Gunsmith Cats is the kind of anime that tends to reflect the sort of people who make and watch anime - the 'Otaku' in anime lingo.

The characters should be mentioned first as they tend to set the scene for the this feature. Rally Vincent and Minnie May Hopkins run a Chicago gunsmith and shooting range called the 'Gunsmith Cats'. Rally is into guns and cars; she drives the legendary Mustang GT500 like Nicholas Cage in 'Gone in 60 Seconds' and McQueen in 'Bullitt'. This is the third film I've come across that prominently features this vehicle. Must be a sign from God...

Her sidekick Minnie May is a explosives freak. There is a recurring theme and that's when Minnie May detonates a handful of grenades and blows out a window - that signifies the end of the action sequence.

There is a reasonable amount of violence and some isolated use of expletives so I'd expect that it deserves its 'M' rating.

They are embroiled in a investigation that involves the ATF, KGB killers, gunrunning, drugs and corrupt politicians. The girls are part-time bounty hunters who capture a bail jumper, however this is just the start of a massive ATF operation that requires their help to infiltrate a crime ring that involves the upcoming local elections. Standard fare for action dramas, even in Hollywood.

Like a lot of anime, a lot of effort is expended in making the production as accurate as possible in the portrayal of the Chicago city, the weapons and the cars - the way they look and the way they sound.

The English dub is also one of the best I've heard which reflects the heavy use of an American production team. The Japanese original track may be the choice for the cognescenti however the story comes thru strongly on the English track.

This was first seen as part of the SBS anime features on Saturday nights. You'll notice that Eva and BGC are also released as part of the same Madman anime series.

The three episodes are: 'Neutral Zone', 'Swing High' and 'High Speed Edge'. It is meant to be watched all the way thru like a 90 minute movie.

The video is 4:3 PAL and of quite good quality. If you've seen the general standard of Anime releases, Cats is largely comparable. It is a far bit lesser in picture quality and visual production than unlimited budget releases like 'Akira' or 'Ghost in the Shell'.

This is a pleasingly high standard production that presents a bold, colourful picture with a clarity that reminds one of much more expensive anime films. The frame speed is fine when compared to other anime DVD's I've seen.

The 40 minute featurette is a mixture of professional video and camcorder material and is of a standard you would expect for an extra.

The audio throughout the production is 224k/s Dolby Stereo - everything; English and Japanese tracks, featurette, trailers.

Vocal intelligibility is excellent and the actual sound effects are accurate (the featurette states that actual live recordings were used). Music quality is also good. The style is very much reminiscent of 70's cop shows and the camera angles tend to ape popular action directors. It is set in the modern era with very 90's motor vehicles, firearms and associated technologies.

It is however only reasonably good for stereo and there is a lack of dynamics with the sound resembling a good TV production - par for the course on most Anime productions.

This is what I expect and most of the Pioneer and other anime titles are of the same quality. It's only Akira and others that go to Dolby 5.1 surround.

The best extra is a 'Making of...' featurette than runs 40 minutes. This is a very good featurette that gives a good rundown of the production and inspiration for the main feature. They travelled to Chicago for location scouting, they recorded a Mustang on a racetrack, fired and recorded the weapons depicted and visited a police station for training. Many full motion pictures do not go to this extent.

There are six trailers for popular Anime titles such as Evangelion, BubbleGum Crisis and Tekken. The reason for six trailers is that they are represented as the six bullets in a revolver's cylinder - fitting the theme.

There are two trailers for Cats and a titleless opening feature. Generally a short but quality list of extras.

I would note that there aren't enough chapter stops. Each episode is 26-27 minutes long and there basically is one chapter stop in the middle (Act I start, Act II intermission).

This is not really enough but it is a minor point given the reasonably short episode length.

This is a very high standard production that is blessed with a DVD that upholds that same quality. It compares well with other anime DVD's especially with American ones and it's a must buy for you anime collectors. It's a shame there are not more OVA episodes as this is a very popular DVD for anime fans.

It's coded for regions 2 and 4.