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Book Review of Gunslinger Girl Volume 1 (Gunslinger Girl)

Gunslinger Girl Volume 1 (Gunslinger Girl)
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This is an interesting anime and manga tale about adolescent girls portrayed as assassination bots, the first in a series. A covert Italian governmental agency rescues girls in trouble and equips them with psychological and cybernetic elements. Girls, 10 to 14 with some as old as 16, are no longer free. Nor do they remember their former lives since they have been given drugs to erase those memories. However, they are are alive, healthy and active. Yet, in addition to loss of freedom, the girls are paired with handlers whom they are required to love. Henrietta is the key heroine who saw her entire family killed before her eyes. She is paired with Guiseppe. The description of this book stated that Henrietta has "the heart of a young girl but has not completely forgotten how to love. Yet the very emotion is contrary to her training and programming. Can the Gunslinger Girl survive? Can she find peace in a struggle against her very nature?"