STORY

The story of Riding Bean is an OVA created by Kenichi Sonoda, who was also the creator of Gunsmith Cats, so you know that this anime has to be somewhat decent when you pick it up from the shelf. This short OVA is about a guy named Bean Bandit. He drives a really cool car called the Road Buster. He and his partner Rally Vincent takes on all sorts of jobs for the right price. But when Bean takes a job from two bank robbers he gets himself into trouble by becoming part of a kidnapping plot. Now Bean is going to get his revenge and take all the money they got from their kidnapping scheme. This OVA, even though made in the late 80's, will probably turn people off, but don't let its year and old animation style scare you off this OVA is really good. Its production values are good for its year and its story although short is really good.

Packaging

The cover on the case isn't really eye catching. It's just a picture of Bean and Rally on the cover with the Road buster under their faces. A decent cover but it won't turn any heads. The back of the cover has three screen shots and a small description of the OVA pretty much telling you the whole story accept for the ending so don't read the back unless you cant wait during the drive home to find out the whole plot.

Menus

Nothing special here. Just a picture of Bean and Rally standing near the Road Buster and the options you get with this DVD. You're not going to get wowed with this but I guess all that really matters is the content am I right?

English

Now this anime was dubbed back when anime was first coming out so you know what to expect when you stick this in to the player, but for the time of bad dubs this isn't that bad. Some of the actors are way off with their character (Bean sounds like a radio talk show host) but some actors actually do a good job with their parts. They get props for pulling out a dub that's half decent.

Japanese

They nailed the Japanese voice actors. Each voice goes with every character well and they really get into their role like most Japanese voice actors do. But there is really nothing more to say about it except keep away from the dub and stick to this you will enjoy it much more if you do.

Extras

Don't expect much from here because you only get a Japanese trailer and a gallery of screen shots from the OVA. Just live with the content because that all that really matters.

Conclusion

I first saw this anime at my friend's house on tape. I only saw part of it because I wanted to see the whole thing when I actually bought it. It was worth the wait. This was a great 45 min adventure, plus I got to see Rally Vincent before she started her gun store and became a bounty hunter. My only real problems are that it's too short and that its too expensive, but you could probably find it cheaper online. Recommended.