Gunsmith Cats: Misty's Run

Rating:
Summary: Worth it for the ending, but Misty disappoints
Review: With the title Misty's Run, one hopes for a long-overdue storyline focusing on chronically underused Misty, who hasn't had a chance to let her talents shine since her introductory cameo in Misfire. In that appearance, Misty's skill with a knife rivaled Rally's with a gun, and when Misty joined the team two books later, it seemed that the Gunsmith Cats has a trifecta in place: Guns, bombs, and knives.

Perhaps that was the intention, and Sonoda later discovered he couldn't think of anything interesting to do with knives. Since then, Misty has often seemed to be a third wheel at worst and a plot device at best.

Misty briefly takes the spotlight at the beginning of Misty's Run, but quickly reveals herself to be a bit of an airhead who panics foolishly under pressure. She is promptly kidnapped and inexplicably stripped naked by her captors for no better reason than the fact that kidnappers just like to do that in GSC. She spends most of the book as eye candy for the reader, a lust object for a villain, and a damsel in distress to drive the plot.

The villains are lame pushovers compared to GSC villains past, and the action quickly coasts into yet another warehouse shootout, as though Sonoda is writing on autopilot. The tale draws to a close with a rather underachieving car chase, especially disappointing because this book is the first to prominently feature Bean Bandit's custom-built "Buff" sports car (originally appearing in the Bean Bandit anime that spawned Bean and Rally, but introduced to the GSC manga in Mister V) but fails to do very much with it.

Even Sonoda's amazing attention to detail dwindles here, with more and more backgrounds and even cars more sparsely drawn than ever. One pay phone is drawn like a Japanese pay phone (with a phonecard slot) instead of an American pay phone--a detail which Sonoda has gotten right in the past. On the whole, the effort feels rushed, as if Sonoda wants to do justice to the characters' swan song, but can't maintain his interest long enough to do so.

On the upside, Bean Bandit's car, though underutilized, is pretty impressive, and Bean's character turns in a strong performance as well. His teamwork with Rally and their briefly considered partnership (another nod to the OVA Bean Bandit anime) is an intriguing suggestion of what might have been, and a realization of the mutual respect and growing friendship they've shared throughout the series. And Misty's pointless nudity, though a bit lazy, does uphold the shameless titillation factor that is a GSC hallmark.

Why is this volume worth it? For completeness, perhaps, as it is the final book, but mainly for the the story that ended the Gunsmith Cats run, "Birthday." This touching tale of Rally's self-doubt on her birthday effectively takes stock of all of Rally's adventures and accomplishments, without short-changing the tragedies and failures along the way. It ends the series on the right note, and is a fitting farewell to the characters we've grown to love.

After "Birthday" is another short one-shot, published as a special after the official GSC run had ended. It's an unambitious but solid enough entry, sort of the equivalent of a good reunion special. Some of the old Sonoda razzle-dazzle detail work is back, which is a nice sign that he's still got it when he takes some time to rest up and recharge his artistic enthusiasm.

Misty's Run is worth it for the pitch-perfect ending, but unfortunately that's just a fraction of the book. If we ever get another Gunsmith Cats special, one way to invigorate it would be for Sonoda to finally do justice to Misty's potential.

Rating:
Summary: Gunsmith Cats
Review: wow
this book was really good its defintly one of my favs now

i dont know what volume this is but you catch on fast
its just like the discription only better
and theres 3 stories (but ones really a short extra)
if you know you like gunsmith cats cheek it out if you dont buy it anyway