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Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 5 story and art by Yu Aida
Tag: Gunslinger Girl
New Life For a Fan Favorite—Gunslinger Girl
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It always comes as a terrible shock when a manga series that you’ve been following comes to an end before its time. Sometimes, no matter how much you dearly love a series, it just isn’t in the cards. But then, sometimes a series gets a second chance. Gunslinger Girl is getting that second chance.
Gunslinger Girl follows a group of young girls that have been taken in by The Social Welfare Agency and are recruited into Section Two, a military organization dealing in covert espionage and assassination. Section Two treats terminal patients by replacing their broken bodies with cybernetic enhancements and putting them through a rigorous program of mental conditioning in order to create perfect assassins. Quick and deadly, these innocent-looking children are used and discarded like dolls by the uncaring adults in charge of Section Two. Bloody action sequences are juxtaposed by moments of childhood innocence experienced by the girls at home base, making this into an incredibly poignant story that is both sad and sweet.
The story is set in the near future and is based in Italy, which is a refreshing change of pace since so much of anime and manga is based in Tokyo. The cultural details drawn into the backgrounds are fun to look out for and make the story feel that much more genuine.
While the manga was never fully published in the US, the story resonated with fans in a remarkable way. Although Gunslinger Girl never drew in a large audience like a longer syndicated action series might have, both the manga and anime were well reviewed at release and are fondly remembered to this day. Years after the initial publication my friends and I talk about Gunslinger Girl when we think about the older shows that we would recommend to a new generation of anime fans, and I’ve had many conversations at anime conventions with others who feel the same way.
The first volume of the manga was published by ADV in 2003. Only six volumes of this ongoing manga series were released in the US. Seven Seas will publish an omnibus edition of the first three volumes this February and later a second omnibus containing the remaining previously published works. After that, manga readers can look forward to the publication of new material that has never before been released in English.
All twenty-six episodes of Gunslinger Girl and Gunslinger Girl: Teatrino (Funimation) are available via Netflix‘s Instant Play feature if you are curious about the story; however, know that the anime only adapts volumes 1-5 of the manga. Fans of the series have much to look forward to from the Seven Seas releases Look for the first of these new volumes later in 2011 or start at the beginning with the omnibus edition that releases this month.
Gunslinger Girl Omnibus: Volume 1 (978-1-934876-92-3; $15.99) story and art by Yu Aida will be available from Seven Seas on February 1, 2011.
Laura Fitzgerald is the Digital Marketing Coordinator at Tor Books and a complete nerd about anime, manga, and campy marital arts films
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More from our February newsletter:
- Halo and Science Fiction by Greg Bear
- Beyond the Woo by Doranna Durgin
- Reprint Roundup by Stacy Hague-Hill
Seven Seas Relaunches Gunslinger Girl & Blood Alone
Seven Seas is pleased to announce the revival of two fan-favorite manga series—Gunslinger Girl and Blood Alone. Featuring all-new translations and lettering, Seven Seas will release the previously-published books in omnibus editions that contain three volumes in one, priced at $15.99 each. Seven Seas will then introduce subsequent books in the series that have never been published in North America.
“We’re thrilled to get the chance to put our stamp of quality on these two great titles,” says Seven Seas Senior Editor Adam Arnold. “Since neither of these books were continued by their previous American publishers, we’re excited to be rescuing these series for existing fans. Plus, our low-cost omnibus editions of the early volumes in the series make them the ideal entry point for new fans as well.”
Gunslinger Girl is a dark action-packed series about a secret counter-terrorism unit that transforms young girls into ruthless killers. The manga series, which is ongoing in Japan and currently up to volume 12, has spawned several popular anime. Seven Seas will relaunch the manga in two separate 544-page omnibus editions for $15.99 each, and will then release later volumes of Gunslinger Girl starting with volume 7. Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 1 is scheduled for a February 2011 release.
Blood Alone is a beautifully drawn, lyrical vampire manga whose first three volumes will be collected in a single omnibus for $15.99. Book 4 onward will follow soon after. There are currently six volumes published in Japan, and the series is ongoing. Blood Alone Omnibus 1 is scheduled for a May 2011 release.
In addition to the Gunslinger Girl and Blood Alone omnibus editions, Seven Seas will also release several other series in its successful omnibus format.
Strawberry Panic: The Complete Manga Collection (containing both volumes of the manga, plus two all-new previously unreleased chapters) and Venus Versus Virus Omnibus 1 (collecting manga volumes 1-3) are set for an October 2010 release and carry a $14.99 price point.
Hayate X Blade Omnibus 1 (collecting manga volumes 1-3) and Inukami! Omnibus 1 (also collecting the first three volumes) will be released the following month in November 2010 for $15.99.
In addition, Rachel Roberts’ original manga series Avalon: The Warlock Diaries, a spin-off from her twelve-volume hit middle grade novel series Avalon: Web of Magic, also published by Seven Seas, will see an omnibus release in December 2010. This omnibus will collect all three volumes of the manga in a single 320-page tome for $11.99.
About Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC
Established in 2004, Seven Seas Entertainment is devoted to producing original manga, comics, graphic novels, and youth literature, and bringing the best in Japanese licenses to North American audiences. Among the company’s current line-up are such original manga properties as Amazin Agent Luna, Aoi House, Destiny’s Hand, Hollow Fields, and It Takes A Wizard; the stunning vampire manga from Japan, Dance in the Vampire Bund, which is now a hit anime series; and Rachel Roberts’ best-selling YA novel series Avalon: Web of Magic. Seven Seas’ web site, www.gomanga.com, is a daily stop for thousands of visitors eager to read manga online and contribute to an ever-growing forum community. Seven Seas Entertainment is currently partnered with Tor/Macmillan and have collaborated on several series such as Afro Samurai, Hayate X Blade, Inukami!, and the Wicked City novel series by Hideyuki Kikuchi.