Does the promise of an anime series featuring an eclectic mix of space cowboys, gothic lolita assassins, shootouts, spaceships, bank heists & more get you excited? If so, then Coyote Ragtime Show might (or might not) be exactly what you’re looking for!
Mister is an infamous space pirate…and convict. Ten days from being released from prison, he stages an epic prison break. During the escape, Mister and his comrades Katana and Bishop survive a shootout between the prison guards and a team of goth loli robot paratrooper assassins. Regarding the ensuing battle, I can describe it like this: it’s action-packed-awesomeness at it’s best. And you can quote me on that. There are gun fights, sword fights, people fights and cat fights. The only thing missing was a hobo with a shotgun!
So it turns out the goth loli robot paratrooper assassins are being ordered around by Madame Marciano – the boss of the Galactic Criminal Guild, who is also after Mister.
So why did Mister break out of prison just before getting released? Well, it turns out the planet Graceland houses the most secure (and rich) bank vault in the Milky Way galaxy (because it’s full of ten billion space-dollars). The bad news? Graceland is due to be detonated – thanks to a full-scale civil war that the government can’t seem to stop.
Does Mister have a plan for accessing the vault before Graceland is destroyed? Find out in Coyote Ragtime Show Volume 1! (^_^)
Story
Volume one of Coyote Ragtime Show contains episodes one through four – so we only get the first quarter of the story (it’s a 12 episode series). There’s a lot going on in the first volume, but it’s plotted out pretty well. I’ll not ruin it for you by describing all the details – I’ll let you find out for yourselves!
Character Design
If you’ve read any of my previous anime reviews, you’ll probably notice that I’m a big fan of unique character design. So what do I think of the characters in Coyote Ragtime Show? I like ‘em. They’re very crisp and cleanly designed. What I really like about the characters is how they feel like a meld between classic 80s and modern day anime characters. I credit this mostly to the use of strong highlight and shadows with a very rich color palette. Perhaps this will be easier to express in later volumes of the series.
Music
I think Cowboy Bebop spoiled me with it’s amazing music. It seems like most anime series have an ‘invisible’ soundtrack. The music for Coyote Ragtime show certainly wasn’t distracting and seemed to fit the style pretty well. But it’s not either instantly singable nor memorable. At least, not yet…
Likes
- Strong Character Design
- Production quality is superb
- Gothic lolitas everywhere
- Goth Loli Robot Paratrooper Assassins
Dislikes
- Often feels like an anime version of Ocean’s 11
- ‘Mister’ (the main character) is a big old dude and is hard to relate to
- There’s another ‘girl with a blue pendant necklace’
Conclusion
I enjoyed volume one of Coyote Ragtime Show. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but this is what I like about it. This anime feels really fresh – which can sometimes be difficult to do. I enjoyed the eclectic cast of characters, mixed with the prison breakout and subsequent bank heist story. I’m very curious where the story leads from where episode four left off at!
Related Information
- Official Coyote Ragtime Show Japanese website
- Japanese Coyote Ragtime Show Fan Blog
Coyote Ragtime Show Volume One arrived courtesy of ADV Films. Thanks! Volume One (episodes 1-4) arrived on DVD in North America January 16, 2007.
The first episode is the win but the quality drops faster than a drunken whore.
I was the only one that liked it after the first episode.
tj han – lol I guess you didn’t like the rest of it
Sana Jisushi – I like it after episode one (so far). We’ll see how it holds up from episodes 5 .
Hrrmmm, I knew after the first episode that this anime wasn’t my sort of anime. That’s why I gave it to Dave to review…he really likes this “character driven” style of anime. CRS reminds me toooooo much of Gunsword. Although I watched all of that series, it wasn’t one I would watch if David weren’t around.
I saw this at the local Fry’s. — the shiny cover really jumps out at you. Hmm. Dave says good, rachel says not so much….maybe rental time? I like the look of the show though. Good review, David!
Yes, -Chris, rent this first. If you enjoy series with wacky characters and crazy concepts that take themselves way too seriously, buy this. If you enjoy watching such series on occasion or have any doubts that this type of anime is your thing, rent it.
I respect David’s preferences and I appreciate his insightful and thorough reviews. In fact, I wish he had the time to write more reviews, I admire his writing style that much. However, we differ greatly in opinion on just what makes a great anime. IMO, too much of this style of anime is like drinking anti-freeze; it tastes great right now but you’ll regret it in two hours.
Chris – The cover is sooo shiny! Nothing like prismatic foil. Thanks for the compliment, btw!
Rachel – You have a good point about the to buy/to rent decision. It all depends on your preference.
Yeah, I had a chance to watch this when it first came out on fansubs. My Take? I think the show tries to take itself a little too seriously. Although that one battle in the first episode…
Right, Micheal?! Right!? Doesn’t this story feel sooooo serious? Geez, I can only take this style of anime in small doses. But yes ,that first battle is definitely…
I’m glad Dave likes CRWS and that’s why he’s reviewing it. I’m just a backseat driver on this series. Hopefully it doesn’t get so bad that I crawl into the front seat and drive this show off a cliff.