Riding Bean
Encyclopedia
is an anime
original video animation
following the exploits of courier-for-hire Bean Bandit and his partner, gunwoman Rally Vincent.
There was also a manga published in the Japanese magazine that was left unfinished (due to the cancellation of the magazine) after its fourth chapter. The manga is included in the final volume of the Revised Edition of the Gunsmith Cats
manga.
While the police are in hot pursuit of Bean and Rally, along with Chelsea in tow, Semmerling and her helper Carrie plan to make a secret getaway with Mr. Grimwood as hostage.
and Toshiba EMI.
Sonoda then went on to create the manga
comic series Gunsmith Cats
. In this series Rally Vincent was the star, but she was now dark-haired (as opposed to blond in the anime), of Asian Indian
descent and a bounty hunter
. Bean Bandit was a regular character, again as a freelance mob driver, Sonoda stating that he is a "guy I can identify with much more personally" as compared to the female heroines. He and Rally were not partners, in fact their relationship varied from ally to enemy depending on the circumstances. Rally's signature car in Gunsmith Cats was the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 used by Percy in the anime.
Percy himself appeared in the series Gunsmith Cats Burst in which he is depicted as being in obsessive pursuit of Bean Bandit, his aim being not to arrest but to actually kill the rogue driver.
Goldie Musou, a character very similar to Semmerling, also appeared in Gunsmith Cats as a powerful Mafia
Queen and Rally Vincent's arch-nemesis.
released the Riding Bean OVA on DVD on March 26, 2002 in a single disc release with Japanese and English language tracks with English subtitles. Bandai Visual
released the OVA on Blu-ray on November 21, 2008 in Japan. The principal characters also made cameo appearances in the super-deformed ARTMIC special titled "Scramble Wars".
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
following the exploits of courier-for-hire Bean Bandit and his partner, gunwoman Rally Vincent.
There was also a manga published in the Japanese magazine that was left unfinished (due to the cancellation of the magazine) after its fourth chapter. The manga is included in the final volume of the Revised Edition of the Gunsmith Cats
Gunsmith Cats
is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's Afternoon from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series Gunsmith Cats Burst which included the same characters and situations.The series describes the adventures...
manga.
Plot
The anime follows one day in the life of Bean Bandit and Rally Vincent, as they find that they have been framed for the kidnapping of Chelsea Grimwood, who is daughter of Mr. Grimwood, President of the Grimwood Company/Grimwood Conglomerate. However, it is Semmerling, by way of various disguises, tricks, and manipulations, who is the real kidnapper — and the real target is Mr. Grimwood himself.While the police are in hot pursuit of Bean and Rally, along with Chelsea in tow, Semmerling and her helper Carrie plan to make a secret getaway with Mr. Grimwood as hostage.
Voice actors
- Bean Bandit - Hideyuki TanakaHideyuki Tanakais a Japanese voice actor. He is a graduate of the Toho Gakuen School of Music. He is most known for his roles in Dokaben , Kinnikuman , Captain Tsubasa , Touch , Saint Seiya , Metal Gear Solid and Slam Dunk .-TV Anime:*Akagi...
(Japanese), J. Patrick Lawlor (English) - Rally Vincent - Naoko MatsuiNaoko Matsuiis a Japanese voice actress from Hakodate. Matsui was a member of Production Baobab for 20 years before becoming a freelancer. She is also a voice acting instructor....
(Japanese), Brennan MacKenzie (English) - Semmerling - Mami KoyamaMami KoyamaMami Koyama is a veteran seiyū and J-pop vocalist who was born in Nishio, Aichi. She was once married to fellow seiyū Tōru Furuya, her co-star in Mobile Suit Gundam, Urusei Yatsura, Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, and Casshern Sins...
(Japanese), Barbara Lewis (English) - Percy - Kei TomiyamaKei Tomiyama, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator from Anshan, Manchukuo. During his life, Tomiyama was affiliated with Aoni Production and Production Baobab....
(Japanese), David Kraus (English) - Dick - Nobuo TobitaNobuo Tobitais a Japanese seiyū from Mito. He is represented by Arts Vision.He is most known for the roles of Kamille Bidan , Albert Heinrich/004 , and Sueo Maruo...
(Japanese), Adam Guzman (English) - Chelsea - Chieko HondaChieko Hondais a Japanese voice actor.-Notable voice roles:*After War Gundam X *Akihabara Dennō Gumi *Bosco Adventure *Devil Hunter Yohko *Dragonball *Dragon Century...
(Japanese), Mary Boucher (English) - Carrie - Megumi HayashibaraMegumi Hayashibarais a Japanese voice actress, singer, radio personality, and lyricist from Tokyo. She is currently affiliated with Aksent. Her nicknames include: Megu-san, Megu-nee, Bara-san, Kakka, and Daijin...
(Japanese), Susan McQueen (English) - George Grimwood - Jun Hatsumi (Japanese), David Arnold (English)
Connection to Gunsmith Cats
Only one episode of Riding Bean was produced and the planned series was never made due, it is said, to a fallout between writer Kenichi SonodaKenichi Sonoda
is a comic book artist and animation character designer.-Professional career:Sonoda moved to Tokyo in 1984, at the age of 21, and began work at Artmic, an anime studio. During this time, he worked on Bubblegum Crisis, producing the original Knight Saber character designs...
and Toshiba EMI.
Sonoda then went on to create the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
comic series Gunsmith Cats
Gunsmith Cats
is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kenichi Sonoda. It was published in Kodansha's Afternoon from 1991 to 1997 and was followed between 2004 and 2008 by a sequel series Gunsmith Cats Burst which included the same characters and situations.The series describes the adventures...
. In this series Rally Vincent was the star, but she was now dark-haired (as opposed to blond in the anime), of Asian Indian
Indian American
Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...
descent and a bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
. Bean Bandit was a regular character, again as a freelance mob driver, Sonoda stating that he is a "guy I can identify with much more personally" as compared to the female heroines. He and Rally were not partners, in fact their relationship varied from ally to enemy depending on the circumstances. Rally's signature car in Gunsmith Cats was the 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 used by Percy in the anime.
Percy himself appeared in the series Gunsmith Cats Burst in which he is depicted as being in obsessive pursuit of Bean Bandit, his aim being not to arrest but to actually kill the rogue driver.
Goldie Musou, a character very similar to Semmerling, also appeared in Gunsmith Cats as a powerful Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
Queen and Rally Vincent's arch-nemesis.
Media
AnimeigoAnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams, III. It is now based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run by Natsumi Ueki, Robert's wife...
released the Riding Bean OVA on DVD on March 26, 2002 in a single disc release with Japanese and English language tracks with English subtitles. Bandai Visual
Bandai Visual
, is a Japanese anime, film production and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai Co., Ltd. and a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc., which is based in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Since the reorganisation of Namco Bandai Holdings in 2006, Bandai Visual now heads the group's Visual and...
released the OVA on Blu-ray on November 21, 2008 in Japan. The principal characters also made cameo appearances in the super-deformed ARTMIC special titled "Scramble Wars".