Ask John: Are There Any More Bishoujo Gunplay Anime on the Way?

Question:
Is there or will there be any more series like Madlax and Noir?

Answer:
2009’s Canaan television is the very best contemporary girls with guns anime outside of Koichi Mashimo’s Noir/Madlax/El Cazador/Phantom canon, and Canaan is arguably superior to at least Madlax and El Cazador, if not Noir and Phantom as well. But if Canaan and other shows like Grenadier and Gunslinger Girl are too old or too familiar, and last year’s Angel Beats didn’t supply enough bishoujo firepower, there may be a new target to focus on. This week’s new bishoujo gunplay television series Hidan no Aria supplies plenty of cute girls and highly stylized gunplay, although its action choreography and animation quality aren’t quite as stylized or impressive as Noir or Canaan. Hidan no Aria may also only tentatively fill the present gap in girl gunplay anime because it exhibits a prominent tsundere moé reminiscent of Shakugan no Shana and Toradora, and plenty of sexual innuendo gags that give it a very different tone from dramatic, melancholy, and morally provocative shows like Noir, Canaan, and Gunslinger Girl.