Title: Coyote Ragtime Show vol 1 UK distributor: ADV Films BBFC Certificate: 12 Suggested Retail Price (SRP): £14.99 Episodes: 1 - 4 Audio Options: English 5.1; Japanese 5.1 Subtitles: English Reviewer:  Tom (Webmaster)

'It's sci-fi on the wild side!' exclaims the DVD cover of Coyote Ragtime Show and it is not wrong.  This new release from ADV promises non-stop action, fun and more action, this could be the show which fills the void Cowboy Bebop left. 
 

The show follows a mystery character by the name of Mister, a criminal who busts out of jail in search of a massive loot hidden by the late pirate king Bruce.  Once out of jail Mister teams up with his fellow 'coyotes' and King Bruce's daughter to find the loot, but he is not the only one looking.  Being tailed by a team of investigators is bad enough but a ruthless team of cute girl android who kill anyone standing in their way?  He has a lot to contend with, but Mister is a cigar-chomping old school guy who you know will get the job done.   

As I said before, Coyote Ragtime Show is all about fun and action and here it succeeds in spades.  The action is top class here with excellent animation to accompany it, but all this would be for nothing if the characters were not so likeable.  Mister and his gang are all superb characters and you instantly get a feel for each one as soon as they show up, a kind of feel that you have known each one for a long time.  Due to such strong leads, the story and action flow very well as it is near impossible to become bored. 
 

One factor that may initially put viewers off is the arrival of the enemy band Merciano's 12 sisters - the killer androids I mentioned before - in the first episode.  Although the idea of killer maid girls is pretty silly and quite fun, I felt the barbarism in which they slaughter their victims was not in keeping with the show's ethos of fun.  Yes, the show needed to have a powerful enemy for the heroes to face but the scale of the violence was unnecessary.  The fact that the action becomes much more fun and entertaining after the first episode proves that.  
 

The later episodes of this volume build up into an intriguing story which focuses on the history of some of the lead characters and the excellent heist which Pirate King Bruce pulled off - the heist which produced the loot everyone is now after.  The show has definitely flowing well by the last episode and does bode very well for volume 2. 

So overall, despite a minor niggle, top fun all round.  Coyote Ragtime Show is not quite a successor to Cowboy Bebop but more of a Lupin III in a sci-fi setting, which is no bad thing.  Easily one of the best releases of 2007 and should only get better in the next volume.  

Extras

Disappointing for such a great anime.  There is usual clean opening and closing and previews of other ADV titles, but other then that just a production artwork gallery.  Sadly this is a rolling gallery and the images are not particularly focused very well, so it is difficult to get a feel for the art.  Hopefully the extras in volume 2 will be better. 

Ratings

Feature Extras  
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