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Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition [ガンスミス キャッツ] #1
Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 1
Rally Vincent and Minnie May Hopkins are experts in their respective fields of marksmanship and explosives, but they’re so cute you’d never know. Neither would the perps unlucky enough to be their hunted. Presented for the first time in the authentic Japanese format, these giant-sized volumes are action-packed, unretouched, and sure to please the gun-nuts, auto buffs, and manga maniacs!
467 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 22, 2005
41 people are currently reading
451 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 - 30 of 50 reviews
March 27, 2022
This book has a serious problem with tone. It deals with some very serious issues such as teenage prostitution and rape but in the context of a light-hearted action adventure series. That just doesn't work for me. Additionally, the stories are all basically the same. The protagonist encounters some cookie cutter villains through her bounty hunter work, then usually a hostage gets taken, and finally the situation is solved with some fancy gunplay. I was pretty bored with the stories by the end of the book.
February 14, 2017
Prvo bacite pogled na ovo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXE4w...
Posle toga sta dalje da objasnjavam :) Ovo je odlicna manga sa lepim 80's vajbom, zabavnim likovima i puno, puno oruzija :D
Sama prica jeste nekako klise, likovi su dosta jednodimenzionalni (sobzirom da ne prezive vise od 5 strana oprosticemo im to) a akcija over the top ali osecaj zabave nikad ne nestaje. Ne da serija nema svojih mracnijih momenata posto se dotice dosta sa teskim temama kao sto su prostitucija, silovanja, otmice droge, sakacenja, ubistva itd. I pored svega toga strip nije morbidan, ne pokusava da prikaze drustvo da je bolesno niti pokusava da pridikuje vec samo prikazuje zivot takav kakav je a na nama je da to obradimo i nadjemo lepse stvari u zivotu.
Sve u svemu puna preporuka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXE4w...
Posle toga sta dalje da objasnjavam :) Ovo je odlicna manga sa lepim 80's vajbom, zabavnim likovima i puno, puno oruzija :D
Sama prica jeste nekako klise, likovi su dosta jednodimenzionalni (sobzirom da ne prezive vise od 5 strana oprosticemo im to) a akcija over the top ali osecaj zabave nikad ne nestaje. Ne da serija nema svojih mracnijih momenata posto se dotice dosta sa teskim temama kao sto su prostitucija, silovanja, otmice droge, sakacenja, ubistva itd. I pored svega toga strip nije morbidan, ne pokusava da prikaze drustvo da je bolesno niti pokusava da pridikuje vec samo prikazuje zivot takav kakav je a na nama je da to obradimo i nadjemo lepse stvari u zivotu.
Sve u svemu puna preporuka.
May 2, 2022
2.5 out of 5
There's a LOT to like and hate about Gunsmith Cats. Both come from the fact that the author is writing about a people and profession that are not a part of his country's culture!
Gunsmith Cats is about a pair of teenage gunsmiths in Chicago who also do some work as bounty hunters to help pay the bills. There's lots of crime and sex work involved and, unfortunately, one of the main characters, Minnie-May, is underage. That wouldn't *necessarily* be an issue (just a part of her backstory), if it weren't for the fact that she's explicitly shown having sex while underage. Even if this story took place in Japan (where she would technically be of age), it'd still be uncomfortable seeing her undercover at a brothel or masturbating at the thought of being reunited with her old flame (geez, I really should vet these books before I buy them, shouldn't i?)
But now let's talk about the good stuff. Most stories about guns and hunting criminals would only focus on who owns what gun and where they can find the owner. But Kenichi Sonoda uses his enthusiasm for firearms to explore other ways weapons and ballistics can factor into the plot that most American authors don't. Like the history of rare firearms, the maintenance (or lack thereof) and ammunition needed to use them, and how those factors play into an active gunfight. For someone who doesn't know a lot about firearms it's absolutely fascinating and one of the book's best features.
Another great feature is the art. It's 90s manga at its finest, with soft character proportions combined with sharp black inks. It's a classy looking book. And while the sliced shirts and panty shots are cringe inducing, the intuitive panel layout and dialogue placement makes its dynamic gunfights and high-octane car chases fun to read and easy to enjoy.
The use of fanservice and troubling use of underage sex work dates the book and makes it difficult to recommend to just anyone. But those who can work past those issues will find a fun, action-packed crime book that's cool as hell and slick as gun oil.
There's a LOT to like and hate about Gunsmith Cats. Both come from the fact that the author is writing about a people and profession that are not a part of his country's culture!
Gunsmith Cats is about a pair of teenage gunsmiths in Chicago who also do some work as bounty hunters to help pay the bills. There's lots of crime and sex work involved and, unfortunately, one of the main characters, Minnie-May, is underage. That wouldn't *necessarily* be an issue (just a part of her backstory), if it weren't for the fact that she's explicitly shown having sex while underage. Even if this story took place in Japan (where she would technically be of age), it'd still be uncomfortable seeing her undercover at a brothel or masturbating at the thought of being reunited with her old flame (geez, I really should vet these books before I buy them, shouldn't i?)
But now let's talk about the good stuff. Most stories about guns and hunting criminals would only focus on who owns what gun and where they can find the owner. But Kenichi Sonoda uses his enthusiasm for firearms to explore other ways weapons and ballistics can factor into the plot that most American authors don't. Like the history of rare firearms, the maintenance (or lack thereof) and ammunition needed to use them, and how those factors play into an active gunfight. For someone who doesn't know a lot about firearms it's absolutely fascinating and one of the book's best features.
Another great feature is the art. It's 90s manga at its finest, with soft character proportions combined with sharp black inks. It's a classy looking book. And while the sliced shirts and panty shots are cringe inducing, the intuitive panel layout and dialogue placement makes its dynamic gunfights and high-octane car chases fun to read and easy to enjoy.
The use of fanservice and troubling use of underage sex work dates the book and makes it difficult to recommend to just anyone. But those who can work past those issues will find a fun, action-packed crime book that's cool as hell and slick as gun oil.
February 2, 2023
Compré este volumen animado por un sentimiento nostálgico que me recordaba que cuando era un chaval había leído algunas de estas historias en uno de esos formatos inexplicables de la época en que el manga se iniciaba en España.
Y, vaya, esto no es para nada lo que recordaba ni lo que esperaba.
Por un lado, la historia no está del todo mal a priori. Dos chicas que regentan una armería, pero en sus ratos libres se sacan un dinero extra haciendo de caza recompensas. Lo que empieza como capítulos con tramas contenidas, luego se extiende a historias más largas que se desarrollan a lo largo de más páginas. Sin embargo, no dejan de ser siempre lo mismo y a mitad de tomo ya había perdido buena parte del interés.
Por otro, el gran problema leyendo Gunsmith Cats es la apología de sexo con menores, prostitución de los mismos, drogas, inexplicable necesidad de mostrar las bragas de las protagonistas en todos y cada uno de los capítulos del libro, etc. Supongo que ya no estoy para estos trotes.
No seguiré leyendo los tres tomos restantes.
Y, vaya, esto no es para nada lo que recordaba ni lo que esperaba.
Por un lado, la historia no está del todo mal a priori. Dos chicas que regentan una armería, pero en sus ratos libres se sacan un dinero extra haciendo de caza recompensas. Lo que empieza como capítulos con tramas contenidas, luego se extiende a historias más largas que se desarrollan a lo largo de más páginas. Sin embargo, no dejan de ser siempre lo mismo y a mitad de tomo ya había perdido buena parte del interés.
Por otro, el gran problema leyendo Gunsmith Cats es la apología de sexo con menores, prostitución de los mismos, drogas, inexplicable necesidad de mostrar las bragas de las protagonistas en todos y cada uno de los capítulos del libro, etc. Supongo que ya no estoy para estos trotes.
No seguiré leyendo los tres tomos restantes.
March 20, 2025
Guns, cars and panties. A fun read.
November 17, 2019
Action packed and funny manga with very nice art. Sometimes there are quite sudden and surprising scenes of violence and death. Few of the chapters have hastly finish but over and all, it works fine and it is easy and interesting read.
July 7, 2015
Can be read on my blog: Brilsby's Whims
Irene ‘Rally’ Vincent sells guns. Minnie May loves explosions. They fight crime. In Chicago. With lots of guns and explosions.
The reverence Sonoda shows towards firearms seems native to a country with strict gun laws. He loves guns like a steam engine enthusiast loves trains. A hobbyist’s fascination drives him to understand these exotic objects. While American gun nuts possess as much knowledge, the Western worship of guns depends on its violent ends. They care how a gun works only so far as it tells them how big a load it could blow through someone’s head. And while Sonoda does blow a few holes through heads, he also treats guns as artisan objects, refreshing one wearied by the Freudian, frat boy gun love of Western popular culture.
But he’s not a pacifist. Tarantino sprays more blood, but Sonoda’ll blast off a mook’s arm with even more flippancy. Every shot and sequence impacts the reader through the tautness of his layouts. Pages never degenerate to a pandemonium of overlapping panels and unnecessary speed-lines. He has a skill for moment-to-moment panel transitions, including only the moments needed to convey information and pacing, capturing the flow of a moving image.
Individual panels receive the same attention. He doesn’t overuse white backgrounds, preferring detailed environments. Characters, too, stay on model, with the pleasing style of the nineties’ moe-like mould. In his illustrations of women we’ve evidence the writer is male. He mines Rally and May, our Girls-with-Guns/Grenade, for their fetishistic potential. Knives miraculously miss flesh, yet still slice shirts and skirts. Compared to other fan-service artists, Sonoda’s art leers less. Ranging from cute to sexy.
Sonoda refrains from sleaze, except where sleaze is inherent. Minnie May is, in depiction and in story, underage, appealing to a loli-con (read: paedofillic) audience. Given its prominence, the reader cannot brush over this fetishisation of a child. An apologist may rebut that May’s backstory justifies her sexualisation, that her past as a child prostitute forced her to adopt a sexual approach to life. But from the poses and angles Sonoda illustrates her from, it’s clear the images intend to titillate the reader. Her sexualisation, even if the product of in story injustice, is exploited by Sonoda.
In a lesser work this problematic aspect would signal time to put the book down. But lesser works, in general, would let the tits and arses substitute character. Sonoda, while no keen portraitist of the human condition, is not a manufacturer of sex dolls, varying only in height and shape. Rally and May’s personalities may not run deep, but they’ve believability. Their actions come from a consistent inner-life and history. This applies to the villains as much to the heroes. The world doesn’t hit the reset switch at the end of each chapter. Episode to episode, the characters have memory of what’s come before. Villains return, not because a stock plot requires them, but because they’ve something to revenge from last time.
The plotting feels like a TV show’s more than a manga’s. In serial manga no chapter is complete in-and-of-itself, it picked up from last week and will continue next week. TV, of the 1990s at least, let single episodes exist on their own, regardless of their place in the larger whole. Where manga runs forward and back like a never-ending tapestry, TV consists of a series of panoramas, one connecting to another via thread. Even as Sonoda builds a story arc he ensures each chapter, or group of a few chapters, has a three-act structure.
Sonoda showcases his skill at creating the machinery of a thriller, and at wrapping it up in pleasing package. He knows how to pace a scene and map a plot, while lending the action and adventure the context needed for impact. The aesthetic adornments, though sometimes skeevy, achieve his intentions, creating something sexy, but not lustful. Gunsmith Cats may not enrich your life, but at being the action romp it intends to be, it more than succeeds.
Irene ‘Rally’ Vincent sells guns. Minnie May loves explosions. They fight crime. In Chicago. With lots of guns and explosions.
The reverence Sonoda shows towards firearms seems native to a country with strict gun laws. He loves guns like a steam engine enthusiast loves trains. A hobbyist’s fascination drives him to understand these exotic objects. While American gun nuts possess as much knowledge, the Western worship of guns depends on its violent ends. They care how a gun works only so far as it tells them how big a load it could blow through someone’s head. And while Sonoda does blow a few holes through heads, he also treats guns as artisan objects, refreshing one wearied by the Freudian, frat boy gun love of Western popular culture.
But he’s not a pacifist. Tarantino sprays more blood, but Sonoda’ll blast off a mook’s arm with even more flippancy. Every shot and sequence impacts the reader through the tautness of his layouts. Pages never degenerate to a pandemonium of overlapping panels and unnecessary speed-lines. He has a skill for moment-to-moment panel transitions, including only the moments needed to convey information and pacing, capturing the flow of a moving image.
Individual panels receive the same attention. He doesn’t overuse white backgrounds, preferring detailed environments. Characters, too, stay on model, with the pleasing style of the nineties’ moe-like mould. In his illustrations of women we’ve evidence the writer is male. He mines Rally and May, our Girls-with-Guns/Grenade, for their fetishistic potential. Knives miraculously miss flesh, yet still slice shirts and skirts. Compared to other fan-service artists, Sonoda’s art leers less. Ranging from cute to sexy.
Sonoda refrains from sleaze, except where sleaze is inherent. Minnie May is, in depiction and in story, underage, appealing to a loli-con (read: paedofillic) audience. Given its prominence, the reader cannot brush over this fetishisation of a child. An apologist may rebut that May’s backstory justifies her sexualisation, that her past as a child prostitute forced her to adopt a sexual approach to life. But from the poses and angles Sonoda illustrates her from, it’s clear the images intend to titillate the reader. Her sexualisation, even if the product of in story injustice, is exploited by Sonoda.
In a lesser work this problematic aspect would signal time to put the book down. But lesser works, in general, would let the tits and arses substitute character. Sonoda, while no keen portraitist of the human condition, is not a manufacturer of sex dolls, varying only in height and shape. Rally and May’s personalities may not run deep, but they’ve believability. Their actions come from a consistent inner-life and history. This applies to the villains as much to the heroes. The world doesn’t hit the reset switch at the end of each chapter. Episode to episode, the characters have memory of what’s come before. Villains return, not because a stock plot requires them, but because they’ve something to revenge from last time.
The plotting feels like a TV show’s more than a manga’s. In serial manga no chapter is complete in-and-of-itself, it picked up from last week and will continue next week. TV, of the 1990s at least, let single episodes exist on their own, regardless of their place in the larger whole. Where manga runs forward and back like a never-ending tapestry, TV consists of a series of panoramas, one connecting to another via thread. Even as Sonoda builds a story arc he ensures each chapter, or group of a few chapters, has a three-act structure.
Sonoda showcases his skill at creating the machinery of a thriller, and at wrapping it up in pleasing package. He knows how to pace a scene and map a plot, while lending the action and adventure the context needed for impact. The aesthetic adornments, though sometimes skeevy, achieve his intentions, creating something sexy, but not lustful. Gunsmith Cats may not enrich your life, but at being the action romp it intends to be, it more than succeeds.
February 6, 2017
**WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS! The below includes a few significant plot points, but sometimes it's good to have some idea of the content so you're prepared for it beforehand.**
In some ways, I would like to give this 4 stars, in other ways I'm feeling more like 2.5. This book seems very much to be a product of its time and as such is funny and strange and incredibly uncomfortable. I'd be interested to see how this was received in Japan, because there's one very important plot and character line through this series that makes it difficult for me to recommend to other people. One of the characters, Minnie May, starts out as 17, and is legal by the end of this volume. Fairly unremarkable, except that you find out through the course of the book that she previously worked at a brothel 3 years before she met the main character Rally Vincent. The same time she was working as a prostitute, she meets her main crush, Ken. All of this is troubling enough if it were merely exposition, but there is some nudity in some of the chapters--while not explicit, definitely sexual in nature. In at least one of these episodes, Minnie is still underage.
On the one hand, from Minnie's perspective, her sex work *appears* to be voluntary, and the series (up to the end of this book) doesn't include any sexual violence. Minnie May also is not a victim as women are often cast, particularly in the horror, crime and thriller genre. More often than not, Minnie saves herself and/or Rally. On the other hand, the abusive language from the various criminals they encounter and there is more than once the threat of sexual violence to Rally or Minnie--though not carried out, thankfully. Some of that is just the trappings of the noir/crime/action genre, but with the characters both starting as teenagers, it's problematic. For me, at least.
Another thing that bothers me throughout is how often Rally or Minnie kill or maim criminals with no real legal consequences or moral qualms. Again, with the type of book that this is, and with them being bounty hunters in Chicago, there's a certain amount of moral ambiguity to be expected. But given the sometimes very broad tone of the book, it can be at odds with the content.
It's an exciting, engaging, funny and very well-drawn and paced series, and I appreciate having (at least what appears to be) a female Person of Color as a protagonist--IN A MANGA. But not without some problems that could've been easily avoided.
In some ways, I would like to give this 4 stars, in other ways I'm feeling more like 2.5. This book seems very much to be a product of its time and as such is funny and strange and incredibly uncomfortable. I'd be interested to see how this was received in Japan, because there's one very important plot and character line through this series that makes it difficult for me to recommend to other people. One of the characters, Minnie May, starts out as 17, and is legal by the end of this volume. Fairly unremarkable, except that you find out through the course of the book that she previously worked at a brothel 3 years before she met the main character Rally Vincent. The same time she was working as a prostitute, she meets her main crush, Ken. All of this is troubling enough if it were merely exposition, but there is some nudity in some of the chapters--while not explicit, definitely sexual in nature. In at least one of these episodes, Minnie is still underage.
On the one hand, from Minnie's perspective, her sex work *appears* to be voluntary, and the series (up to the end of this book) doesn't include any sexual violence. Minnie May also is not a victim as women are often cast, particularly in the horror, crime and thriller genre. More often than not, Minnie saves herself and/or Rally. On the other hand, the abusive language from the various criminals they encounter and there is more than once the threat of sexual violence to Rally or Minnie--though not carried out, thankfully. Some of that is just the trappings of the noir/crime/action genre, but with the characters both starting as teenagers, it's problematic. For me, at least.
Another thing that bothers me throughout is how often Rally or Minnie kill or maim criminals with no real legal consequences or moral qualms. Again, with the type of book that this is, and with them being bounty hunters in Chicago, there's a certain amount of moral ambiguity to be expected. But given the sometimes very broad tone of the book, it can be at odds with the content.
It's an exciting, engaging, funny and very well-drawn and paced series, and I appreciate having (at least what appears to be) a female Person of Color as a protagonist--IN A MANGA. But not without some problems that could've been easily avoided.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2024
I've read the first couple of issues. Apparently it gets weird later on and I've only found out now. In fact, I don't even know what drove me to read this. There were weird signs here and there and I decided to stop before finding out the bad way if what little charm there is to be found here would be lost.
The art is pretty good, but so much about it is very outdated. I like the action and structure of the panels, but the stories are very repetitive and this is volume 1. It's like the premise has already been worn out and we've not done anything with it yet!
This is just an outdated time capsule with interesting art. Let's not overthink this.
Anyway...
https://youtu.be/VCkFSe3voRc?si=lRYqO...
The art is pretty good, but so much about it is very outdated. I like the action and structure of the panels, but the stories are very repetitive and this is volume 1. It's like the premise has already been worn out and we've not done anything with it yet!
This is just an outdated time capsule with interesting art. Let's not overthink this.
Anyway...
https://youtu.be/VCkFSe3voRc?si=lRYqO...
October 3, 2018
Ujeté, zábavné, akční, byť pořád na jedno brdo. Ze začátku má Sonoda docela problém s akčními scénámi (echt nepřehledné), ale jde vidět zlepšování. Bavilo, 3,5*
January 8, 2025
Action-packed and full of cars and guns. I liked this one! Not as fun as the anime OVA in my opinion, but still a good romp.
October 21, 2025
I liked this so much when I first read it 20+ years ago that Im probably rating it higher than it deserves.
January 20, 2025
Los primeros 16 capítulos del clásico de Sonoda en una edición revisada pero técnicamente lejos de ser impecable.
June 21, 2016
Po dvou dnech měnímhodnocení ze 3* na 4. Proč? Protože si na ni občas vzpomenu a upřímně mě mrzí, že ještě v knihovně není dostupný druhý díl. Tyhle dvě holky se mi zkrátka zažraly pod kůži.
Gunsmith Cats, to jsou Rally Vincentová a Minnie May Hopkinsová, dvě dívky, jež provozují obchod se zbraněmi. Ačkoli se příběh odehrává v Chicagu, je správně japonsky praštěný. A tak nikoho nepřekvapí, že jim je 19 a 17 let a o pohledy na kalhotky rozhodně nemají čtenáři nouzi.
Dozvídáme se mnohem více o minulosti Minnie May, která i přes nízký věk zná mnohé praktiky z veřejných domů, mimo to je ale specialistkou na výbušniny.
Rally je zase lovkyní lidí a obchod a úpravy zbraní na míru jsou vlastně spíš koníčkem a vedlejšákem. Jezdí rychle a zběsile, v průběhu 16 kapitol zvládne dvakrát zlikvidovat a zase nechat opravit Shelby GT.
Jednotlivé kapitoly jsou sice samostatnými příběhy, postupně se ale slévají do jedné dějové linie. Scénář je v mnoha z nich podobný: něco se semele, někoho zajmou, přijde série akčních scén s bitkou, přestřelkou a výbuchem a když je naznačen další děj, je konec kapitoly. Z maximálního napětí na nulu během jedné, dvou stran. Občas mě až napadalo: "Jako cože? To je všechno?"
Co se komiksů týče, jsem vybíravá. U mangy to platí také. Na styl Keničiho Sonody jsem si však zvykla rychle, jen se mi moc nepozdávají osmdesátkové účesy hlavních postav.
Na druhý díl se rozhodně těším a doufám, že se dozvíme zase něco víc z minulosti Rally.
Gunsmith Cats, to jsou Rally Vincentová a Minnie May Hopkinsová, dvě dívky, jež provozují obchod se zbraněmi. Ačkoli se příběh odehrává v Chicagu, je správně japonsky praštěný. A tak nikoho nepřekvapí, že jim je 19 a 17 let a o pohledy na kalhotky rozhodně nemají čtenáři nouzi.
Dozvídáme se mnohem více o minulosti Minnie May, která i přes nízký věk zná mnohé praktiky z veřejných domů, mimo to je ale specialistkou na výbušniny.
Rally je zase lovkyní lidí a obchod a úpravy zbraní na míru jsou vlastně spíš koníčkem a vedlejšákem. Jezdí rychle a zběsile, v průběhu 16 kapitol zvládne dvakrát zlikvidovat a zase nechat opravit Shelby GT.
Jednotlivé kapitoly jsou sice samostatnými příběhy, postupně se ale slévají do jedné dějové linie. Scénář je v mnoha z nich podobný: něco se semele, někoho zajmou, přijde série akčních scén s bitkou, přestřelkou a výbuchem a když je naznačen další děj, je konec kapitoly. Z maximálního napětí na nulu během jedné, dvou stran. Občas mě až napadalo: "Jako cože? To je všechno?"
Co se komiksů týče, jsem vybíravá. U mangy to platí také. Na styl Keničiho Sonody jsem si však zvykla rychle, jen se mi moc nepozdávají osmdesátkové účesy hlavních postav.
Na druhý díl se rozhodně těším a doufám, že se dozvíme zase něco víc z minulosti Rally.
July 9, 2008
I like this mostly for nostalgia reasons. Gunsmith Cats was one of the formative Manga/Anime releases from the eighties that really helped the genre to take root in America.
It's the story of two gunsmiths (who are scandalously young) operating out of the city of Chicago. However, when the doors close during the day they then use their guns (and bombs) to take on criminals in a bounty hunting enterprise which gets them into a lot of trouble (and more frequrntly than not out of their clothes). Despite gratuitious fanservice and less than sterling translation, it's a staple for anyone reading Manga to get a sense of how it is that Manga got to American audiences.
It's the story of two gunsmiths (who are scandalously young) operating out of the city of Chicago. However, when the doors close during the day they then use their guns (and bombs) to take on criminals in a bounty hunting enterprise which gets them into a lot of trouble (and more frequrntly than not out of their clothes). Despite gratuitious fanservice and less than sterling translation, it's a staple for anyone reading Manga to get a sense of how it is that Manga got to American audiences.
May 21, 2016
Quick notes:
* girls with guns--and if you're into that kind of thing, then this is the series for you.
* these people are not nice--that is an understatement--more like they are downright immoral. this is the real world and the main characters shed nary a tear over a dead mobster or two. in other words, this ain't your mother's shonen.
* girls with guns--and if you're into that kind of thing, then this is the series for you.
* these people are not nice--that is an understatement--more like they are downright immoral. this is the real world and the main characters shed nary a tear over a dead mobster or two. in other words, this ain't your mother's shonen.
March 29, 2019
It's like eating a bucket of wings. You can't stop until you're done, even if you know it'll be bad for you and you'll end up feeling dirty.
It's got very good art, very poor characterization (I don't know if it's the translation or the original material's fault) and some pretty disturbing ideas about sex.
Definitely not for everyone.
It's got very good art, very poor characterization (I don't know if it's the translation or the original material's fault) and some pretty disturbing ideas about sex.
Definitely not for everyone.
August 7, 2023
Pulpy manga PI
A bit pulp bounty hunting and a bit sexplotation. Considered a classic series, it's a mix of gun fetish, explosions, car chases, obsessive enemies, and clothing lost in gunfights.
A bit pulp bounty hunting and a bit sexplotation. Considered a classic series, it's a mix of gun fetish, explosions, car chases, obsessive enemies, and clothing lost in gunfights.
February 28, 2023
I found another excellent thriller action manga that can stand side by side with Golgo13, Crying Freeman, Black Lagoon and Jormungand.
This is story about a bounty hunter/firearms seller Rally and her friend and business partner Minnie May. We follow them as they get from one trouble to another, chasing criminals and fighting organized crime and assassins of various types.
Art is just beautiful, reminds me a lot of Alita, Battle Angel. Action is constant, gun-fu, car chases and relatively realistic presentation of gunshot wounds and fire effects (people die a lot, get maimed, lose fingers and sometimes arms and legs) together with very explicit presentation of dangers of edged weapons. Weapon presentation and in general comments on guns, munitions and maintenance are based in reality (author is apparently fire gun enthusiast) and same applies to cars and vehicular behavior (chases are just fantastic, extremely cinematic in nature).
Of the two Minni May is more wild, explosive expert and former worker in the brothel. She is more opened to sexual adventures, and this, combined with her age (her being 17), is seen by some reviewers as an affront of sorts. Minnie plays a character forced to grow up early but she never sees herself as a victim, just someone forced to grow up early due to the events she cannot control. Even her time in brothel she did voluntary in order to earn money and hide from the mafia wanting to kill her. Unfortunately, when it comes to women and criminal underground many of them find themselves exploited in brothels. This is not something new in comics (take for example Modesty Blaise or Black Lagoon's Revy - both women marked by their past but with very strong character with which they established their name and became legends). I agree that - since art style is more on the cartoonish side - Minnie is drawn in what you might call kinky way (Rally, although not that much older, is drawn more as an adult) and this can be disconcerting but this was always my experience with manga and the way girls are depicted. It is manga style I guess. But again all of the scenes are done in rather conservative way and sex is not main point of the story.
Considering the level of violence (in high contrast with rather cartoonish art approach) comic is not exactly for youngest of readers. If somebody can stomach actions scenes and gore I do not see why sex scenes and discussion would be problematic.
Girls are all slim and fit and drawn just beautifully, bad guys are bad guys and those from the grey zone (like Beanie) are John Wick/Transporter/Driver type of tough guys that do not compromise with what they see as injustice. This is adrenaline filled action story from start to the very end. All the characters think and use their brains (I like how easily both our protagonists and baddies detect the tails and notice details in their environment when their attention is drawn to something they are interested in (like cars or weird gun specifications)) and are very deadly when engaged in combat.
I am definitely on a lookout for follow up volumes.
Highly recommended to fans of action movies a la John Wick.
This is story about a bounty hunter/firearms seller Rally and her friend and business partner Minnie May. We follow them as they get from one trouble to another, chasing criminals and fighting organized crime and assassins of various types.
Art is just beautiful, reminds me a lot of Alita, Battle Angel. Action is constant, gun-fu, car chases and relatively realistic presentation of gunshot wounds and fire effects (people die a lot, get maimed, lose fingers and sometimes arms and legs) together with very explicit presentation of dangers of edged weapons. Weapon presentation and in general comments on guns, munitions and maintenance are based in reality (author is apparently fire gun enthusiast) and same applies to cars and vehicular behavior (chases are just fantastic, extremely cinematic in nature).
Of the two Minni May is more wild, explosive expert and former worker in the brothel. She is more opened to sexual adventures, and this, combined with her age (her being 17), is seen by some reviewers as an affront of sorts. Minnie plays a character forced to grow up early but she never sees herself as a victim, just someone forced to grow up early due to the events she cannot control. Even her time in brothel she did voluntary in order to earn money and hide from the mafia wanting to kill her. Unfortunately, when it comes to women and criminal underground many of them find themselves exploited in brothels. This is not something new in comics (take for example Modesty Blaise or Black Lagoon's Revy - both women marked by their past but with very strong character with which they established their name and became legends). I agree that - since art style is more on the cartoonish side - Minnie is drawn in what you might call kinky way (Rally, although not that much older, is drawn more as an adult) and this can be disconcerting but this was always my experience with manga and the way girls are depicted. It is manga style I guess. But again all of the scenes are done in rather conservative way and sex is not main point of the story.
Considering the level of violence (in high contrast with rather cartoonish art approach) comic is not exactly for youngest of readers. If somebody can stomach actions scenes and gore I do not see why sex scenes and discussion would be problematic.
Girls are all slim and fit and drawn just beautifully, bad guys are bad guys and those from the grey zone (like Beanie) are John Wick/Transporter/Driver type of tough guys that do not compromise with what they see as injustice. This is adrenaline filled action story from start to the very end. All the characters think and use their brains (I like how easily both our protagonists and baddies detect the tails and notice details in their environment when their attention is drawn to something they are interested in (like cars or weird gun specifications)) and are very deadly when engaged in combat.
I am definitely on a lookout for follow up volumes.
Highly recommended to fans of action movies a la John Wick.
June 29, 2022
Problematic. Outdated. Morally bankrupt. Action PACKED!
I used to watch the hell out of the OVA back in the day. The manga is waaaay more graphic and intense than that.
The main characters are in their late teens and run a gunsmithing shop and are bounty hunters as a side gig. Don’t know if they explain in later volumes how that came to be, but there’s your unrealistic premise. Rally evokes Dirty Harry minus the magnum, plus an automatic. She’s a gun freak. Correction gun super freak. Minnie May is the same with explosives. The pair often clash and call each other out, airing each other’s dirty laundry, sometimes in public with background characters reacting shocked, so you get the reaction most readers are getting.
Minnie May’s background as a teenage pro is pretty hardcore and the focus on her sexuality is an aspect I don’t like from the manga.
She kinda reminds me of Jodie Foster’s character in Taxi Driver, which had to be an influence since Rally has the trick pistol that pops out of her sleeve.
It’s extremely violent. It has villainous characters that kidnap and SA or threaten SA. Those scenes cause a jarring jump in tone. Criminals often lose fingers or limbs, which again Taxi Driver… end shootout? It’s not super Robocop gross gory, it’s just really stylized ink splashes separating body parts. The big bad criminals often come back with cool weapon prosthetics.
Rally like an untouchable action movie character faces no consequences from her destructive activities or failures because she’s Chicago’s Best Bounty Hunter! Her Shelby GT 500 gets wrecked and restored frequently. What if that Jack Slater series from Last Action Hero was a Japanese manga?
The art is gorgeous. Expect dynamic car chases and shootout scenes with awesome angles/perspectives. Some of the best drawn guns and cars. There’s a character called Bean Bandit, a bad ass getaway driver that pops up. An archetype you might like if you fanout over Ryan Gosling’s Driver. Except this one’s built like a wall of bricks, wears a bulletproof jacket and one shots fools with a falcon punch.
You’re in for a wild ride.
I used to watch the hell out of the OVA back in the day. The manga is waaaay more graphic and intense than that.
The main characters are in their late teens and run a gunsmithing shop and are bounty hunters as a side gig. Don’t know if they explain in later volumes how that came to be, but there’s your unrealistic premise. Rally evokes Dirty Harry minus the magnum, plus an automatic. She’s a gun freak. Correction gun super freak. Minnie May is the same with explosives. The pair often clash and call each other out, airing each other’s dirty laundry, sometimes in public with background characters reacting shocked, so you get the reaction most readers are getting.
Minnie May’s background as a teenage pro is pretty hardcore and the focus on her sexuality is an aspect I don’t like from the manga.
She kinda reminds me of Jodie Foster’s character in Taxi Driver, which had to be an influence since Rally has the trick pistol that pops out of her sleeve.
It’s extremely violent. It has villainous characters that kidnap and SA or threaten SA. Those scenes cause a jarring jump in tone. Criminals often lose fingers or limbs, which again Taxi Driver… end shootout? It’s not super Robocop gross gory, it’s just really stylized ink splashes separating body parts. The big bad criminals often come back with cool weapon prosthetics.
Rally like an untouchable action movie character faces no consequences from her destructive activities or failures because she’s Chicago’s Best Bounty Hunter! Her Shelby GT 500 gets wrecked and restored frequently. What if that Jack Slater series from Last Action Hero was a Japanese manga?
The art is gorgeous. Expect dynamic car chases and shootout scenes with awesome angles/perspectives. Some of the best drawn guns and cars. There’s a character called Bean Bandit, a bad ass getaway driver that pops up. An archetype you might like if you fanout over Ryan Gosling’s Driver. Except this one’s built like a wall of bricks, wears a bulletproof jacket and one shots fools with a falcon punch.
You’re in for a wild ride.
March 24, 2023
The Gunsmith Cats are on the job
What can one say about this manga? I remember seeing the anime when I was younger with all the action and humor which did not hurt thanks to the cute gals that were the main heroines of the title. However you can tell this series was from another time (specifically the 90s) where cops were gun toting bad asses, car chases were the norm, and villains had no redeeming value other than to be hunted down Punisher style so the average person can feel safer in these grimy crime ridden streets. Honestly this manga is in no way meant for younger or sensitive readers (it is rated M for Mature but at times depicts censored sexual scenes) with hateful language, various forms of violence, young prostitution (Minnie May would have been of consenting age in Japan but not in many other places at the time I imagine), potential rape, stereotypes aplenty, and of course plenty of fanservice.
That said reading this manga does bring me back to a time when movies depicted average people turned heroes as they stand against bad guys and how that one honest cop finds themselves outnumbered by corruption everywhere including their own precinct. Being a Gunsmith is only a cover business for the car loving gun fanatic Rally Vincent who does jobs as a bounty hunter to really pay the bills. With her partner Minnie May Hopkins they do what they have to do to make things work out in this dangerous profession even as trouble starts to focus on the two of them. Honestly it is nice to see the heroines in the story are not only fallible at times but capable of some rather impressive and all too unrealistic action moments making it all feel like those 90 action movies and series. :)
What can one say about this manga? I remember seeing the anime when I was younger with all the action and humor which did not hurt thanks to the cute gals that were the main heroines of the title. However you can tell this series was from another time (specifically the 90s) where cops were gun toting bad asses, car chases were the norm, and villains had no redeeming value other than to be hunted down Punisher style so the average person can feel safer in these grimy crime ridden streets. Honestly this manga is in no way meant for younger or sensitive readers (it is rated M for Mature but at times depicts censored sexual scenes) with hateful language, various forms of violence, young prostitution (Minnie May would have been of consenting age in Japan but not in many other places at the time I imagine), potential rape, stereotypes aplenty, and of course plenty of fanservice.
That said reading this manga does bring me back to a time when movies depicted average people turned heroes as they stand against bad guys and how that one honest cop finds themselves outnumbered by corruption everywhere including their own precinct. Being a Gunsmith is only a cover business for the car loving gun fanatic Rally Vincent who does jobs as a bounty hunter to really pay the bills. With her partner Minnie May Hopkins they do what they have to do to make things work out in this dangerous profession even as trouble starts to focus on the two of them. Honestly it is nice to see the heroines in the story are not only fallible at times but capable of some rather impressive and all too unrealistic action moments making it all feel like those 90 action movies and series. :)
February 4, 2023
I read this series originally as it was released
Returning to this series after more than 20 years away. I should really look up when the first ones came out as I was disappointed the series wasn't going to keep going. (The state of the internet being what is always is, I read somewhere the artist became a chef but who knows)
Returning to it I could see why the young, unmarried and not even with a long time girlfriend person that I was would love to read stories about these two and a third who gets more invested female characters. They are fun, not quite deep but broadly sketched individuals who are loyal to each other.
But the book was far hornier than I recall. The riding bean movie also has a couple of where the heck did that moment come from, which I do remember, so seeing one event every two or three stories for a page or two feels normal for this writer.
It's perhaps a bit too.... Spicy for a moment, for this to be a book I suggest to my own teenage boy now. If nothing else that would add a layer of embarrassment to his reading that wouldn't add to the story.
Returning to this series after more than 20 years away. I should really look up when the first ones came out as I was disappointed the series wasn't going to keep going. (The state of the internet being what is always is, I read somewhere the artist became a chef but who knows)
Returning to it I could see why the young, unmarried and not even with a long time girlfriend person that I was would love to read stories about these two and a third who gets more invested female characters. They are fun, not quite deep but broadly sketched individuals who are loyal to each other.
But the book was far hornier than I recall. The riding bean movie also has a couple of where the heck did that moment come from, which I do remember, so seeing one event every two or three stories for a page or two feels normal for this writer.
It's perhaps a bit too.... Spicy for a moment, for this to be a book I suggest to my own teenage boy now. If nothing else that would add a layer of embarrassment to his reading that wouldn't add to the story.
December 2, 2025
So this might be what the kids call a "problematic fav." Gunsmith Cats is a difficult manga for me because Sonoda's art is legendary. Bubblegum Crisis defines the anime style that I fell in love with as a kid. I also love the over-the-top plots and action sequences. It's basically the anime version of a noir pulp novel. Unfortunately, there's no getting around the sex stuff. It wouldn't even be fair to say that Sonoda is walking a fine line...he crosses the line.
Like a proper noir, all of the characters are morally gray. Our heroes are deeply flawed people, but the Minnie May plotline is absolutely tone deaf and inappropriate. I've seen at least one 1-star review stating that there was a tone problem, and while my rating is higher, I do not disagree with that point in the slightest. If anything, I think it's generous. My most charitable take is that Sonoda shows a reckless disregard for the seriousness of a topic he's chosen to engage with. It's been a lot of fun to revisit some of the old manga from my youth, but I definitely do not miss this aspect of the medium. I forgot how omnipresent this crap was.
Like a proper noir, all of the characters are morally gray. Our heroes are deeply flawed people, but the Minnie May plotline is absolutely tone deaf and inappropriate. I've seen at least one 1-star review stating that there was a tone problem, and while my rating is higher, I do not disagree with that point in the slightest. If anything, I think it's generous. My most charitable take is that Sonoda shows a reckless disregard for the seriousness of a topic he's chosen to engage with. It's been a lot of fun to revisit some of the old manga from my youth, but I definitely do not miss this aspect of the medium. I forgot how omnipresent this crap was.
November 14, 2021
>tfw no gun nut Rally Vincent gf
Fun stuff! I appreciate how unabashedly geeky this gets with details about cars and guns, something I’d never really put much thought into before. It’s not educational or anything but the attention to detail is neat. I really wish they’d dialed back on the pervy sex stuff, though. I know it was a different time in a different culture but that doesn’t make it any less gross.
Fun stuff! I appreciate how unabashedly geeky this gets with details about cars and guns, something I’d never really put much thought into before. It’s not educational or anything but the attention to detail is neat. I really wish they’d dialed back on the pervy sex stuff, though. I know it was a different time in a different culture but that doesn’t make it any less gross.
October 25, 2025
I really enjoyed a gun obsessed lady bounty hunter who is partners with a crazy little lady who loves explosives. What took it down from a five star is the fact it had to make things icky with the little lady being 17 and naked a fair bit and also a nympho who is in love with a 30+ man. Would it have killed the author to make everyone 18+ if you’re going to do a bunch of sex scenes. Hope there is a time jump in the rest of the series to age them up a bit.
October 7, 2025
Found this as a bonus borrow on hoopla. It feels dated but it also came out in the 90s. It’s about 2 women bounty hunters in Chicago. There’s some weird stuff in here like one of the girls is only 17 and very sexually active with older men. If you can get past that there’s some decent action based stories.
March 25, 2020
Cars, guns, and badass girls? Yes please! Very fun read!
March 19, 2022
What's not to love. Guns, nipples, panties in tights, cars, guns , pus
December 24, 2022
I love this series and was able to pick up 3 of the original omnibuses. Overall a fun series, but be aware there are some disturbing aspects to the story.
August 31, 2023
DEFINITELY dated, but super enjoyable so far.
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