But I think the best example I can give you for this month topic is Rico.

©Yu Aida

Rico is a young girl, eleven years old in the beginning of the series, who was born with various disability that left her unable to walk and in deep pain. Her parents were always arguing about how she was costing them a lot. Eventually they turned her to the Social Welfare Agency. Like all the girls the agency take care of, Rico undergone various surgical operations to turn her in to a ruthless cyborg. These operations allowed her to walk, to run, to live. Despite the way her handler treat her, she is still smiling and seeing the life positively. She feels joy over the little thing life can bring her. Some might the Agency is awful for using young girl to do their job, but Rico see everyday pass at the agency like a blessing. She was revived by the Agency. They gave her a new life and a new purpose in life.

©Yu Aida

What I learn from Rico is to enjoy every moment in life, be happy with what we have, not be jealous of the other. You never know what life can throw at you. Rico didn’t have an easy start in life, but she got a new chance, she revive through the Agency, so instead of wondering about what tomorrow will be made of or why her parent didn’t wanted to take care of her like every good parent should do, Rico decide to embrace her new life, she might be an assassin for the Italian government, but at least she is alive and she can move around, that the only thing that matter to Rico.

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To conclude this post, I want to wish everyone an awesome 2018 fill with joy and happiness.

Make sure to read  Naja  (Nice Job Breaking It, Hero) post if you didn’t already read it and Carla  (Pop Culture Literary) post coming on the 19th. For the complete “Revival” blog tour schedule you can check it up here.

~ Thank you for reading  ~

See you next time!!

©Madhouse