Video Backlog: "Riding Bean"

Publisher: AnimEigo (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 48 mins
Production Date: 1989
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Story Outline: In Chicago’s underworld, Bean Bandit is the man you need to make a quick getaway. His customised Roadbuster car has numerous special features including armour plating, bullet proof windows and the ability to drive sideways. After a bloody robbery, Bean states he no longer wants the crook’s business as he used a child as his partner in the robbery. The next day Bean is woken by his partner Rally Vincent and the pair soon discover a client at their door. A man claiming to be a family guard for the Grimwood’s, a rich family who owns a large corporation, brings in an unconscious Chelsea Grimwood, daughter of the president of the company. He claims that she was kidnapped and asks them to return her to the Grimwood estate. However before they can leave, Bean and Rally’s hideout is shot up by gunmen which in the process kills the guard. Both of them decide to return the girl and claim their deliver fee, however when arrive they are fired upon by the estates guards, some with really heavy artillery. Bean and Rally soon discover they have been framed for kidnapping Chelsea and even the police are after them. Bean realises it was the two robbers he he worked for the previous night, Semmerling and Carrie, and sets about getting even and settling the score.

Mini Review: I originally bought this on the dual Madox-01/Riding Bean laserdisc many, many moons ago. I don’t actually recall liking it all that much. I think I thought it was just another violence filled piece of trash. The kind that Manga Entertainment (UK and Australia) were pushing back in the 1990’s. I think over time I’ve grown to appreciate it. Sure, this is Kenichi Sonoda doing “The Blues Brothers” mixed with a bunch of B-grade 1970’s and 1980’s car chase flicks, but it is entertaining as hell. The story goes that this was meant to be a OVA series, but Sonoda had a fallout with Toshiba EMI and everything fell to bits. He even made a manga about “Riding Bean”, but it got shelved and was never completed. However we did get the “Gunsmith Cats” manga and OVA series out it. Semmerling is obviously a prototype of Goldie and Rally is of Indian decent in Gunsmith Cats, however Bean remains the same. This OVA has some really B-grade and exploitative elements to it such as Semmerling’s not so subtle paedophilic overtones, but it’s still quite fun. Really over the top and quite bloody as well as some great action sequences and a good plot. I’m really surprised at how I really like the OVA this time around. 7 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 21 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).