Kenichi Sonoda

I found another excellent thriller action manga that can stand side by side with Golgo13, Crying Freeman, Black Lagoon and Jormungand.

This is story about a bounty hunter/firearms seller Rally and her friend and business partner Minnie May. We follow them as they get from one trouble to another, chasing criminals and fighting organized crime and assassins of various types.

Art is just beautiful, reminds me a lot of Alita, Battle Angel. Action is constant, gun-fu, car chases and relatively show more realistic presentation of gunshot wounds and fire effects (people die a lot, get maimed, lose fingers and sometimes arms and legs) together with very explicit presentation of dangers of edged weapons. Weapon presentation and in general comments on guns, munitions and maintenance are based in reality (author is apparently fire gun enthusiast) and same applies to cars and vehicular behavior (chases are just fantastic, extremely cinematic in nature).

Of the two Minni May is more wild, explosive expert and former worker in the brothel. She is more opened to sexual adventures, and this, combined with her age (her being 17), is seen by some reviewers as an affront of sorts. Minnie plays a character forced to grow up early but she never sees herself as a victim, just someone forced to grow up early due to the events she cannot control. Even her time in brothel she did voluntary in order to earn money and hide from the mafia wanting to kill her. Unfortunately, when it comes to women and criminal underground many of them find themselves exploited in brothels. This is not something new in comics (take for example Modesty Blaise or Black Lagoon's Revy - both women marked by their past but with very strong character with which they established their name and became legends). I agree that - since art style is more on the cartoonish side - Minnie is drawn in what you might call kinky way (Rally, although not that much older, is drawn more as an adult) and this can be disconcerting but this was always my experience with manga and the way girls are depicted. It is manga style I guess. But again all of the scenes are done in rather conservative way and sex is not main point of the story.

Considering the level of violence (in high contrast with rather cartoonish art approach) comic is not exactly for youngest of readers. If somebody can stomach actions scenes and gore I do not see why sex scenes and discussion would be problematic.

Girls are all slim and fit and drawn just beautifully, bad guys are bad guys and those from the grey zone (like Beanie) are John Wick/Transporter/Driver type of tough guys that do not compromise with what they see as injustice. This is adrenaline filled action story from start to the very end. All the characters think and use their brains (I like how easily both our protagonists and baddies detect the tails and notice details in their environment when their attention is drawn to something they are interested in (like cars or weird gun specifications)) and are very deadly when engaged in combat.

I am definitely on a lookout for follow up volumes.

Highly recommended to fans of action movies a la John Wick. show less

(This review is for the entire series. Although individual volume ratings might vary, the star rating for the first volume is for the entire series. Apparently, the [b:Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 1|26137765|Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 1|Kenichi Sonoda|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440124119s/26137765.jpg|46089936] series is the first.)

Overall
Great entertainment for a lazy weekend. This episodic series has excellent action and style. The plot of each story arc is complex show more and the artwork is sure to please. So, if "Girls with Guns" is your genre of choice, then look no further.

* Got guns? Check!
* Got detailed descriptions of guns? Check!
* Got cars? Check!
* Got lots of action with impossible daredevil driving and shooting? Check!

Note: Although there's some nudity, lesbianism, and references to BDSM, those features are not the focus.

Personal Notes
The depiction of the characters and Chicago gangland are realistic, so don't look for any moralizing. None of the characters are goody two-shoes and they are in fact all flawed in some way. In the epilogue of the series, even the "not-so-bad" mafia boss still leads her drug-dealing organization. Much as we move on from significant periods (for example, war or a spell in prison) in our own lives, the main protagonists move on to lead conventional lives. show less

The second volume picks up where the first left off. The consequences of events and decisions made earlier come back to haunt the characters. Once again fast-paced, deft plotting makes up for weak characters.

Plays out like old action shows from the early 80's and 90's. It kind of reminds me of A-team or Magnum PI with fast cars and lots of gun fights. took a while to get to the start of what i think is going to be the main story. First few chapters were episodic and i didn't think they flowed together very well. Overall enjoyed it but hope the next vol. gets into what i hope is the main story.