Review of Gunsmith Cats
One of the sub-genres within the anime medium that has grown to irritate me over the years has been the girls with guns genre, because it would usually follow two simple rules: provide as much over the top action as possible, and bombard the viewer with as much fan service as humanly possible. The former I don't have a problem with as long as there's some type of creativity and interesting characters to go with it. The latter on the other hand is something I do have a problem with, because some anime directors will jam pack the screen with constant bouncy moments and pantyshots that grows very distracting, and the end result is usually a very stale anime with nothing to offer. I usually find myself going to older titles with intentions on reminding myself that the sub-genre can actually be good sometimes. Gunsmith Cats is one of those titles I can still look back on fondly.
Gunsmith Cats is a three part OVA based on Kenichi Sonoda's manga series. I have to point out that it's pretty toned down in regards to just about everything when compared to the source material. Some fans of the manga have a problem with that, while I'm just fine with it. The anime works very well on what it focuses on; action, mild comedy, and a straight-forward easy to digest plot that gets to the point.
The anime follows expert marksman Rally and bombs specialist Minnie May, as they're tasked to bring down a gun-smuggling operation. They succeed in taking down a minor player, and the result is a mysterious benefactor hiring an ex-KGB turned assassin to take them, and everyone they consider to be loose-ends out of the picture.
Gunsmith Cats is all about the action and the high speed chase. It delivers very well on what it promises, plus it does well in delivering a sharp antagonist. The former KGB named Natasha Radinov is a solid enough match for the two, and the razor-thin confrontations with her are exciting enough. There's enough creativity during the action segments, and I can imagine most action fans getting what they want. The shoot outs aren't overly gory, but there are some detailed killings and people mowed down by gunfire.
The only problems I can think of would be the lack of character and story development. Rally and May are charismatic enough, however they're such fun characters it would have been nice to see what brought them together and keeps them that way. I like how they're developed as real-life roommates, since they argue about each others choice of take out food. Some background on them would have been very nice. The same in regards to the setting. We know that the guns on the streets are a problem, but the anime never provides a real inside look to this and how exactly it's effecting the community. I feel this could have been examined.
I really enjoy the production values. The animation doesn't utilize a re-used cel format, and the gun battles are quick and to the point with some fast paced animation. This also goes for the car chases. The character designs and backgrounds are what stands out to me though. Rally's Cobra looks about as close to the real thing I've seen, and I also have to note the details in the weapons; the SAW M-249's look really great and the sound effects seem accurate, and this also goes for the pistols. It's said that director Takeshi Mori actually flew out to The Windy City and took pictures to bring out that Chicago feel. I never been to the city, but the anime does have a film noir feel to it.
Gunsmith Cats meshes its comedy well enough to the point where the action and content doesn't feel like a clash of artistic differences. It doesn't aspire to be anything more than popcorn entertainment and that's not always a bad thing. It would have benefited from a longer run time for better story and character development, plus it could have at least tried to be less preedictable. In any case, I haven't seen the title in more than ten years until this re-watch, and I still find it to be fun. This is one anime title that does pretty good in a short run time.
Highs: Great pacing, action, and production values
Lows: A longer run time to expand on characters and setting would've helped. Predictable.