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.
