Girls with guns is a subgenre of action films and animation that portray a female

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

engaged in

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only in ...

s. The genre typically involves gun-play,

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery sp ...

s and martial arts action.

Cinema

The 1985 Hong Kong film ''

Yes, Madam Yes, Madam may refer to: * ''Yes, Madam'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Yes, Madam'' (1942 film), an Italian romance film * ''Yes, Madam'' (1985 film), a Hong Kong action film * ''Yes, Madam? ''Yes, Madam?'' is a 1938 British musica ...

'', directed by

Corey Yuen Corey Yuen (; born Ying Gang-ming (殷元奎); 15 February 1951) is a Hong Kong director, film director, producer, action choreographer, and former actor. Yuen was a member of the Peking Opera Schools and one of the Seven Little Fortunes. As ...

and starring

Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...

and

Cynthia Rothrock Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy, Cyndi, Cyndy, ...

, was described by Lisa Funnel as the first "girls with guns" film. Other films of the subgenre were produced until 1994, featuring the likes of Yukari Oshima,

Moon Lee Moon Lee Choi-Fung (; born 14 February 1965) is a former Hong Kong actress and stuntwoman who frequently played roles related to the Hong Kong action and martial arts genres in films and TV serials. She was particularly notable in the sub-genr ...

, and

Cynthia Khan Yang Li-tsing (born 13 December 1968), better known internationally by her stage name Cynthia Khan, is a Taiwanese actress. She starred in many Hong Kong and Filipino girls with guns films. Early life Yang studied Chinese and jazz dance i scho ...

. In the early 2000s, films part of what has been called a "girls with guns revival" cycle were produced. They included '' Martial Angels'' (2001), ''

The Wesley's Mysterious File ''The Wesley's Mysterious File'' (衛斯理藍血人) is a 2002 Hong Kong action science fiction film directed by Andrew Lau starring Andy Lau, Rosamund Kwan and Shu Qi. Hong Kong director Wong Jing also makes a cameo appearance. Summary Th ...

'' (2002) and '' So Close'' (2002).

Anime

The "girls-with-guns" subgenre has also permeated the

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

space. Some examples include ''

Black Lagoon ''Black Lagoon'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe. It has been published in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Sunday Gene-X'' since April 2002, with its chapters colle ...

'', '' Bubblegum Crisis'', '' Dirty Pair'', ''

Gunsmith Cats is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Monthly Afternoon'' from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series ''Gunsmith C ...

'', ''

Gunslinger Girl ''Gunslinger Girl'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series by Yu Aida. It began serialization on May 21, 2002 in '' Dengeki Daioh'' and ended on September 27, 2012. The chapters were also published in 15 ''tankōbon'' volumes by A ...

'', ''

Lycoris Recoil is a Japanese original anime television series created by Spider Lily and Asaura. It was produced by A-1 Pictures and aired from July to September 2022. A manga adaptation by Yasunori Bizen began serialization in Media Factory's manga m ...

'', '' Noir'', ''

Madlax is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series produced in 2004 by the Bee Train animation studio. Kōichi Mashimo directed ''Madlax'' and the soundtrack was composed by Yuki Kajiura. The DVD version was released by ADV Films in North Amer ...

'', and '' El Cazador''. Other examples of "girls with guns" anime are

Masamune Shirow , better known by his pen name , is a Japanese manga artist. Shirow is best known for the manga ''Ghost in the Shell'', which has since been turned into three theatrical anime films, two anime television series, an anime television movie, an an ...

's and

Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including ''Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer'' (1984), ''Angel's Egg'' (1985), ...

's ''

Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell' ...

'' and its television adaptation '' Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex'' as well as Yasuomi Umetsu's works ''

Kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

'', ''

Mezzo Forte is a 2000 original video animation (OVA) directed by Yasuomi Umetsu, but in the United States these OVAs are edited into an anime movie and released it on DVD on the same year. The OVA, which concerns a young woman, Mikura Suzuki, and her ...

'', ''

Mezzo DSA ''Mezzo DSA'' is a 13-episode anime series created by Yasuomi Umetsu and the first not to be licensed by Anime Works, but instead licensed by ADV Films. It is a follow up to the 2001 OVA ''Mezzo Forte''. Synopsis Mikura, Kurokawa, and Harad ...

'', and '' Kite: Liberator''.

References

{{Film-genre-stub Action films by genre Female stock characters in anime and manga Film genres Theatrical combat 1985 introductions Cinema of Hong Kong

Cinema

Anime

See also

References