Gunslinger Girl

Gunslinger Girl is an ongoing manga by Yu Aida. It first premiered in the November 2002 issue of the monthly shōnen magazine Dengeki Daioh. Set in a future Italy, the series focuses on young cybernetic girls and their adult male handlers who use them as assassins under the directions of a government organization.

The first five volumes of the manga were adapted into the anime series Gunslinger Girl and Gunslinger Girl -Il Teatrino-.

Henrietta

• Is a girl with a mechanical body ordinary? I’m super strong and can kill a man with my bare hands. I do bleed, but the pain goes away fast. Since I’m a cyborg and have to protect Jose… I can’t be an ordinary girl.
  • Chapter 5: The Death of Elsa de Sica (Part 2)

Rico

• Every morning, when I wake up, the first thought I have is: “I wonder if I still have my body.” What a relief! It still works. I can’t describe in words how wonderful it is to have a body that works. I love my life at the Social Welfare Agency very much.
  • Chapter 2: Love Thy Neighbor

Triela

• It’s not like I hate Hilshire, it’s all the rest of you irresponsible adults I can’t stand!
  • Chapter 3: The Snow White
• Death is our fate. But we don’t have to just accept it. There’s no reason for memories to just disappear into nothing without coming back.
  • Chapter 58: Vendetta (Part 2)

Claes

• I enjoy cooking, painting and playing music. There are so many books to read here… But sometimes, the most fun comes from just doing nothing. I think someone close to me taught me that a long time ago. Maybe my father…
  • Chapter 6: Vegetable Gardens
• I love the dusk. The setting sun is full of melancholy. It’s like an eternal farewell.
  • Chapter 48: Crepuscolo (Part 4)

Others

• Raballo: I’ve been training you to look after yourself. But seeing how you’ve become… it’s got me worried. You can’t just pull the trigger, Claes. You have to think. And unless you’re on a mission, you mustn’t use force. When you have those glasses on, I want you to be good, alright? That’s not an order. It’s a promise between you and me.
  • Chapter 6: Vegetable Gardens
• Flanca: People with power have an obligation to use their abilities.
  • Chapter 24: Caterina
• John Doe: Teaching is fun. It’s like making a little copy of yourself to leave behind.
  • Chapter 25: Pinocchio (Part 4)
• Rachelle: Victor… I’m glad that I got to meet you… I just have a request… protect the girl… My hope and wishes should live on in her… But maybe she’d hate me for it, giving her such a burden…
  • Chapter 37: The Hero is Afraid
• Rossana: I never had a passion for only one thing. To like everything is the same as to like nothing in particular.
  • Chapter 41: Lady Rosso (Part 3)
• Roberta: Perhaps there are people who live for others. Even if that kind of life is dim maybe there are fires that are meant to burn for a long time.
  • Chapter 51: Light
• Giacomo Dante: Violence is the way of the world. I am simply playing along.
  • Chapter 70: The Croce Affair (Part 3)

Dialogue

Chapter 14: Pinocchio (Part 2)

Triela: You never know who you can trust.

Hilshire: Well, at least I have a loyal ally on my side.

Triela: Please say you don’t mean me.

Hilshire: I do. Is that bad?

Triela: Yes.

Hilshire: But you’d never betray me. And I’d never betray you. Sounds like loyalty to me.

Triela: Spare me.

Chapter 15: Pinocchio (Part 3)

Pinocchio: You’re a professional. Think like one.

Flanca: I am! That’s why I won’t kill her. I choose the people I kill.

Chapter 21: Clever Serpents, Innocent Doves

Dr. Bianchi: “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

Jose: What’s that?

Dr. Bianchi: A frame of mind for a harsh world.

Jose: I don’t care how smart he is, I think a dove’s always going to have it rough.

Chapter 34: Promise

Claes: I knew I had to pull the trigger… but I couldn’t.

Petra: You didn’t shoot, but that way you kept your promise, too, right? Look on the bright side!

Claes: To keep a promise I can’t really remember… It’s stupid…

Petra: Nonsense… It’s admirable actually.

Claes: It could also be seen as selfish.

Petra: Okay, enough with the self-pity! You did the right thing, so stop sulking, alright? I like consequent people. Even when others say that’s selfish, don’t change the way you are.

Chapter 47: Crepuscolo (Part 3)

Jose: It could be that thanks to medicine you’ll be able to see properly again someday. And that moment may come to confirm that there was meaning to Angelica’s existence.

Marco: So what? Would that justify what she had to endure?

Jose: I wonder. But you can be assured that thanks to her people have been saved.

Chapter 60: Vendetta (Part 3)

Beatrice: …Bernardo.

Bernardo: Oh… What is it, Bice?

Beatrice: Is dying scary?

Bernardo: What a question… Life is the worst thing.

Beatrice: I don’t understand.

Bernardo: Ha ha ha!! That’s a good thing! Working without cowardice… that’s your job.

Chapter 69: The Croce Affair (Part 2)

Enrica: Do you think I could get kidnapped because of Jean's work?

Sophia: I wouldn't worry about it, we'll all protect each other. It's getting dark, and Jean is waiting for us, let's go home. Okay?

Enrica: [to herself] I think I understand now. I think I understand… why Jean fell for this woman.

Chapter 72: Fantasma (Part 2)

Enrica's ghost: Are you finally going to avenge us, big brother? Or did you forget? Are you wondering what my corpse looks like now? Oh big brother, it hurt so bad when my neck snapped. Oh, big brother Jose… Is that replacement so important to you? Is Henrietta as important as me?

Jose: Hear me out, Enrica! That was never how it was! I had a chance… I could save her!

Enrica's ghost: That's a lie, and you know it, big brother… She is nothing but a way to atone for what happened to me! The Agency is nothing more but a way for you to pick revenge for our murder! All I am to you is something that must be avenged!

Chapter 75: Testament

Hilshire: How do you feel about what happened to Henrietta? About her very different personality. Did it come as a shock?

Triela: It's certainly sad, but will we all really end up like that? It's like she's under a witches spell. How long will it be before I become ill like her? How often will the procedure have to be done? All I ask is you don't let the same thing happen to me.

Hilshire: Hmm…

Triela: I guess you could say that's my last request. I just don't want you to see me like that.