It's been a whirlwind month for us with attending Anime Expo and San Diego Comic con, but we couldn't neglect our blog readers, so we're here with an exclusive for you and us --an anime review! We've been given the Riding Bean OVA by AnimEigo for a first dibs watch. If you're not following AnimEigo you should be, as now that they're a part of MediaOCD there are going to be some exciting new anime releases on the horizon! For now, let's look into Riding Bean.
Riding Bean is an 1989 anime OVA written by Kenichi Sonoda, directed by Yasuo Hasegawa and animated at Studio AIC. Sonoda is known for his work on Bubblegum crisis, and Hasegawa has been on staff for different anime such as Record of Lodoss War, Bastard!! and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross. (Chojiku Kidan Southern Cross.) The 80s was a wonderland of different original OVAs and this one is in that same ilk, but there was a manga for this that started September 1988 and ended February 1989. The anime itself came out right as the manga ended due to the magazine it was in, Monthly Comics Noisy going defunct.
With the background out of the way --what is Riding Bean about? If I had to compare it to something else, maybe Burn Notice but in Chicago instead of Florida, or maybe a slightly more raunchy City Hunter. That latter one comes from this OVA not shying away from graphic violence and nudity. (This is definitely not for kids!) The OVA follows a day in the life of bounty hunter Bean Bandit and his partner Rally Vincent, as they solve (and just and often start) trouble in Chicago. Bean is an all-purpose getaway drive known as the Roadbuster, and a simple job of bringing the daughter of a socialite becomes a lot more complicated.
The OVA is over the top, animated like a smooth ride, and has enough voice actors that would go on to become beloved characters that one could probably trace their childhood favorites from this. Though there is a predilection toward Detective Conan voice actors in this, with Bean Bandit played by Hideyuki Tanaka or Shinichi Kudo's father Yusaku Kudo. Rally is powered by Naoko Matsui or Sonoko Suzuki, and the villain of sorts played by Vermouth voice actor Mami Koyama. (Many of these VA's are also in One Piece too!)
Viewers are thrown right into the action in this OVA, which typically comes off as a proof of concept for something bigger. I read that this was set to be a TV anime, but due to falling out between the related parties it never happened. (Though this is admittedly unconfirmed, the way this OVA is paced lends creedence to this take.) Combine this with the manga also meeting an early demise, and it's like this anime was cursed. Though it in a small way found life in Sonoda's later work Gunsmith Cats where Rally and Bean have a Lupin and Fujiko-esque relationship along with sporting different looks.
Rally and Bean in Gunsmith Cats
As far as Riding Bean goes, it's a tour de force of all things 80s, and I mean that as a genuine compliment. Although I personally believe that anime now is just as impressive as it was back in the 80s, there's something to be said about how incredible this looks and sounds. The soundtrack is atypical of anime soundtracks, choosing hard rock with English vocals produced by David Garfield, and it all weaves together wonderfully (especially the ending theme!)
AnimEigo's restoration brings out all the best parts of the animation and sound as well. If you picked up the original release, then you absolutely need to have this re-release on your shelf. Newbies to the OVA should also give this a shot, as while there isn't a lot of plot to latch onto, the short runtime, animation, and characters make this an easy recommendation (Though as I mentioned before, definitely not for kids!) It is unfortunate that more wasn't made, as I'd love to have seen more of Rally and Bean on the road, riding bean.
The OVA will be available from AnimEigo September 10th on BluRay and streaming on TVOD platforms including YouTube, Google Play and Amazon. Preorders are now open here on MediaOCD's page and the BD release contains an image gallery, trailers, a brand-new interview with Kenichi Sonoda and a new BD trailer. Along with dubs in English, Catalan, and the original Japanese version.
I can't recommend this enough to both veteran and new anime fans. While it's light on plot, Riding Bean is fun, energetic, and beautifully animated. If this is what we can expect from the new AnimEigo then we're in for a wild ride much like the one seen in this OVA.
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