Art of Riding Bean
/Riding Bean is an OVA (Original Video Animation) produced by AIC and Artmic. It was directed by Yasuo Hasegawa in 1989. Only one episode of Riding Bean was produced and the planned series was never made, due to rumoured falling out between writer Kenichi Sonoda 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 stated that the character was a "guy I can identify with much more personally" as compared to the female heroines. He and Rally were not partners, and 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, depicted as being in obsessive pursuit of Bean Bandit, with his aim being not to arrest but to actually kill the rogue driver. Goldie Musou, a character psychologically similar to Semmerling (albeit drawn as a taller woman with a more butch demeanour), also appeared in Gunsmith Cats as a powerful Mafia queen and Rally Vincent's nemesis. The pictures on this page are a collection of artworks created for this OVA.
THE STORY
Bean Bandit and his partner Rally Vincent are couriers for hire - transporting clients and delivering goods in his custom sports car "Roadbuster" for a hefty price. But when they are hired to escort a kidnapped girl named Chelsea to her home, they don't realize they're being framed for kidnapping as their former clients Semmerling and Carrie plan their escape with Chelsea's father and the ransom money…
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