Finally, the ending that Gunsmith Cats always deserved.

**Warning: This review is one big spoiler, so don’t read it if you don’t want to know how the series ends.**

In Volume 4 of GSC Burst, we were treated to the return of Goldie Musou, Mafia boss and one of my personal favorite Evil Psycho Lesbians. After many gunshots, chases, hand grenades and other typical mayhem, Goldie regained her memory, which had been lost (a decade ago our time) after she had had her own drug administered to her in large, brain-killing quantities.

In Volume 5, some time has passed and Rally is wrapping up a few things, as she prepares to close Gunsmith Cats and leave Chicago. May and Ken are just returning from a honeymoon in Japan. Loli fans will be pleased to wallow in a chapter where May tries on many stereotypical cosplay outfits, as long as they don’t think about why she has them in the first place.

Rally hasn’t heard from Misty – except through a short, tense message from Roy, in which the former thief expressed her desire to not see Rally for a while. While out in town, Rally accidentally sees Misty, who consents to at least talk to her. Misty explains that she’s living with Goldie now. Rally’s asbolutely horrified, sure that Misty is being brainwashed, but she says no, it’s honestly her own choice.

We see that Misty, Goldie and Goldie’s maid – with whom Misty had struck up a pretty friendly sort of relationship in Volume 4 – are living together in a cheerful threesome. Misty’s big issue is her concern that Goldie might be using her as a replacement for Rally. Despite Goldie’s insistence that Misty is Misty, her fears are confirmed when she finds a secret room in Goldie’s mansion that is clearly a shrine to the bounty hunter.

Becky obtains some information that leads her to believe that Goldie is selling a powerful new drug. Rally and May decide to rescue Misty, despite the former thief showing up and telling them flat out that that she does not need – or want – to be rescued. A lot of running around goes on – utimately we learn that yes, Goldie is selling a new drug, it is not terribly harmful and may actually be beneficial and honest-to-god, Misty is with Goldie by choice. (There’s also some Bean Bandit stuff going on through all this, but he bores me, so I am skipping it. Here’s the synopsis: Bean drives, car chase, guns, someone throwing up, bad guys lose, Bean’s chin remains pointy.)

May consults with the madam at her former brothel, who explains that Misty is an adult and they should butt out. May thinks back on everything she knows about Misty and realizes that they’ve know since the beginning that she’s a lesbian, and if you think about it, this really is none of their business.

Rally gives up trying to rescue Misty, who calls and asks if Rally will meet her. They go out to dinner, where Misty says that she was worried about Goldie’s feelings. Rally asks, aren’t you doing the same thing – using Goldie as a replacement for me? Misty agrees that she is, and has come to a place of balance with herself about it. She really, honestly loved Rally and wanted her, but Rally was never interested. So, she has Goldie and she’s pretty happy with that – after all, Goldie is a powerful leader, filthy rich and a good lover. And, she admits, she’s a thief, from a long line of criminals. Being at Goldie’s side isn’t a bad fit for her.

As she and Rally part, Misty asks for one favor, which Rally correctly guesses is a goodbye kiss. (It is made very plain in this book that Rally, despite what most fans have assumed, has never been clueless about Misty’s feelings.) She and Misty kiss for three pages – Rally even goes so far as to grope her ass a bit (maybe just getting a better grip? ^_^) It was a hell of a goodbye kiss. They part with a wave and a wish for the best.

The epilogue shows us Goldie, still a Mafia don, and Misty, living together. May and Ken with a child, Roy moved up to a nice position in a pleasant part of town; Becky has switched her info skills to the more lucrative world of finance and nothing at all changes with Bean.

Rally packs her bag and heads off to parts unknown to work on her shooting/people hunting skills, maybe to return to Chicago one day.

The End.

I could not have asked for better.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 5

Overall – 9

I think we can safely put the period on this series. But my hat’s off to Sonoda for allowing us a glimpse of what we’ve always known about Rally and for Misty and Goldie together as an actual lesbian couple.

Here’s a toast to the recovery of the economy and to Dark Horse eventually putting out Volumes 4 and 5 in English.

And thanks to Nettogrof for pointing out that the flag that was puzzling me in the manga is the flag of the City of Chicago.