Girls-with-guns

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Girls-with-guns is a term coined by Tsukimura Ryoe, the author of the Noir screenplay, to describe the genre of this project and later further popularized by A. Wong's famous article about Bee Train for the Newtype USA. Nowadays, it is used to describe a variety of anime series and OVAs, whose only common attribute is that they are "like Noir", but since there is yet no exact and universal definition of this genre (see Defining the term), many animes that do feature both girls and guns, are not considered part of it (for example, Ghost in the Shell).

Contents

Defining the term

Until October 2006, the only more or less exact definition of the genre was Ohsawa Satoshi's statement on the lead characters of Noir (whom he designed) made for A. Wong's famous article:

"I'm trying to bring out their vulnerability and force a comparison between the frailness of a woman and the gun - the symbol of power she holds in her hand. That's the key to these kinds of characters".

In Autumn 2006, the most thorough known attempt to define the boundaries of the girls-with-guns genre was made by a group of Bee Train Fan forum members spearheaded by Section_8. The group has analyzed various examples and came up with two definitions: a "weak" one and a "strong" one. Both have received controversial reactions.

Weak definition

The "weak definition" (also, "general definition") resulted from basic extrapolation of the genre's name.

Girls-with-guns is an anime genre that features girls who use guns.

Strong definition

Girls-with-guns is an anime genre whose plot focuses on girls (a girl) who use(s) guns (a gun) and the effects that the use of these guns (this gun) has on their lives (her life) and the lives of those around them (her).

Several additional criteria have been suggested to complete this "strong definition", however, a girls-with-guns anime does not have to strictly follow all of them to be recognized as such.

  • There must be a definite and explicit overall plot with a lot of subtext and, possibly, unrevealed background information to it.
  • The setting should be a world full of violence and danger with a rather dark mood to it, so that all characters must at some point find a way to defend against it.
  • All central characters must have personal story arcs providing in-depth insight into their personalities.
  • The story's focus must be on the female characters (girls), although some of the main characters may be male.
    • The girls should ultimately remain feminine despite all the hardships of life.
  • The antagonists may be of both genders and any weaponry preferences, though some general tendencies should be preserved:
    • Female antagonists are much more dangerous and better characterized than male ones.
    • Male enemies tend to be portrayed as faceless stormtroopers, attacking in large groups.
  • Firearms (guns) or firearm-derived weaponry must be featured prominently in the anime and be at least occasionally wielded by the female characters.
    • Swords and other martial arts weapons are excluded unless they have some sort of a gun attached to them. Crossbows are a gray area.
    • The aspect of learning to actually shoot a gun is more than suitable to the plot.
  • Ideally, the "girl + gun" combo should result in psychological and moral conflicts within the characters and, simultaneously, controversial reactions among the audience.

Examples

Bee Train's trilogy

According to Mashimo Kōichi, Noir, Madlax, and El Cazador are the three installments of a girls-with-guns trilogy that he envisioned ever since the release of the first title.

Other anime examples

Apparently, the history of the subgenre spans for over 20 years and there have been multiple animes that may be classified as girls-with-guns before 2001, but Noir was obviously the first one to define it explicitly. It may also explain why the popularity of this particular subgenre rose dramatically after its release.

Non-anime examples

External links

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