Review for Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino OVA (Review)
Tuesday, 11th October 2011, 16:52

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Introduction
I'm impatient, and I'm a collector; that's a combination that doesn't bode well for my wallet. Manga Entertainment had initially announced that Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino would be released in the UK as a three disc, complete collection, gathering the two series discs, and the OVA disc into one, very appealing package. But when it came to the release date, that wasn't to be, and we instead only got the complete second series. I needed to know what happened after the series, which prompted me to import the US disc as quickly as I could. The downside to that was that the Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino OVA episodes do not actually provide a conclusion to the series, and instead are two rather more eclectic stand-alone episodes. The upside to that was that the US release from Funimation was actually region free. Now, Manga Entertainment are releasing the OVA episodes on a single, stand-alone disc. Should I have waited for this release? Am I kicking myself for my impulsive and impatient nature? Well, yes I am, a little. For unlike the Il Teatrino series, which got an NTSC-PAL standards conversion as was once the way with all anime brought to UK shores, the Il Teatrino OVA episodes have actually had the native PAL treatment given to them, supplying a slightly superior image quality to the disc. In most other respects though, it's the same disc, hence the cut and paste in my review.

The Social Welfare Agency is an Italian government organisation that takes critically ill young girls and turns them into cyborgs, trained in assassination. They are paired up with handlers who guide them through their missions, and are set forth to do the government's dirty work. The two OVA episodes on this disc offer more of the lethal gamesmanship between the Social Welfare Agency, and the Five Republics Faction terrorists that they face, as well as a chance for the cyborgs and their handlers to wind down with a hard earned vacation.

1. The Light of Venice, The Darkness of the Heart
2. Fantasma

Picture
The Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino OVA gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, which is a very agreeable native PAL transfer, with the requisite 4% speedup to the audio. The image is clear and sharp enough, and there are no problems with judder or interlacing. Produced by Artland, the style and presentation of the animation is just like that in the second series, in other words not all that inspiring. Again it looks like a lower budget production. The artwork is simpler, less nuanced, the character designs take a major knock, the overall frame rate of the animation is lower, and the colour palette is a lot brighter and generic. But it does do enough to tell the story, and there are still moments in the show that do stand out.

Sound
You have a choice of DD 5.1 English, and DD 2.0 Japanese, along with optional subtitles and a signs only track. As always, I opted for the original language track, which for me again was a disappointment. The show has been recast, and there is a completely different approach to the dub compared to the first Madhouse production, making the young androids more girly and generic anime clichés. It lacks the subtlety and nuance of the original series, and it does take a lot of getting used to. In contrast, with the exception of Hirscher, the English dub cast return to voice the same characters as they did in the first series. As their approach to the girls was initially perkier than their Japanese counterparts, you'll find a lot more continuity between seasons and this OVA in the English dub. The surround is unremarkable, but effective enough.

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