Gunsmith Cats

Title:Gunsmith Cats
Gun Smith Cats
ガンスミス キャッツ
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: HISAKAWA Aya
NEYA Michiko
R1 License - ADV (Renamed)
SONODA Kenichi
Rally is a gun expert and Minnie-May (normally just called May) is an explosive expert. They run a gun shop called Gunsmith Cats where they provide gunsmith service for customers in addition to selling various weapons. When they aren't doing that, they work as bounty hunters. Things change when ATF Agent Bill Collins comes calling, blackmailing the duo into helping him on a gunsmuggling case in exchange for a proper license for their business and a forgiving of back taxes owed. Thus, Rally and May find themselves unwilling participants in a case involving illegal drugs and guns which could cost them their lives. Spun off from Riding Bean, Gun Smith Cats delivers action, intrigue, and more action.

[OVA, 1995, 3 episodes, 30 min. Based on the manga of the same title by SONODA Kenichi, licensed by Dark Horse.]
1:33min Series Opening - YouTube Video
Episode Details 
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OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 7 8 7 7 7 Ggultra2764 [series:241#1552]
For an OAV series that's only being used to get fans to buy the manga like many others in the 1990s, this made for a decent and entertaining watch. From what I'm looking up, this OAV adaptation of Gunsmith Cats created an original plot featuring Rally and Minnie as they dealt with an illegal gun trading ring that involved some influential city officials. The series is somewhat gritty in its mood with the actions of Rally, Minnie and other prominent characters as Minnie tends to be quite the bomb fanatic, Rally having to keep her partner under control and the two having quite the massive gun and bomb collection. For an hour and a half series in its entirety, Gunsmith Cats does offer decent buildup as it slowly unveils who is responsible for the illegal gun trading. The series is notable for featuring a very accurate depiction of the urban environment of Chicago and it shows through the locales of the city and some hidden product placement of well-known American brand names from sodas to the cars driven. The only major area that the series was lacking in for me was character depth as the series was more focused on exploring its plot and gritty feel. I would have liked to learn more Rally and Minnie, as well as how they first started up their gun shop/ bounty hunting business. Despite this major flaw though, Gunsmith Cats made for a solid watch offering a nice mix of action and comedy with its self-contained, anime-only plot.

Last updated Tuesday, December 13 2011. Created Tuesday, December 13 2011.
Buy 10 10 9 8 8 8 AstroNerdBoy [series:241#436]

Having seen an AMV where a clip or two from this series had been used, I decided that maybe I should break down and watch this 3-episode OVA. I'm glad I did.

One of the strengths of the series is the comedic element that runs through it, primarily through May. May is the short blonde who looks like she'd be an airhead. Assuming that would be a mistake. She does have an explosive fetish though, and indeed will even paint grenades pink or with a lipstick kiss on them. You just don't mess with May because she will blow you up with an evil grin. lol

Another of the series' strengths is the comradery between May and Rally. They are not only best friends and roommates, but the perfect partners when working as bounty hunters and later for the ATF. There's a real chemistry that comes through in their seiyuu's performance.

The first two episodes are good, filled with a nice amount of comedy, action, and fun with an interesting story. The third episode is a bit of a drop off because the writers suddenly have to wrap everything up. As such, the mystery over who is behind the illegal drugs and guns is magically solved and the episode goes into a typical 1990's U.S. action-comedy cop formula ending. As such, things that happen are very, very predictable. That doesn't mean things aren't enjoyable, but they aren't anything you haven't seen before.

I think the most impressive aspect to this OVA series is the art and animation. I believed I was in Chicago from the moment the anime showed scenes outside. The animators did an amazing job of getting things right. This wasn't some Japanese vision of the U.S., it was the U.S. (scene-wise). The level of detail on Rally's Shelby Cobra GT500 amazed me. The animation of it racing through the streets, to the running gun battle, to whatever else came off extremely well, more so in light of the fact that it looked better than most stuff produced today (this was released in late 1995 through early 1996), even OVA's (and these are done with computers today). Visually, this thing is top-notch and made me think of You're Under Arrest OVA in terms of quality. Major kudos to the animators and artist here. (I'm told that the production team did spend some time in Chicago to get things right, and I can believe it.)

Bottom line: This is a fun series with a bit of fanservice (nothing too major though), some comedy, some mystery, and a ton of action. While the final episode is the weakest of the lot, I still enjoyed it and as such, I give the series a "Buy." I may have to check the manga now.

Last updated Saturday, June 14 2008. Created Thursday, June 12 2008.

Buy 9 8 8 8 8 MasterYoshidino [series:241#598]
Now this is a classic anime much worth watching, even though there is some minor fanservice in it.
More of a comedy anime but it is all action, with May being the comedy relief and loose nut. Rally is the serious of the bunch and definately helps keep the story moving.
Enjoyed it very much when I watched it as a child and still enjoy it these days ;)

Last updated Sunday, August 31 2003. Created Sunday, August 31 2003.
Watch 7 7 6 5 5 7 Devil Doll [series:241#752]
[Score: 59%]
Yep, this may be fun to watch once ... but actually I failed to love it. What are these characters up for? Aren't they just a little too trigger happy?
Looks like I am not the target group for this one, as I am more into those stories that make me think.

Last updated Friday, April 08 2005. Created Sunday, June 08 2003.
Rent 8 7 7 9 3 Ðå kïÐ [series:241#464]
Very nice anime about two bounty hunter girls Rally and May, May is obcess with grenades for some reason and Rally is a tough girl with mad shooting skills she also owns a store call the gun smith cats.She and May only eats pizza and chinese and the anime is like one big movie with 3 chapters very nice but not yet worthy of obtaining a buy.

Last updated Friday, January 03 2003. Created Friday, January 03 2003.
Buy 8 10 9 6 9 9 Cenit [series:241#45]
Gun Smith cats is the perfect combination for succes. It takes the desire of action and speed and melted with two female characters, that are not only really good looking but can keep the plot.
I think that two big factors make this such a big succes, first the characters are really strong, it was really cool to break the stereotype of the strong-alone-male character of most of the action animes and replace with two very strong willed females. And second the chasing and shooting scenes are really really good.
Those scenes are masterfully done, the cras behave like real cars and the scenery for the chases was pretty good, also the physics of Minni's explosives were pretty cool.
As the lead character Rally is a nice piece of art, a beatiful woman, yet independent, strong willed and strong. Very few female characters combine all this characteristics, most strong females end up being the bad girls in most animes, and the few good ones are mostly put in a second plane by a male character. So Rally it's a good way to show how a female can be a strong character intellegent character AND at the same time be very femenine.
Maybe you'll want to rent it first, but if I were you I'll go buy it right now.

Last updated Friday, May 31 2002. Created Friday, May 31 2002.
Buy Atsumi_Yamaki [series:241#259]
I liked this one alot. You might want to rent or see it before you buy it. But I liked Rally's hair.

Last updated Friday, January 11 2002. Created Friday, January 11 2002.
Buy 9 10 9 10 9 Anonymous #130 [series:241#130]
Taken and edited from my review on amazon.com for laziness purposes:
This series is nothing short of amazing (especially on DVD). Even though a short OAV (3 episodes, about 30 minutes each), it makes up in detail. ADV actually did an amazing job on this DVD. I must admit that I have come to not expect that much from ADV as they didn't do well on some DVDs (ex: The Sorcerer Hunters, Lost Universe). But this DVD just shows the potential that ADV can achieve. I hope that ADV will continue with such high of quality.
First, I'll talk about the story. The Gunsmith Cats is a partnership of two girls (usually accompanied by another) who each specialize in one area that contribute to the group as a whole. The three are Rally Vincent (Gun Specialist), Minnie May Hopkins (Explosive/Bomb Specialist), and Becky Farrah (Computer/Hacking Specialist). The series is more centered around only Rally and May. Becky is more of a person who stays in the office, basically, out of the action. The 3-episode OAV is actually just one story of their lives. They all live in Chicago, getting hired for various jobs for money (almost like modern mercenaries). They also work as bounty hunters. The story starts off with Rally and May going after a fugitive that they want to catch. William Collins (Bill) from the ATF (Bureau of ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, & FIREARMS) asks them (blackmails to be specific) to do a job for them. Little did Rally and May know that this small job would draw them into something big that make them face death all too early.
The video quality of this DVD is amazing. The transfer is simply very crisp, colors shine through nicely. I was skeptical at first because it is an older series (around 1996 I think) and also after looking at the Lost Universe DVDs with horrible transfers.
The audio track is very nice for both Japanese and English vocal tracks. Even though it wasn't Dolby 5.1, it surely sounded like it in my sound set-up! The choice of using Jazz type music for the anime was really a good one. The jazz fit the mood and setting of the Chicago area.
The extras accompanied were very nice. The 'Making of Gunsmith Cats' feature was included as well as some ADV trailers and trailers for Gunsmith Cat episodes. The 'Making of..' was really intriguing and interesting as you saw the extent Kenichi Sonoda and his colleagues went to to create a very realistic atmosphere. They actually flew to Chicago and drew some scenery, took pictures, took note of the color and feel that they got from the city. They also even did research on the guns and went to a real police station.. WOW! Simply amazing.
Definately a must buy for any anime fan. I cannot recommend this enough. Gunsmith Cats has become one of my favorite OAVs, along with Ruin Explorers, Mahou Tsukaitai (Magic Users Club), & Oh! My Goddess! Even though a short story, it was a nice fulfilling story with it not trying to be too much told with the number of episodes given.

Last updated Monday, December 03 2001. Created Monday, December 03 2001.
Buy 9 9 7 9 9 Lord Folken [series:241#202]
This is a good series that has a great story, great characters, humor, intense action, and one of the best theme songs ever. Everything about it is cool. Buy it. Buy it Now.

Last updated Sunday, October 21 2001. Created Sunday, October 21 2001.
Buy 9 8 6 9 9 Jack Hawksmoor [series:241#114]
Gunsmith Cats could go wrong in so many ways. Think about it: You've got an anime with two females as principles (which as some of the more shoddy series out there leave that as reason enough to be laden in debauchery) a reasonable amount of fan service, and guns and bombs. However, Gunsmith Cats manages to stay right on the track of reasonably good anime.
The characters, Rally and May are two of the strongest female characters I've seen throughout anime. Comparable to Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion, but neither of them end up in a dirty bathtub of a gutted house in ruins.
The writing is smart and dialogue is smooth... complete with subtle pokes and humor as well as something for the masses: Yes, the fan service shots.
The music fits the show nicely, and often times I manage to walk away with the catchy jingle that is the theme song, reverberating in my head. Which isn't all bad.
I've shown this anime as a kick off point for friends of mine as well as my roommate. While my roommate was impressed and marveling over the fact that Rally's bra managed to stay on despite what appeared to be nothing connecting it, if we push out the disgusting thoughts of my perverted roommate, both males and females, otaku and those not so priviledged alike, have enjoyed this series and had nothing but this to say: "I want to see it again."
It's a good series to buy if you've got the money to pay the corporate whores over at ADV, but if not, bootleg bootleg bootleg*.
*The reviewer of this anime doesn't condone bootlegging... unless you know somebody who has some really cool titles... then the blank tapes are in the mail.

Last updated Saturday, October 13 2001. Created Saturday, October 13 2001.
Buy 8 7 7 7 Black Panther [series:241#142]
This anime was very humors. Catwomen says that May reminds her of me...(May is the one that blows up things o_O). A little insight on my personality huh? ^_^ In any case, I totally enjoyed GunSmith Cats, and agree with everything said above! By the way...*looks around* anyone got a match? *_* Mmm fire!

Last updated Thursday, February 28 2002. Created Tuesday, February 20 2001.
Buy 6 7 7 CatWoman [series:241#65]
Not one for kids, but for anyone 12 and up a laugh riot! It was fun, and I really liked the charicters! It kind of reminds me of me and my best friend...not too much but a little!

Last updated Sunday, February 18 2001. Created Sunday, February 18 2001.
Buy 9 9 7 7 The Coyote [series:241#64]
this is a totally enjoyabe and funny anime it is set in chicago and the two main characters are a riot especially may who love to blow up anything and everything these two are the last two girls you want to mess with a very enjoyable show

Last updated Thursday, February 15 2001. Created Thursday, February 15 2001.
Buy 9 8 7 9 9 Midnighter [series:241#94]
Gun Smith Cats was thouroughly enjoyable in every sense. From the smartly written story executed at break-neck speed to the crackling and witty dialogue, this anime is a favorite of mine.
Rally and May are two of the strongest female leads in anime, and although there is some "fan service," they actually manage to go the entire series clothed! Both are funny, quirky, and extremely likeable. It is their various quirks that make the series so enjoyable. May's fetish for high-explosives and Rally's love for her car lead to some of the funniest lines in anime.
The art is really good, with amazingly detailed weapons and cars. The guns, particularly, are exquisitly detailed.
While I've definately seen better, the character designs were pretty good, although a little shy on the detail. The eyes kind of bothered me at first, but I got used to it quickly.
Gunsmith Cats is all about action, action and more action, including a car chase to end car chases and a couple spectacular gun-fights. I know it sounds testosterone-laden, but I really think that it is enjoyable equally for both genders. The afore-mentioned dialogue sparkles, and even the american dub was great. Rally's voice actress deserves an award. Also worth noting is the theme song, possibly my favorite opening of any show. Very classy.
To summarize, Gun Smith Cats was a thouroughly enjoyable anime, with smart writing and good dialogue. The two main characters, Rally and May are well developed and well written, though the supporting characters tend to be somewhat thin. The music is great, and adds to the film, and the animation is smooth and fluid. A nicely done anime all around. My only coplaint is that it was released by those rip-offs at ADV, and at 25 dollars a tape for 3 tapes (each only 30 minutes!) it is quite steep.

Last updated Sunday, August 19 2001. Created Sunday, February 11 2001.

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