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 invo ...

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 spec ...

s and martial arts action.

Cinema

The 1985

Hong Kong film The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of pol ...

'' Yes, Madam'', 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 a ...

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, Cynd ...

, 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 is a Japanese former actress and martial artist. She gained prominence in Hong Kong and became popular in the Philippines as Cynthia Luster. Due to Filipinos' interest in Jackie Chan, she became Chan's pseudo female equivalent. Biography Born ...

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-gen ...

, 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 schoo ...

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

Martial Angels ''Martial Angels'' () is a 2001 Hong Kong film directed by Clarence Fok Yiu-leung. The film has been described as part of the "girls with guns revival" cycle of the early 2000s. Other films in this subgenre included ''The Wesley's Mysteriou ...

'' (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 The f ...

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

Anime

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

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, 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 Japane ...

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 is a 1987 to 1991 cyberpunk original video animation (OVA) series produced by Youmex and animated by Anime International Company, AIC and Artmic. The series was planned to run for 13 episodes, but was cut short to just 8. The series involv ...

'', ''

Dirty Pair is a series of Japanese light novels (the first one being a fix-up) written by Haruka Takachiho and illustrated by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko that was later adapted into anime and manga versions. The first stories that make up the first volume ...

'', ''

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 maga ...

'', '' 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 Americ ...

'', 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 a ...

'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 m ...

'', ''

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 Hara ...

'', 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