gunslinger girl #1

Officially, the Social Welfare Agency is a government-sponsored corporation in the business of saving lives. In reality, it's an organization on the fringes of technology. The Agency gives terminal patients another shot at life using cybernetic implants. This conditioning process then shapes the patient into an efficient machine for handling all of the government's dirty work...including assassinations.

Brought to life by Madhouse Studios (the team behind portions of "The Animatrix," "Ninja Scroll," "Final Fantasy" and "Spirited Away"), "Gunslinger Girl" has garnered comparisons to "Alias," "La Femme Nikita" and "The Professional."

Episode 1: Fratello Following a gruesome night of terror, a newly-orphaned young girl named Henrietta is taken under the wing of a secret Italian agency. The Social Welfare Agency is in the business of altering the minds and bodies of children like Henrietta to become assassins. It is up to Henrietta's "fratello" — or "sibling" — named Jose to show her the ropes... and keep her delicate mind from spinning out of control.