List of Gunslinger Girl characters

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The following is a list of characters from the Japanese manga and anime Gunslinger Girl.

[edit] Child assassins

[edit] Henrietta

Henrietta (ヘンリエッタ, Henrietta^?)

Voiced by: Yuuka Nanri (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English), Leyla Rangel (Spanish)

Left for dead after the brutal murder of all six members of her family, Henrietta is the newest addition to the Agency as the story begins. She was assaulted repeatedly next to the dead bodies all night, which had inflicted psychological trauma to her, making her suicidal. Her struggle is the most developed of all the girls as she adjusts to her new life. Henrietta's favorite activity is to spend time with her handler, Giuseppe. Whenever Giuseppe seems to turn his attention to other women (including the other cyborgs of the SWA), Henrietta becomes slightly jealous. This is due to Henrietta's strong romantic feelings for Giuseppe, as a result of her conditioning and the care he gives her. Her name is, in all actuality, derived from "Enrica", the name of Giuseppe's late sister. Her name is shortened to "'Etta", usually. Henrietta's preferred weapons are the SIG Sauer P239 Tu-Tone, the Fabrique Nationale P90 SMG, and the FN FAL (present in the manga only). With the exception of her pistol (and the Walther WA 2000 sniper rifle, and Giuseppe's Ingram MAC-10, both of which anime-specific), the Henrietta/Giuseppe fratello use exclusively Fabrique Nationale weapons (Giuseppe uses the FN Five-seveN).

[edit] Rico

Rico (リコ, Riko^?)

Voiced by: Kanako Mitsuhashi (Japanese), Luci Christian (English), Maria Fernanda Morales (Spanish)

Born with severe birth defects confining her to a hospital since birth^[1], Rico's parents signed her over to the SWA on her eleventh birthday, where she was given a new lease on life due to her cybernetic operation. Rico loves her new body and life at the SWA, viewing each day as a blessing. She maintains a happy disposition, despite her treatment as a machine by her handler, Jean. With the exception of a statement Angelica made in the anime, Rico is only one who clearly remembers her past: that she was in a hospital, that her parents fought, and where her father works^[2]. Her name, like Henrietta's, is derived from "Enrica" (Enrica → Enrico → Rico). Rico's preferred weapons are the CZ 75 pistol and the Dragunov SVD. In the anime, she wields a Beretta SCP-70/90, and is additionally shown training with a Galil MAR carbine. Her preferred support weapon is the MG3 multipurpose machine gun, which has only been used twice thus far.

[edit] Triela

Triela (トリエラ, Toriera^?)

Voiced by: Eri Sendai (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English), Rosy Aguirre (Spanish)

A former victim of a Mafia child smuggling group based in Amsterdam, Triela was one among many who regularly suffered abuse in the form of drugs, torture, rape and mutilation^[3]. She was rescued by a pair of Europol detectives, one of whom was her future handler, Hilshire. After being mortally wounded in a gunfight, Hilshire's partner bravely used the last of her strength to perform CPR on Triela, enabling Hilshire to save the child's life. Extremely pragmatic with just a hint of rebellion, Triela has a sarcastic wit and prefers to wear masculine clothing^[4]. She serves as a sort of mentor to the other girls of the SWA and, of them all, she retains the most realistic outlook on their situation. She is given a minimal of conditioning, like Henrietta. Triela's preferred weapons are the SIG-Sauer P230 SL pistol (after later losing her P230 to Pinocchio in volume three, she is given the newer version 232-SL as a replacement), the M1897 Trench Shotgun, the H&K G3A3 assault rifle (only seen in the anime), and the H&K P7M8 pistol. In the manga, she also uses the H&K UMP submachine gun and a H&K MP7 PDW.

[edit] Claes

Claes (クラエス, Kuraesu^?)

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese), Alese Watson (English), Ana Lobo (Spanish)

Once known as Fleda Claes Johansson, this girl has undefined origins. In the beginning, Claes is confined to the Agency, unable to participate in missions with the other girls because her handler, Raballo, has died. She is used as a test subject by the cyborg engineers, who utilize controlled situations and equipment to monitor the usefulness of her implants^[5]. Claes wears glasses from her life before her cybernetic operation as a visual reminder of the promise she once made to Raballo and is knowledgeable and mature for her age^[6]. In volume four, she trespasses into the indoor shooting range and is promptly told off by Giuseppe, although it is too late and her memory is sparked by the scent of gunpowder and watching the other people shoot at targets. Additionally, in volume seven, where despite only knowing hand-to-hand combat with no knowledge of how to wield a firearm, Claes was allowed to attend a mission carried out by Alessandro and Petrushka. However, due to her pact with Raballo, she was afraid of actively harming another person and did not fire the pistol she was given. She is deeply troubled by her dreams as well, because she sees Raballo in them, but does not know who he is. Claes's preferred weapons were the H&K VP70M and the MP5K. On the mission in volume seven, she carried a Taurus Millennium Pro PT138 pistol.

[edit] Angelica

Angelica (アンジェリカ, Anjerika^?)

Voiced by: Hitomi Terakado (Japanese), Monica Rial (English), Patricia Acevedo (Spanish)

Some time ago, a girl's father's business was about to declare bankruptcy. In desperation, her father decided to cash in on the large life insurance policy he had taken out on his daughter, Angelina. While getting groceries with her dog Perro, Angelina had no warning when her father "accidentally" hit her with his car^[7]. After the incident, Angelina was chosen by the SWA to be the first girl to undergo the cybernetic augmentation and conditioning process. Now known as Angelica, she later became a model for the refinement of the child assassin program. Unfortunately, Angelica was also the first to experience the problems of the conditioning process, especially long-term memory loss. Angelica does not understand the disinterest of her handler, Marco, and the conditioning process left her with an overwhelming desire for his approval. Angelica, unlike the others, was not chosen by her handler, and did not at first receive brainwashing. Her name is usually shortened to either "Ange" or "Angie" (the latter being the official English adaption of the anime's translation). Angelica's preferred weapon is the Steyr AUG A1, after previously using the Beretta 84. In the manga, she also uses the TMP compact submachine gun, the M-1A pistol and the AUG H-BAR LMG. The Angelica/Marco fratello use exclusively Steyr-Mannlicher weapons (Marco uses the Steyr M-GB pistol).

[edit] Elsa

Elsa deSica (エルザ・デ・シーカ, Eruza de Shīca^?)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Brina Palencia (English), Pilar Escandon (Spanish)

Elsa deSica was another girl whose origins are unclear. She did not wish to associate with anyone except her handler, Lauro, whom she was deeply in love with. Elsa's attitude towards others, even among the other girls, could be described as aloof and impersonal. She would live, and die, only for Lauro. When Elsa finally realized that Lauro did not return her feelings, she asked him to take her to the park where she first received her name. There, Elsa shot Lauro in the back of the head and then shot herself in the eye to die with him. Elsa's actions demonstrated the potentially tragic drawbacks of the fratello relationship and prompted Section 2 to prove the worth of the child assassins to the Italian government. Elsa's preferred weapons were the SIG 550, SIG 551, and SIG P228.

In the manga, Elsa never appeared alive (exceptions being a very brief flashback), and was only introduced after her death. The anime, however, devoted an entire episode to her relationship with her handler as a prelude to her committing murder suicide with Lauro.

[edit] Petrushka

Petrushka (ペトルーシュカ, Petorūshuka^?)

Elizabeta Baranovskaya (エリザヴェート･バラノフスカヤ, Erizavuto Baranofusukaya^?) was once a Russian-born ballerina, who had practiced since she was four years old. She was a student at the Moscow State Academy and her hometown was in Smolensk, but her mother was a Belarusian. Elizabeta's dream was to dance at the Bolshoi Theater (it was once her mother's dream), but after discovering a tumor, she went to Italy to see about curing it, where her leg was unfortunately amputated. Because of this, she attempted suicide by jumping off the hospital roof and plummeting to the ground, but was unsuccessful; instead, she was retained at the hospital until the SWA stepped in. Alessandro Ricci, her handler, renamed her Petrushka (for the Russian puppet Petrushka), and she underwent the physical augmentation process. Unlike the previous first-stage cyborgs, most of Petrushka's features were replaced, so she is not a natural redhead nor are her eyes naturally green (the doctor working to replace her body decided to model her after his first love, as Alessandro refused to specify any particular changes except that she "not be a redhead"; clearly, his plea was ignored). Like Angelica was the first-stage prototype, Petrushka is the prototype for the second-stage generation and debuts in volume six, where she is also featured on the cover with her primary weapon. As a second-stage cyborg, Petrushka already had everything she needed to know about her life at the SWA pre-programmed into her brain; she knew where she was, that she would be trained for combat, and that she "must follow Alessandro's and the Agency's orders without hesitation", but nothing about her past life. As a consequence, any order that she is given she is forced to see out despite her own wishes. Her name is often shortened to "Petra". Petrushka's preferred weapons are the Spectre M4 SMG and Taurus PT92 pistol.

[edit] Beatrice

Beatrice (ベアトリーチェ, Beatorīche^?)

Featured in volume four of the manga, Beatrice has a very strong sense of smell, and is handled by Bernardo. She is primarily apathetic from what little is shown of her. Her name has been shortened to "Bice" by Bernardo on occassion. Beatrice's preferred weapon is the IMI Micro Uzi machine pistol.

[edit] Handlers of the Social Welfare Agency

[edit] Giuseppe

Giuseppe (ジョゼ, Joze^?)

Voiced by: Hidenobu Kichi (Japanese), John Burgmeier (English), Ricardo Tejedo (Spanish)

An agent of Section 2. Henrietta's handler and Jean's younger brother. Unlike the other fratello, Giuseppe truly lives up to the name, caring for Henrietta like a protective brother and showing a good deal of interest and concern for her welfare. As such, he attempts to minimize Henrietta's conditioning as much as possible. Years ago, Giuseppe had a younger sister who adored him and wished to join the Carabinieri when she was older, in order to protect him. She resembled Henrietta somewhat and died in a terrorist attack which possibly caused her to drown. Due to his sister's death, Giuseppe gained a deep appreciation for life and a hatred towards terrorism. Henrietta may represent Giuseppe's attempt to bring his sister back into his life somehow, as evidenced by her name's origins, her physical likeness to the girl, and the fact that she is seen wearing one of Enrica's dresses in volume six.

The name "Giuseppe" is used only in ADV's English adaptation of the manga; in the Japanese-language manga and anime, this character is named Joze (ジョゼ, Joze^?), which has been rendered as Jose and even Giuse^[8] for the North American DVD release from FUNimation. Both forms have the same meaning: they are translations of the name "Joseph."

[edit] Jean

Jean (ジャン, Jan^?)

Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese), Eric Vale (English), Arturo Mercado Jr. (Spanish)

Field commander of Section 2. Also spelled in some translations as Gian or Jan. An agent of Section 2, Rico's handler and Giuseppe's older brother. Whereas Giuseppe shows genuine care and concern for Henrietta's welfare, Jean adopts a cold and impersonal attitude, viewing Rico as a tool and keeping her on heavy doses of conditioning. This fundamental difference in their attitudes towards their charges is often a point of contention between the brothers. When his younger sister and fiancee Sophia was killed, Jean learned to hate terrorism. As a result, Jean became driven, hard-hearted, ruthless and sometimes cruel, especially when dealing with terrorists. Jean could have specifically chosen Rico because she would not mind his cold-hearted personality, no matter what happens. He is the most trusted unofficial advisor of Lorenzo, the chief of Section 2 of the Political Warfare Section, perhaps due to his extreme rationality. As of volume six, Jean does appear to care somewhat about Rico, when he saves her from drowning in a misguided sniping attempt.

[edit] Hilshire

Hilshire (ヒルシャー, Hirushā^?)

Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (Japanese), Dameon Clarke (English), Gerardo Reyero (Spanish)

Real name Victor Hartmann; also spelled in some translations as Hillshire, Hilscher, or Hirscher. An agent of Section 2, Triela's handler and a former Europol detective, Hilshire prefers a hands-off approach to Triela and, like Giuseppe, he dislikes heavy use of conditioning. During his earlier days as a Europol detective, he was denied engaging a child-torturing group in the frontline, as commented by his superior being "too naïve" and incapable of handling the pressure. True to his boss's description of his personality, he could be seen whimpering excessively over a live footage of the torturing session, and became mentally depressed. Soon after, he was approached by a concerned female coroner (who was responsible for the bodies of the child victims), a woman named Rachel who was tipped by her friend regarding the location of the torture group. The pair then carried out an unofficial mission to raid the hideout, resulting in the death of Rachel and the rescue of the would-be Triela. After the ordeal, Hilshire received information concerning the child smuggling ring from Mario Bossi, a Mafia leader who experienced an attack of conscience. In exchange for the information, Hilshire allowed Mario to escape before Europol could arrest him. When Europol learned about Hilshire's part in Mario's escape, Hilshire was dismissed. Shortly afterwards, he was employed by the SWA in no small part due to his existing connection to Triela, who became one of the SWA's experimental subjects.

[edit] Raballo

Raballo (ラバロ, Rabaro^?)

Voiced by: Kenyuu Horiuchi (Japanese), Bill Flynn (English), Gabriel Chavez (Spanish)

Also spelled in some translations as Raparo, Ravalo, or even Lavarro. He was an agent of Section 2, Claes's handler and a former member of the Carabinieri. After forced retirement due to a leg injury, Captain Raballo was approached by Jean, who offered Raballo a chance to join Section 2 as a handler for a child assassin. In turn, Raballo would be able to return to the Military Police within three years. During his period with Section 2, Raballo spent a great deal of time with Claes outside the SWA, showing her a normal life, especially fishing. He also taught Claes the value of patience and encouraged her prior love of reading. Ultimately, however, he was unable to deal with what had been done to the girls of the SWA and of what was expected of him and Claes as a fratello, so Raballo left. Due to the strong bond developed between a girl and her handler, this act made Claes useless as an assassin, since it was effectively impossible to assign a new handler once a fratello have bonded. Before his departure, Raballo gave Claes her old glasses from a previous life with the promise that she'll be good whenever she wears them. A few days after he left the SWA to talk to a friend (who was a reporter by profession), Claes was informed that Raballo died in a hit-and-run incident, possibly at the hands of the Italian government or even the Political Warfare Section.

[edit] Marco

Marco (マルコー, Marukō^?)

Voiced by: Norihiro Inoue (Japanese), Jim Foronda (English), Jorge Roig (Spanish)

Real name Marco Togni. An agent of Section 2 and Angelica's handler. After being suspended from military service due to an injury to his left eye, Marco was recommended by his friend Dr. Bianchi to be the handler of Angelica, the first child assassin of Section 2. While taking care of Angelica, Marco told her impromptu stories of "The Prince of the Land of Pasta" (Il Principe del Regno della Pasta), a fictional prince who ate only pasta. He spent much time looking for ideas for the story. This fascinated his girlfriend at the time, Patricia, who later wrote and published the storybook "The Prince of the Land of Pasta", a copy of which Marco bought and read for Angelica. As time went on, Marco witnessed Section 2 develop into an effective combat unit and Angelica's tremendous potential as an assassin. Unfortunately, Angelica also was the first girl to experience the side-effects of the conditioning process, particularly long-term memory loss. Disgusted with the many setbacks that resulted afterwards, Marco felt that any further effort was in vain, and had no desire to continue, and takes an impersonal and critical approach to Angelica's training.

[edit] Lauro

Lauro (ラウーロ, Raūro^?)

Voiced by: Eisuke Tsuda , Moises Palacios (Spanish)

A former agent of Section 2 and Elsa's handler. His attitude towards Elsa was similar, if not worse, to Jean's attitude towards Rico; he viewed her as nothing more than a tool and treated her as such. Except when conducting missions, Lauro paid little-to-no attention to Elsa. Unfortunately, this attitude proved to be his undoing when Elsa fell deeply in love with him, to the point of obsession. When Elsa realized that Lauro did not return her feelings, she shot him from behind and then killed herself immediately afterwards.

[edit] Alessandro

Alessandro (アレッサンドロ, Aressandoro^?)

Petrushka's handler. Alessandro Ricci spent most of his childhood overseeing the Spain Square in Rome on the fourth floor of the building he lived in, and soon developed a keen eye for observing people, earning him a job at the Public Security Division of Italy. He was set to infiltrate Padania headquarters at one time, but due to the political upheaval, he joined Section 2 instead. Alessandro initially seemed very uninterested in Petrushka; later on, he is more intrigued at the idea that she is a "weapon". He requests that Petrushka refers to him as Sandro rather than his full name — in turn, Alessandro calls her Petra.

[edit] Bernardo

Bernardo (ベルナルド, Berunardo^?)

Beatrice's handler. Both he and Beatrice are featured in Gunslinger Girl volume four. Bernardo seems to be very outgoing, in sharp contrast with his emotionless cyborg Beatrice.

[edit] Other members of the Special Ops division

Lorenzo (ロレンツォ, Rorentso^?)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Mark Stoddard (English), Eduardo Tejedo (Spanish)

Chief of Special Ops, Section 2. He is responsible for overseeing the overall development of the child assassins, as well as the conduction of their missions. When looking over sensitive issues, Lorenzo often confers with Jean.

Alfonso

Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki (Japanese), Troy Baker (English), Eduardo Garza (Spanish)

A male agent for Section 2.

Ferro (フェッロ, Ferro^?)

Voiced by: Rie Nakagawa (Japanese), Cynthia Cranz (English), Rocío Prado (Spanish)

A female agent for Section 2 who has a no-nonsense personality.

Olga (オリガ, Origa^?)

A female agent for Section 2 who is originally from Russia.

Priscilla (プリシッラ, Purishirra^?)

Voiced by: Masami Suzuki , Cristina Camargo (Spanish)

A female agent for Section 2 who loves and genuinely cares for the girls. She has a chirpy personality when not on duty.

Dr. Bianchi

Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki , Gerardo del Valle (Spanish)

The head doctor in charge of the child assassins's surgical operations and conditioning processes. Dr. Bianchi also observes the medical diagnosis and physical development of the girls.

Louis Duvalier

Voiced by: Makoto Tomita , Enrique Cervantes (Spanish)

Technician officer, works on designing outside of the cyborg's body. Louis was the head person in charge of modifying Petrushka's physical appearance.

Belgonchi

Technician officer, expert on artificial organs and the vascular system.

Dr. Gilliani

The head doctor in charge of developing artificial arms and legs of the cyborg's body.

Pietro Fermi (ピエトロ・フェルミ, Pietoro Ferumi^?)

Voiced by: Shuiichi Ikeda , Blas Garcia (Spanish)

A male agent for Section 1. He was called in to investigate the deaths of Elsa deSica and Lauro, as well as find information on the child assassins employed by Section 2.

Elenora Gabrielli (エレノラ・ガブリエリ, Erenora Gaburieri^?)

Voiced by: Risa Mizuno , Nancy McKenzie (Spanish)

A female agent for Section 1. She often kept track of minor details for Section 1 and kept a Moleskine pocketbook with everything she needed written inside, which Henrietta referred to as a "magical notebook".

Draghi (ドラーギ, Dorāgi^?)

Chief of Special Ops, Section 1. Jealous of the initial success of the cyborg program implemented by Section 2, he once attempted to cast doubt on the feasibility of the program via the investigation into the death of Elsa de Sica.

[edit] Padania Republic Faction (PRF)

Known as the "Five Republics Faction" in the original Japanese manga. The Padania Republic Faction (PRF) is a covert radical nationalist and right-wing group dedicated to the independence of northern Italy, as well as the opposition of globalization in Italy.

Pinocchio (ピノッキオ, Pinokkio^?)

The "devoted son" named after the popular story book character, Pinocchio. A ruthless professional assassin, Pinocchio started his career at the age of ten. Pinocchio is rumored to have murdered many prominent people in Europe throughout his career. During his service to the PRF, he was killed in a fierce duel of guns and hand-to-hand combat with Triela, stabbed through the throat with Triela's fingers.

Franca (フランカ, Furanka^?) and Franco (フランコ, Furanko^?)

Franca Voiced by: Chisa Yokoyama , Ana Maria Grey (Spanish)

Franco Voiced by: Shintarou Sonooka , Benjamín Rivera (Spanish)

A pair of specialists in demolitions and explosives. Franco (a dark-haired man) and Franca (a blonde-haired woman) have been employed by the PRF to produce high-quality explosives for use in terrorist bombings. Franco is a quiet person who often lets Franca talk for him, while Franca herself is a believer in the noble goals of the PRF. Both Franco and Franca are unwilling to harm innocent people, especially children, during their missions. Although they have similar names, they are not siblings, and actually chose their matching codenames because they would be working together. They are both missing in action after attempting to escape a blockade set up by Section 2. Franca sustained several gunshots during the escape, though her current condition is unknown.

Bruno

Known within the PRF as "the Fixer," this man is usually sent to destroy unwanted corpses the PRF leaves behind. Bruno works closely with his apprentice, Vincenzo, in this job. A family man, Bruno only does his job for the money offered by the PRF. In volume three, he was left alive proceeding Rico and Angelica's mission; his current state is unknown.

Vincenzo

Bruno's apprentice in the odious job of corpse disposal. As with Bruno, Vincenzo does his job only for the money. He was killed by Rico in volume three of the manga.

Enrico Beldini

A former anarchist who joined the PRF for money offered. A man who believed that the ends justified the means, Enrico once planned to blow up the Piazza di Spagna in a terrorist plot with a bomb designed by Franco and Franca. He was arrested by Section 2 after he was followed to his hideout and currently remains imprisoned.

Pirazzi

A well-known Italian billionaire who secretly funds the activities of the PRF. He was betrayed by his former accountant, Filippo Adani, who gave Pirazzi's accounting records (including details of the PRF's finances and future plans) to the Agency.

Cristiano (クリスティアーノ, Kurisutiāno^?)

Voiced by: Naoki Tatsuta , Jesus Barrero (Spanish)

A mid-level agent for the PRF, Cristiano often coordinates the PRF's missions on the field. He once organized the mission to kill Filippo Adani before he could give away information about the PRF.

[edit] Notes and references