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Coyote Ragtime Show
Anime DVD Review
We're not precisely sure what the hell this show is about, but it's still damn fun. Basically, we're along for the ride while a bunch of stuff blows up. Stemming from some of the success of Outlaw Star, Coyote Ragtime Show follows a similar premise; a group of pirates are gallivanting across space to reach a treasure, while everyone else in the universe is out to kill them.
Oh, but there's a few other little problems also: For starters, the planet the treasure is hidden on is only a few days away from being blown to smithereens, and the man with the plan, the only one who can save the day is currently in prison. He has gone by so many aliases at this point that now he's known only as "Mister". Step one involves his breakout from prison.
 So, being hounded by both sides of the law and seriously stuck in the middle of the entire conflagration is Franca, the young daughter of the king of the pirates (who was killed), leaving the location of the treasure as something only she knows.
Unfortunately, Madame Marciano has taken over the crime guild via Coup d'etat, and her army of 12 robotic sisters/assassins are pretty much killing anything in sight trying to get to Mister and Franca. The sisters are an interesting twist because they are named after the months in the year, and they all seem to be dressed in a goth/lolita theme that ties into a popular sub-genre.
Coyote Ragtime Show is produced by Ufotable, a company that seems to enjoy a penchant for the unusual. From their claymation closing credits to bizarre references to songs and movies (I can't tell if it's supposed to be that way or if the American scriptwriters took extreme liberties, but it's funny as hell; so far my favorite bit has to be the Dirty Harry reference in episode 6), there's so much going on simultaneously that multiple viewings may be required to take it all in.
Below: Scenes from Coyote Ragtime.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, January 2009
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