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Gunsmith Cats Burst #1
Gunsmith Cats: Burst, Volume 1
Rally Vincent are Minnie May Hopkins are two regular American girls. Regular American girls wiho own a gun shop, and might have dabbled in prostituion, respectively. And who happen to be a crack shot and an explosives expert, respectively. These might be odd skills for American girls, but these two happen to be Chicago's top bounty hunters. Rally can shoot the trigger off a gun from a good distance, and May genrally wreaks havoc with explosions and cuteness. And together, with some very useful friends and associates, they make up the Gunsmith Cats. Burst finds our ladies back at work, back in action, and... back in trouble. Now presented in the favored Japanese, right-to-left fomat, Gunsmith Burst aims to please.
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 23, 2005
9 people are currently reading
80 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 29, 2016
Rally Vincent runs a Chicago gun shop called Gunsmith Cats though it’s more of a hobby - she makes her real money as a bounty hunter! Burst is apparently the second run of Gunsmith Cats after its first run in the early ‘90s. And it’s also a boring, boring and really boring manga!
The stories are just not interesting at all in their unoriginality and pedestrian execution: Rally picks up a bounty, people shoot at her, she shoots back, the end. Repeat this several times and you’ve got the entire first book in a nutshell.
Also, I couldn’t give a flying spaghetti monster about guns! I have zero interest in them, so it’s an extra fuck you to me from creator Kenichi Sonoda as he allows his gun fetish free reign in this comic. When he’s not inserting needless and extremely dull gun details in the story proper, there are articles in between the stories with further gun details. Awful, just awful.
Sonoda’s art is pure generic manga style. I don’t know why all manga must be so uniformly the same but they are. Gunsmith Cats looks like 99.99% of every other manga comic in existence – so unimaginative!
Apparently Rally and her partner Minnie-May used to be prostitutes too?! I got that detail from the blurb because the actual character work in this book is non-existent – Sonoda must think he’s writing only for existing fans of the series rather than newcomers like me. And what’s up with Bean eating tins of spam, tin and all – is he meant to be a robot or something?!
If you haven’t got enough garbage comics in your life, load up with Gunsmith Cats!
The stories are just not interesting at all in their unoriginality and pedestrian execution: Rally picks up a bounty, people shoot at her, she shoots back, the end. Repeat this several times and you’ve got the entire first book in a nutshell.
Also, I couldn’t give a flying spaghetti monster about guns! I have zero interest in them, so it’s an extra fuck you to me from creator Kenichi Sonoda as he allows his gun fetish free reign in this comic. When he’s not inserting needless and extremely dull gun details in the story proper, there are articles in between the stories with further gun details. Awful, just awful.
Sonoda’s art is pure generic manga style. I don’t know why all manga must be so uniformly the same but they are. Gunsmith Cats looks like 99.99% of every other manga comic in existence – so unimaginative!
Apparently Rally and her partner Minnie-May used to be prostitutes too?! I got that detail from the blurb because the actual character work in this book is non-existent – Sonoda must think he’s writing only for existing fans of the series rather than newcomers like me. And what’s up with Bean eating tins of spam, tin and all – is he meant to be a robot or something?!
If you haven’t got enough garbage comics in your life, load up with Gunsmith Cats!
August 23, 2015
(This review is for the entire series. Although individual volume ratings might vary, the star rating for the first volume is for the entire series. Apparently, the Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 1 series is the first.)
Overall
Great entertainment for a lazy weekend. This episodic series has excellent action and style. The plot of each story arc is complex and the artwork is sure to please. So, if "Girls with Guns" is your genre of choice, then look no further.
* Got guns? Check!
* Got detailed descriptions of guns? Check!
* Got cars? Check!
* Got lots of action with impossible daredevil driving and shooting? Check!
Note: Although there's some nudity, lesbianism, and references to BDSM, those features are not the focus.
Personal Notes
The depiction of the characters and Chicago gangland are realistic, so don't look for any moralizing. None of the characters are goody two-shoes and they are in fact all flawed in some way. In the epilogue of the series, even the "not-so-bad" mafia boss still leads her drug-dealing organization. Much as we move on from significant periods (for example, war or a spell in prison) in our own lives, the main protagonists move on to lead conventional lives.
Overall
Great entertainment for a lazy weekend. This episodic series has excellent action and style. The plot of each story arc is complex and the artwork is sure to please. So, if "Girls with Guns" is your genre of choice, then look no further.
* Got guns? Check!
* Got detailed descriptions of guns? Check!
* Got cars? Check!
* Got lots of action with impossible daredevil driving and shooting? Check!
Note: Although there's some nudity, lesbianism, and references to BDSM, those features are not the focus.
Personal Notes
The depiction of the characters and Chicago gangland are realistic, so don't look for any moralizing. None of the characters are goody two-shoes and they are in fact all flawed in some way. In the epilogue of the series, even the "not-so-bad" mafia boss still leads her drug-dealing organization. Much as we move on from significant periods (for example, war or a spell in prison) in our own lives, the main protagonists move on to lead conventional lives.
August 19, 2021
First and foremost, Kenichi Sonoda's 'Gunsmith Cats' is a Seinen series, which means it's marketed towards adult males who like girls, gunfights, and over-the-top action involving high-speed chases through the mean streets of Chicago in classic cars with roaring V8 engines. If you don't find these things entertaining, don't worry, just skip this series.
However, if you are entertained by these things, you're in for a real treat. If you're lucky enough to find some secondhand copies for a reasonable price (which is becoming very difficult to do with any out-of-print manga these days), do yourself a favour and pick it up. You can also purchase a digital version through Kindle, Comixology and Darkhorse, but these run about the same cost as a new physical copy of a manga.
'Burst' is a continuation of the original Gunsmith Cats story line, so it might not be the ideal place for a new reader to jump in (I would suggest 'Bonnie and Clyde'). All the major characters are in place, including Rally, May, Bean Bandit, Becky, Misty and it's assumed you have some prior knowledge of their characters and history. If you were a fan of the Darkhorse comics back in the 90's, you'll absolutely adore 'Burst'.
Since this is a review of Volume 1, I'm going to give away a little spoiler of the plot, but only because I thought it was brilliant. If you plan on reading the series in the near future, just stop now and know that I was thoroughly entertained...
(Mild Spoiler) The fact that the organized crime would coordinate a 'terrorist attack' on a major business so that they could have their mob stock brokers short sell it to infinity and then make millions afterwards was quite frankly genius. This shows the level of Sonoda's evolution in creating compelling plots. However, having Rally's GT-500 stolen and then threatened to be used as the mechanism of those high-powered explosives if she doesn't turn over the turncoat accountant she just apprehended in Texas... Wow.
Fans of the original series will know the great lengths Rally will go to in order to ensure that her guns (the ones she's worked on) are not used in crimes. Imagine what she'll do to make sure her beloved Shelby isn't used in a terrorist attack...
(/Spoiler)
As far as Sonoda's art being labelled as 'generic', I can see how this could happen. As the character designer for 'Bubblegum Crisis' and 'Gall Force' back in the mid-80's, he created a certain look which was often imitated. His detailed artwork in manga is (imho) second to none.
However, if you are entertained by these things, you're in for a real treat. If you're lucky enough to find some secondhand copies for a reasonable price (which is becoming very difficult to do with any out-of-print manga these days), do yourself a favour and pick it up. You can also purchase a digital version through Kindle, Comixology and Darkhorse, but these run about the same cost as a new physical copy of a manga.
'Burst' is a continuation of the original Gunsmith Cats story line, so it might not be the ideal place for a new reader to jump in (I would suggest 'Bonnie and Clyde'). All the major characters are in place, including Rally, May, Bean Bandit, Becky, Misty and it's assumed you have some prior knowledge of their characters and history. If you were a fan of the Darkhorse comics back in the 90's, you'll absolutely adore 'Burst'.
Since this is a review of Volume 1, I'm going to give away a little spoiler of the plot, but only because I thought it was brilliant. If you plan on reading the series in the near future, just stop now and know that I was thoroughly entertained...
(Mild Spoiler) The fact that the organized crime would coordinate a 'terrorist attack' on a major business so that they could have their mob stock brokers short sell it to infinity and then make millions afterwards was quite frankly genius. This shows the level of Sonoda's evolution in creating compelling plots. However, having Rally's GT-500 stolen and then threatened to be used as the mechanism of those high-powered explosives if she doesn't turn over the turncoat accountant she just apprehended in Texas... Wow.
Fans of the original series will know the great lengths Rally will go to in order to ensure that her guns (the ones she's worked on) are not used in crimes. Imagine what she'll do to make sure her beloved Shelby isn't used in a terrorist attack...
(/Spoiler)
As far as Sonoda's art being labelled as 'generic', I can see how this could happen. As the character designer for 'Bubblegum Crisis' and 'Gall Force' back in the mid-80's, he created a certain look which was often imitated. His detailed artwork in manga is (imho) second to none.
July 20, 2024
The beginning of this manga matched the final pages of Misty's Run. The format was changed from American comic to Japanese (right to left) but otherwise was the same. The story proper is a good story and will continue in additional volumes. I have volumes 1 through 3, but I'm missing volumes 4 and up. I'll probably regret that!
February 16, 2025
Who's got the best guns?
A black and white manga. Reads right to left in the Japanese style. A well told story of a estrogen heavy group of P.I. s from Chicago, who seem Japanese? Heavy on the action.
A black and white manga. Reads right to left in the Japanese style. A well told story of a estrogen heavy group of P.I. s from Chicago, who seem Japanese? Heavy on the action.
August 6, 2013
Gunsmith Cats is brilliantly weird. The creator adores three things: guns, cars and pretty girls, perhaps in that order. Kenichi Sonoda has put so much detail into the weaponry and vehicles that you can actually learn things about forensics, ballistics, gunsmithing, shooting, car repair, driving...it's like Iron Wok Jan, only about guns and cars instead of cooking.
The story is where the pretty girls come in. Rally Vincent is a custom gunsmith who also owns a bounty hunting agency. That's where the real money is, although she loves customizing guns. Her main assistant is Minnie-May Hopkins, who has an interesting fondness for high explosives. Others join the team from time to time, for various amounts of money.
They don't go after the simple, boring bounty jobs that you see on reality TV. These are high stakes assignments where the team's unusual skill set comes in handy.
In this volume, a mob accountant's heist has led to a complex web of crimes, including the theft of Rally's prized Shelby GT...not for the value of the car itself, but to use it in a horrific crime. Be warned that the story continues into volume 2.
The story reminds me of the old Rockford Files TV show, for some reason, in its mixture of serious plot lines with quirky humor. The artwork seems a little too light-hearted for the serious story lines, but that's the style that the creator chose.
The book gets a Parental Advisory sticker, mostly for violence, but there are some sexual references in later volumes, and some partial nudity.
The story is where the pretty girls come in. Rally Vincent is a custom gunsmith who also owns a bounty hunting agency. That's where the real money is, although she loves customizing guns. Her main assistant is Minnie-May Hopkins, who has an interesting fondness for high explosives. Others join the team from time to time, for various amounts of money.
They don't go after the simple, boring bounty jobs that you see on reality TV. These are high stakes assignments where the team's unusual skill set comes in handy.
In this volume, a mob accountant's heist has led to a complex web of crimes, including the theft of Rally's prized Shelby GT...not for the value of the car itself, but to use it in a horrific crime. Be warned that the story continues into volume 2.
The story reminds me of the old Rockford Files TV show, for some reason, in its mixture of serious plot lines with quirky humor. The artwork seems a little too light-hearted for the serious story lines, but that's the style that the creator chose.
The book gets a Parental Advisory sticker, mostly for violence, but there are some sexual references in later volumes, and some partial nudity.
February 7, 2009
Yay more Gunsmith Cats!
August 21, 2011
it's a continuation of the series... after a long hiatus from the creator Kenichi Sonoda. I hear they're not as good as the first 4 original volumes--but i'm going to read them anyway.
December 27, 2015
GSC has always been a fun series to get into and I'm glad he came out with more. A nice blend of witty comedy and gun-toting action.
August 6, 2018
It was good.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews