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Gunsmith Cats - Bulletproof
Gunsmith Cats is an unlikely crime drama about a woman and a girl who run a weapons shop in Chicago. Based on the manga by Kenichi Sonoda, Cats is a breezy, jazzy crime spree of an OAV series. With a collection of firearms that would make the NRA blanch, Rally Vincent and her bomb-happy junior partner Minnie May Hopkins are blackmailed into assisting the feds at the ATF. As the hot cars, big guns, and panty shots indicate, Cats is classic shounen entertainment. What is interesting is that the very capable protagonists are both women, as is the scary main villain. Surprisingly, anime for boys often features strong and capable women and girls in important roles.

With all the action, there isn't a whole lot of time for character development in a scant 90 minutes. Still, the action is fast and furious, with cars, guns, and violence aplenty. Despite a minuscule crime rate and gun control laws that Rosie O'Donnell can only dream about, many Japanese have a fascination with firearms. In Japan, an otaku may be an obsessed fan of guns, anime, pornography, airplanes, cosplay, or any number of subcategories. This preoccupation with detail finds its way into many anime, and here the guns, cars, and Chicago streets are given quite a realistic look. Supposedly over a hundred different guns are shown, which averages better than one a minute. Even the engine sounds and gun shots ring true, as does the fine jazz score.

Gunsmith Cats is high octane action: violent but fun, as disreputable as that sounds. The mid-90's animation holds up well, and the pacing and editing is commendable. The sprightly Minnie May personifies this giddy delight in things that go boom, which accounts for much of the show's appeal. It's not PC. Aside from the feminist-friendly message that women (and girls) can kill every bit as well as men, it's not very liberal, either. But it is, as Minnie May might say, a blast to watch.


  • Studio: ADV Films
  • Format: DVD, VHS
  • Episodes in series: 3
  • Series Completed: Yes
  • Number of DVDs: 1
  • Number of VHS: 1

 
  • DVD Audio Tracks: English, Japanese
  • DVD Subtitles: English
  • VHS Audio: Dubbed
  • Genre: Action
  • Ages: 13+
  • Cautions: Violence, sexual situations
  • Reviewer: George
  • Core Collection: Crime and Detective