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AnimEigo's Riding Bean Kickstarter to Launch on Sunday
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
AnimEigo founder and CEO Robert J. Woodhead announced on his official Twitter account on Wednesday that AnimEigo's planned Kickstarter campaign for a "High Octane Edition" Blu-ray Disc release for Riding Bean will launch on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. EST.
Woodhead also shared a preview of the campaign's Kickstarter page, which currently shows a planned goal of US$30,000. Backer rewards include a digital archive of setting materials and the script, the anime on Blu-ray Disc, patches, a 180-page artbook, keychains, production cels, a scale model of Bean's "Buff" car, a personally inscribed sketch by Kenichi Sonoda, and B4-size color illustrations by Sonoda.
The listing states that AnimEigo plans to release the anime in December.
The 1989 OVA is based on a manga by Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats manga, Otaku no Video character design). AnimEigo released Riding Bean in 2002 on a dual-audio DVD, marking the company's first anime release along with MADOX-01.
In 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.
AnimeEigo successfully funded a Kickstarter to release Bubblegum Crisis on Blu-Ray Disc in 2013, and also funded a similar campaign to release Otaku no Video on Blu-ray Disc last June.
Thanks to Peter J. LaPrade and yasako for the news tips.
