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Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 1
Chicago in the 1990s—a city of crime that means good business for two young bounty hunter partners Rally and Minnie-May, the Gunsmith Cats!
Fans will love this crime manga classic from the ‘90s from the character designer of Bubblegum Crisis, printed in an over-sized format and high-quality paper.
Rally Vincent runs Gunsmith Cats—a gun shop in Illinois with her partner, demolitions expert and former call girl Minnie-May Hopkins. But Rally’s “real” job doesn’t pay the bills, her hobby does. And her hobby is bounty bringing the most wanted men and women in the Chicago area to justice—dressed in her sharp suit and tie, and driving her Shelby Cobra GT 500!
But Rally and Minnie-May have their work cut out for them in Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 1 , with corrupt lawyers and cops, fetish-fueled hitmen, and crazed cocaine kingpins bringing the copters, the big rigs, and even the anti-tank guns onto the streets and the freeways of Chicagoland in a windshield whirlwind of double-crosses, car chases, and shootouts!
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 1 introduces supporting characters including bespectacled info broker Becky Farrah, master thief Misty Brown, Chicago detective Roy Coleman, and the infamous transporter “Roadbuster” Bean Bandit—unstoppable either in his Corvette LS-7 or in hand-to-hand combat!
Gunsmith Cats Volume 1: Bonnie & Clyde (1996)Gunsmith Cats Volume 2: Misfire (1997)Gunsmith Cats Volume 3: The Return of Gray (1998)
The Gunsmith Cats Omnibus is using the 2000s unflopped version of the manga, so that it reads in the original Japanese style.
For mature audiences.
“…[Sonoda’s] work on series such as Bubblegum Crisis and Gall Force helped define the look of 1980s anime. His first major manga, Gunsmith Cats, proved that Sonoda is a talented writer as well. (3 ½ stars out of 4)”—Jason Thompson, The Complete Guide
“Muscled thugs stalking mean streets, fast cars, pretty girls, and enough munitions to equip a personal army…Gunsmith Cats is a superb series worthy of just about anyone’s collection.” —A.V. Club
“A classic girls with guns manga.” —Library Journal
Fans will love this crime manga classic from the ‘90s from the character designer of Bubblegum Crisis, printed in an over-sized format and high-quality paper.
Rally Vincent runs Gunsmith Cats—a gun shop in Illinois with her partner, demolitions expert and former call girl Minnie-May Hopkins. But Rally’s “real” job doesn’t pay the bills, her hobby does. And her hobby is bounty bringing the most wanted men and women in the Chicago area to justice—dressed in her sharp suit and tie, and driving her Shelby Cobra GT 500!
But Rally and Minnie-May have their work cut out for them in Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 1 , with corrupt lawyers and cops, fetish-fueled hitmen, and crazed cocaine kingpins bringing the copters, the big rigs, and even the anti-tank guns onto the streets and the freeways of Chicagoland in a windshield whirlwind of double-crosses, car chases, and shootouts!
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus Volume 1 introduces supporting characters including bespectacled info broker Becky Farrah, master thief Misty Brown, Chicago detective Roy Coleman, and the infamous transporter “Roadbuster” Bean Bandit—unstoppable either in his Corvette LS-7 or in hand-to-hand combat!
Gunsmith Cats Volume 1: Bonnie & Clyde (1996)Gunsmith Cats Volume 2: Misfire (1997)Gunsmith Cats Volume 3: The Return of Gray (1998)
The Gunsmith Cats Omnibus is using the 2000s unflopped version of the manga, so that it reads in the original Japanese style.
For mature audiences.
“…[Sonoda’s] work on series such as Bubblegum Crisis and Gall Force helped define the look of 1980s anime. His first major manga, Gunsmith Cats, proved that Sonoda is a talented writer as well. (3 ½ stars out of 4)”—Jason Thompson, The Complete Guide
“Muscled thugs stalking mean streets, fast cars, pretty girls, and enough munitions to equip a personal army…Gunsmith Cats is a superb series worthy of just about anyone’s collection.” —A.V. Club
“A classic girls with guns manga.” —Library Journal
- GenresManga
Kindle Edition
Published March 4, 2025
42 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Kenichi Sonoda
252 books25 followersJapanese Profile: 園田健一
Sonoda Kenichi is a Japanese manga artist and animation character designer.
Sonoda Kenichi is a Japanese manga artist and animation character designer.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 4, 2025
Sonoda measures cool cars and guns against an increasingly thinning plot and finds an uneasy balance.
March 1, 2025
A confession: I really thought the characters would be cats when I requested the ARC. That they turned out to be humans, and the story without any fantasy elements whatsoever, was a slight disappointment, but only briefly.
This was a chunk of a volume. The omnibus has first three volumes of the series and 600 pages. Each volume more or less covers a story arc, cut in suitable sized chapters. They follow Rally Vincent, a woman in her early twenties who loves guns and owns a gun shop in Chicago, where she sells slightly illegal weapons and repairs them too. But most of her income comes from bounty hunting.
Assisting her is Minnie-May Hopkins, 17, who despite her age is a former prostitute, not that the occupation at young age seem to have negatively affected her. We even learn during one arc that she met her great love at 13 and he’s almost 20 years older. More important for the story is that she’s an explosives expert, the skill of which she’s learned from her boyfriend.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed gun-fest from start to finish. Rally goes after the bounties with determination and always captures the skips. This gets her on many kill lists, and throughout the volumes, she battles criminals bent on revenge. Bullets fly and things blow up, and unlike so often in mangas with exaggerated action, people get hurt, losing limbs or lives. Sexual assault isn’t glorified or titillating, but also not shown on the page.
The series was originally published in mid-90s and it shows in the art, technology, violence, constant sexism, and gratuituous crotch-shots. The ladies are classy though, and wear pantyhoses. I liked the characters, and how the stories continued even after the arc ended, characters from earlier stories popping up later, or consequences of past actions hindering the characters. Read in such a quantity the stories got a bit exhausting though. But maybe I should’ve just paced myself better. And I have an ARC for vol. 2 omnibus too, and am excited to read it.
If you’ve read the series when it originally came out, the pages and panels have been turned to the original right to left reading direction in the omnibus.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This was a chunk of a volume. The omnibus has first three volumes of the series and 600 pages. Each volume more or less covers a story arc, cut in suitable sized chapters. They follow Rally Vincent, a woman in her early twenties who loves guns and owns a gun shop in Chicago, where she sells slightly illegal weapons and repairs them too. But most of her income comes from bounty hunting.
Assisting her is Minnie-May Hopkins, 17, who despite her age is a former prostitute, not that the occupation at young age seem to have negatively affected her. We even learn during one arc that she met her great love at 13 and he’s almost 20 years older. More important for the story is that she’s an explosives expert, the skill of which she’s learned from her boyfriend.
This was a fast-paced, action-packed gun-fest from start to finish. Rally goes after the bounties with determination and always captures the skips. This gets her on many kill lists, and throughout the volumes, she battles criminals bent on revenge. Bullets fly and things blow up, and unlike so often in mangas with exaggerated action, people get hurt, losing limbs or lives. Sexual assault isn’t glorified or titillating, but also not shown on the page.
The series was originally published in mid-90s and it shows in the art, technology, violence, constant sexism, and gratuituous crotch-shots. The ladies are classy though, and wear pantyhoses. I liked the characters, and how the stories continued even after the arc ended, characters from earlier stories popping up later, or consequences of past actions hindering the characters. Read in such a quantity the stories got a bit exhausting though. But maybe I should’ve just paced myself better. And I have an ARC for vol. 2 omnibus too, and am excited to read it.
If you’ve read the series when it originally came out, the pages and panels have been turned to the original right to left reading direction in the omnibus.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
August 14, 2025
90’s-00’s bounty hunter thriller; cute pair of young adult girls team up to clean up the Midwest and make ends meet. Expect a lot of gun and car aficionado stuff scattered throughout the series jsyk but not overbearing imo.
Initially I bought this because I wanted to read this awhile back after I got the manga bug. Never got to downloading it and now it’s in an omnibus. I imagined more nudity and lewd stuff (which I like) but was surprised to find a detective/bounty hunter thriller series. There is panty shots and lingerie scenes with very little nudity is present for those who care albeit not excessively at all. I am definitely happy with this and really like the story and how nostalgic it feels even though I’ve never read it.
Initially I bought this because I wanted to read this awhile back after I got the manga bug. Never got to downloading it and now it’s in an omnibus. I imagined more nudity and lewd stuff (which I like) but was surprised to find a detective/bounty hunter thriller series. There is panty shots and lingerie scenes with very little nudity is present for those who care albeit not excessively at all. I am definitely happy with this and really like the story and how nostalgic it feels even though I’ve never read it.
March 10, 2025
I enjoyed this more than I expected! Found it on a whim at B&N and the story sounded fun. At least something different from my usual darker stuff like Berserk. It’s like watching a 90s crime flick, it’s so good and I love the artwork. 5/5 really looking forward to the next Omni!
August 16, 2025
3.5 stars✨ You can absolutely tell this is written by a man based on the amount of fan service, but not gonna lie, Rally and Minnie May are still kinda badass🥸
October 27, 2025
Feels like reading a high octane 90s action movie. You care about the characters and your fed information about their backgrounds and talents as the book progresses.
All and all a really enjoyable read and I will pick up omnibus 2.
All and all a really enjoyable read and I will pick up omnibus 2.
December 24, 2025
This was a really fun book until I got to the end where the author talked about how he enjoyed blowing up small animals with fireworks, so that's it for me.
November 10, 2025
Sonoda's bounty-hunter ladies from Chicago are such a wondrous reflection of the intuition and energy of 90s manga/anime subculture that one forgets how comforting it is to relish the freewheeling originality native to such titles. Rally and Minnie May are just trying to get by, one bullet or grenade at a time.
GUNSMITH CATS v1 is a decades-overdue omnibus collection. Readers accustomed to artificially high-stakes drama or action sequences with over-rendered, overly kinetic violence might well learn from Sonoda's generation of shounen comics storytelling that privileges strong-willed characters with genuine, tangible goals. Rally Vincent is the heroine, but she's bull-headed (as a gun shop owner) and bends the law despite working shoulder to shoulder with it (as a reputable bounty hunter). Minnie May Hopkins is her sassy partner, but May is petulant (owed to her youth) and lives as if to prove others wrong (owed to her explosives expertise). Together, the "gunsmith cats" stop trouble, start trouble, and do everything they can to avoid trouble despite being drawn into it.
Hunting down some idiot who skipped a check-in with the local authorities. Tracking the flow of illicit drugs from one mid-level crook to another. Tying the sale of a customized rifle to local political activities (or of one's disavowal of them). Rally and May conduct some light detective work, get into massive shoot-outs, race the local expressway, get into even bigger shoot-outs, and conclude with a word or two about how lucky they are to be alive. Typical bounty-hunter work.
In GUNSMITH CATS v1, readers are thrust into Sonoda's exquisite affectations: fast cars, smart gun care, and pretty ladies. Sonoda always did his homework. It's no accident that he drew the manufacturer codes and weapons caliber on the casing/cartridges of fired bullets. And it's no accident that he drew the tilt of the chassis of Rally's famous GT500 Cobra or of Bean Bandit's 1970s Mustang when the vehicles accelerate at a specific clip.
The comic's dedication to telling a longer story over the course of each episode is essential and appreciated. GUNSMITH CATS v1 doesn't shrink from violence. Characters get their limbs blown off. Characters are shot through the skull. Characters are run over by vehicles. Prostitutes. Kidnappers. Corrupt cops. Corrupt lawyers. Rally draws all sorts of criminals to her doorstep in the name of vengeance or ill-got game, only to walk away with a limp (if at all).
Small-time drug dealers think they've got a beat on some gal with an old CZ M75 on her hip, but Rally's a markswoman and can shoot the hammer off any pistol at middle-distance. Crime lords assume their regional getaway driver can handle anything and anyone, until May tosses one of her custom frag grenades onto the hood of their car and blows them to pieces. The manga's primary villain, an unsympathetic beast of a man named Gray, will do anything and everything to get what he wants, and that spells bad news for anyone who stands in his way.
GUNSMITH CATS v1 is fun, dramatic, and has plenty of good action. The book's gunfights are well-choreographed and often staged in closed quarters. The book's car chases vary from the short to the extended, and often result in Rally, comically, trashing her awesome car and lamenting the cost it'll take to get it back to her preferred condition. For manga fans interested in a straightforward book that is purposeful with its action and violence, but not so dedicated to those precepts that it ignores the humor and awkwardness of the serendipity of living on the edge, GUNSMITH CATS v1 is a fine find.
GUNSMITH CATS v1 is a decades-overdue omnibus collection. Readers accustomed to artificially high-stakes drama or action sequences with over-rendered, overly kinetic violence might well learn from Sonoda's generation of shounen comics storytelling that privileges strong-willed characters with genuine, tangible goals. Rally Vincent is the heroine, but she's bull-headed (as a gun shop owner) and bends the law despite working shoulder to shoulder with it (as a reputable bounty hunter). Minnie May Hopkins is her sassy partner, but May is petulant (owed to her youth) and lives as if to prove others wrong (owed to her explosives expertise). Together, the "gunsmith cats" stop trouble, start trouble, and do everything they can to avoid trouble despite being drawn into it.
Hunting down some idiot who skipped a check-in with the local authorities. Tracking the flow of illicit drugs from one mid-level crook to another. Tying the sale of a customized rifle to local political activities (or of one's disavowal of them). Rally and May conduct some light detective work, get into massive shoot-outs, race the local expressway, get into even bigger shoot-outs, and conclude with a word or two about how lucky they are to be alive. Typical bounty-hunter work.
In GUNSMITH CATS v1, readers are thrust into Sonoda's exquisite affectations: fast cars, smart gun care, and pretty ladies. Sonoda always did his homework. It's no accident that he drew the manufacturer codes and weapons caliber on the casing/cartridges of fired bullets. And it's no accident that he drew the tilt of the chassis of Rally's famous GT500 Cobra or of Bean Bandit's 1970s Mustang when the vehicles accelerate at a specific clip.
The comic's dedication to telling a longer story over the course of each episode is essential and appreciated. GUNSMITH CATS v1 doesn't shrink from violence. Characters get their limbs blown off. Characters are shot through the skull. Characters are run over by vehicles. Prostitutes. Kidnappers. Corrupt cops. Corrupt lawyers. Rally draws all sorts of criminals to her doorstep in the name of vengeance or ill-got game, only to walk away with a limp (if at all).
Small-time drug dealers think they've got a beat on some gal with an old CZ M75 on her hip, but Rally's a markswoman and can shoot the hammer off any pistol at middle-distance. Crime lords assume their regional getaway driver can handle anything and anyone, until May tosses one of her custom frag grenades onto the hood of their car and blows them to pieces. The manga's primary villain, an unsympathetic beast of a man named Gray, will do anything and everything to get what he wants, and that spells bad news for anyone who stands in his way.
GUNSMITH CATS v1 is fun, dramatic, and has plenty of good action. The book's gunfights are well-choreographed and often staged in closed quarters. The book's car chases vary from the short to the extended, and often result in Rally, comically, trashing her awesome car and lamenting the cost it'll take to get it back to her preferred condition. For manga fans interested in a straightforward book that is purposeful with its action and violence, but not so dedicated to those precepts that it ignores the humor and awkwardness of the serendipity of living on the edge, GUNSMITH CATS v1 is a fine find.
May 18, 2025
Growing up, Gunsmith Cats was a series I never got to read and experience in high school, despite it having an already legendary sort of status among anime and manga fans. Over time it's passed in and out of my recollection until I got word that Dark Horse was going to release omnibus volumes of the manga, and I decided to pick up the first one and finally give it a shot.
I do recommend looking up content warnings for this before jumping into it if you're brand-new to it. While nothing here bothered me, there's a lot I expect might be a bit much for someone to experience in an older series. I think where Gunsmith Cats shines best is in its dedicated depiction of firearms, explosives, and cars. Just reading through, it's very clear the creator loves these things and put a plethora of research and passion into depicting them in the manga. This is very action-oriented and takes place in the USA in Chicago, Illinois, and it's also very clear Sonoda did research on this as well to depict it to the best of his abilities.
Where the manga falls flat for me is that, action-oriented as it is, the overall story feels like it's not going much of anywhere. I suppose that's on me for expecting a crime story to focus more on vignette-style stories and not have all of them deeply interconnected, and that's not what I got. Every story here is interconnected in a way, and it's left me feeling like there's an overarching story that's ultimately somewhat aimless and difficult for me to follow. It doesn't help that I'm not invested in any of the characters; it isn't that they aren't fun or charming, but I don't feel invested in them or like I care enough about their stories. So ultimately, I mostly just feel relieved I managed to finish reading this volume. I'm glad I got the chance to give it a try, but I'm more than a little disappointed and this definitely isn't for me.
I do recommend looking up content warnings for this before jumping into it if you're brand-new to it. While nothing here bothered me, there's a lot I expect might be a bit much for someone to experience in an older series. I think where Gunsmith Cats shines best is in its dedicated depiction of firearms, explosives, and cars. Just reading through, it's very clear the creator loves these things and put a plethora of research and passion into depicting them in the manga. This is very action-oriented and takes place in the USA in Chicago, Illinois, and it's also very clear Sonoda did research on this as well to depict it to the best of his abilities.
Where the manga falls flat for me is that, action-oriented as it is, the overall story feels like it's not going much of anywhere. I suppose that's on me for expecting a crime story to focus more on vignette-style stories and not have all of them deeply interconnected, and that's not what I got. Every story here is interconnected in a way, and it's left me feeling like there's an overarching story that's ultimately somewhat aimless and difficult for me to follow. It doesn't help that I'm not invested in any of the characters; it isn't that they aren't fun or charming, but I don't feel invested in them or like I care enough about their stories. So ultimately, I mostly just feel relieved I managed to finish reading this volume. I'm glad I got the chance to give it a try, but I'm more than a little disappointed and this definitely isn't for me.
October 14, 2025
A fun read overall. Really enjoy the two main characters and the way Chicago is represented in a somewhat satirical style. The pacing of the stories and following these two delightful and goofy teen bounty hunters creates a silly story. The fashion itself feels pulled out of a 90’s comedy styled by runway designers. The depictions used for the gun and car models are excellent. Some of the best cars in manga honestly! However, there are aspects to this that do make it a tough read at times just because they can be a bit jarring. The fanservice can be too much and some of the humor hasn’t exactly aged well. If you’re intrigued by a manga faithfully drawing vintage cars and taking place in Chicago, this may be for you, but definitely sample this somehow before deciding on hopping on these rereleases.
January 15, 2026
A complete collection of Gunsmith Cats commences.. slightly larger than the original reprints and with a couple of extra colour plates, sketches and an interview from an earlier collection, this is a perfect all-in-one for people who want to learn what the series is about.
Other reviews will cover the personalities and aspects of the piece much better, but I take the time to note the exceptional borderline obsessive research into guns/cars and the gorgeous art.
It absolutely is an adult comic however, this is not for children or perhaps even teens.
Other reviews will cover the personalities and aspects of the piece much better, but I take the time to note the exceptional borderline obsessive research into guns/cars and the gorgeous art.
It absolutely is an adult comic however, this is not for children or perhaps even teens.
April 4, 2025
While 90's manga are (from today's standard) surprisingly horny, with some weird angles, on the whole this isn't too bad. The plot of two women bounty hunters in Chicago is heavily inspired by the action movies of its time and are fun to follow. It is obvious that the author is super into cars, explosives and guns and provides some interesting commentary.
If you enjoyed black lagoon, I think you'll be able to enjoy this.
If you enjoyed black lagoon, I think you'll be able to enjoy this.
June 9, 2025
I read one or two GUNSMITH CATS series way back when, but I don't recall much about it, so when I saw this in Hoopla, I figured I'd refresh those memories. Can't say reading it again brought anything back besides Rally and Minny's existence. No plot specifics rang any bells, although I guess one muscle car chase sequence/shoot 'em up can easily be misremembered for a different one. It's all pretty shallow and goofy, but still decent fun. I enjoyed myself.
April 17, 2025
I love the art, the story is interesting and some of the characters are pretty cool but like... did they REALLY have to keep sexualizing the underage girl? I get that it's in older series and Japan but come on. It's VERY uncomfortable, especially when they make her an ex-hooker who's constantly horny and doing sexual things with adults. This ain't it...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2025
I remember reading a few random issues of this back in the 90s, and the OVA was decent. This could’ve been an enjoyable action series if the artist wasn’t obsessed with panty shots and extremely rapey scenarios.
January 2, 2026
Very fun, I really enjoy the reoccurring theme and imagery of weaponry as/hidden inside of prosthetics.
The art is highly detailed, especially the cars, guns, and the faces. And although the plot is a little thin, it works well for a more action oriented story.
The art is highly detailed, especially the cars, guns, and the faces. And although the plot is a little thin, it works well for a more action oriented story.
July 16, 2025
The story is pretty meh but the art style and fashion are really well done. Also the rendering on the guns is incredible for a manga
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews