Gunsmith Cats
Girls can be macho, too
Review by: Craig "Want a gun like those guys" Norris
Length: 3 episode OAV,
Genre: Action
Watched: 1-3, dubbed
There are a lot of animes about bounty hunters, aren't there? Every time you turn around there's some other group of misfits whizzing around the solar system in tricked-out spaceships trying to collect the bounty on some terrorist cyborg or interstellar drug dealer. And that's a lot of fun. But wait, what about the here and now? Where are the bounty hunters of the present day? The ones that use the kind of guns you can buy at your local sporting goods store, and who utilize the good old internal combustion engine for transportation, and who chase after the same kind of scum that dropped out of your old high school. Well here, on the mean streets of Chicago, is your answer.
Plot synopsis: Rally Vincent and her partner "Minnie May" Hopkins run a gunsmith shop in Chicago. However, that's not nearly as exciting as their side-job. Rally has built up her reputation as Chicago's best bounty hunter, and if the price is right, she'll mercilessly track and capture any bail-jumper. But there's more to her latest job than she first thought, as she uncovers a plot that could endanger a senator's life, and discovers a trail of corruption that leads all the way to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Artwork: The attention to detail is astounding. A lot of emphasis was put on the accessories, i.e. cars and guns, and their appearances shows me that the animators really did their homework. Nothing was left out, with every loaded clip and racing stripe drawn to near perfection. The backgrounds really capture the gray and dreary feeling of a city, too, which creates a total ambience that a viewer quickly gets lost in. The only discrepancy I can think of is the differences between male and female character designs. The men are big and bulky with squinty eyes and lined faces, while the girls are slender, wide-eyed and almost impossibly youthful in appearance. So stark is the contrast that the genders seem like they should belong in different venues. However, from a purely technical standpoint, everything about the animation clicks.
Music: Nothing fancy, which perfectly matches the blue collar feel of the show. The majority of tracks are jazz and big band, reminiscent of the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, but not nearly as expansive. The opening is very catchy, again reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop in both sound and imagery. The ending theme is more mellow. Overall the soundtrack is by no means elaborate or big budget, but it does exactly what it should in setting the scene.
Characters: Fans of the manga will no doubt be disappointed that some of the main characters are relegated to supporting roles in the OAV, and some don't even show up at all. However, the characters that do show up translated very well from black and white to video. Rally is a gun aficionado, to put it mildly. Her life revolves around her work, whether it be customizing a pistol or tracking down a gun runner. She does things with guns that are so slick and sublime that they sometimes seem implausible. May's specialty is explosives, and she is just as enthusiastic about those as Rally is about her firearms. In fact, her eagerness to use her explosives sometimes surpasses common sense, and can result in needless destruction. Becky is Rally's informant, and insists that she is paid well for her contributions to her investigations. However, Rally always makes sure Becky earns her keep, and often drags her along on some assignments. Bill Collins is an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who more or less blackmails Rally and May into helping his own investigation. He comes off as arrogant and as a showoff, and for someone who's supposed to be a good guy can be very irritating, especially to Rally and May. To me, the crowning achievement of the show is the Russian assassin Radinov, who icily takes out any target she is assigned. She is the epoch of villainy, but at the same time she must be respected as a match for Rally. We don't get too much insight into the personalities of the characters, and as a result they are nearly impossible to relate to. However, because the show lives and dies on fast-paced action, this lack of development is negligible.
Plot: The way the plot unfolds is exemplary. It starts off innocently enough with a gun-runner escaping custody. Then the fun starts, with layer upon layer of deceit and corruption being unveiled, finally to culminate in a confrontation that makes gang turf wars seem passe by comparison. The action is second to none, with gun fights and car chases and explosions and all that good testosterone stuff. Plus, it's one of the few animes that takes place solely on American soil, so it feels much closer to home.
CHICKS!: It's clear that the target audience for this OAV was decidedly male. Not only are there guns and muscle cars and grenades, but there are good-looking chicks that use them. Rally is the dream of anyone who has a lifetime membership in the NRA. She can shoot a fly out from between its wings, and she has a private arsenal that the Chicago PD would envy. And her curves are just as dangerous as her trigger finger. Although, if you're not able to handle yourself with a gun, then you'd probably have no chance with her. The diminutive May is much older than she appears, and would be a perfect choice for anyone who would want to gratify a lolita complex and not go to prison. Her amorous appetites are healthy, to say the least, though their true depth is not gone into nearly as much detail as in the manga. But alas, she has a boyfriend, and he can blow you up if he feels so inclined. Becky is not obsessed with combat ordinance, so her appeal is more universal. However, she is sometimes critical of those around her, and is very greedy. If your bank account has the necessary padding, though, I'm sure she would be very accessible. Radinov is an assassin first and a woman second. Something tells me that she has no desire for romance, and would only talk to a guy if he either had someone for her to kill or wanted to help her kill somebody. But if merchants of death turn you on, then Radinov is your kind of girl. Instead of whiny and demure damsels, Gunsmith Cats is filled with strong-willed women who don't take crap. The meek need not apply.
Overall: The wonderful thing about this OAV is that reading the manga is not necessary to enjoy it. Of course there are a handful of times that it helps, but as a self-contained show it is very successful. Plus, it crams more action into three episodes than most full-sized series. So, if your idea of a good time is laying out on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching the bullets and shrapnel fly, this, my comrade, is for you.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Great attention to detail
+ Great ambience
+ Well organized plot
- Little character development
Rating: 8.5/10
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