Gunsmith Cats

Well, "Gunsmith Cats" was an anime that I watched back when I was 20 years old, back in 1995, and it also made me pick up the comic book afterwards, because I enjoyed it back then.

So I revisited "Gunsmith Cats" - the original Japanese language version, of course, now in 2020. And I must say that, while "Gunsmith Cats" definitely shows signs of its age, it is still an anime that is quite entertaining and watchable. Sure, it is goofy and stereotypical, but it is enjoyable - and that is what matters.

The animation is adequate, although the drawing style itself is a bit outdated in my opinion. There wasn't as much attention to detail crammed into the episodes, nor was the style actually smooth enough - it was a bit old and gritty.

The voice acting - at least in the Japanese version - was good, and they had some talented performers here. However, I am puzzled though about why people in America, with American names and obviously not Japanese in heritage, were speaking Japanese. That just made no sense at all.

There is a good amount of action through the episodes to make it interesting, and the character build and development was adequate - perhaps a bit too light on the character development side. But it was two very lovable main characters - no doubt about that.

If you haven't already seen this 1995 anime, then you should do so if you get the chance. I am rating "Gunsmith Cats" a six out of ten stars, and it was a nice trip back down memory lane re-watching it 25 years after I watched it the first time.

Gunsmith Cats the OAV is based on Sonoda Kenichi's manga series, but is even better. Rally Vincent has a penchant for guns; her partner Minnie May Hopkins takes a liking to bombs. Rally runs a gun store and is approached by the ATF to cooperate with them on a sting. After being blackmailed into it because of a lack of a gun license, Rally and May get involved in a government conspiracy and pursued by a Russian assassin (who is, in my opinion, one of the greatest anime characters ever). The animation is not the greatest but well done, the voice actors are excellent (featuring Araki Kae in her only good role), the plot is engaging (though the ending wasn't stellar), the characters are very believable, and the music compliments the series perfectly. If you like action series or good anime, this is a must.

A good example of the Japanese, Absorbing American TV of the 70's and 80's and beaming it back at Americans, With that definite Japanese twist.

If you enjoy action car shows like "Knight Rider"?, Then the corny loose plot, Weak Supporting cast and excessive explosions shouldn't bother you much.

However, I feel It should have been edited as one movie length story, Rather than 3 separate episodes, As the episodes aren't really that strong on their own? This is great 'Beer and Curry' light entertainment, Some nice Eye candy for a lazy afternoon and the fact that the show's creator, Does actually try to draw detail is a plus too.

This was a good comic and a good 3 chapter series, there wasn't a moment where I lost interest. Not only did this movie emphasize on Rally as the main character, but it also gave May the chance to take down a worthy opponent, which shows her skills as well.

Like I said before, great work.

Well, I was looking forward to seeing this seeing as I enjoyed the Manga comic strips very much so, but after seeing the Anime version I was deeply disappointed. There is a total lack of realism for one. The seemingly massive explosions that are set off many a time only seem to slightly knock the wind out of people who are standing a few metres away. I was upset that they only managed to do each part for half an hour. If the plot had been deeper and longer, I'm sure that maybe it would have been more enjoyable, but unfortunately it seemed very unfulfilling when it ended. Still, I guess it had its moments....the animation wasn't awful, and the backgrounds were very well drawn.