An old member of Neres who was left behind in a mission long ago returns, with a vengeance. Gloria, the self-styled “leader” of Neres, is rather loud and obnoxious…and a penny pincher too, which leads to some humorous moments. In this episode she “helps” Maia complete all the jobs she failed in the last episode – this time using violence as a tool. She’s also the weapons expert of the group, fittingly enough. I thought the last episode was rough for Maia, but this one looks even more painful. Check out the faceplant on the sidewalk as well as her fall out of the tree. In this context, her “Morning before meeting Gloria” and “Morning after” mugshots make a lot of sense.












Gunslinger Girl 9
This episode begins what can be considered the only real story arc, and touches upon the main issue of the series – the inherent folly in using adolescent children as killing machines. Not because they aren’t any good at it, but because they are still emotionally fragile and unstable, which can be problematic to say the least.
Anyways, we are introduced to a new gunslinger, Elsa, who refuses to associate with the others, and serves her partner with a single-mindedness that borders on obsession (which is probably caused by the “mind reconditioning” that was done to her). Her partner is a real asshole though, as he doesn’t really take care of her. In a way, even the ice-cold Jean is a better partner, since he at least ensures that Rico is in top condition, like a hunter maintaining his weapons.
This is put into sharp contrast with Jose and Henrietta’s relationship, as Jose treats her like his own daughter, and refuses to have any more mind conditioning/brainwashing performed on her. When Jose and Jean team up for a mission, Elsa finally realizes how crappy her life is, compared to Henrietta’s.