Gunsmith Cats (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine Monthly Afternoon from December 1990 to April 1997. A sequel series, titled Gunsmith Cats Burst (stylized in all caps) and featuring the same characters, was serialized in Monthly Afternoon from July 2004 to September 2008. The series chronicles the adventures of young women fighting crime in Chicago.
Plot
Irene "Rally" Vincent operates the titular "Gunsmith Cats" gun shop but also works as a bounty hunter, which is the impetus behind many of the stories. She is assisted in both activities by her roommate, and former prostitute "Minnie" May Hopkins. Rally is an expert combat shooter and marksman with an array of weapons, as well as a brilliant driver. May is an explosives expert, knowing the inner workings of and many uses of all manner of explosive devices. Teenage ex-burglar and lock-picker Misty Brown later joins the team and there is also Becky Farrah, a top, if expensive, source of information on underworld activity.
Bounty hunting has of course led Rally to make many enemies, most notably Gray, the leader of gangsters whose use of armaments, including bombs, has likened them to terrorists; and Goldie Musou, a leading figure in the Mafia who uses drugs to manipulate people to the point that they can be brainwashed into killing their nearest and dearest. Bean Bandit, a man who specializes in delivering illegal goods, often features as an alternate ally or enemy—depending on the behavior of his clients, most of whom are being hunted by Rally.
Production
After leaving anime production company Artmic to work as a comic artist, Kenichi Sonoda presented some of his story concepts and illustrations to Kodansha. These did not impress the editors but an illustration of two girls caught the attention of one of them, who suggested Sonoda develop a concept for it. Sonoda stated in an interview that the drawing was the genesis for the series. At the time Sonoda did not have any plans for the illustration but decided to expand his Riding Bean concept into a developed story. Although Sonoda was a fan of the Japanese police drama series Taiyō ni Hoero!, he decided the show did not fit his preferred Western style.
Sonoda chose the Shelby GT500 as Rally's car after realising that the cars in driving movies from the 70s were often Ford Mustangs. He researched the various models and selected the GT500 because it was the most powerful rather than any attraction to the car itself. When drawing guns, Sonoda would use a combination of magazines and his own replicas.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda, Gunsmith Cats was serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine from December 25, 1990, to April 25, 1997. Kodansha collected its 75 chapters in eight volumes, released from December 13, 1991, to July 19, 1997.
The series was adapted for publication in English by Studio Proteus and published by Dark Horse. Chapters were initially released as individual issues on a monthly basis from May 1, 1995, until August 15, 2001. Their release completely removed a scene where Minnie May performs oral sex on a man and another had blood stains on a bed removed, this censorship was done with the approval of Kenichi Sonoda. The individual chapters were then collected into nine trade paperback volumes between October 1, 1996, and February 13, 2002. The series began serialization in the British magazine Manga Mania from September 1996.
A four-volume omnibus edition of the series, Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition was published in Japan between July 22, 2005, and October 21, 2005. The fourth volume includes the manga and "making of" materials of Riding Bean and Sonoda's early sketches and notes. This edition was then published in English by Dark Horse between March 14, 2007, and December 19, 2007. The English edition used the original Japanese format of reading from right to left for the first time in its English publication. It was sold shrink-wrapped and with an 18+ Mature warning on the cover.
A sequel series, titled Gunsmith Cats Burst, was serialized in Monthly Afternoon from July 24, 2004, to September 25, 2008. Kodansha collected its chapters in five volumes, released in Japan between June 23, 2005, and November 21, 2008. The English edition was published by Dark Horse between May 2, 2007, and April 14, 2010.