Gunsmith Cats Burst Manga, Volume 1

December 15th, 2006

Gunsmith Cats Burst has been picked up by Dark Horse Comics, but as I’ve been reading the Japanese editions, I thought this series would make a pleasant ending to no schoolgirls week, ahead of the English edition coming out in March.

I also note I never reviewed the original Gunsmith Cats manga, or the OAV anime. This will be remedied in the future.

In the meantime, having never reviewed the old versions, let me talk about the new!

Gunsmith Cats is the name of a series that is primarily devoted to three things: guns; cars; and women in various states of (un)dress. All three of these things are wrapped in whimsical, yet in incredibly violent and grim surroundings. The story follows the adventures of Irene “Rally” Vincent, bounty hunter and gunsmith, and her munitions expert partner and friend, Minnie May Hopkins. Rally and May are joined in their world by a variety of colorful characters, on both sides of the law.

While the series is primarily set in Chicago, which is explored in some detail, what really stands out in this series is the amazing (and slightly tedious) level of detail with which the specs of both cars and guns are discussed. If you know what I mean then, you know what I mean. ;-)

So, GSC Burst is more of the usual shenanigans with Rally, May, Becky and Misty and the usual gang of criminals, runaways, scofflaws and crazies. Rally tracks down wanted criminals, gets into car chases and shootouts, Becky gets information and complains Rally doesn’t pay her, and Misty sort of likes Rally. Bean Bandit stands around looking large and can’t be killed. You know – the usual. ^_^

Yuri-wise, there’s Misty. Her character description points out that she’s got strong feelings for Rally, sort of. (And in the past and in a later volume, there’s something else, but I’ll get there when I get there.) And there’s Rally. I don’t care if there is not a single iota of proof, Rally’s gay. I have it from a childhood friend of Sonoda’s that he described Rally as being gay, but more in love with her car and her gun than anything else. Even if this childhood friend was lying through his teeth, I think that sums Rally up perfectly.

BTW, did you know Becky drove a BWM 200 Turbo? Neither did I, but that piece of information is SO crucial, it’s in her character description. ^_^

The first story starts off with a half-dressed blonde conning Rally into doing something for which she gets shot at. That’s all, I think, you need to know about Rally. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 I like Sonoda’s art. It’s neat and clean and easy to follow, with good action.
Characters – 8
Story – 7 If you like guns and cars and half-dressed women, 10.
Yuri – 1 Implications, wishful thinking and Yuridar.
Service – 4 Yes, underwear, yes. But in almost all cases, except for that of the improbably youthful-looking May, it’s also all adult women’s bodies and only a little irritating.

Overall – 7

1. Note I never mention Rally and May as a potential couple. That is because they aren’t. It’s a stupid pairing.

2. If you would like to see Rally paired with a much better match, someone who can match her shot for shot, please feel free to visit my GSC fanfic, Back in the Saddle (adult content warning), for which I am, even as you read this, writing a sequel. ‘Cause I want to see Rally with a cool girlfriend, too. ^_^

4 Responses

  1. punistation says:

    LFB rating goes through the roof for Minnie May’s existence.

    “No no, it’s okay! Yes, I’m drawing a sex scene in every issue, but she only *looks* twelve. She’s really a 300 year old alien princess, so it’s okay!”

    Just like how every hentai anime/game in existence only features girls over 16/18. Right.

    (Old OLD pet peeve.)

    as for Rally pairings… Goldie. And for god’s sake NO REDEMPTION storyline. Just because she “plays for the other team” (snark) shouldn’t stop a decent relationship.

    G: “So. Any bounty’s on my head today?”

    R: “Nope. You doing anything bad in MY city?”

    G: “Nope.”

    R: “Alright then. Pants off.”

    One a dominating crime boss out to prove she’s not crazy, just evil. The other a bounty hunter with no legal justification to hunt a woman she finds sexually irresistable, but morally repugnant.

    A double dose of drama with Goldie learning to love someone without dominating them (and hiding her bedmate from her syndicate, a first for Goldy), and Rally trying to decide is she’s a bounty hunter or a crime fighter… and God help her if her friends and father find out.

    That’s *interesting*, dammit!

  2. You’re right – for the original series. GSCB Volume 1 doesn’t have gratuitous May.

    And I’ll mention Goldie, of course, when I go backwards and review the original series. She’s one of my favorite EPLs ever. I hated her backstory that was supposed to make her seem sympathetic.

  3. neo_hrtgdv says:

    Awww I always thought Minnie and Rally could be something, I have only watched the ovas and a bit of the manga but I really liked the Rally/Minnie couple ;_;

    I mean, they are together a lot and they are like Nagisa and Shizu…. bad example.. er they are like Sachiko (Rally) and Yumi (Minnie) I think they’d look really cute together ^-^

  4. atua says:

    Hehe, I wondered why you didn’t mention Goldie… oh well, thanks for the review, and I’ll look forward to your reviews of the old series. :)

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