TV-Series
Description
Raballo, whose full name is Claudio Raballo, is a supporting character in the anime Gunslinger Girl. He was a captain in the Carabinieri, Italy's military police, until an accidental discharge of his sidearm wounded his leg and forced him into early retirement. Around that time, he was approached by Jean Croce, a former subordinate who had joined the Social Welfare Agency, a government organization that covertly operates as a counter-terrorism unit using conditioned cyborg girls as assassins. Jean offered Raballo the position of handler for one of these girls, with the promise that the Agency would help him return to the military police within three years. Raballo accepted and was assigned to the cyborg designated Claes.
In personality, Raballo was aloof and relatively quiet. He spent much of his free time reading books and other literature, and he had his entire personal library brought to the Agency's compound for his own use. Unlike most of the other handlers, he appeared to live on the premises, just down the hall from the dormitory where the cyborg girls stayed. When he first began working with Claes, he was distant and cold, telling her that his only real interest was in getting back to his military career. He was also strict in training, at one point ordering Claes to remain on the shooting range during a driving rainstorm until she could hit her targets.
Over time, however, Raballo's attitude changed. He began taking Claes outside the Agency to experience a more normal life, especially through fishing trips to the lakes around Rome, and he taught her the value of patience. He also encouraged her existing love of reading and frequently lent her books from his collection. What troubled him most was the way the Agency used young girls as weapons, and as he grew closer to Claes he started to question the ethics of what they were being asked to do. His distress deepened into depression, made worse after a violent argument with fellow handler Jose Croce at the shooting range; Henrietta, Croce's charge, interpreted Raballo's harsh words as an attack on her handler, and Claes was soon drawn into the confrontation as well before the situation was resolved without bloodshed.
Disgusted by the incident and the nature of the work, Raballo decided to take a sabbatical and leave the Agency. Before departing, he gave Claes two things: the keys to his quarters so she could continue using his books, and the glasses she had worn before she was turned into a cyborg, with the promise that she would not wear them in battle. Afterward, he contacted a reporter friend, apparently intending to reveal something about the Agency, but he was killed in a hit-and-run accident before he could meet with the reporter. That was the official account of his death. Because of the extremely strong bond formed between a cyborg girl and her handler, Raballo's departure made Claes useless as an assassin, since it was effectively impossible to assign a new handler to her once the pairing had been established.
Raballo's abilities were rooted in his military background as a Carabinieri captain. He was an experienced soldier and a capable instructor, and he was trusted to train Claes in combat and firearms despite his own leg injury, which limited his physical capabilities but not his value as a trainer and handler. His story is one of a professional who began the assignment purely for personal gain but came to genuinely care for the girl placed under his responsibility, and who ultimately could not accept the cost of the program he had agreed to serve.
In personality, Raballo was aloof and relatively quiet. He spent much of his free time reading books and other literature, and he had his entire personal library brought to the Agency's compound for his own use. Unlike most of the other handlers, he appeared to live on the premises, just down the hall from the dormitory where the cyborg girls stayed. When he first began working with Claes, he was distant and cold, telling her that his only real interest was in getting back to his military career. He was also strict in training, at one point ordering Claes to remain on the shooting range during a driving rainstorm until she could hit her targets.
Over time, however, Raballo's attitude changed. He began taking Claes outside the Agency to experience a more normal life, especially through fishing trips to the lakes around Rome, and he taught her the value of patience. He also encouraged her existing love of reading and frequently lent her books from his collection. What troubled him most was the way the Agency used young girls as weapons, and as he grew closer to Claes he started to question the ethics of what they were being asked to do. His distress deepened into depression, made worse after a violent argument with fellow handler Jose Croce at the shooting range; Henrietta, Croce's charge, interpreted Raballo's harsh words as an attack on her handler, and Claes was soon drawn into the confrontation as well before the situation was resolved without bloodshed.
Disgusted by the incident and the nature of the work, Raballo decided to take a sabbatical and leave the Agency. Before departing, he gave Claes two things: the keys to his quarters so she could continue using his books, and the glasses she had worn before she was turned into a cyborg, with the promise that she would not wear them in battle. Afterward, he contacted a reporter friend, apparently intending to reveal something about the Agency, but he was killed in a hit-and-run accident before he could meet with the reporter. That was the official account of his death. Because of the extremely strong bond formed between a cyborg girl and her handler, Raballo's departure made Claes useless as an assassin, since it was effectively impossible to assign a new handler to her once the pairing had been established.
Raballo's abilities were rooted in his military background as a Carabinieri captain. He was an experienced soldier and a capable instructor, and he was trusted to train Claes in combat and firearms despite his own leg injury, which limited his physical capabilities but not his value as a trainer and handler. His story is one of a professional who began the assignment purely for personal gain but came to genuinely care for the girl placed under his responsibility, and who ultimately could not accept the cost of the program he had agreed to serve.