Girls with guns is a subgenre of action films that portray a femaleprotagonist engaged inshootouts. The genre typically involvesgun-play,stunts andmartial arts action.[1]
The 1985Hong Kong filmYes, Madam, directed byCorey Yuen and starringMichelle Yeoh andCynthia Rothrock, was described by film and gender scholar Lisa Funnell as the first "girls with guns" film.[2] The 1987 Hong Kong filmAngel has also been credited with establishing the genre.[3][4] More films of the subgenre were produced until 1994, featuring the likes ofYukari Oshima,Moon Lee,Cynthia Khan andSharon Yeung. In the early 2000s, films that were part of what has been called a "girls with guns revival" were produced. They includedMartial Angels (2001),The Wesley's Mysterious File (2002) andSo Close (2002).[5] The 2002 Japanese filmsGun Crazy: A Woman from Nowhere and its sequelGun Crazy 2: Beyond the Law are also of this genre.[citation needed]
The subgenre has also permeated theanime space. Some examples includeAkiba Maid War,Aria the Scarlet Ammo,Black Lagoon,Bubblegum Crisis,[6]Dirty Pair,[7][8]Gunsmith Cats,[7]Gunslinger Girl,[7]Lycoris Recoil,Noir,Madlax,[9]El Cazador,[10][11]Ghost in the Shell andGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex as well asYasuomi Umetsu's worksKite,Mezzo Forte,Mezzo DSA, andKite: Liberator.[12]Chrono Crusade has a "nun with a gun" as its protagonist.
FollowingNoir andMadlax, thisEl Cazador will be the third installment in a series of what Director Koichi Mashimo has referred to as his girls-with-guns genre trilogy.
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