Gunsmith Cats

“After all, I can only hurt you while you’re still alive.” What an action flick! Taking place in the city of Chicago, Gunsmith Cats proves itself to be a great action film from start to finish. On its surface the film proves to be what its VHS cover said it is - “Girls. Guns. Grenades.” - and that is indeed what it’s about: two badass girls working (without a choice) with an ATF cop to track down the head of an illegal gun market with cool cars, explosions, and plenty of gun fights to satisfy an action flick fan. I love the distinct characters here; Rally and May are a dynamic duo who don’t take any nonsense as they work to keep their gun shop open while working as bounty hunters on the side. Bill Collins - the cop using the duo to get his case solved by blackmail - comes off as a real sleaze, but he gets the job done. And there’s no romance, which surprised me; I suspected that maybe Bill would try to win one of the girls over or that the girls were together, but no - there is no romance in this film (which I find very refreshing). I suppose the manga sheds more light on this, but I also gather that the anime is not entirely based on said manga. The animation here is really good as well! The art style seemingly balances the chubby finger-style while also maintaining a more anatomical style and the aesthetic fits the film very well. The themes here are vaguely present - Rally seems to carry an anti-cop sense and I think that’s valid considering her character, and there’s corruption in political figures which is always a favorite and realistic trope - but really the highlight of this film is its action sequences. I highly recommend Gunsmith Cats if you’re into action anime.