drama series Taiyō ni Hoero!, he decided the show did not fit his preferred Western style. The story is influenced by American gun-action movies such as The French Connection and The Blues Brothers. 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. Character names were taken from American TV shows such as Bewitched and The Fugitive. The character of Minnie-May was the result of a compromise between Sonoda and the publisher. Media Manga Written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda, Gunsmith Cats began publication in the February 1991 issue of Afternoon, a monthly manga magazine published by Kodansha. The series ran for 76 chapters until the June 1997 issue of Afternoon. The complete series was published in 8 volumes between December 16, 1991 and July 23, 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 9 trade paperback volumes between October 1, 1996 and February 13, 2002. The series began serialisation 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 Gunsmith Cats Burst was later released. Five volumes were released in Japan between June 23, 2005 and November 21, 2008. The English edition was published