Riding Bean (1989) Online

Based on the manga created by Kenichi Sonoda (who did the mechanical designs for the original Bubblegum Crisis and later created Gunsmith Cats in response to Riding Bean being canceled), this one shot OAV chronicles the antics, shenanigans and misadventures of the title character, [Riding] Bean Bandit.

Bean Bandit, AKA: the Road Buster, is a superhuman outlaw courier who transports pretty much anyone/everyone and anything/everything for the right price (except drugs). His partner in crime is Rally Vincent, a woman with a big gun and a sharp eye on their bank account. Naturally, they're not really villains, they're just good hearted people on the wrong side of the law. When Bean is asked to transport the daughter of a millionaire, he and Rally get framed for kidnapping by a child molester named Semmerling and her little girl slave Carrie. This begins a high speed conspiracy chase with Bean determined to settle the score and reunite the girl with her father. Relentlessly pursuing Bean is Percy, a deranged police officer who's obsessed with either capturing Bean any which way he can or killing him.

Good mindless testosterone fun. Bean's such a lovable goof-ball that it really breaks your heart that his antics were discontinued. A redesigned Rally later became the heroine of "Gunsmith Cats" and a slightly different looking Bean made a few appearances in her alternate universe books.

"My my my, all those nice men pointing guns at us. I wonder what they all do when they're not so busy." - Rally Vincent

"Eat, drink, smoke, watch TV and gamble. It's a tradition." - Bean Bandit

This is a movie that is almost all action from start to finish. Our unlikely hero Bean Bandit and his sexy partner Rally Vincent keep us entertained all through the movie with non stop thrills and chases. Kenichi Sonoda, the creator is a big fan of American action movies, and incorporated that style into the movie. The scene when the chase goes under the elevated railroad tracks is taken almost frame for frame from the Blues Brothers. (NOTE: watch the licence plates of the cars and you may fins some gags on them. )

This movie rocks. Car chases, explosions and everything else that make an action movie good is in this. It's a fun watch about a guy whose a criminal courier whose just taken a bad job. But now he's going to $2,000,000. Plus interest! Great movie but still I prefer Gun Smith Cats. And hey: Rally Vincent is in this movie. (talk about continuity)

Your typical Anime with cars, action, women, crazy policemen, and invulnerable hero. The main hero, Bean Bandit, is a bit too powerful ( is he supposed to be a robot ?) His car is crazy in a good way and basically this film exists on its car chase scenes.

This has got to be one of the all time great Animations. Everything about this short but effective Movie had me gripped from the very start to its all to early ending. Bean Bandit is a bad guy but he has some sense of morality. I loved all the little nods to the Blues Brothers like the Car registration numbers & some of the chase scenes. My fav character is Percy, the relentless & unintentionally funny Cop who shouts at his Subordinates throughout the entire Movie & he causes so much devastation with his Ford Mustang, more than Bean Bandit in the end. Bean Bandits car is amazing & is more like a James Bond vehicle with all the gadgets & transformations it can do. I can not recommend this Movie enough I would go as far as to say even if you don't like Anime you will like this Movie.

I loved this OVA it was fantastic while it was short but nonetheless enjoyable with the character development, some humour as well as the driving/action scenes of this fabulous OVA.

This introduced me to the character of Bean Bandit who was so awesome and just lived by his own rules but had a protective instinct for children and J Patrick did a fantastic job voicing him in the English dub.

Also Bean's nemesis Percy was amusing determined to do anything to bust Bean. Also the main antagonist Simmerling was an interesting villain.

All in all a nice, good and very fun OVA.